How to clean a watch and its strap without damaging it: the method on video

Chapters

1. 0:00The habit that lets water in
2. 0:16Read the back: rating and crown
3. 1:01The kit
4. 1:19Material by material
5. 2:00The forbidden habits
6. 2:34The essentials

Transcript

Cleaning a watch looks like the simplest job there is. And yet it's the one that lets water into more watch cases than any other. Because we look at the material, when everything is written on the back. Turn it over: the water resistance rating decides whether the watch head can touch water. And the crown decides whether that water stays out. Pulled out by a single notch, it opens a direct path to the movement. Below five ATM, never under the tap: a barely damp microfibre cloth, nothing more. At five ATM, crown pushed in, a trickle of lukewarm water for a few seconds. At ten ATM and above, crown screwed down, lukewarm soapy water over the whole watch. Even with a steel bracelet, more than one watch in four is rated no higher than three ATM. The kit fits on a table: a soft toothbrush, lukewarm water, a drop of mild soap, a microfibre cloth. No toothpaste and no baking soda: they scratch a mineral crystal and strip a gold plating. Steel: a soft brush between the links, in both directions, then a wooden toothpick under the clasp. A gold or rose gold bracelet has only a thin layer of colour: lukewarm water and mild soap, nothing else. Leather is cleaned but never washed: a barely damp cloth, then dried flat, in the open air. Silicone takes lukewarm soapy water and the brush. Milanese mesh holds water between its links: brush it both ways, then dry it for a long time, clasp open. And now, the habits that damage a watch in two minutes. A hair dryer blows at over ninety degrees; gaskets start to warp at seventy. Hot water then cold water does the same, more slowly: the gaskets expand, contract, and the water gets in. An ultrasonic bath? Never for the watch head: the vibrations loosen parts and lift the plating. And never open the case back to clean the inside: that's a watchmaker's job, with new gaskets. Crown pushed in, lukewarm water, dried with a cloth then in the air: that's all it takes to keep it water resistant for years. Discover a whole selection of watches at Montres Outlet.