I too have been afraid of manual winds. As a child I overwound all my father's watches one day (except the one he had on). Since then I stuck to automatics. When I decided to wear a watch again last summer (after 8 years of blissful tardyness) I searched for automatics only.

Now I know different. It is difficult for a sensitive human to overwind a watch. When you wind the watch you use your judgment about the "feel" of the wind. Now that I have wound so many automatics (before getting a watchwinder) I have a better sense of it. I have been told about some old record-breaking power reserves that require steel tipped fingers for the last few winds, but in general that should not be the case with most good watches.

What to ask? I hope someone with more experience fills us in. I would ask the standard questions about an older watch: Are records available? When was it last serviced? How is it running now? Can I have an independent watchmaker inspect it? Why is Patek Philippe mispelled?

Best wishes.

Robin