Barrington 6 Watch Winder review: all the watch storage you’ll ever need

What if your interest in watches has grown from a hobby into a full-blown addiction? We’re here for you and, crucially, so is Barrington with this winder built for six watches.

Not only does it offer individual rotation settings for each of the six compartments – controllable via the LED touch panel and the included remote – but there’s also a fingerprint sensor to lock the door, and a drawer to hold straps, accessories and other jewellery, plus two more watches.

It’s a big ol’ box, and at £995, it costs more than most of my watches. But if you’ve got more than a couple of automatic timepieces, plus the inevitable plans to buy more, this could be the perfect way to keep your habit safe, organised and fully-wound.

Barrington 6 Watch Winder review: Price and availability

The Barrington Six Watch Winder is priced at £995. That’s undeniably a lot of money, but when you factor in the £225 price tag of Barrington’s single winder, getting six, plus a drawer and a door with a lock and fingerprint reader, for less than five times the price, it doesn’t feel like terrible value.

Barrington 6 Watch Winder review: Features and design

Each of the six watch winders can be controlled individually, via the remote or the LED control panel. With the press of a button, it’s easy to set the direction (clockwise, anticlockwise or alternating between both) and rotating frequency (650, 750, 850, 1000 or 1950 turns per day). Different watches request different amounts of turning and direction changes, so you’re best consulting the instruction booklet that came with the watch to find what’s best for each timepiece.

There’s also a light at the top of the case, shining down onto your watches and controlled by the remote, but since there’s no timer you’ve to control it manually.

Beneath the watches is the LED display, which shows which winders are active and the rotation settings for each. The display and winders are set against a background that looks like woven carbon fibre, but is actually rubberised to touch.

I think it generally looks good, and adds a nice bit of texture to contrast with the glossy black exterior. But I’m less keen on how it loosely covers the hinge of the door, and worry that this could start to look a bit tatty with age. The same carbon finish is found in the drawer too, which has space for two more watches, plus storage for other items of jewellery and watch accessories.

Barrington 6 Watch Winder review: Performance

The Barrington six watch winder is quick and easy to set up, providing you know the correct rotating settings for each of your watches.

Each padded cushion clicks securely into place, then the door can be locked with a fingerprint. This is optional and, while it is unlikely to deter a thief who could simply pick up the box, it’s a nice bit of reassurance, especially if you have young children who might want to try on your watches when you’re not looking.

Up to 20 fingerprints can be added to the reader, with the enrolment taking just a few presses to teach the reader your unique print. It works very quickly, and I found it quite satisfying to hear the lock open each time I placed a finger against the reader.

An important design detail is how the watch cushions are different to that provided with Barrington’s single watch winder. Instead of having to pick between the larger default and smaller optional cushions of that winder, the larger six watch winder has adjustable cushions. They are spring-loaded to ensure they hold each watch securely, but also have three wrist circumference settings.

I found the smallest setting worked for most of my watches, but because of how one clasp closes the cushion still wasn’t small enough. Thankfully, the adjustable rear of the cushion can be removed entirely to cater for different clasp mechanisms. That said, if you have wrists slimmer than 16 or 17 cm, this watch winder isn’t going to work for you.

The motors are quiet, but they’re still noticeable in a very quiet room. You probably won’t want to sit the winder on a bedside table, but from across the room it is unlikely to disturb even the lightest sleeper.

Barrington 6 Watch Winder review: Verdict

Watch winders are inherently niches, and even more so when they’re the size and cost of this one. But I totally get it, and I’ve grown to really appreciate the convenience of having my automatic watches wound and ready to go.

Some will say there’s a joy in winding and setting a watch yourself, and I can appreciate that. I still enjoy the process of winding my vintage, hand-wound Longines. But for more complex watches, there’s absolutely a benefit in keeping the various complications accurate while not being worn.

This Barrington winder isn’t cheap, but generally neither are mechanical watches. It’s entirely likely that the contents of winder like this will be worth many times more than the winder itself.

Ultimately, it looks good, feels well made and works exactly as you’d hope. There’s a good amount of configurability for those who want it, extra storage for accessories, and a fingerprint reader for extra peace-of-mind.