How to Store Your Watches at Home [Complete Guide]
If you have a collection of watches, you have probably paid more than one thought on how you should store them properly. Partly to keep them protected and in an ideal environment that prevents them from getting damaged, but also to remove any risk of things like theft.
In this article, we will go through everything you need to know about storing your watches at home to keep them safe and protected.
Different people have different needs when it comes to watch storage, and there is a lot to think about. How you store your watches also depends on how you use them, what watches you have, and why you own them.
For example, if you own watches purely for speculation, investment purposes, or to pass on as an heirloom, you will not need to access them, unlike watches that you wear regularly. This also affects how you should store them, either in short-term or long-term storage.
There are many ways to store your watches, and depending on your needs, we will go through everything you need to consider.
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In a safe
It is always best to keep your watches stored safe and protected in a safe. This will ensure that they are kept safe and even if you do have an attempted theft, it will be challenging to get into the safe and access them.
Some people choose to store their watches in a safety deposit box at the bank, and this is a type of safe where they can be if you want to ensure they are safe and protected. The benefit of this is that they are kept safe and secure. The downside of this is that it is a bit harder to access them. This can be a slight issue if you want to regularly rotate your watches. But if you are keeping them for long-term storage, it is less of a hassle.
There are plenty of safes to choose from, both small and large, and the safe you need naturally depends on how many watches you have, and if you plan to store other things in the safe as well. If you opt for a large safe, the benefit is that you also have room to store other things such as money, passports, keys, and of course the warranty cards/certificates for your watches, thus keeping them safe and protected all in one place.
There are also a lot of different types of safes to choose from when it comes to the safety aspect. Safes are available in all kinds of price ranges, but the more expensive alternatives are generally more robust and resistant to break-ins. Therefore, it can be wise to invest in a heavy, robust safe that is impossible to move and extremely difficult to access.
If you want the safest alternative, opt for a safe that is heavy, large, and can be attached to the ground on which it stands, or to the wall.
If you want to dig more into the topic of choosing the best safe, you can read this article.
Worth knowing is that there are generally three types of safes to choose from: key-operated safes, digital safes with a passcode, and safes with both keys and digital passcode. Which you opt for depends on your needs and wants of course.
We will go through some of the best watch safes to choose from towards the end of this article.
In a watch winder
Sometimes, a safe and a watch winder can be the same thing, as there are, nowadays, safes with built-in watch winders, specifically made for watches.
Watch winders are appropriate for automatic watches that you wear regularly if you want to ensure that they are always charged with enough power so you don’t have to wind and set the time every time you want to wear one.
Note that watch winders only work for automatic watches and not watches with quartz or manually-wound movements.
For a complete guide to watch winders refer to this guide.
There are several benefits to using a watch winder, but the main benefit is that they keep your automatic watches running and ready to go whenever you need them. This is particularly useful if you own several automatic watches and regularly rotate between them, and also find it a bit annoying to always have to wind them and set the time (and potentially other functions) before they are ready to go.
There’s a constant discussion of whether or not watch winders are bad for the movement of a watch, and the only real answer is that it depends. Naturally, when a watch is running, all the fine parts inside the movement are activated. This of course causes friction and movement. Whilst movements are obviously made for running, it will cause them to need servicing occasionally, just like a motor of a car needs to be serviced.
But at the same time, a watch that is left for years will also need a service as the oils run dry and do not function as they should. With that said, you can use a watch winder without having to worry, but if you don’t plan to wear a watch for a longer period of time, you may just as well leave it and not use it in a watch winder.
But for convenience’s sake, a watch winder is a great idea.
We will go through some of the best watch winders to choose from towards the end of this article.
Think about the movement of your watch
The movement that your watch has can also affect how you should store it. The movement is the engine of the watch and this needs proper care and maintenance to function properly.
First and foremost, automatic and mechanical movements have lubrication and oil that needs to be cleaned and replaced after some time, and this is one of the main reasons why mechanical watches need to be serviced occasionally. The service intervals for mechanical watches vary depending on the manufacturer, the type of movement, and also how you wear it. For example, Rolex recommends services every 5 to 10 years, but other brands recommend servicing their watches every other or every third year.
But as mentioned, a lot of this has to do with how you wear it. If you wear a watch frequently and subject it to a lot of stress, shocks, bangs, temperature changes, etc, you will likely need to service it more frequently. But if you have watches that you plan to keep for a long time and will therefore keep in long-term storage, it may not be necessary to service them every 5 years. Instead, it may be wiser to just leave them be and service them once it is time to sell them, wear them, or pass them on as heirlooms.
As discussed previously, how you are going to wear your watch depends on what your needs are. If you are going to store an automatic watch that you are going to wear occasionally or frequently, it may be a good idea to keep it in a watch winder. If you’re only going to wear it once a month or so, the use of a watch winder may cause unnecessary wear and tear to the movement, and in these cases, it can be better to simply wind it and set the time the few times that you are actually going to use it.
At the same time, keep in mind that both automatic and manual movement should be wound regularly in order to prevent the oils from running dry. Therefore, if you keep certain watches in long-term storage, make a habit to wind them occasionally, for example, once a month. The oils will still run dry, but you greatly extend their life by doing this, whilst at the same time minimize excessive wear by not having them in a watch winder and thus keeping them running at all times when it is not necessary anyway.
When it comes to quartz watches, it’s a bit different. The main issue with Quartz watches is that their batteries may corrode or leak. The issue with this is that it can cause further damage to the movements which may result in more expensive servicing bills. Therefore, if you plan to store your quartz watch for a longer period of time, it can be a good idea to remove the battery from the movement to prevent this.
Warranty card/documents/box/papers
If your watch comes with a box, warranty card, certificate, and other accessories, you need to store these properly as well.
It is always a good idea to save all of the accessories such as boxes and certificates as they will greatly affect the value of your watch if you decide to sell it.
Our recommendation is always to store the certificate/warranty card in a safe place, ideally in a safe, since the original warranty and certificate are not replaceable. The boxes and other accessories are generally generic and can therefore be replaced if necessary. With that said, the most important part is that you keep what is not replaceable safe. A tip to keep them in good condition is to put them in a zip-lock back and include silica gel.
The catch with boxes is that they tend to be quite large. So if you have a safe, it’s generally not the most practical (or at all possible) to fit your watch boxes in the safe (if you have one). But because they are replaceable, it’s not the end of the world. Just make sure you store your boxes in an appropriate place where they are safe but also not exposed to sunlight or extreme temperatures, both warm and cold as this can cause premature wear and aging, thus negatively affecting their appearance.
Consider moisture and temperature
Moisture and temperature are two things you want to consider when storing your watches. Moisture, in particular long-term moisture, is never good for your watches. This can cause rust and oxidation, and in the worst case, the moisture may find its way into the movement and cause it to be completely destroyed. Furthermore, moisture and cold will cause premature wear and aging of the oils, which will damage the movement.
A simple way to tackle moisture is first and foremost to store them in a place where there isn’t much moisture. The second way is to use a simple silica gel bag that absorbs moisture. This isn’t crucial if you have them stored in a place where there isn’t a lot of moisture. But if you store them long-term, it is a good idea. Keep in mind that these bags need to be replaced occasionally as they absorb moisture. However, keep in mind that if you have watches on leather straps, the silica bags will cause the straps to dry faster. With that said, it is wise to either remove the leather straps or skip the silica gel altogether.
At the same time, an issue that some people have is that mold starts to grow on the leather straps, and mold grows partly as a result of moisture. So whilst the silica gel will prevent mold, it may cause the leather to dry out. You will have to make the call of what is most appropriate to do for your situation.
The ideal way to store your watch is in an environment with minimal moisture and in room temperature. You don’t want it to be too cold nor too warm. Both your home and a safety deposit box should do the job here.
How to store the actual watch
Another thing to consider is how you store the actual watches. This is not a question of where. But depending on where you store your watches, this may already be answered. For example, if you have a watch winder, or a watch winder safe, you will store the watches on the pillows that the winders have.
If you plan to store the watches in a safe, a safety deposit box, or somewhere else in your home, our recommendation is to store them in either a watch box or a travel pouch. Some people buy watch boxes where they store their watches, keeping them protected. Others use soft travel pouches and store them individually. The benefit of a watch box is that you keep them easily accessible and stored together in one place.
Our favorite recommendation, however, is to store them in Rolex factory transportation boxes, also known as ”coffins”. These are great for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, these coffins do not take up a lot of space and are designed in a way to make it possible to stack them. In addition, they keep the watches extremely well-protected with styrofoam which prevents scratches. And since they are made of hard plastic, you can easily stack them without having to worry about the watches getting squashed.
You can find these Rolex coffins for sale on our website here.
Conclusion
All in all, there are a lot of things to think about when it comes to storing your watches at home. The main reasons why you want to consider how you store them include things like safety, longevity, and keeping the watches from premature wear or aging. Properly storing your watches will keep your watches from things like rust and premature wear to the movements of your movements which will lead to a greater service bill further down the road. Make sure you keep your watches safely stored for peace of mind.
Best watch safes
Below are some of our favorite watch safes for different needs depending on how many watches you have, how much space you have, what needs you have, and what else you plan to store in your safe.
SentrySafe SFW123CU Fireproof Waterproof Safe with Dial Combination
Sentrysafe is a brand and manufacturer of safes that are well-respected for making solid and high-quality products. This is a fireproof safe made to endure fire and keep items safe for a long period of time. It is also water-proof shall there be some kind of water-leak etc where you store it, or if there is a fire and water is used to put it out.
The safe has a preset dial combination and features 4 live-locking bolts, a steel construction, a pry-resistant hinge bar, and a shelf. This ensures that your precious watches are well-protected from outside attempts to break-in.
TIGERKING Security Home Safe
Tigerking is another popular brand when it comes to safes. This one has a high-security digital lock with highly durable thick steel material. It has 3-sided and a total of 6 live-locking bolts that offer exceptional resistance against forced entry. The safe is quite large which is suitable in case you have a lot of watches or other valuable items that you want to store inside at the same time. It is also helpful that it has removable shelves which makes it easier to organize the items.
This is a digital safe with a digital lock and manual override. With that said, you access it with your own digital combination, and the override key works as an emergency key in case you forget the code. It is also equipped with a second master key lock for additional protection. For additional safety, it has a dual alarm system that gives violent vibrations after three incorrect entries, thus activating the alarm system.
SentrySafe SFW123GDC Fireproof and Waterproof Safe
This Sentrysafe is small and compact which is suitable if you don’t have a lot of room in your home or not a lot of watches to store.
The safe is fireproof and can keep your valuables protected even in case of fire. It is also waterproof for 24 hours. The safe is accessed by setting your own digital combination and has a secondary locking key for strong security. For ultimate protection, it has four live-locking bolts, steel construction, and a pry-resistant hinge bar.
TIGERKING Burglary Digital Security Safe Box
This is a robust and durable safe that is suitable if you have a lot of watches and other valuables. The safe has a total of 5 live-locking bolts and offers protection from forced entry. It has lots of room inside and removable shelves which allows you to organize your watches and other items. It is equipped with a smart warning system and allows you to program your own code with 1-8 digits. An additional safety measure is that it has violent vibrations after three- incorrect entries, activating the alarm system by sounding for 60 seconds. The pre-drilled holes make it possible to attach it to a wall.
This is the same as discussed above, but it is finished in a nice brown/rose gold color if you want something more elegant in your home.
Best watch winders
Below are some of our favorite watch winders that are both stylish and suitable for different needs depending on how many watches you have.
Cheopz watch winder safe
This is undoubtedly one of our favorite watch winders due to the fact that it is a combined safe and watch winder. This meets both your needs of keeping your automatic watches wound but also protected and safe. In addition to this, the Cheopz safe has a number of benefits. First and foremost, it has a tough 18mm explosion-proof glass viewing window which allows you to see the beautiful watches stored inside. Most safes do not give you the ability to do that.
In terms of safety, it is also extremely tough, constructed in solid steel with dual door locking bolts & a pry-resistant hinge bar. The built-in intelligent detector alarm system alarms when it detects someone is trying to wrongfully access or break-in.
For additional safety, it is also possible to mount it to the wall or floor via the pre-drilled holes.
When it comes to the watch winders, it is powered by super-silent gear-driven Japanese motors. It can rotate 12 automatic watches at a time which is great if you have a large collection. It has 4 different rotation modes for each watch holder setting. The LCD touch panel has an LED light, making it impossible to access and set all the different modes for the winders. It is accessed with a customizable 1-10 digit code and also has 2 override keys and 1 external battery pack.
Jins & Vico Watch Winder for 12 Automatic Watches
This Jins & Vico watch winder is a popular alternative for those who have a lot of watches and want to keep them wound and ready to go whenever you need it. The winder has room for 12 watches. The winder has 6 groups of winding space, meaning that you need to set parameters for 2 watches together. The winder is operated and set by using the LCD touch screen, making it easy and convenient.
To prevent any watches from falling out, it has a lock mechanism which means the top cabinet display lid won’t get opened until you unlock the front door with the key and open it. It is powered by ultra-silent rotors with different modes.
Last but not least, it has built-in blue illumination which makes it easier to see the watches.
TRIPLE TREE Double Watch Winder, for Automatic Watches
If you only need a watch winder for two watches, this winder from Triple tree is a good alternative. It is small, compact, and practical. It is made in a sleek wood shell piano paint exterior which allows it to blend into your home and actually work as a nice interior detail. It is powered by a Japanese extremely silent motor and has an acrylic glass window. The motors have 4 rotation modes so you can set it according to your needs and prevent overwinding them.
4 Watch Winder with 5 Watch Storage Space
This watch winder has room for 4 watches and then an additional slot at the bottom. This additional slot is great for storing, for example, your warranty/guarantee cards.
It has 2 Individually programmed rotors with 15 available winding programs. You can set the number of Turns-Per-Day from 650 to 1950 TPD. It has built-in LED lights that illuminate the watches and work as a nice detail in your home for putting them on display.
WOLF 456002 Viceroy Single Watch Winder
Last but not least, if you only need a watch winder for one watch, this Wolf Viceroy watch winder is a great option. Wolf is one of the most popular brands and manufacturers of watch winders and for good reasons: they make high-quality products.
The winder can be set between 300 and 1200 TPD and can rotate both clockwise, counterclockwise, and bi-directional. It can run on either battery or on AC power.
