The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hey guys,

I’m looking for a quality watch winder and I’ve been doing research for the last couple of days reading this site and some others. I’ve read a good FAQ thread written by Roff (thanks!) and narrowed down my options to the four below. Let me know if you guys can add any additional information on each winders below or correct me on anything I’ve written. Thanks in advance.

Orbita Futura:
Retail Price: $695 for single and $1,995 for triple; there’s no double

Pros:
• Orbita is a reputable brand
• Looks contemporary
• Programmable, albeit a bit limited

Cons:
• Price
• There’s no double
• Limited programmable options compared to Wolf Designs
• No lock

Question:
• What’s the rest period? I couldn’t find this information on their site or anywhere else for that matter.

Eilux DuoLux:
Retail Price: $640 for double, hence the name I guess. Not sure if there’s a single or triple.

Pros:
• Rated “Best Value” on Watchcases, although I’m not sure how independent this site actually is.
• Independent individually programmable winding heads.
• Turns on and off, not continuous, although I’m not sure how long the rest period is.
• Locking feature

Cons:
• Haven’t heard much about this brand, especially this forum, which concerns me a bit
• Only 1 year warranty

Question:
• Anyone on this forum have any experience with this winder?


Wolf Designs Burlwood 2.7:
Retail Price: $449 for single, $899 for double, and $1,349 for a triple

Pros:
• Programmable with up to 57 different settings
• Power reserve start delay from 6-72 hours
• Rotation countdown LCD
• Good looks, at least to me

Cons:
• No lock
• Does it incorporate a rest period or does it continuously rotate until reaching set TPD?

Question:
• Is the power reserve start delay the same as a rest period? I couldn’t tell what that does. Not sure if you could set how long to rotate for then rest for (e.g. 10 min on, 30 off).


Official Time Van Gogh Series:
Retail Price: $550 for double, $710 for quad

Pros:
• Have read good things about this brand on this forum
• Rest period of 5 min on and 10 min off
• Good looks, at least to me
• Seems to be good value
• Locking feature

Cons:
• Limited programming options
• Rotates only 720 TPD (in single direction mode)
• Unable to program each head separately

Question:
• If I have a watch that needs 800 TPD, I don’t think this will keep my watch wound; it’ll eventually stop, correct (granted I don’t wear it or manually wind it)?
• If I have a watch that needs to be wound CW and another CCW, then this one winder won’t work for my needs since it doesn’t have separately programmable heads. Am I correct?

I DID THE SAME RESEARCH, WENT WITH ORBITA. A FRIEND HAD ISSUES WITH WOLF

Rest period for Orbita Futuras is 1 minute on / 11 off on the low setting and 1 on / 7 off on high.

I'm guessing that the start delay on the Wolf is to allow the watch to run down slightly before initiating the winding cycle - it probably menas limited rest peiods.

The Van Gogh will eventually result in a watch requiring more than 720 TPD running down - on a 800 TPD watch with a full power reserve of 42 hours it will take approximately 17 1/2 days.

The Van Gogh will not support watches that require CW and CCW, however it will support watches that support both directions as it doesn't matter if all of the winding is in one direction.

The Van Gogh series states.....................

The wooden watch winding box rotates at 3 turns per minute approximately and provides 3 selectable programs as below. (720 and 1,440 turns daily approx)
(A) Clockwise: rotation for 5 Minutes then remain rest 10 Minutes, same cycle repeats 24 hours per day.
(B) Alternation: rotation between clockwise & counter clockwise alternately every 2.5 minutes, process will run for 5 minutes then rest for 10 minutes.
(C) Counter clockwise: rotation only in counter clockwise for 5 minutes then rest for 10 minutes, same cycle repeats 24 hours per day.

I have a Van Gogh 6 watch winder and I've had to put mine on an additional timer to further reduce the amount of turns, I use it for a variety of watches including Breitlings, ETA based movements and Seiko's and not a single one of mine runs down over time.

I've had mine for quite a while now, I had one motor replaced under warranty, apart from that it's been flawless, as quiet now as it was the day I bought it and the quality of the wood and lacquer is superb, not a single blemish has occured at all.

Stef

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That trumps my info - I was just going my the OP's data, I've never used them.

Thanks for the replies so far.

First I was leaning toward the Wolf Designs, but now I'm leaning towards the Futura since it has a decent rest period and a quality brand. I like the look of the Van Gough Series, but I'm looking for a winder that will keep my watch wound in perpetuity (not really, but you know what I mean).

If anyone else has any more to add on this topic, I'd love to hear it.

Oh and thank you for moving it to the correct forum, Roff.

Hey Stef,

I took that to mean it will rotate 720 TPD on either direction and 1440 if bi-directional. Am I then mistaken?

Thanks.

A good question, I always thought it turned 1440, if you look at the info they give regardless of which way it turns or bi it still does the same cycle 5 mins on, 10 mins off. I did sit and work mine out and I think mine is on (cycling) for about 12-14 hours per day which gave about 800-900TPD, certainly all of my watches stay wound and some I don't wear for many days at a time.

They also seemed to keep better time when the winder wasn't simply just plugged in on the 5 on 10 off cycle 24 hours a day, and indeed my Chrono Avenger actually keeps better time if I wear it for a while and just place it on a table at night (it runs slower on the winder), but all my others keep perfect time on the winder, odd!

Stef

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Another vote for the OT Van Gogh too. I've had a 6 way like Stefs for a long time now, and while it's started to get a little more noisy than when it was new, I've not had any problems with it at all. I've found it to be a very nicely made and finished item, especially for the price.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I've got two OTs (a double and a quad) and I'm pretty happy with them. One of the motors in the quad needs replacing - it's under warranty but I've been stalling because I don't want to have to send the whole thing back to Hong Kong - no other problems so far. They're good value for money IMO.

I have an Eilux triple winder and am really impressed with it. Very quiet and only runs about 12 seconds or so. Has seperate controls for each winder pod also.

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Breitling SuperOcean Steelfish - 2009
Breitling B-2 - 2002
Rolex DateJust 18k/ SS (1984 vintage)
Omega Seamaster (1958 vintage)
Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece MP6318 - 2003
Tag Heuer Carrera Chronograph CV2013-3
Victorinox DiveMaster 500

They'll send you a new motor with instructions how to fit it, it's a 10 minute job.

Stef

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Great news, thanks. I'll email them now.

I have two Orbita single winders that are great. Silent and have been working nonstop for a couple of years. I also have two Brookstone quad winders that also appear to be very good but have only been in service (flawlessly) for six months so far. They are quiet, very programmable, and the price is right. My only gripe with the Brookstones is that the holder is on the smaller size (but you can turn the cushion sideways to hold larger watches securely so it really isn't too much of an issue). Also, take a look at the Wolf Design sale page. Looks like some very good bargains there, some with free shipping. Go to to the Wolf Design website, click on winders, then click on sale.

LL

I've only heard good things about Brookstone watch winders; good value for the price. However, I'm concerned with their lack of rest periods. I think it's max of about 2 minutes. Can anyone confirm?

Thanks.