Here’s the thing about watches, as precious and luxurious they may seem, they are highly delicate. Dropping it or leaving it somewhere it can scratch against another hard surface can leave a permanent mark on your beloved timepiece.
The question is, how do you minimize your odds of anything like this happening to you?
If you are a collector or a watch investor with an extremely valuable collection, needless to say, you are best off keeping the vast majority of your pieces at a watch deposit box, somewhere with professional security to keep them from being stolen. However, if you’re a smaller collector or you’re a collector that likes to keep some pieces at home to actually wear them, this article is for you.
In the following subsections, we will provide you with tips to keep your watch safe from damage at all times. So without further ado, let’s start our maintenance guide of storing your watch safely at home!
Below is a brief list of some storing equipment options you could use to store your watch at home.
A watch case is probably the safest and most convenient option if you’re trying to store many watches. A watch case is basically like a compact, yet more sophisticated, kind of jewelry box that is designed specifically for watches. Most of these watch cases are lined with padded walls that are covered with soft materials like felt or velvet. These mushy walls help to keep your timepiece protected from any pressure forces like when things would fall on. Some watch cases have watch winding features built inside of them, making it perfect to store automatic wound watches! A very big downside to purchasing a good watch case is the price tag: sophisticated watch cases are all handmade. If you are looking to get a watch case with the quality that is congruent to that of your luxury timepieces, you have to think of a budget of $1000 and up. Some sophisticated watch cases of more renown brands can even set you back 5 figures. To conclude: if you are willing to pay the price, watch cases are probably your best option to store your watches at home in a convenient manner. Needless to say, it’s best to put this watch case in a vault or at a place that is less obvious to find if there would ever be a break-in into your home.
Using a valet tray is by far the most convenient way to store watches safely at home. However, it is not meant to store many watches, as they are not protected from each by any kind of subsections. If you’d live in an environment with earthquakes for example, it isn’t safe either, since your watches could easily fall out of the tray in that case. They are merely a super easy and zero-effort way to quickly place your watch(es) on a soft surface that makes sure your watches won’t scratch. This is mainly used to place on a desk, on a nightstand or inside of a drawer. Depending on the size of the valet tray, you can usually fit 1-3 watches easily inside of it. If you only place one watch inside, it’s convenient to place for example a bracelet, keys, airpods or a phone inside too. To summarize: valet trays are mainly a very convenient manner to quickly store your daily wear watch and other items that might be in your pockets. A tip: we personally love this watch tray from a brand called Hovini that was handmade in Europe with Italian leather.
3. Watch Pouch:
A watch pouch is basically a small bag that you can use to store your watches individually. They can easily be placed in a drawer and they are super multifunctional: you can easily take them with you to travel. These pouches don’t cost much and can be easily obtained from anywhere. We personally love the watch pouch from a brand called Hansen & Jacobs. These watch pouches are extremely affordable and by far the best bang for your buck we have encountered. Usually watch pouches are made up of soft materials like cotton or velvet, but leather pouches are also very popular, as they have a sense of ‘vintage’ to them. To summarise: watch pouches are very affordable and easy to take with you. They’ll protect your watch from scratches, it won’t protect your watch from high pressure (dropping it or some heavy objects are pushing on it).
This might be the best option when it comes to making a well-balanced choice. A good watch roll will make for a very luxurious presentation of your watches, they will protect much better than a pouch or a valet tray, but they’re much more affordable than a watch case. They’re usually quite compact and easy to travel with: if you love to travel and take a few of your watches with you, a watch roll is mandatory for keeping your watch safe during your trips. Watch rolls vary in designs and sizes, you can either get a big one to store multiple watches in a single roll, or you can get a solo roll to just take that second watch besides the one you’re already wearing perhaps. The brand we mentioned before and recommended to you also offers amazing watch rolls of the highest possible quality we have found. Check out the available watch rolls from Hansen & Jacobs here.
Do you have automatic watches to store? Then watch winders are perfect for you! Automatic watches do not require any manual winding, they get automatically charged due to natural movements. These watch winders act as safe containers that help to duplicate these movements to keep your watch readily charged whenever you need them.
If your watch collection comprises expensive pieces and your collection itself is worth thousands, then what you need is a watch safe. A watch safe will protect your watches from any harm, especially during traveling and moving. Watch safe is a container that will protect your watches from any harmful impact, and will also safeguard your watch by shielding it from theft. Watch safes come in different sizes and designs. You can choose any design that appeals to your aesthetic and you can select the size of the safe depending on your watch collection.
Getting some safe storing equipment is not enough to keep your watch protected. You also need to ensure the proper placement of your watch and other factors that will aid in keeping your watch safe from any damage or scratches. Below is a list of such factors that you must ensure while storing your watch to guarantee its safety
In whichever safety container you are storing your watch, just make sure that you place your watch facing upwards. No matter how secure the container is or how padded the walls of the safety container are, the chances of getting your watch damaged are always high in face down placements. So make sure that your timepiece faces upwards while storing it.
If you are storing multiple watches in a single safety container then make sure to leave some gap between the watches. Try to leave at least half an inch of space between the timepiece in order to protect them from scratching against one another. In such scenarios, it is always recommended to use an insert tray since it comes with gap-filled compartments.
Magnetic fields tend to temper with the movement of the watch. So wherever you are storing your watch, make sure that area is shielded from magnetic fields to prevent any future damage to your watch’s mechanism.
Always cover your watches with a soft cloth before storing them. Whether you are storing multiple watches in a container or are storing individual watches, just make sure to cover them with a soft microfiber cloth to ensure that they are well protected from their surroundings.
If you have a Quartz watch, then this is a must. Make sure to remove the batteries from your watch before storing it. Batteries often leak acid when left unattended for a long period of time. This leaking acid can cause corrosion on the body of your watch. So make sure to remove the batteries before storing your watch.
With this, our maintenance guide comes to an end. We hope that you found this article helpful!
