How to clean your watch case & bracelet so they sparkle

Our stainless steel watches and bracelets get dirty over time but thankfully there's an easy way to clean them without polishing or using harmful chemicals. It won't remove rust (as you'll see in the final photo) but will remove both visible dirt and microscopic particles that reduce the overall shine. After doing experiments with things like vinegar, cola, detergent and even tomato ketchup, I've found strong black tea is the answer, and here's how…

What you'll need

Empty clean glass jar (lid not needed)
Teabag (not herbal)
Old but clean toothbrush
Plain metal things to clean

Step 1

Put the teabag in the jar and add boiling water — enough to cover anything you're going to clean. Leave it for an hour or so, until it's cold and looks like really strong tea you wouldn't want to drink. Remove the teabag.

Pouring boiling water onto a teabag in a glass jar.

Step 2

Put any metal items you want to clean into the jar but not things like batteries, electronics, things with white paint, bezels with exposed lume pips, or watch movements themselves. In other words, only put in solid metal things like watch bracelets, empty watch cases (with crystal is fine), steel shrouds from Seiko "tuna" watches, etc.

Step 3

After a few hours or even overnight, take out each metal item one by one and scrub them with the toothbrush, rinsing with water as you go so you can check for any missed spots. The tea does an amazing job of loosening hardened dirt but be careful not to lose or drop small parts. If you do this in the sink, make sure you put the plug in first!

Taking metal watch parts out of the tea, which is now dirty.

Scrubbing metal watch parts with a toothbrush.

Step 4

Immediately pat the metal parts dry with paper towel, then leave in a warm dry place or use a hairdryer to dry thoroughly. Wait for a few hours before reassembling, just to be sure there's no moisture remaining.

Leaving metal watch parts to dry on a paper towel.

Results

That's it! Your metal parts should not only be free of nearly all visible dirt, but that thin layer of grime that builds up over time should be gone too, giving your watch and bracelet a like-new sparkle.

A before-and-after comparison of a Seiko 7018-5000 "Monaco" watch case. A toothpick may help to get rid of any stubborn bits of dirt.

A before-and-after comparison of the shroud from a Seiko 7C46-7011 "tuna". Unfortunately the black tea method is not strong enough to remove small bits of rust.

If you liked this, check out more articles about repairing, restoring and enjoying Seiko watches.