A Review of the Rotolution

Quad Cherry Watch Winder

By:  John B. Holbrook, II

April 9, 2008

I have for several years, extolled the virtues of using watch winders.  I happen to believe that a good watch winder really makes the automatic watch ownership experience so much more pleasurable.  Not only does a watch winder keep your automatic watch ready to be worn whenever you need it, they can make a great way to store and display your beloved collection of watches.  I've reviewed nearly every brand of watch winder on the market, but was recently made aware of a new player in the watch winder market - Rotolution.  Rotolution has an interesting value proposition to offer which really sets them apart in the ever growing watch winder market - they are the first fully user programmable watch winder.  But more on that point in a moment - lets first talk aesthetics.  Here's a photo of the Rotolution Quad Watch Winder in cherry wood: 

Right out of the box, I was EXTREMELY impressed with the craftsmanship and quality of the woodworking which went into the winder's cabinet.  Multiple coats of lacquer give this gorgeous cherry stained wood a high gloss finish.  Right away, Rotolution hit a home run with me in both the cosmetic look and quality feel of the winder. As you can see, each winding head on the winder has an LED readout which cycles through several display settings every 10 seconds  including the number of turns per day the head is set to, the winding direction setting, and the elapsed number of turns for the current 24 hour period, and the time the winder has been running during its 24 hour winding cycle .  One of the first things I did when I got the winder was to plug it in and listen to how much noise it made.  The Rotolution motors are dead silent - I couldn't hear any noise at all, so this model will be right at home in the bedroom and won't wake you up.  Here's a shot of the winder from another angle:

I love the fact that the front of the winder is a glass door which gives an unobstructed view of the watches inside.   I also really like that the winder has a lock built into the door's handle.  It's nice to be able to lock the door closed in many situations, such as when you entertain, or when the house cleaner comes.  Sure, you can break the glass or pick up the winder and walk off with it.  But that's a whole lot harder than just reaching in and grabbing a watch - sometimes a little deterrent goes a long way.

 Here's a photo where you can see the glass door is open and two of the center drawers are open.  The top drawer has a special insert that will hold a few rings, and the rest of the drawers have pillows in them for additional watch storage.  It's a shame the drawers aren't deep enough to hold pens, but that's a personal gripe as I collect a few pens as well as watches.  If I can put my pens in a storage drawer of my winder, it eliminates another jewelry box on the dresser.  But for most, the drawers will be fine for cuff links, rings, and of course, watches. 

I was pretty impressed with the watch holders on the Rotolution.  I've tested cheap winders where the watchers were not held securely on the winding head, and could actually fall off of the winding head once it began spinning, but the Rotolution watch holder design is quite secure.  The back of the watch holder has a spring loaded stabilizer which expands to the size of the watch being placed on it.  The watch holder with the watch on it then snaps tightly into place on the winding head where it belongs.  I also like the completely vertical, 90 degree position of the watch on the winding head - some winders I've tested which hold the watch at less than 90 degree angle, which reduces gravity's pull on the watches self-winding rotor.  The result is a watch that spins on the winding head but doesn't actually get wound.  Here's some photos of the Rotolution watch holder:  In this first photo you can see that the surface is nicely cushioned so there's no danger of the watch getting scratched by the watch holder.  You squeeze on the tabs on the right and left of the watch holder to remove and replace the watch holder from the winding head - it snaps in place in the winding head and doesn't move unless you want it to: 

Here's the back of the watch holder where the watch bracelet/strap would rest, which is also covered in velvet cushioning

Here's a side view where you can see the adjustable portion which allows the watch holder to conform to the size of the watch being placed upon it.  At present, Rotolution watch holders don't accommodate ladies watches, but Rotolution will soon (in 4 weeks) have a 2nd time of watch holder that will accommodate watches down to a 6 inch wrist size.:

Now let's take a look at the back of the winder - it's just every bit as beautiful as the front - I just love the cherry wood finish:

Here you can see the plug for the AC power adaptor (this model does not have a battery option), two power toggle switches (one turns off power to the entire unit, while the other turns off the LED lights - another useful feature since it will be in the bedroom) and the port which allows the user to plug the winder into a computer. 

The winder ships with everything you need to hook it up to a computer, including the USB interface cable, and a CD with the necessary software (which can also be downloaded from www.windmywatch.com).  It's worth noting here that Rotolution's manual is a cut above the rest too - written in straightforward language and quite detailed:

I'll admit that at first, I thought the idea of being able to "program" the winder sounded "gimmicky" to me, so I was anxious to test this capability.  I loaded the included software on my laptop and plugged the USB cable into both my laptop and the winder.  The software was truly "plug and play" and worked without any problems:

Here's a screen shot of the software interface which controls the Rotolution:

As you can see, each individual winder head is COMPLETELY configurable. Not only can you set the number of turns per day to the exact number necessary for the individual watch which will be placed on any of the four winding heads, you can specify the turning direction of the winding head (clockwise, counter clockwise, or both) or turn the power off to any one of the winder heads if they won't be in use (which would conserve power).  Once you have configured each of the winding heads, just click on the "click to confirm settings" button and the new settings will be "flashed" to the chip which controls the winding head you've programmed.  Once any of the winding heads have been programmed, that program will remain until it is reset by the software - even if you unplug the winder, the settings remain intact.  The benefits of this programmability are numerous.  Firstly, being able to set each of the winding heads to the EXACT number of turns per day the manufacturer recommends is a huge advantage.  Many winders don't allow you to change the number of turns per day, or have 2 or 3 pre-sets at best.  If a winder has limited (or no) configuration capabilities, then it must be set with  a very high number of turns per day to make sure any watch placed on the winder will always be fully wound.    This means your watch is probably getting more spins than necessary to wind it.  Now, most watches have a built in slip clutch which disengages the winding system once the main spring is fully wound - often called "over winding protection."  But it is far preferable to be able to set the winder to the exact turns per day a watch needs and not have to stress the over winding protection system.  My Orbita Quattro Executive is probably one of the most configurable winders out there, but it's not nearly as easy to configure as the Rotolution winder.  My Orbita has a series of dip switches which control various pre-sets for the turns per day, direction of the winding head, etc.  Whenever I want to change the settings I have to break out the manual and figure out the dip switch settings for what I want to do.  With the Rotolution, hooking up your winder to your computer and changing the settings takes seconds and couldn't be simpler.  Now, one feature my Orbita does have which the Rotolution winder does not is a built in atomic clock display.  It's one of the handiest features I've ever seen on a winder and makes synchronizing a watch to the exact time quick and easy.  When I questioned the fine folks at Rotolutionabout this they indicated an atomic clock feature (and a couple of other "world's first features) are coming to subsequent models - I can't wait to see them!  A primary objective was to keep the price competitive for their first entry into the market, and at $999.00 for the cherry quad winder, I believe they've done a reasonably good job.  Watch winders are something of a niche product - only watch collectors buy winders...and not every watch collector at that.  So winders can be pretty pricey by virtue of the small market they sell to.  But this winder is exactly half of the cost of my Orbita Quattro Executive, and it's quieter, and far more programmable and has excellent build quality.  I'm extremely impressed and highly recommend Rotolution - their winders can be ordered directly from their web site at www.windmywatch.com.  This winder is available in piano black for the same price, and they also have some two-head models for $699.00.  I plan on keeping an eye on Rotolution - for being the new kid in school, they've quickly gone to the head of the class.

 *All text and images contained in this review are the original work of the author, John B. Holbrook, II and are copyright protected. Use of any of the information or images without the permission of the author is prohibited.

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