Your watches are precious accessories. They hold both monetary value and sentimental value, which is why it’s vital to look after them and keep them in good condition so they can last for many years.
That is why, in today’s blog, we’re looking into how you can keep your watches in good condition with the help of Transform.
How Often Should You Wear a Watch?
You wouldn’t wear the same clothes every day, and you shouldn’t wear the same watch every day either. Rotating your watches will help keep them in excellent condition and extend the strap’s life.
Maintenance can only do so much before the damage starts to show, but you don’t need to rotate the whole watch, just the strap. So, one cost-saving measure is to buy a selection of quick release watch straps to rotate through.
Taking the time to rotate your watch straps helps take care of your watch and gives you more options for matching your watch to your outfit. Quick-release watch straps are great for these quick changes, and each one only takes a couple of minutes.
When Should You Clean Your Watch?
How often you clean your watch depends on how much you wear it. For example, a watch worn every day should be deep cleaned once a month. However, we recommend a daily quick clean if your watch is precious to you. Using a soft cloth to remove moisture from the inside of the band and the case’s back should be sufficient for a daily clean.
Regular cleaning will make your monthly clean much quicker and keep your timepiece looking its best for longer. Additionally, owning one of our handmade watch boxes can help you store your watches safely and prevent any accidental damage between wearing them.
Tips for Cleaning Leather Watch Straps
A leather watch strap takes a lot of punishment during daily use, leading to permanent damage. In addition, they can collect sweat, dirt and accidental wear and tear. A consistent routine of maintenance will help keep your strap looking its best. We recommend the following steps:
- First, removing the strap from the watch enables you to protect the dial from the cleaning process.
- Wipe the strap with a cloth dipped in soapy water. The leather isn’t waterproof, so don’t use too much water and dry the strap after it’s been dampened.
- Use a leather conditioner. Once dry, apply a few drops of conditioner to a new cloth and use circular motions to apply to the leather strap.
Repeating this process every fortnight (to a month) will significantly affect your leather watch straps.
Tips for Cleaning Stainless Steel Watch Straps
With the durability of a stainless steel watch, it can be easy to forget that they need regular cleaning as much as any other watch. In addition, the polished shine that comes with a new stainless steel watch can start to dull over time.
Cleaning your luxury stainless steel watch can be tricky; we recommend these few steps:
- Pre-wipe your watch with a cloth. Any soft cloth will help, but ideally, you should use a microfibre cloth or Chamois.
- Dip your watch in lukewarm water. Be careful of the water’s temperature. The sudden change in the temperature of steaming water will damage the workings of your watch. Additionally, you will only want to dip the strap if your watch isn’t water-resistant.
- Scrub with soap. After the rinse, you add some standard antibacterial dish soap to the water and use a clean toothbrush to scrub your watch gently. While this will remove dirt and grease effectively, be careful how hard you scrub to avoid scratching your watch.
- Finally, dry with a soft cloth (like a bath towel). You can spray your watch face with glass cleaner if you want to give it some extra shine.
Which Watch Strap Is Best for You?
When you invest in a luxury watch, you want to make sure the strap will be the best choice to go with it. While the style will be a decision only you can make, the strap’s durability is vital.
Metal or ceramic materials are the most durable for making watches. The most common metal strap is made from stainless steel. They are solid and resistant to corrosion but can be easily scratched. Titanium is an alternative to stainless steel that offers enhanced durability while lighter weight. Ceramic watch straps are the toughest to scratch, but they are not as flexible as other watch strap types.
Leather watch straps are the most common watch strap you can buy. The classic leather strap has developed many different styles to suit any consumer. A good quality strap should last a minimum of six months and could last four years with a good care routine.
The durability is reasonably similar across all the different types of leather used in watch straps. They are consistently a flexible, durable material that will take a lot of punishment but suffers from daily use without a cleaning routine.
Rubber has become a material common among sports watches. Most of these watch straps will be for customers on a budget. The elasticity of rubber and silicone make them seem adaptable, but they have low tensile strength. When it comes to durability among these straps, Polyurethane is the best choice.
Canvas and nylon are two materials easily confused with each other, and both are flexible materials and a common alternative to leather. Canvas and nylon are popular with sports watches for their superior durability and are a good choice for a less formal watch strap.
Store your Watches Safely
When taking care of your watches, the final thing to think about is where are you storing them? We have a fantastic collection of men’s watch storage boxes from valet trays, travel cases, and handmade watch boxes on our website that are the perfect places to store your watches when you’re not using them. Please browse our range online or get in touch with our team today to discuss which would be best for your watch.
