How to Wind a Pocket Watch (Stem-Wind, Key-Wind and Lever-Set)

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To wind a modern pocket watch, hold the case in one hand and turn the crown clockwise with your thumb and forefinger until you feel firm resistance, then stop. Do it once a day at about the same time. That is all a stem-wind pocket watch needs.

Older watches can be different. Some wind with a key, and many American railroad-style watches set the time with a small lever instead of the crown. Here is how to tell which kind you have and how to wind and set each one without damaging it.

First, identify your pocket watch

Most modern pocket watches, including the hand-wound models in our pocket watches guide, are stem-wind and pendant-set.

How to wind a pocket watch with a crown (stem-wind)

1. Hold the watch dial up in your non-dominant hand, crown pointing away from you or to the side.
2. Grip the crown between thumb and forefinger. Do not pull it out.
3. Turn the crown clockwise (forward, away from you). You will feel and hear a gentle clicking from the click spring.
4. Use short, smooth strokes. Turn forward, let the crown slip back in your fingers, turn again. Turning backward does nothing on most watches.
5. Stop at resistance. The crown will become noticeably harder to turn. That is a full wind. Do not force it further.
6. Check that the seconds hand is running. If the watch had stopped, it should start within a few turns.

Count your turns the first few times. When you know roughly how many it takes from empty, you will feel when you are close to full.

How to set the time

Pendant-set (crown pulls out)

1. Pull the crown out gently to the setting position.
2. Turn it until the hands show the right time. Move the minute hand forward past the target and come back to it, so the gears mesh cleanly.
3. Push the crown back in. Wind position is now restored.

Lever-set (railroad style)

Many American railroad-grade pocket watches were lever-set, so the time could not be changed by accident when winding.

1. Open the bezel or crystal. On most open-face watches the bezel unscrews or pops off with a fingernail at the edge.
2. Find the small lever at the edge of the dial, often near 5 o'clock or 1 o'clock.
3. Pull the lever out with a fingernail. The crown now sets the hands.
4. Turn the crown to set the time.
5. Push the lever back in and close the crystal. The crown returns to winding.

Never force a crown that will not pull out: it may be a lever-set watch.

How to wind a key-wind pocket watch

Key-wind watches are mostly antiques. Treat them gently.

1. Find the right key. Watch keys are numbered by size. The key should fit the square arbor snugly without wobbling.
2. Open the case back (and, on many watches, an inner dust cover).
3. Place the key on the winding arbor and turn slowly until it stops. Stop at the first firm resistance.
4. To set the time, place the key on the setting arbor, usually at the center of the dial or the back, and turn gently.
5. Close every cover. Dust is the enemy of an old movement.

If the key slips, stop. A worn key or the wrong size can round off the arbor. For identifying and caring for antiques, see our guide to the vintage pocket watch.

How often and how much

• Wind once a day, ideally at the same time. Morning works well, because the watch then runs from a full wind through the hours you carry it.
• Wind fully each time, to resistance. A partly wound watch runs in the weaker end of the mainspring's range, where timekeeping is less steady.
• Know your watch's running time. It varies by movement. Wind fully, note the time, and see when it stops. For a current mechanical Savonnette, Tissot lists a 52-hour power reserve.

Pocket watch vs automatic wristwatch winding

Pocket watches are hand-wound, because a watch in a pocket does not move enough to drive a rotor. That means they never go on a watch winder: a winder is built for automatic wristwatches. If you also own an automatic, our guide on how to wind an automatic watch covers crown winding for those, which works the same way but stops differently, because automatics have a slipping mainspring.

Winding routine by watch type

What to do if the watch will not wind or start

1. If the crown turns freely without clicking, the winding mechanism or mainspring may be broken. Stop winding and take it to a watchmaker.
2. If it winds but does not start, give it a gentle side-to-side swirl in your hand to start the balance. If it still will not run, it needs service.
3. If it runs only when held in certain positions, the balance may be damaged or the movement dirty.
4. If it will not wind at all, check whether you are in setting position on a pendant-set watch: push the crown back in.
5. If the hands move while winding, the crown is stuck in setting position, or a lever-set lever is out.

A pocket watch that has sat unused for years should be serviced before regular use, even if it starts. Old oils can be gummy, and running a dry movement wears its pivots.

Common mistakes

• Winding with the watch on its chain swinging. Hold the case firmly; the strain belongs on your fingers, not the bow.
• Winding past resistance. It can damage a mainspring.
• Pulling a lever-set crown. Find the lever first.
• Using the wrong key on a key-wind watch.
• Winding at random times. A routine keeps the watch from stopping.
• Ignoring a watch that will not run when fully wound. It needs cleaning and oiling. Mechanical watches are serviced every several years; see how often to service an automatic watch for typical maker intervals.

Winding as part of wearing

Most owners combine winding with getting dressed: wind, set if needed, clip the chain, pocket the watch. Our guide on how to wear a pocket watch covers chains and pockets for vests, suits and jeans.

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