orbita

Orbita, the North Carolina based maker of watch winders, has recently adapted their popular Avanti 12 watch winder line to the new Orbita Avanti 8. It is a well-made wood cabinet (available in two different types of wood - Macassar and Madrona Burl) that comes in either a pedestal or wall mounted unit. Glass doors open to reveal eight programmable watch winder units. Orbita has long since been a creator of enthusiast-oriented watch winder units that make living with a collection of mechanical watches so much more convenient.

The Avanti 8 removed the bottom third row of watch winder from the cabinet. The multi-purpose space can be used to store additional watch items or accessories. I also understand that Orbita has some modules that can fit in this space. Accordingly, the Avanti 8 is less expensive than the Avanti 12. The unit is constructed mostly from wood, carbon fiber, glass, steel, brass, chrome, or gold plated steel hinges. The Avanti units are powered via an AC/DC adapter and is 20 inches tall, by 23 inches wide, and 9 inches deep (weighs in at 42lbs). Although it is priced at about $10,000, it is considered mid-range in the world of quality watch winders from a cost perspective.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Apparently watch winders were too masculine and needed a more feminine touch for the female watch lover. North Carolina based Orbita has just released a line of women oriented single watch winders, of course available in an array of colors. Unlike the more complex men's watch winder units, the Sparta Mini is 'plug and plug' with no settings to fiddle with - merely a once every 10 minutes rotation. The release marks the first time I am aware of that a company has catered to female owners of mechanical watches. The prior concept being that most women's watches were quartz (or hand-wound to a lesser degree). An apparently growing population of automatic mechanical watch owners who are female has spurred this new Orbita Sparta Mini line into existence.

Available colors on the wall-plug-in (as opposed to battery operated) device are crème, red, blue, pink and white. Each in faux lizard skin on plastic. Orbita promises that the device will not harm or over-wind any mechanical watch. Placing a watch in the unit is pretty straight forward by removing a foam cushion, placing on the watch on the cushion, and then returning the cushion to the device. Retail price is $295.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Newer high-end watch maker Louis Moinet will begin to provide each new watch with a watch winder. It would seem obvious that luxury automatic mechanical timepieces would come complete with a tool to keep the watches wound, but many do not. Those brands that do are presented with an opportunity to present added value to their watches by providing a branded watch winder (most always supplied by a third party watch winder manufacturer).

One of the top choice companies for luxury European watch makers is actually the US based company Orbita, based in North Carolina. The popular watch winder maker has the facilities to produce relatively high quality watch winders that can be adapted to each manufacturer's tastes. The direction taken by Louis Moinet is a perfect example - whose brand is based on a legendary watch maker. His opus was a book titled "Traité d´Horlogerie" (Treatise on Watchmaking) published in 1848. It is actually still considered a very relevant watch making guide for purists of the art form.

The Orbita sourced watch winders will come inside a book-shaped housing where the watch can remain resting and kept wound while its owner decides to wear other watches. This works perfectly as most owners of high end watches such as a Louis Moinet, possess more than one watch - whose daily winding often proves time consuming. Part of luxury is often convenience.

The watch winders themselves are powered by a lithium ion battery with an approximate five year life span. All you need to do is place the watch in the winder and operate it with the on and off switch. In addition to being a nice accessory with a new watch, the winder solves a problem that seems to irritate watch makers and owners alike. The presentation of new watches is very important, but often loses relevance after you take a watch outside of the box. Having a presentation box that is both attractive and functional is the perfect solution.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

The Orbita Tourbillon watch winder might not be as aesthetically pleasing as their wood models but what it does is pretty cool. The watchwinder has an ironless core Swiss micromotor that is is concealed within one of the two ball-bearing fitted stainless steel support rollers. On the rollers is a rotating cylinder that the watch is mounted on. Controls are provided on the circuit board for four different turns per day. The Tourbillon watchwinder essentially turns any mechanical watch into a tourbillon watch because the turning action is like that of the tourbillon within a wrist or pocket watch. Basically it cancels out the effect of gravity on a watch's balance wheel mechanism providing greater accuracy. The single watch model can be found for $745 at WorldLux. Multiple watch models are also available.