Whether you’re looking for an automatic watch that can be worn every day or one that’s meant to be a timeless heirloom, there’s something special about the way they keep time. However, it’s important to understand the potential pitfalls of owning an automatic watch so you can avoid them and enjoy it for as long as you have it.

All automatic watches watches run on energy from a mainspring that’s wound by turning a small knob on the watch’s case. But as you wear your watch, the rotor spinning in the back of the watch generates its own power which recharges the mainspring.

The Magic of Automatic Watches: Embracing the Timekeeping Wonders of Self-Winding Timepieces

This is what makes automatic watches unique from their quartz counterparts. While they can run for a long time, you need to wind them regularly or they’ll stop working. If you don’t wear your automatic watch for a few days, you’ll notice the weights in the movement begin to oscillate, and it may take a few seconds to start ticking again.

Fortunately, there’s an easy fix for this. You can just wear it and move around with it to get the rotor in the movement to spin again. In fact, you’ll often see that your automatic watch will deviate slightly from its actual time display (although this will vary by model and caliber). If it starts to deviate significantly, that’s a sign that the movement needs servicing and you’ll need to send it to a repair shop.