Editor’s Note
After testing 14 models, we found the Vlando 006 to be the best watch winder for most users, offering a blend of luxury, functionality, and dual-watch capacity. However, alternatives may suit specific needs.
We have tested 14 watch winders. The best choice for most people is the Vlando 006. It combines a luxurious aesthetic with useful extras and offers space for up to two watches. However, other watch winders also have their strengths.
In the age of smartwatches, automatic watches are witnesses to bygone eras. Purely mechanical devices are no longer common, which gives automatic watches a nostalgic charm and a status of luxury. Therefore, one should treat these watches as well as possible. Watch winders help maintain the fitness of an automatic watch. If you take the watch off overnight, for example, the watch’s mainspring is no longer supplied with energy and it must rely on its power reserve.
However, there is disagreement on some points about the real benefits of watch winders. One supposed advantage is that the oil in the movement does not congeal, i.e., harden over time. However, new synthetic oils over the past decades have made it so that classical oils no longer need to be used, and this advantage thus falls away.
Other advantages remain. Through the movement, the power reserve remains unused and the watch might run more accurately due to constant mainspring tension. If you don’t use the automatic watch for an extended period, a watch winder is even more useful. Not least, watch winders are simply stylish, which makes them ideal for displaying the watch.
In our opinion, watch winders are not absolutely necessary, but they can be a nice gift for watch enthusiasts. We have tested 14 watch winders, 12 of which are still available, and found that: the most expensive are not always the best. Still, there is the right model for every taste. Here are our recommendations in the quick overview.
Vlando 006
Well-made, practical, and suitable for two watches: The Vlando offers the best overall package.
- High-quality and robust
- Easy to attach the watch
- Drive is very quiet
- Storage compartments for jewelry
- Glass window
- Only one rotation mode
The Vlando 006 is not only stylish but also practical. Black leather adorns the surface of the storage compartments on the top and doesn’t steal the show from the watch winder in the lower half. More settings for rotation would have been nice, but in our opinion, they are not absolutely necessary.
Boxy Bldc Nightstand
The whisper-quiet Bldc Nightstand from Boxy convinces with child’s play operation and striking appearance – an eye-catcher with weaknesses in dust protection.
- Rotation direction adjustable
- TPD adjustable
- Drive is very quiet
- Drive belt replaceable
- No cover
The Bldc Nightstand from Boxy breaks with the uniform look of classic watch winders and presents itself as a stylish carousel for an automatic watch. The slide switches under the turntable are cleverly placed, keeping rotation direction and turns per day always in view. With the nearly noiseless drive, only the ticking of the watch might be a disturbance. However, it shows a purist approach to dust protection – a cover is missing.
MTE WTS 4
The carousel for four automatic watches was excellently crafted by MTE, only the holders are a bit fiddly.
- For up to four watches
- Two rotation axes
- Drive is very quiet
- Removable holders
- Only one rotation mode
Anyone who wants to let four watches dance in a circle is well advised with the MTE WTS4.
One pays for this with fewer rotation settings, as there is only one. However, this one setting is particularly versatile with its two rotation axes and should cover the needs of all automatic watches.
- Test Winner: Vlando 006
- Also Good: Boxy Bldc Nightstand
- For Four Watches: MTE WTS 4
- Heisse & Söhne Toronto
- Kalawen BH1B
- Klarstein Brienz
- Designhütte Piccolo 2.0
- Mozsly Double Watch Winder
- McBazel MT-010016
- Newaner YMJ166
- Klarstein St. Gallen II
- Klarstein St. Gallen Premium
