For many, a wristwatch is much more than just an easy way to tell time. The right wristwatch can be a symbol of status, the perfect accessory to any wardrobe, or even a family heirloom you aim to pass down to your children when your time has come and gone.
However, that also means you have to take proper care of your wristwatch to ensure it lasts and maintains its beauty.
Today, we’re going to cover the proper care and maintenance tasks you need to commit to, to keep your wristwatch in amazing condition for years to come.
Regular Cleaning Steps For Traditional Wristwatches
First, one of the key things you need to learn is how to clean your watch. Regularly cleaning your watch will not only ensure it looks as stellar as it did the day you got it, but it will also prevent corrosion and long-term damage due to built-up debris.
1. Wipe with a Microfiber Cloth
The first step of a good cleaning process is to use a microfiber cloth to wipe all the surfaces of the watch. This will remove the vast majority of debris with ease, and it only takes a couple of moments.
It’s important to use a microfiber cloth because cloths that produce lint can fill the crevices of your watch with small pieces of fabric that ultimately build up over time and damage the watch.
2. Clean the Crevices
A microfiber cloth will get most of the job done, but you will likely miss the small crevices. For this step, use a dry Q-Tip and gently wipe away any debris stuck between parts of the watch.
For the most part, you will want to focus on the band. Metal watches with bands that are made from segmented pieces of metal are the hardest to clean properly. Dirt, lint, and debris often get stuck between the segments. Take extra care and ensure you remove all of it during this step.
However, even leather or fabric-based bands can produce problems at their attachment points.
If you allow gunk to sit in these crevices, it can corrode the metal and lead to future breaks, or it can jam the segments of a watch and make it uncomfortable to wear.
3. Clean with Soap
You do not want to submerge your watch or use a lot of water, but sometimes, it is necessary to use solutions other than just dry tools to clean your watch.
If there is residue on the watch, or you cannot simply wipe all the dirt and debris off, use a gentle dish soap and a small amount of water to saturate a Q-Tip, and then gently wipe the surfaces of the watch.
When you have removed all the dirt and debris, use a dry microfiber cloth to dry the watch. Do not allow the cleaning solution to sit on it.
You can also find jewelry-safe cleaning solutions at most stores that sell jewelry if you’re worried that your dish soap might be too harsh for your watch.
Avoid Damaging Your Wristwatch
Cleaning your watch regularly is important, but you should also put extra care into not damaging it. This is especially true with traditional watches.
Their movements can be damaged by a hard enough impact, their crystals can break or scratch, and their bands can be destroyed over time.
1. Protect the Crystal
The crystal is extremely important. This is the “glass” window on your watch. Most modern traditional watches, especially in higher price ranges, have tough crystals that are difficult to scratch.
However, you should still avoid dropping your watch, smacking your wrist against walls or nearby objects, or reaching into your pocket with hard or sharp objects in it.
Once the crystal is scratched, it is typically there for the remainder of the watch’s lifespan.
2. Care for the Leather/Fabric
If your wristwatch has a leather band, it’s extremely important to care for that band just like you would a leather jacket or any other high-quality leather item. If you don’t maintain it, it will crack, split, and generally fall apart.
Inspect the stitching regularly, apply leather conditioning solutions annually, and generally avoid allowing sharp objects to come in contact with the leather. You should also avoid getting it wet.
3. Avoid Chemicals
Chemicals are horrible for watches. Even the dish soap we recommended above can damage a good wristwatch over time if you do not use it appropriately.
Don’t allow your wristwatch to come into contact with chemicals such as soap, cleaning solutions, or other items unless you are using that solution to clean your watch appropriately.
4. Avoid Sunlight
Sunlight will discolor your watch whether it is metal or has a leather band. In fact, sunlight is a lot worse for your watch if the band is leather.
Obviously, you cannot avoid sunlight altogether. However, you should not leave your watch sitting in the sunlight for prolonged periods.
5. Avoid Heat
Heat is not a major concern for your wristwatch. However, you should avoid allowing it to sit in direct sunlight, by the stove, or in other areas that get very hot for sustained periods of time.
The heat can damage the battery and shorten its lifespan, or in a particularly bad situation, battery-operated watches might be destroyed by leaked battery fluid due to heat exposure.
6. Store the Watch Properly
It will not hurt your watch if you sit it on your nightstand before bed, but we recommend against that.
It is always best to return the watch to its box when it is not being worn. If it’s in the open, it can be knocked off the table, scratched by another item, or otherwise damaged.
Special Considerations for Smart Watches
Smartwatches are becoming more popular than ever, now. While our tips are mostly aimed at owners of traditional watches, they do translate well to smart watches.
However, you should be even more careful to protect the screen and avoid any heat source or fluids. Heat will destroy a smartwatch much faster than a traditional watch, and water will quickly ruin its internals with no chance of saving it.
Avoid being over-reliant on your smartwatch to avoid quickly draining the battery life and also damaging the battery in a short time than the designed duration.
