:
I don't believe there is a "stop point" per se.
: Usually once an automatic watch is fully wound, a clutch type
: mechanism/safeguard prevents overwinding without giving you an
: actual stopping sensation as in a manual wind watch. IE-the
: crown continues to wind but is disengaged from the spring
: barrel. My experience has been that most automatics with one
: spring barrel take anywhere between 35-65 winds to fully wind,
: depending on how fully unwound the watch spring was at the
: start. My manual Breitling Navitimer Montbrillant Edition, seen
: below, (2005 model) which I wind every morning, requires 25-30
: winds before reaching its "stop point".
Stephen is correct. It is often difficult to hear, but after, say 25 winds, you should hear a change in the sound of the winding, or feel a difference. The automatic watch's mainspring is not firmly attached to the outer wall of mainspring barrel, but has a mechanism which allows it to slip when fully wound to avoid breaking the mainspring. This slipping is the sound or feel that you may notice.
I can only detect the slipping sound or feel on some of my watches, so if you don't -- you have company.
The watch should run over 40 hours if fully wound.
