![]() ![]() The brands producing them often have colourful backstories.Some of the mains reasons that I enjoy mechanical watches are: And I strongly believe that the story is important - when you’re winding a watch each morning you’re personally engaging with the timepiece - the more interesting it is the more interested you’ll be. I want to highlight some of my favourite hand-winding watches, particularly those that have a great story behind them. I even find myself more aware of the time and how I intend to use the rest of the day. It provides a moment of calm and a few minutes for contemplation. There’s a ritual - a one I enjoy - of selecting that days watch, setting its time and then winding the mainspring. It requires you to manually wind it before use. A hand-wound watch pushes that a step further. It’s why we’re all attracted to watches and why we end up with watch collections. You like the design, the brand story and the history. You’re here because you like the idea of wearing a charming piece of outdated technology on your arm. It’ll even do the timekeeping better than a mechanical watch. If you do want a wristwatch for telling the time, a cheap plastic digital watch will do the job. Your phone is capable of that and probably within arm’s length twenty-four hours a day. You don’t need a wristwatch to tell the time. Why Choose a Handwinding Watch? Let’s be clear. ![]() You use the crown to fully wind the watch each morning and it runs for the rest of the day. Or you physically wind it yourself - and that is a hand-wound movement. Either you allow gravity and motion to do it for you - that’s an automatic movement. There are two ways to tighten that spring. You tighten the spring and as it slowly uncurls it drives the watches hands. ![]() The whole mechanism works from the tension in its mainspring. What is a Hand-Wound or Manual Watch? In simple terms, a mechanical watch keeps the time through its clockwork engine - what we call a movement. I’d like to very briefly look at the characteristics of the hand-wound models and then present you with a concise list of the best affordable examples - so that you can then make an informed choice when buying your own. Some of them will be battery-powered, some mechanical and self-winding, and a very small number will be hand-winding. If you’re interested in the history of watches or are enthusiastic about vintage designs, there’s a world of interesting timepieces out there for you. A simple pleasure before the modern world kicks in for the day. In a hectic and high-tech world, it can be a moment of calm. But for watch fans, it can still be a daily ritual. You’d be forgiven for thinking that winding your watch by hand was a thing of the past. ![]()
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