Mechanical watches are much more popular with lovers of fine timepieces than their uncomplicated counterparts with electronic drives. Even one that looks particularly robust, every mechanical watch contains a very fine little machine equipped with tiny components that should not simply be expected to do everything.

1. Adjust

Caution is required when setting the clock, especially for clocks with a date. Not all watches change the date immediately at midnight. In many watches, especially older ones, the date change begins between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. and is sometimes not completed until 2 a.m. In this area, the hands should not be moved backward.

This applies in particular to complicated watches with a so-called perpetual calendar, in which the day of the week and the month at the end of the month are advanced. The watch can be damaged when turning the hands backward using the crown.

2. Blows

Shocks can damage the fine axis of the balance wheel and other parts of the movement. Although tiny shock absorbers protect these, you shouldn’t try your luck and take off the mechanical watch for sports such as tennis and golf. You shouldn’t drop a mechanical timepiece. Older wristwatches and pocket watches should be handled more carefully anyway. They are often not yet equipped with shock absorbers.

3. Moisture

Water is something that cannot stand clockwork. Today’s watches such as NGG for instance are almost all splash-proof, but the engraving “Waterproof 30 meters” or “3ATM” does not mean that you can dive to such depths with the watch. On the contrary, this note means that you can keep the watch on while washing your hands and in the rain without water penetrating the case. If you want to keep your watch on while swimming and diving, you should opt for a water-resistant sports or diving watch to at least 100 meters.

If condensation forms under the glass after a bike ride through the rain, that’s no reason to panic. Once dry, one should remove the watch and place its crown up in a warm place, not in the sun or on a heater. This allows moisture to escape where it probably came in: through the crown seal. It is most stressed by pulling out and turning the crown and can leak.

During a service, the case back and crown seals are replaced. If the watch often fogs up, it’s time for one.

There are diving watches with a chronograph function. A screw cap often secures the buttons for operating the stopwatch. These screw caps should always be tightened before swimming, and the pushers should not be operated underwater. After diving and swimming in saltwater, the watch should be rinsed thoroughly with fresh water.