How Should I Care For a Vintage Watch? The Complete Guide to Vintage Watch Care

A vintage watch is a remarkable thing - a decades-old mechanical object, often still keeping good time and looking beautiful after fifty, sixty, or more years. With a little care, a vintage timepiece will continue to run and delight for many years to come, and quite possibly be passed down for generations. Caring for a vintage watch is genuinely simple, and this guide brings together everything you need to know - a complete overview, and a gateway to the more detailed guides we have written on each aspect.

Why Caring for a Vintage Watch Matters

A vintage watch is not a disposable modern gadget but a piece of genuine craftsmanship, built to last and to be maintained. Looking after it properly keeps it running accurately and reliably, preserves its condition and beauty, and protects its value, as we discuss in our guide to whether vintage watches hold their value.

The good news is that caring for a vintage watch requires no special expertise - just a little knowledge, a little common sense, and a little attention. Get the basics right, and your vintage timepiece will reward you with a lifetime of pleasure.

Servicing - the Foundation of Good Care

The single most important thing you can do for a vintage watch is to have it serviced periodically by a competent watchmaker. Just like a car, a mechanical watch needs occasional maintenance - the lubricants inside the movement dry out over time, and components gradually wear, so a periodic service keeps everything running smoothly.

As a general guide, a vintage watch benefits from a service every few years, as we explain in our guide to how often a vintage watch should be serviced, though a watch that is running well and keeping good time may not need attention as frequently. We also cover what a service involves and what it typically costs in our guide to vintage watch servicing costs. A well-serviced watch runs accurately, reliably, and happily for years - servicing really is the foundation of good vintage watch care.

Keep It Away From Water

One of the most important rules of vintage watch care is to keep it away from water. However robust a vintage watch may once have been, its seals will have perished with age, and it should never be assumed to be water-resistant today, as we explain in our guide to whether vintage watches are waterproof.

In practice, this means taking your watch off before washing your hands, showering, swimming, or any activity involving water, and keeping it away from steam and humidity. This simple habit is one of the single most effective things you can do to protect a vintage timepiece from the moisture that can rust and ruin a movement.

Protect It From Knocks, Scratches and Magnetism

A little everyday care goes a long way in protecting a vintage watch from the common hazards of daily life.

Guard against knocks and shocks where you can - while many watches have shock protection, a hard impact can still cause damage. Protect the crystal from scratches, particularly on watches with acrylic crystals, though happily, light scratches in acrylic can often be polished out, as we explain in our guide to removing scratches from an acrylic crystal. And be mindful of magnetism, which can cause a watch to run fast - keep your watch away from speakers, tablets, and other magnetic sources, as we discuss in our guide to what antimagnetic means.

Store It Properly

How you store a vintage watch when you are not wearing it matters just as much as how you treat it on the wrist. A watch should be stored somewhere cool, dry, and stable, protected from dust and knocks, and ideally in a padded watch box or pouch that keeps it separate from other pieces.

We cover this in full in our guide to how to store a vintage watch, including whether to keep a watch wound, the question of watch winders, and how to store a piece for the longer term. Good storage keeps a watch safe, clean, and ready to wear whenever you reach for it.

Wearing and Winding

How you wear and wind a vintage watch is part of caring for it too. With a manual-wind watch, wind it gently and stop as soon as you feel firm resistance, rather than forcing it. With an automatic, the watch relies less on reserve as it winds itself as you wear it, though it will stop a day or two after you take it off, as we explain in our guide to the power reserve.

Keeping a watch appropriately wound also helps it keep its best time, as we discuss in our guide to how accurate a vintage watch should be. And if you would like to check how well your watch is performing, our guide to measuring your watch's accuracy shows you exactly how.

Handling and Everyday Care

A few simple habits help keep a vintage watch in wonderful condition. Handle it with clean hands, and give it an occasional gentle wipe with a soft, dry cloth to remove skin oils and dust, which keeps the case and crystal looking their best. Take care when setting the time and date - avoid changing the date late at night on watches with a date function, as the mechanism may be engaged and can be damaged. And always set the time gently, returning the crown to its resting position afterwards, and screwing it down if the watch has a screw-down crown.

Know When to Seek a Professional

Part of caring for a vintage watch is knowing when to leave things to a professional. If a watch suddenly starts running poorly, stops unexpectedly, shows moisture under the crystal, or has taken a hard knock, it is worth having a watchmaker take a look. Never attempt to open a watch case or interfere with the movement yourself unless you are trained to do so - the movements are delicate, and well-meaning DIY can cause real harm. A good watchmaker is a vintage watch owner's best friend.

A Genuine Vintage Watch From Our Collection

The OMEGA Seamaster - Vintage 1970's Men's Date Gold Watch is a lovely example of a genuine vintage Omega - exactly the kind of characterful, well-made timepiece that, with the simple care described here, will give a lifetime of pleasure and quite possibly be enjoyed by the next generation too.

Check out our full vintage watch collection today!

A Final Thought

Caring for a vintage watch is one of the quiet pleasures of ownership - a simple, satisfying way of looking after a beautiful mechanical object that has already survived for decades. Service it periodically, keep it away from water, protect it from knocks and magnetism, store it well, wind and wear it thoughtfully, and know when to call on a professional. Do these simple things, and your vintage timepiece will continue to run, delight, and endure for many years - and for generations to come.

At AR Collectables, every vintage timepiece in our collection is handpicked, cleaned, and tested. If you have any questions about caring for your watch, or are looking to buy a vintage watch to treasure, just drop us a message - we would love to help. 🤝

Check out our full vintage watch collection today!