The most comprehensive maintenance guide for mechanical watches

　　A mechanical watch is not just a tool worn on the wrist to display one's taste and status; it also has a soul and can be eroded by time. Below, let's take a look at the ultimate maintenance methods for mechanical watches.

　　Mechanical watch maintenance methods

　　(1) When wearing a mechanical watch, sweat on your hands can be corrosive to the case. All-steel cases, being a nickel-chromium alloy, have better corrosion resistance, while semi-steel cases are made of copper and are easily corroded by long-term contact with sweat. You should regularly wipe away sweat with a soft cloth or use a plastic watch stand to prevent corrosion.

　　(2) Do not open the case back at will to prevent dust from entering the movement and affecting the normal operation of the mechanical watch.

　　(3) Do not place your mechanical watch in a wardrobe with mothballs to avoid deterioration of the watch oil.

　　(4) Do not place your mechanical watch on amplifiers, speakers, or televisions to avoid magnetisation.

　　(5) For mechanical watches that are stored for long periods without being worn, you should wind the mainspring once a month. For automatic mechanical watches, gently swing them back and forth for a few minutes or wear them on your wrist for a period to allow them to wind automatically. This prevents the parts from remaining stationary for too long, ensuring the watch's operational performance.

　　(6) If a standard mechanical watch gets damp, you can press dry cotton against the watch and then bake it with a 40-watt light bulb for 5 minutes; the moisture inside the watch will be completely evaporated. If a quartz electronic watch gets damp, take several small pieces of calcium chloride, wrap them in gauze, open the watch case, and place the wrapped calcium chloride and the watch together in an airtight plastic bag or glass jar, then seal it. Generally, it takes about 3 hours to remove the moisture and restore the electronic watch to normal. For watches that are severely damp, the drying time can be extended appropriately.

　　(7) When you receive a beloved mechanical watch and remove the outer packaging, be sure to keep the box used to protect it. These boxes can provide the safest protection for your mechanical watch when it is not being worn, preventing it from being dropped or bumped. Therefore, keeping the box is absolutely necessary, and it is recommended to make it a habit to place the watch in the box when not in use, which will greatly reduce the chance of damage.

　　(8) It is generally best not to wear the same mechanical watch every day; it is advisable to have a few different mechanical watches to alternate between. Aside from adding variety to your personal style, this also prevents dust and body oils from accumulating on a single watch. Leather straps require particularly careful maintenance to avoid constant wear and pulling from daily use, as even if the watch face looks brand new, a worn strap can make the entire watch look very aged.

　　(9) Sleeping with a mechanical watch on your wrist can have adverse effects on your health if the watch is luminous. This is because the luminous material painted on the hands and graduation marks is primarily a mixture of radium and zinc sulphide. The rays emitted by radium excite the zinc sulphide crystals to glow. If you wear the watch while sleeping, your body is exposed to eight to nine hours of radium radiation, which poses certain health risks. Therefore, it is best to take off a luminous watch and place it on a bedside table before going to sleep.

　　(10) Crystal refurbishment. Once the sapphire crystal of a mechanical watch has developed numerous scratches, you can place one or two drops of clean water on the glass, followed by a small squeeze of toothpaste, and rub to remove the scratches and restore the surface to a like-new condition.