Taking Care of Your Watch

If you’ve been looking to buy a watch, or already have, but know almost nothing about how to take care of your precious timepiece, this article is for you. Below you’ll find the ultimate guide to fixing most common watch issues and cleaning your wristwatch. It doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune: smaller work on your watch, for example scratches and strap replacements, can easily be handled by you at home. Vintage Cartier Santos Watch   

Removing Scratches from Your Watch Crystal

Whether your watch has mechanical (mainspring powered movement that requires no battery) or quartz movement, a fresh scratch on a flawless crystal is a sigh-worthy sight. Up until 40 years ago, most watches came equipped with an acrylic crystal to protect the dial and hands. Acrylic costs less and can be polished. Commonly endorsed polishing agents are Polywatch, Displex, and Brasso; your regular toothpaste might also do the trick! Cartier Tank Basculante 18K Gold and Diamond Watch 2506[/caption]   Before you proceed with removing the scratch, cover up the bezel with tape to avoid damaging the watch's bezel whilst polishing. Next, using a soft polishing cloth, work a small amount of acrylic polishing agent into the scratch in a circular motion. It should take a couple of minutes to get rid of the light scratches. However, if your watch has very deep scratches then you will have to replace the crystal.

Corum Symbiose 18K Gold Watch Ref. 78.120.78 

If Your Watch Took a Dive

You should certainly think twice before exposing your timepiece to any body of water, especially a vintage timepiece--gasket failures can happen at any time (it even happens often on brand new watches). A contemporary watch dial, as well as handset, can be replaced with very little effort. Replacing these same elements on a vintage wristwatch could be a challenge though, especially if it’s a rare and unique timepiece.

Jaeger Lecoultre Hermes Gold Travel Clock   If exposing your watch to water led to some fog under the crystal, simply give your watch time to dry (or acclimate if it was a vapor that caused your watch do get foggy), the vapor should dissipate and your watch should then be up and running again. Cartier Citrine Diamond 14K Yellow Gold Ladies Vintage Watch

Watch Well-being: Simple Cleaning Regimen

Your watch band is exposed to sweat and body lotion all day long. Before you go to bed, simply wipe gently the inside of the band and around the case with a soft, clean cloth, to remove excess moisture and any skincare build-up. Bertolucci Stria 18K Gold and Diamond Watch[/caption]   If your watch case is made of stainless steel, with a stainless steel band, you can apply glass cleaner to a soft cloth and thoroughly rub all sides of the watch face and inside and outside of its band to clean it. To finish it off, wipe clean with a cloth. But please note, this method can not be used if your watch has a leather band, because leather cannot be exposed to moisture. You can use a leather cleaning foam instead. Breitling Chronomat Vitesse K13050.1 18K Yellow Gold Automatic Men's Watch