Question about pocket watches
I recently posted about a pocket watch that I got for $10 on eBay. It just arrived and it's lovely and so far seems to be well worth the money, but I have a concern.
I've read that you have to keep mechanical winding watches wound up to prevent some kind of malfunction. I have to say that I wasn't really ready for this level of commitment! It seems to be almost like having a pet... Is it true, and if so, how often should I wind it to prevent mechanical problems when not wearing it? Have any of you had problems with pocket watches from not keeping them wound? Right now, I've been winding it whenever it stops going, which seems to be shaping up to be a few times a day, and I'm worried that if it needs winding several times a day I'm just going to give up on it.
EDIT: I'm fairly sure that the reason it runs down so quickly is that I've been terrified to overwind it, so I've probably been underwinding it. I never feel any resistance when I wind it, and I only ever rotate the key about ten times or so, if that.
I've read that you have to keep mechanical winding watches wound up to prevent some kind of malfunction. I have to say that I wasn't really ready for this level of commitment! It seems to be almost like having a pet... Is it true, and if so, how often should I wind it to prevent mechanical problems when not wearing it? Have any of you had problems with pocket watches from not keeping them wound? Right now, I've been winding it whenever it stops going, which seems to be shaping up to be a few times a day, and I'm worried that if it needs winding several times a day I'm just going to give up on it.
EDIT: I'm fairly sure that the reason it runs down so quickly is that I've been terrified to overwind it, so I've probably been underwinding it. I never feel any resistance when I wind it, and I only ever rotate the key about ten times or so, if that.