How to take care of your watch (Part 2)

In this blog post, I continue with our guide on how to take care of your watch. The first part was about general advice and care tips for your watch movement. This second part shows how you can protect your watch case and band.

WATCH CASE

An easy and effective way to care for your watch case is daily gentle cleaning. You can use a soft cloth to clean dust, moisture and sweat off the front case and back case, after wearing the watch the whole day long.

WATCH BAND

Watch band is the part that directly interact with your skin. The lack of care for watch band can cause skin irritations and reduce the quality of the band. The care methods should depend on the type of watch band you have.

For metal bracelets, rust can develop among the band segments even if the band is made of stainless steel. If the rust stains are visible, it is possible to wash the band using neutral detergent mixed with some water. Heavy stains can be removed using a soft toothbrush. However, during the cleaning process, you need to protect the watch head from getting wet by wrapping it with plastic film for example. After finishing cleaning, metal bracelets should be immediately dried using a dry soft towel.

Regarding leather strap, it requires extra care due to its high likelihood to get torn or faded. Leather strap should also be gently cleaned with leather cleaner a few times a year. It should never be soaked in water even though the watch itself may be water-resistant. Heat, extreme dryness and direct sunlight should also be avoided for a longer-lasting lifetime of a leather strap. When the watch is exposed to moisture and sweat, it is necessary to wipe it off as soon as possible with a soft dry cloth.

Another type of watch band is the NATO strap. This kind of band is quite tough and durable since it was originally designed for deep water diving and military use. Many of the less expensive NATO straps made today might not be of that high quality though. It is easy to remove the NATO strap and wash it either by hand or with washing machine. If you opt to hand washing, you can fill up a sink or a bucket with some warm soapy water. After that, use a dish washing cloth to scrub it gently and let it air dry. A NATO strap can also be washed in a washing machine on “warm” mode if it is put inside a washing bag. Again, air dry is recommended because a dryer can make NATO straps shrink.

Other types of watch bands including silicone, rubber and urethane straps are quite vulnerable to direct sunlight and high humidity. When such kinds of straps lose their elasticity, there can be cracks over time. In this case, it is the best to get in touch with your watch manufacturer or just change it. If there is dirt on those kinds of bands, you can wash it off with water and then dry the band thoroughly with a dry cloth. Obviously, do not forget to protect your watch head against water during the cleaning process.

Our next blog post will provide you with care tips for watch glass (watch crystal) and methods for water resistance safeguards.