Old Barry

This is my old winder, the Barrington. Old Barry. Lovely piano-black mirror finish, and a British company, so that's a plus. I actually paid money for this when I was a bit deranged and thought I needed one: 100 pounds about five years ago, and now they're 175. I wouldn't pay 100 for it again.

The good stuff: there's a battery slot, you can wind clockwise, anticlockwise or both, and you can pick your turns per day from 650 up. Seikos and most watches want about 650 to 750. Spring-loaded fake carbon cushion, keeps it tight but never stretches your bracelet. The bad stuff: it used to be silent, but after about six months it got loud. Now he's an extremely noisy old so-and-so, his Chinese motor struggling with the heft. You wouldn't want him in your bedroom. I wouldn't buy another one.

The Wolf Cub

The other winder, which you also don't need, is far more expensive: the Wolf Cub. Wolf are sort of the top end of winding technologies. Leather effect, and this little idiot is absolutely silent in his running. Open the door, nothing. Suitable for the nightstand, apart from a little green blipper that doesn't annoy me. There are magnets in the plexiglass front, which you wouldn't think is good for a watch, but Wolf's own videos show it's lower than the Earth's magnetic field. No problems so far.

Lovely pull tabs, a soft cushion, and spare cushions for ladies' watches and smaller wrists. It's extremely good quality. But it takes four AA batteries and comes with none, and there's no turns-per-day or direction setting. It's fixed, both ways, at 900. Nothing wrong with that, but a lot of Seikos only want 650. I've seen it priced up to 309 pounds. No way in hell would I ever pay that for it. It came free with the Doxa, and I'll take it.

Verdict

You don't need one, and I'm not telling you to buy it. If you must, the Wolf is the quiet, quality one; old Barry is the noisy one. It's ten past ten on New Year's Eve. Stay freaky, bros.