Self-winding and Manual Automatic Watch Differences

When it comes to automatic watches, it can get a little complicated but it’s much easier to understand than it sounds. There isn’t just one type of automatic movement available on the market. Here at House of Watches we have a brilliant selection of automatic watches available to purchase, so there is sure to be the perfect watch for both him and her.

The first self-winding automatic watch movement was created in the 1770’s by Swiss watch maker, Abraham-Louis Perrelet. He found a way to get the mechanism to use the movement from the wearer as energy, powering the watch for up to 8 hours a day. Every time the wearer moves their wrist, the watch recognises that movement and turns the rotor inside, making it self-wind. These styles of watches are best worn on an everyday basis, however if you were to take it off it can run for another 36 hours before it would need to be wound by hand.

However, this isn’t the only type of automatic watch that is available on the market. Originally known as manual watch founded in 1510 by Peter Henlein, this type of automatic watch would run by itself by the same sort of spring inside the watch, however, to keep the watch wound it requires using the crown (which is usually a knob on the side of the watch case) as a key to manually wind.

There isn’t a huge change between the two types of automatic watches, the main difference being that a rotor is attached to the self-winding watches movement so that when the wearers wrist moves the rotor spins and winds the watch.

A hand-wound or manual winding watch has no need for a motor, therefore the winding of this type of automatic watch would require it to be done by hand. There are some instances where some high-end luxury watches have both options and also a power reserve indicated that will tell you the amount of time the watch can go without being moved or wound.

There are multiple pros and cons when it comes to the different types of automatic watches. The main pro for most watch buyers is the convenience of a self-winding automatic watch, never having to stress about having to wind the watch.

However, due to the rotor being weighted, this tends to make the self-winding automatic watch heavier in weight and the watch case thicker. Again, with the case back of most automatic watches being clear, the rotor can tend to hide most of the movement due to its size.

When it comes to manual winding automatic watches, many people love being able to see the movement without any obstructions from a rotor. These watches tend to be thinner and lighter too as they again do not have a rotor.

Obviously the main cons of having a manual winding automatic watch is the fact you will have to hand wind on a regular basis via the crown on the timepiece. Obviously the more you use the knob on the crown the more wear you will see over time but this may cause wear on the watch quicker than that of a self-winding one.

Discover our selection of automatic watches available to purchase here at House of Watches and find the perfect timepiece for you and your loved ones.