Watchfinder & Co. Watchfinder & Co.
+44 (0) 844 247 8884
My Basket"
Sell Exchange
  • Offers
  • Sell
  • Exchange
Watchfinder & Co. Watchfinder & Co.
My Account"
  • My Account
  • My Orders
  • My Sales
My Account"
+44 (0) 844 247 8884 Help
Top Brands
Rolex (164) Omega (131) Panerai (80) IWC (71) Cartier (70) Tag Heuer (53) Breitling (37) Jaeger-LeCoultre (32) Hublot (26) Tudor (23) Vacheron Constantin (11) Patek Philippe (8) Audemars Piguet (6)
View all 45 brands
Rolex Omega Panerai IWC Cartier Tag Heuer Breitling Jaeger-LeCoultre Hublot Tudor Vacheron Constantin Patek Philippe Audemars Piguet
Popular links
Special Offers New Arrivals Presale Watches All Watches Rolex Watches Newly Priced Watches
By Price
Under €1,000 €1,000 to €6,000 €6,000 to €12,000 €12,000+
Shop all Watches
Categories Vintage Watches Limited Edition Watches Diamond Watches Dive Watches Chronograph Watches Men's Watches Women's Watches New Arrivals
Sign In
Popular links
  • Special Offers
  • New Arrivals
  • Presale Watches
  • All Watches
  • Rolex Watches
  • Newly Priced Watches
Shop Brands
  • Rolex (164)
  • Omega (131)
  • Panerai (80)
  • IWC (71)
  • Cartier (70)
  • Tag Heuer (53)
  • Breitling (37)
  • Jaeger-LeCoultre (32)
  • Hublot (26)
  • Tudor (23)
  • Vacheron Constantin (11)
  • Patek Philippe (8)
  • Audemars Piguet (6)
  • View all 45 brands
  • Shop all Watches
  • Special Offers
  • Vintage Watches
  • Limited Edition Watches
  • Diamond Watches
  • Dive Watches
  • Chronograph Watches
  • Men's Watches
  • Women's Watches
  • New Arrivals
  • Shop by category
  • Under €1,000
  • €1,000 to €6,000
  • €6,000 to €12,000
  • €12,000+
Services
  • Sell Your Watch
  • Service Your Watch
  • Part Exchange
  • Warranty
  • Fourteen Day Returns
  • About us
  • Awards
  • Press
  • Jobs
  • Contact us
  • FAQs
  • Glossary of Terms
  • A Guide to Watches
  • Serial numbers
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Articles
Terms of use

Privacy policy

Watchfinder Europe B.V. Company no. 849 239 017

vat noW0248925J

Registered Office Address: Paseo de la Castellana, 141, 10º - 28046 MADRID Registro Mercantil de Madrid, Tomo 43910, Sección 8, Folio 71, Hoja M-774880, NIF: W0248925J Sucursal de Watchfinder Europe B.V, registrado en la Cámara de Comercio de los Países Bajos 86361651, ubicado en Herengracht 436, 1017BZ Amsterdam
Search

Automatic Watches

An automatic watch winds itself with no need for a battery. With a weighted, free-spinning rotor inside that moves as you do, you’ll keep your watch wound with every action. Browse our selection of automatic watches below.

Automatic Watches

The person largely credited with inventing the first self-winding movement powered by an oscillating weight—or rotor—is the pioneering Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Perrelet in the 1770s.


Hubert Sarton and the great Abraham-Louis Breguet were two of several watchmakers who further developed the technology over the following century before a Parisian watchmaker called Leon Leroy came up with the idea of a self-winding wristwatch in 1922, making a small batch for a private client.


A year later, an English watch repairer by the name of John Harwood developed his own version of an automatic wristwatch that could be mass-produced. His design used a centrally mounted oscillating weight—or rotor—much like the automatic watches of today.


Rolex, together with its movement maker Aegler, took Harwood’s invention and improved it, unveiling the self-winding ‘perpetual’ movement in 1931. The resulting Oyster Perpetual—the world’s first water-resistant automatic watch—is now considered the foundation for Rolex’s success. The Eterna company was also key to progressing this technology. In 1948 it introduced the Eterna-matic movement which featured a ball-bearing-mounted rotor that reduced wear and tear.


Within a decade or so, most brands were manufacturing some kind of self-winding watch alongside manual-wind ones. These days, automatic watches are far more commonly available.


How they work


In this section, we'll delve into the mechanics of automatic watches and discuss how they differ from manual watches.


An automatic watch, or self-winding watch, is a sophisticated timepiece that doesn't require manual winding or a battery. The watch harnesses the natural movement of the wearer's arm to power its functions. As the arm moves, it spins a rotor within the watch which winds the mainspring, storing energy to power the timepiece.


The movement, or calibre, is the heart of an automatic watch. It comprises several key components like the mainspring, rotor, escapement mechanism, balance wheel, and gears. The rotor winds the mainspring, the mainspring stores energy, and the escapement mechanism regulates the release of energy from the mainspring for precise timekeeping.


The power reserve is another important feature of automatic watches. It indicates how long the watch can run without additional winding, sometimes displayed on the dial or the case back. A longer power reserve allows the watch to run for several days without wearing it, ensuring it remains accurate and ready to wear. The power reserve on most watches tends to be between 38 and 70 hours, although one Vacheron Constantin watch has an incredible 65-day power reserve.


Most modern automatic watches are equipped with a mechanism to prevent overwinding. Once the mainspring is fully wound, the mechanism disengages to prevent excessive tension on the spring.


The main difference between automatic and manual watches lies in convenience. Automatic watches, with their self-winding mechanism, only need to be wound if the watch hasn’t been worn for some time and has stopped. If you keep wearing the watch, it will keep ticking.


A manual-wind watch, however, must be hand-wound every day or so to keep ticking, regardless of whether it is on your wrist or not. Should you forget to wind it, the watch will eventually stop.


Maintenance and lifespan


Automatic watches require proper maintenance and care to ensure their longevity. Here are some tips for winding, preventing overwinding, and caring for your automatic watch.


Wearing your automatic watch daily generates enough kinetic energy to wind the mainspring and power the watch. However, if the watch has stopped running, you can manually wind it by turning the crown clockwise a few times—around twenty revolutions should suffice.


The lifespan of an automatic watch can vary based on the quality of the watch movement, regular maintenance, the wearer's activity level, and environmental factors. High-quality movements can keep accurate time for decades, while lower-quality ones may require more frequent servicing and have a shorter lifespan.


Brands that make automatic watches


All major luxury watch brands now have automatic models in their collection. Some brands, such as Rolex, use self-winding movements exclusively, having discontinued their manual-wind models. Manual-wind watches tend to be far less common in modern watchmaking, although there are still plenty of options available.


Automatic movements power all kinds of watches, from chronographs to dress watches, and the movements are often visible through an exhibition case back. It’s common for the components of the movement to be finely engraved, with the oscillating rotor often fashioned from gold and decorated or skeletonised for aesthetic appeal.


Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe make some of the most beautifully decorated automatic movements.


At Watchfinder, we provide a range of pre-owned automatic watches from a wealth of prestigious brands. Our collection includes both vintage and modern timepieces, from chronographs to dive models, ensuring every taste is covered.

International Stock
Placeholder International Stock Location
Watches purchased from our overseas stores, such as this one, may vary in price to identical models stocked in this country. This is due to import taxes and duties, which are included in the price displayed here.
Watchfinder Newsletter Sign up
Information Articles Contact us
Help
  • Contact us
  • FAQs
  • Glossary of Terms
  • A Guide to Watches
  • Sitemap
Shop
  • New Arrivals
  • All Watches
  • Rolex Watches
  • Why Buy Pre-Owned
Services
  • Part exchange
  • Service your Watch
  • Sell Your Watch
  • Warranty
  • Protect Your Watch
Company
  • About us
  • Awards
  • Part Exchange
  • Press
  • Testimonials
  • Jobs
Information
  • Serial numbers
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Call +44 (0) 844 247 8884
YouTube
Subscribe 1m+
Follow us Follow us Facebook Follow us Instagram Follow us YouTube
+44 (0) 844 247 8884
Review us
© WF&Co. 2025 v.3000.04
Watchfinder Europe B.V.
Company no. 849 239 017  |  vat no W0248925J
Registered Office Address: Paseo de la Castellana, 141, 10º - 28046 MADRID Registro Mercantil de Madrid, Tomo 43910, Sección 8, Folio 71, Hoja M-774880, NIF: W0248925J Sucursal de Watchfinder Europe B.V, registrado en la Cámara de Comercio de los Países Bajos 86361651, ubicado en Herengracht 436, 1017BZ Amsterdam
Watchfinder & Co.
Watchfinder & Co.

Please choose your region and preferred language.

Your Privacy

We use cookies and similar technologies to help personalise content, tailor and measure ads, and provide a better experience. By clicking ‘Accept All’ or turning an option on in ‘Configure Settings’, you agree to this, as outlined in our Cookie Policy. To change preferences or withdraw consent, please configure your cookie settings.

Your Privacy

Our Platform uses various types of cookies, each of which has a specific function. Below you can manage your preferences.

Technical Cookies

These cookies are essential to provide you with services available through this Platform and to use some of its features, such as access to secure areas. Without these cookies, services you have asked for, like transactional pages and secure login accounts, would not be possible.

Functionality Cookies

These cookies serve a variety of purposes related to the presentation, performance and functionality of this Platform. Their overall purpose, however, is to enhance visitors’ experience and enjoyment of this Platform. For example, some of these cookies enable visitors to specify language, product or other platform preferences.

Analytical Cookies

These cookies, including those from third parties, are used to collect information about how visitors use our Platform. The information gathered does not identify any individual visitor and is aggregated. It includes the number of visitors to our Platform, the platforms that referred them to our Platform and the pages that they visited on our Platform. We use this information to help run our Platform more efficiently, to gather broad demographic information and to monitor the level of activity on our Platform.

Advertising Cookies

These cookies, including those from third parties, are aimed at creating profiles related to you and are used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests in line with your preferences expressed while surfing the web. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising and promotion. They are usually placed by advertising networks with our permission. They remember that you have visited a platform and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers.

Social Cookies

These cookies are third party cookies (e.g. Facebook) that allow you to interact with social media platforms. The companies that serve these cookies may also use your information to serve targeted advertising on other platforms.

Third party cookies are cookies from sites or web servers other than our own, which are also used for the purposes of those third parties.

For more information about the cookies used on our site, their characteristics and how to manage your consent to their use, you can consult our Cookie Policy.

By clicking “Save and close” you declare that you consent to the use of cookies according to the above preferences.

By clicking "Accept all" you declare that you consent to the use of all cookies stated above.