AFTER spending thousands of dollars on a fine mechanical watch, it makes sense to house it in a watch-winder that will not only protect it but also to keep it going all the time.

A watch-winder is a device to keep the movement of automatic watches running when it's not on the wrist. It holds a watch in place and moves it in circles to simulate human motion. This activates the self-winding mechanism in the watch and keeps the lubricant in the watch evenly distributed. This helps the watch to keep accurate time.

Mr Mark Quek, managing director of Citimex International, which distributes watch-winder brands such as Buben & Zorweg, says: "A watch lover typically owns more than two automatic watches. Watch winders are required for convenience, so that the watch movement does not stop, despite the wearer not wearing it for more than three days.

"It is also a form of maintenance for the watch, particularly if the watch is a collectible. The watch-winder helps to keep it well-maintained, which enhances the value of the watch."

Glashutte Original Gentlemen's Corner

The Gentlemen's Corner is not sold separately as it comes with the purchase of five exclusively designed timepieces from Glashutte Original's collection that comprises the PanoMaticTourbillon, PanoMaticChrono, PanoMaticLunar, PanoMaticReserve and PanoMaticVenue.

The Gentleman's Corner is a high-quality box in black piano lacquer and it measures 1.15m in height. It is no ordinary watch box. It's a luxurious, classy storage case for the five exquisite watches, and more.

It has a DVD and audio system, a humid or filled with a good selection of Cohiba cigars and a "bar" that comes with an 18-year-old bottle of Scottish single malt whiskey. There are two drawers for storing the accessories for watch care, and there's remote control for the DVD and audio system.

The five timepieces and the Gentleman's Corner, which incorporates five individually set table watch-winders, are available as an exclusive special edition. Only 50 pieces have been made to mark the 500th anniversary of the city of Glashutte. Singapore has three sets exclusively at The Hour Glass, with each retailing at a recommended price of $400,000.

The Underwood Winding Module

The fully automatic Underwood Winding Module is an ideal watch-winder for all automatic watches as it does not require any adjustments. Just place the automatic watch on the spring-loaded mount mechanism, insert the mount into the module, and turn on the unit.

The unit rotates 30 minutes clockwise, then 30 minutes anti-clockwise, after which it stops for three hours, before repeating the cycle again. Each Underwood module operates on AC or battery power and each multiple winding box comes with an extra single-unit leather carrying case.

The watch-winder has a smooth finish that comes in an abrasion-resistant, high-tech coated composite box with a shatterproof glass cover. Each winding module retails at $850. The 50-module cabinet in black finish retails at $92,800 at Millenia Walk's Cortina Espace boutique.

Glashutte Original Gentlemen's Corner

The Underwood Winding Module

Buben & Zorweg Time Mover Vantage 2

A Buben & Zorweg Time Mover watch-winder uses technology from Elma, a German precision engineering company, and its movement frequency can be adjusted to 650,800 or 900 revolutions every day. The rotational direction can be set to clockwise, anti-clockwise or alternated between the two.

Speed winding or continuous movement for the duration of one hour can be used to load the watch with forced kinetic energy, if required.

It also has a sleep phase function, which is a ten-hour rest period each day that supports the tension release of the main spring and protects the winding mechanism against mechanical overload.

The Time Mover Vantage 2 comes in a handcrafted solid wood, black case with walnut burl wood inlays, high-gloss lacquered finish and glass window casing. It retails at $2,400 (before GST) at selected watch retailers.

The Erwin Sattler Custodia

This is more a spectacular piece of furniture that has function and aesthetics. The eight watch-winders are hidden within two wood framed trays on the top of the desk and are elevated by a gentle push on the remote control. The Rotalis precision watch-winders are surrounded by anti-reflection mineral glass and can be illuminated to display the watches and the gold-plated gears for the watch-winders.

Each watch-winder has a separate motor with individual selections of turns per day. The watch collector can select from a database the ideal winding rates and transmit them via USB cable to the watch-winder.

Behind the two front doors of the desk are two drawers with 42 compartments for hand winding watches, two normal locking drawers, two lateral shelves with locking doors and four open shelves.

The Erwin Sattler Custodia retails at $195,800 (before GST) at selected watch retailers.

Buben & Zorweg Time Mover Vantage 2

The Erwin Sattler Custodia