Quick Care Guide

The below is a short list of things to keep in mind when caring for a vintage watch.

~ 1 ~

Keep your vintage watch dry. Obsolete Inventory installs new gaskets and some watches may have an indication of water resistance on the dial or case back, however it is always best to keep your vintage watch away from water if possible. We do not pressure test any of our vintage watches, including divers. This might include the following activates but not limited to; washing the dishes, relaxing in a hot tub, swimming in the ocean, singing in the rain, and working out.

~ 2 ~

Do not change the day or date calendar quickset function with the hands set between hours or 8pm(20:00) and 4am(4:00). In the hours leading to and proceeding midnight the calendar changes-over. This process happens as the time progresses. If the calendar is quick set during the change-over, the gearing could jam or teeth could break off. It is best to change the Day/Date via the quickset funcion while the hands are in the “southern hemisphere” of the dial.

~ 3 ~

If the calendar or time setting is jammed while quick-setting, do not try to push past it. Sometimes jolts or a partially engaging crown position will result in a jammed calender quick-set or slipping time setting. It is critical not to push through the jam or slip. Best practice is to reset the crown in the base position and try again. You may want to cross midnight if there is a calendar issue, but most important is to avoid forcing the crown.

~ 4 ~

For a Manual Winding watch, be mindful of how many time you wind the crown. A Manual Winding watch will require daily winding and are designed to have a “full stop” once the maximum charge is reached. Typically a Men’s Manual wind watch will have between 30-40 full turns of the crown before it comes to a stop. Counting the turns will create familearlity with the feeling of a “full stop.” Counting turns of the crown is also a good way to insure you will not over wind, potentially breaking the spring that powers the movement.

~ 5 ~

For an Automatic Winding watch, let the rotor do the work. Automatic watches use a free spinning rotor weight to power the watch. The Kinetic motion of you arm will then keep the watch running throughout the day. Some Automatic watches have a hand winding function as well as an automatic rotor. While this is useful to get the watch started, the automatic winding gears are more delicate than those found in a non-Automatic(Manual) winding watch. A few turns to get the watch in motion is ok but excessive winding will lead to unnecessary ware.

~ 6 ~

Mechanical watches are best kept away from strong magnets. Magnetization of a watch movement will cause it to run very fast. While this won’t damage the watch per say it will require demagnetization, which can be a bother. The speakers on a laptop are often the culprit.