How to Care For and Clean Your Luxury Watch

A good watch can last for decades if it is kept in good condition. However, this depends on how often you service and clean your luxury watch. Read on to learn more about caring for your luxury watch and preserving its longevity and value for many years to come.

A Luxury Watch Cleaning Guide

While routine maintenance by a professional will keep your watch in tip-top shape, it’s also helpful to know how to properly clean the exterior of a watch between maintenance appointments.

You can use regular cotton buds, chamois cloth, or a fine bristle brush to gently clean the face and case. A little water and a dilute soap solution should be sufficient for cleaning watches. Do not completely immerse your watch in water when cleaning it. Instead, use a slightly damp cloth or cotton swab.

If possible, remove the watch bands before cleaning to make the cleaning process faster and more effective. Metal straps can be cleaned similarly and should be washed frequently to avoid tarnishing or rusting over time. When cleaning leather straps, use a moist cloth to remove sweat and dirt that may corrode the material. Do this cleaning after working out or wearing the watch for a long time.

Have Your Watch Serviced By a Professional

If you want to keep your luxury watch in top shape, it’s best to have it serviced by a qualified specialist certified by your watch’s manufacturer. The delicate moving parts inside the watch case will be examined, cleaned, and repaired as necessary after the case is opened. This keeps your timepiece in good working condition so it can tell time accurately.

A skilled watchmaker has undergone many years of training to gain the knowledge and credentials necessary to repair and restore watches to the highest standards.

It is not a good idea to attempt this independently unless you have received specialized training and the necessary tools. In fact, you should never open your watch, as the internal mechanisms could be damaged by moisture and dust. This can damage the seal, which is crucial for a luxury watch because it ensures water resistance.

There is a risk of radium exposure when opening watches from the early 20th century, as the dials were painted with this toxic substance to make them visible at night.

Aim to have your watch serviced every three to five years. This can change depending on the type of movement your watch has, how long you wear it, and the environment in which you wear your watch. All of these factors affect how often you should have your watch serviced.

There is no specific timeline to clean your luxury watch

A watch does not always require servicing within a certain period of time. For example, if your watch is still working satisfactorily after five years and is not running fast or slow, maintenance may not be necessary.

However, if your watch isn’t keeping time or otherwise not functioning as it should, bring it in for service to fix and prevent further problems with the internal mechanism. For more information, contact the manufacturer or a watch repair store near you.

Be Cautious to Avoid Damage to Your Watch

The components and function of your watch are significantly affected by where and when you wear it. Also, watches are made for different purposes; some are less durable than others.

You can reasonably assume that a sporty watch designed for “active service” in the air or water will withstand more stress than a dress watch. However, it’s always better to avoid problems than to fix them when caring for a quality timepiece. For example, rinse your watch after diving under fresh water if it is water resistant.

However, high-quality watches from the best watch brands in the world can survive normal wear and tear. Rather than wrapping your watch in absorbent cotton and hiding it, wear it out in public. Even if you are careful, scratches and scuffs can occur, but a skilled polisher can usually remove them.

Store Your Watch Safely

The location of your watch when it’s not on your wrist greatly affects how long it lasts. Keep your watch in a cool, dry environment and a specially designed watch box. The delicate internal parts of a watch can be damaged by moisture, mold, mildew, and extreme temperatures. Some mechanisms can get stuck, resulting in an expensive repair.

The exterior oxide layer of stainless steel will rust if the watch is kept in an airtight container for an extended time; therefore, you need to store stainless steel watches in a box for a short time. A stainless steel watch can be kept in its box as long as you keep it out of cabinets or drawers and display it with the lid open when you aren’t wearing it for a while.

Your watch’s type of movement mechanism will also determine how you should keep it. Wear your automatic or kinetic watches at least once a month to keep the movement wound up. This will help ensure that the watch maintains accurate timekeeping and that the machine functions properly.

If you own automatic watches, you should go a step further and get a watch-turner. This storage container mimics the wrist’s natural movements while being worn and winds the motor.

Care For Your Pre-Owned Watch

Buying a pre-owned luxury watch is a fantastic approach to achieving your goal of owning an exceptional timepiece. At TNS Diamonds, we are transparent about the used watches we sell, including all available documentation of previous maintenance and repairs.

To ensure each piece is genuine and legitimate, we verify serial numbers directly with the original watchmaker. We also inspect and clean each piece before the sale. After that, it’s up to you to take good care of the watch when you take it home.

Conclusion

We hope this article on watch cleaning and maintenance has given you more knowledge about caring for a high-end wristwatch. You can expect to wear your luxury watch for as long as you remember to clean it according to the procedures described above and have it occasionally serviced by a professional. If you are looking for a shop to clean your luxury watch, contact us. 

If you have any questions about any of the watches in our current selection or would like to know how to care for your newly purchased watch, please feel free to contact us.