Watch care for working watches.

A working watch takes a beating — that's the point. But a few minutes of care a month keeps a tradesman's watch running accurately for years and keeps the case, crystal, and lume looking like the day you unboxed it. This guide covers the maintenance that actually matters for a field watch like the Blue Collar Watch Collection Electrician Edition, built for daily job-site use.

Rinse the grime. After a dirty week — drywall dust, concrete mud, engine grease — rinse the watch under lukewarm tap water and give it a soft-bristle scrub with a little mild soap. A 50-meter / 5 ATM rated watch handles this easily; just make sure the crown is pushed in and seated first. Avoid hot water and steam (showers, saunas), which can deform the gaskets that keep water out. Dry with a microfiber cloth so the brushed steel doesn't water-spot.

Mind the crystal. Sapphire with an anti-reflective coating is exceptionally hard, but the AR layer is a thin film on top — it can scuff if you drag it across abrasive surfaces. Wipe the crystal with a soft cloth, not your shirttail, and store the watch face-up when it's off your wrist. A light scuff on the AR coating doesn't affect legibility much and can be polished out by a watchmaker during a service.

Battery and movement. The Ronda 715 quartz movement runs roughly two to three years on a battery. When the seconds hand starts jumping in four-second intervals, that's the end-of-life indicator — it's time for a swap. Have a watchmaker change the battery and re-seat the caseback gasket at the same time so the water resistance stays intact. Don't open the caseback yourself; breaking the seal without re-pressure-testing compromises the 50-meter rating.

Strap and storage. A rubber or sealed-leather strap should be wiped down weekly to stop sweat and salt from degrading it, and rotated out every couple of years as it wears. When the watch is off, store it flat, out of direct sun (UV fades lume over time), and away from magnets — strong magnetic fields can throw off a quartz movement's accuracy until it's reset. Follow these basics and a tradesman's watch will outlast the job that bought it. See what makes a good tradesman watch →