When you have a great watch collection with beautiful automatic watches you want the watches to be safe inside the watchwinder. One of the most important parts of the watchwinder is the watch holder. The watch holder is important because it's the direct connection between the watch and the watchwinder itself. There are several systems available and the exact system depends on the brand. 

Pillow

Many watchwinders have a pillow system which is easy to use and suitable for many watches as the size and form of the pillow can be adjusted by pressing it. Nevertheless pillow do wear easily as they are made of common fabric. There are also foam pillows available which are better in use and more durable. 

In our opinion pillows are not the best watch holding system as they cannot be fixed in the watchwinder. In other words, they can fall out easily when not put in carefully. If you put in the pillow with care they won't fall out, especially when the watchwinder has turntables in a more horizontal direction. But in a watchwinder with vertical turntables the question is if you're willing to take the risk with your watches. 

Plug watch holder

A watch holder which you can plug into the watchwinder is our favorite. This system is mostly a plastic holder with velvet which has a spring to adjust the exact wrist size. Thereby it has a click system to fix the watch holder inside the watchwinder. When the watch holder including the watch is placed inside the watchwinder it cannot fall out. Especially for watchwinders with vertical turntables this is the best option. 

When you're interested to buy a watchwinder we advise you to buy a watchwinder with a plug watch holder which can be fixed. It's more safe for your watches and easy to work with. 

Spin-R watchwinders from Hong Kong started in 2010 producing watchwinders with a modern design. The Spin-R watchwinders are developed with energy saving Japanese motors and a rechargable lithium battery inside. This makes the watchwinders easy to use in a bedroom, office or inside a safe.

In the US and Asia this brand from Hong Kong is quite known. In the EU there are not many official dealers but Spin-R informed us their number of dealers is growing worldwide. Soon Spin-R will present a complete new watchwinder model which is app-controlled. This means that the watchwinder can be controlled by any smart-phone, which makes it really easy to use. Therefore we decided to test the current “single” watchwinder and compare it later with the new “app-controlled” watchwinder.

Design

The Spin-R single watchwinder does have a great design! It’s looks fresh and modern and is light because it’s made of plastic. We will speak later about this aspect. The design of the Spin-R watchwinder results in nice curves and a compact system. The door opens from top to bottom and is easy to use. When the door is open the watchwinder is still stabile.

We like the design as it’s different from other (classical) watchwinders. It gives the Spin-R watchwinders a trendy look. It’s also nice that the Spin-R watchwinders are available in several colors; black, white, blue, red, orange, green, pink and yellow.

Another point we like is that the watchwinder is small and compact which makes it easy to fit into any interior. It’s not a big watchwinder which immediately attracts the eye when entering a room. Therefore the watchwinders are suitable to put into a cabinet, on a bedroom table or on the office desk. They also fit in a regular safe.

The modern looks are combined with a modern LCD display to set all settings for the automatic watch. It’s a good LCD display which lights up and is easy to use.

Originality

We did enjoy testing the Spin-R watchwinder as it’s completely different than other watchwinders we tested before. It’s looking great and the design makes us happy….Spin-R did a great job producing this watchwinder in several colors. It makes them more attractive for younger people who want to have something different than others. Thereby you can select the specific color which matches your interior.

The fact that the Spin-R single watchwinder has a eco-friendly battery makes it interesting. Of course there is also an adapter included in the package. The design, eco-friendly battery and many colors to choose from makes this watchwinder original and completely different than the high-end watchwinder producers.

Quality

We tested the Spin-R single watchwinder 3 weeks and it’s still silent and running smoothly as when we first started it. The Japanese motors, used by many other brands, are proven reliable and durable for a longer period. The motors and the gearing are the most important parts inside the watchwinder and these are working good. The LCD display is a joy to use as it’s accurate and easy to work with.

Like most modern watchwinders you can select directions as clockwise, counter clockwise and alternate. Thereby you can select the TPD (turns per day) to set the watchwinder exactly as you prefer. Therefore the Spin-R single watchwinders are suitable for any automatic watch.

We only have one remark about the plastic casing; it’s not bad but also not very good. The plastic is a bit flexible (no thick plastic casing) which makes it feel a little bit cheap. But is this a problem? No it isn’t because the price/quality ratio is perfect.

Finishing

In our opinion this watchwinder is a handy and compact watchwinder with a good finishing. You can see the factory did a good job as the watchwinder has no really weak points. We also want to point out the packaging which is very complete; extra watch holder (smaller watches), eco-friendly battery, screw drivers (to install the battery), manual and a warranty card. The watchwinder is also packed very well which makes it suitable to ship worldwide.

Conclusion

In general the Spin-R single watchwinder has a great price/quality ratio. The watchwinder has all functions you may expect from a watchwinder, and can wind any automatic watch. The prices start at 219.00 USD which is a good price for a modern watchwinder with good specs like a Japanese motor, LCD display and battery. All functions do operate smoothly and the design is a big plus. If you’re looking for a watchwinder which is different than others then we would certainly recommend a Spin-R watchwinder.

With great interest we follow Spin-R, a watchwinder producer from Hong Kong which surprised some years ago with the introduction of their Spin-R ecofriendly watchwinders. The design of this series is modern and stylish.

As Spin-R will introduce their new app-controlled watchwinders soon we are happy to review both models to see what changed in the last few years. Therefore we start this week with a review about the Spin-R Single watchwinder. Within a few weeks we will review the new Spin-R app-controlled watchwinder and compare both models to learn more about the innovation of Spin-R.

Early this year we did meet Bernard Favre in Basel, Switzerland. During our conversation we noticed that he is a man with passion and love for creating beautiful things. Bernard Favre is the inventor and creator of several tailor-made watch accessoires. He worked with brands as Hublot, Chopard and Piaget. In 2011 he presented his Planet watchwinder, a beautiful watchwinder which is the result of craftmanship, traditional values, passion and high end materials.

The Bernard Favre Planet watchwinder became a success worldwide. Based on this success Bernard Favre will introduce two new watchwinder models; the new Planet Black and Gold editions are launched within two weeks. These watchwinders are based on the existing Planet silver, but do vary in color/material (black and gold color).

The Bernard Favre Planet watchwinders do combine two specific elements which will attract many watch enthusiasts; state-of-the-art technique and stylish design. The watchwinders do look very nice and fit perfectly in a luxury environment.

If you would like to see more of Bernard Favre watchwinders please see here a very interesting video.

Last week we received a package from Austria, from Buben & Zörweg. Inside the package was their newest watch holder, which is now in all new Buben & Zörweg “Masterpiece” watchwinders (except the Phantom).

The new watch holder had a production time (research and development) of more than 2 ½ years and is suitable for self-winding watches with cases of up to 60mm in diameter. Thereby Buben & Zörweg did make sure watches with a big crown also fit the new watch holder. And that's great news for owners of an oversized IWC, Panarai or Breitling watch. 

It’s important that a watch holder is suitable for 99% of all watches. But most are not….Most watch holders are only suitable for an average watch. The watch holder from Buben & Zörweg can be tailored to the specific needs of smaller mens and ladies wrists, which makes them suitable for almost every automatic watch. The new watch holder is available in black or camel brown velour and black leather. But it's also possible to customize your own watch holder for example in white or red leather. 

Another great advantage the new watch holder from Buben & Zörweg has to offer is the “click system”, a safety catch mechanism. When you put the watch holder inside the watchwinder the “click” sound tells you that the watch holder is in the right position. Thereby the watch holder is now fixed in the watchwinder and can’t fall out (like pillows). This means the automatic watches are safe inside the Buben & Zörweg watchwinder. 

When we take a look at the watch holder we are enthusiastic about the solid construction and nice materials (hardened plastic with micro fiber material). Because it’s an important part of the watchwinder and used many times it’s important the construction and materials are very good. The flexible system works fluently and the finishing is of a high level. Buben & Zörweg made sure that their new watch holder is suitable for every day use and it also looks splendid.