Whether you invested in a brand-new or preowned luxury watch, you want it to look its best as it keeps time on your wrist. High-end watches can benefit from regular light cleans and monthly deep cleans, but cleaning a watch requires little know-how. Explore our step-by-step guides to get your watch gleaming without causing any accidental damage.
Cleaning a watch does more than buffing up the metal strap and keeping the crystal satisfyingly sparkly. When we wear a watch frequently, particles of dust, dead skin cells, natural skin oils, and grime can all settle into the nooks and crannies of the timepiece. Over time, such build-ups may start interfering with the watch’s mechanics, especially in older models that may not be as watertight as they once were.
Learning how to clean a watch properly will not only improve its aesthetic but also contribute to its longevity. It serves as an act of maintenance and helps to reduce the risk of repairs. A well-maintained watch is more likely to retain its value, so learn how to polish a Rolex and keep your TAG Heuer spotless with our simple cleaning guides.
You can assemble a watch cleaning kit inexpensively, especially if you choose to use a mild washing-up liquid instead of a specialist watch cleaning solution. If your watch has a leather band, you’ll also need to purchase a leather conditioner to keep your timepiece in peak condition.
You will also need a microfibre cloth (you could invest in a polishing cloth to improve the lustre of metal straps and cases), a soft-bristled toothbrush or a specialist watch cleaning brush, and a metal or wooden pick to clean out crevices.
How do you clean a Rolex watch? What about a water-resistant watch vs. a water-sensitive watch model or a leather strap vs. steel? Our step-by-step guides will walk you through the process of deep cleaning some of the most popular styles of watches so you can keep your timepiece looking and functioning at its best.
Before cleaning your watch:
If your timepiece has a water resistance of 50 metres or beyond and features a water-resistant strap that isn’t gold:
If your watch has a water resistance of fewer than 50 metres, is older (and therefore may not have its original level of water resistance), or if you simply don’t know its status, follow these steps to keep the mechanics of timepiece free from water damage:
Though they may not fetch the price tag of an Omega or an Audemars Piguet, a high-end digital or smartwatch can represent a significant personal investment. To ensure you don’t damage this type of watch, be very careful to check its water resistance and read the manufacturer’s instructions about cleaning agents. It’s nearly always best to use a microfibre cloth saturated with lukewarm water and then wrung out. Digital and smartwatch manufacturers generally do not recommend soaps, especially for use on and around the case.
It’s usually straightforward to get a digital or smartwatch ship shape. They tend to boast a sleek design, meaning there are fewer nooks and crannies for dirt to accumulate. It’s generally advisable to avoid cleaning them with picks unless you’re clearing out the holes on a strap because picks could damage the type of materials and sensors used in these watch styles.
Because many smartwatches boast a rubber or plastic strap, isopropyl wipes have become a popular way to clean them—especially if you wear your watch to monitor your fitness activity when training. These are generally a suitable and hygienic cleaning tool, but check the manufacturer’s instructions as certain parts of a smartwatch, such as the openings, face, and sensors, may be damaged over time by alcohol.
How do you clean a watch band? Is it best to remove straps to clean them? Do different straps need different treatments?
Sometimes, your watch case may be water-resistant but not your strap, or vice versa. In these scenarios, you may be able to perform a deeper clean by removing the watch straps.
If you’d like to know how to clean a steel watch strap or other water-resistant strap materials like titanium or rubber, you can use the same approach as detailed above for water-resistant watches. However, remember to detach rubber bands from a smartwatch before using this routine. You could also use a toothpick or metal pick, with a piece of tissue positioned over the tip, to clean in between band segments, to clean out any watch strap holes, and if you’ve detached the strap, you can clean out the lugs (where the strap connects).
Knowing how to clean a metal strap crafted from a precious metal is important because damaging the surface of the watch band could not only impact the luxurious aesthetic but decrease the value of the piece too. Avoid any materials that could scratch the surface, opting to clean with a very soft microfibre cloth. A brush could potentially mark a precious metal such as high-carat gold, so if you’re dealing with stubborn, ingrained dirt on a gold watch, saturate tissue with soapy water and place this over the problem area to soften the debris, making it easier to wipe away.
Water, harsh soaps, alcohol, and cleaning wipes can all dry out leather watch straps. If your band is crafted from calf, cow, alligator, ostrich, or shark leather, you can remove dirt and skin oils by using the wrung-out cloth method described for non-water-resistant watches. Rather than submerge or rinse under running water, remove any soap or cleaning solution residue with another microfibre cloth that you saturated with clean water and wrang out. Dry the straps thoroughly before applying a leather conditioner.
If you have a leather strap with a matt finish or a band crafted from suede or nubuck, it’s better to use a dry cloth or soft-bristled brush to clean away dirt. These materials are highly absorbent and could be degraded by water and detergents. Seek out a leather cleaner and conditioner specifically formulated for these materials, and follow the instructions for your deep cleans.
Though some people maintain their luxury watches meticulously, a preowned watch may not always reach you in tip-top condition. While mechanical repairs and fine-tuning are best performed by an expert in horology, there are steps you can take to clean up the case, crystal, and strap to breathe new life into the timepiece.
Preowned Rolex cleaning often involves focusing on their iconic stainless-steel bands and casing. At home, you may be able to polish away shallow scratches in older stainless steel watches with a specialist stainless steel cleaner and polishing cloths. For deeper scratches, a jeweller can use micro-mesh sandpaper. If your case has a matt finish, a jeweller could perform bead blasting to smooth away marks and produce a satiny finish.
Preowned timepieces from Patek Philippe, Cartier, and Vacheron Constantin often feature gold, and this precious metal may need a little care and attention to clean it up to its full, lustrous potential. At home, hand buffing with a specialist gold polish will help remove surface imperfections without degrading this very soft metal. For deeper scratches it’s advisable to use a professional jeweller; if your watch’s gold has become notably worn in places, replating is the best route to restore it to its former glory.
If your preowned watch features an acrylic crystal, as seen in Tudor, Rolex, and Omega models, give it a clean with a microfibre cloth that you’ve dipped into a bowl of lukewarm, soapy water then wrung out. If there’s any cloudiness on the crystal, invest in an acrylic polishing compound and buff in small circles using a polishing cloth. For sapphire crystals, which are known for their superior scratch resistance, you may only need to use the soapy water and wrung-out cloth technique. You’ll find sapphire crystals in watches by Panerai and TAG Heuer, and though they are highly durable, you should still avoid cleaning them with abrasive cleaners.
How often should I be cleaning a watch?
People don’t clean their watches as often as they should. If you wear your watch every day, you should clean it at least once a week, although this weekly clean can be simply wiping it down with a tissue or microfibre cloth. A deeper clean, as detailed in our step-by-step guides, should be performed once a month if you wear the watch daily or once every six months for occasional-wear timepieces.
Are some luxury watches easier to clean than others?
Water-resistant luxury watches with hardy metal straps are much easier to clean than models with leather straps or non-waterproof designs. Older, preowned watches can be difficult because their casings may no longer be watertight, and their crowns may no longer fit tightly. This means you have to guard against moisture entering the movement.
Is soapy water an effective cleaner?
As you’ve learned about how to clean a watch, you’ve seen soapy water mooted as a cleaning solution for cases, crystals, and straps. When you choose a mild washing-up liquid, avoiding soaps with harsh chemicals, you can create a very safe and effective cleaner. Dish soap is designed to loosen and dislodge oily compounds – the most common type of dirt on watches. Though you can buy a bespoke watch cleaner, you’ll clear away muck and achieve a lovely sparkle on metal and crystals with soapy water.
If I damage my watch when cleaning it, will insurance cover it?
If you stray from the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions or clean in a manner that is likely to cause damage – such as submerging a watch for a prolonged period or using strong chemicals, you could face difficulties claiming accidental damage. That’s why it’s always best to follow the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning routine and regularly maintain the timepiece to keep it airtight so moisture, dust, and dirt can’t disrupt the mechanics.
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