One of the most common complaints a watchmaker hears from a customer about a watch is that it no longer runs because it has been over wound (wound too tight). Actually this is a mis-conception and is not at all the case. For some reason the watch has stopped running. The owner then winds the watch believing this is all that is needed.

If the watch doesn’t start again the owner believes it has been wound so tight that it somehow jammed the spring or winding mechanism. Of course the watch must be running to allow the mainspring to release its tension and until this happens the spring will store this power indefinitely as potential energy. In other words the watch stays wound.

The owner believes he has done something wrong by somehow jamming the mainspring when actually any number of things may have stopped the watch.