What Is The Best Position For A Watch You Are Not Wearing?

When you take off your watch at night, you may wonder what do with it. Where is the best place to put it and is there a certain way it should be positioned?

In reality most people don’t worry too much about this and there is no real “right” answer. So long as your watch is somewhere safe so it doesn’t fall, then that will be totally acceptable. The same thing goes if you are planning to not wear the watch for a while. So long as it’s safe, it will be fine.

Damage And Performance

The biggest reasons why people worry about where to put there watch all comes down to damage and performance.

Usually when you get a new watch you will baby it for a while. You want to make sure it’s kept in pristine condition and you want to make sure it is running at its optimal level.

When you take a watch off and set it down for a while, you will notice that it may run faster or slower. This is all down to the position the watch is sitting in. basically gravity will affect how the movement runs so anyone obsessed with accuracy will be wanting to work out how to overcome this, which we get to below.   

Damage

Trying to keep your watch in good condition is a great idea, but you do not need to become obsessive. So long as you set it down gently you should not have any problems.

Watch cases are pretty tough, while they can pick up scratches; you are more likely to get these from wearing the watch. Just setting the watch down is pretty low risk and unless you are slamming your watch down, or throwing it from across the room, the risk of scratching it is pretty low.

So long as it’s somewhere safe that can’t be knocked off, or reached by little kids, your watch should just be fine wherever you put it.

Counter Top

Any kind of counter top/ desk/ bedside table is totally fine. This is what I do, especially for any watch I will be wearing in the morning. I just take it off and put it on my desk.

If you are worried about scratching a clear case back, or just a bracelet touching the case back, then use a polishing cloth.

You usually get free polishing clothes with watches. So just place that down, or place it in between the case back and bracelet. The reality is that they will still get scratched when on your wrist, but if you feel doing this extra step when you take it off, then go for it. It takes 1 second and I am sure it will help delay your watch picking up little scratches and scuffs.

Watch Box

Watch boxes are also a great place to put your watches at the end of the day and also a good longer term solution if you will not be using the watch for a while. They help keep everything in one place and they look neat and tidy.

They also come with a lid, which will of course stop any dust settling on them. The little pillows inside are also excellent as they can stop the bracelet touching the case back, kind of like a better version than just putting a polishing cloth in between like I suggested above.

Watch Travel Case

These are similar to watch boxes, but are more for travelling, although there is no reason why you cannot use them at home.

They are like little pouches that holds a couple of watches. If you have a small collection they can be perfect, or if you want to keep you most precious watches protected within them that can work too.

(You can read more about – How Many Watches Can You Travel With On A Plane?)

Watch Holder

You can also get a watch holder, which can look pretty cool. You can get a number of different designs, but basically it’s like a display stand.

These don’t really work for a large collection as they normally only hold one or two watches. However, you could use this for the watch you are currently using, or plan to use the following day while you keep the rest of your collection elsewhere.  

Watch Winder

Watch winders can look cool, but they can also be a little gimmicky. Most watches do not need to be constantly wound and of course, it only works for an automatic watch.

If you have a watch with a number of complications that you do not want to reset, then a watch winder will be perfect to keep it running while you are not wearing it.

They can be quite expensive and they only hold one watch, so it’s not really a viable option if you have a large collection as they will start to take up space and cost trying to have one for every watch. 

They can still look very interesting as they slowly spin around and they are a nice addition to any watches collectors office.

Wearing A Watch While Sleeping

If you find this comfortable, go for it. It’s perfectly safe. You are no more likely to bang your watch off the wall while sleep than when you are awake.

However, you can’t wear you watch forever, even if you only have one watch you will need to take it off at some point. When you do, you can follow any of the advice that is suggested above.

Performance

Keeping your watch safe while you are not wearing it is one thing, but trying to deal with its performance is another issue all together. 

Mechanical watches will naturally gain and lose some seconds throughout a day. (if you have a digital watch you don’t need to worry about any of this.)

The accuracy of a watch depends at what angle it is positioned. Gravity affects effect the balance wheel and will either make it easier or harder for it to swing back and forth, which in turn will make it run faster or slower.

Basically a watch performs differently in different positions. If you have ever seen a watch maker use a timegrapther, you will see they move the watch around and check its performance at different angles. 

Some people like to try and counteract these loses or gains through the day by positioning their watch a certain angle at night.

Some people don’t really care about this, they just wear the watch then put it and leave it. If its gains or loses some time, so be it.

Personally I know which of my watches run fast or slow, but I don’t really care and I don’t really try and position my watches to counter this.

My thought is that as you wear the watch throughout the day, your arm will be in different positions. This is going to cause the watch to gain or lose seconds regardless of what you do. I just think trying to counteract this is very over the top.

However, if you feel the need to do this, go for it. It is quite interesting, I just think it’s too hard to actually measure and you will probably need to reset the time at some point anyway, that’s just how it is with mechanical watches.

Every Watch Is Different

I will now go through what each dial position will generally do to your watch performance, but really, every watch is different.

Just because I say one thing below, does not mean it will definitely happen with your watch, so you will need to experiment and see what position is most efficient for its accuracy.

Dial Position

The dial position can change the performance of your watch.

Dial Up

This is normally what people do. It just seems most natural and looks the safest to have the watch in this postion. However, having the watch in this position can often speed it up.

Dial Down

This is probably the least common position as no one likes putting their crystals face down as they worry it might get scratched. It just generally looks strange to position a watch in this way.

However, it is actually great for the balance wheel and usually watches will run most efficiently at this angle.

On Its Side

Placing your watch on its side can feel unbalanced. This position works a little better for watches with a bracelet as they are a bit sturdier. This position can also help make sure the bracelet does not touch case back, so there is no risk of scratching.

Crown Down

 This position usually slows the watch down. People often worry about the weight of the watch putting pressure on crown, but really it should not cause any trouble, so long as the crown is  not unscrewed or in the out position.

Crown Facing Up

If you turn the watch the other way so that the crown in facing up, this will usually slow the watch down as well.

Just Do What Feels Right

Personally I don’t care about performance. If the watch drifts, I can change the time.

I also only wear a watch for about a day and then use another one, so when I put it down at night, I’m probably going to leave it to run out of power and then pick it up in a few days.

I have also accepted that mechanical watches are not accurate. If I want an accurate watch the second I wake up, I use my G-Shock as it is linked to the atomic clock.

You should do the same. Don’t get caught up in trying to work out if your watch has been running fast or slow thoughout the day and then trying to work out how to compensate for this. Honestly, it will drive you mad and there are so many other more important things you can be worrying about. 

The same goes for damage. So long as you don’t throw it from across your room on to your bedside cabinet, then it’s going to be fine.

Just set your watch down gently, or put it into your watch box and it will be perfectly safe and free from damage.

Watches are expensive, but they are simple and easy to look after. You really don’t need to think too much about where to put it or at what angle it needs to be at. Just do what feels right and you can’t go wrong.  

(You can read more about – Can A Watch Be Left Unwound?)