As soon as you buy (or collect) a few nice timepieces, make sure to store them safely to protect them for dust, moisture, children, hungry pets etc. The best way to store your watches would be in a safe, so make sure you pick a watch box that will fit your safe or the safe you have in the bank.

One of my favorite on-line accessory shops, watch-winder.co.uk, sells a few great watch boxes. I have ordered some watch winders from them before, but never a suitable watch box. Their black piano finish watch box with this orange effect for holding 8 timepieces was the way to go for me. The compartments are 35mm wide, which means every strap or bracelet will fit on the pillows. Since I have a collection of watches that is kind of diverse when it comes to diameter sizes (ranging 36mm till 44mm), it is a must that all should properly fit.

As you can see on the picture above, they all fit fine as long as you mix the watches a bit. I guess 8 x a 45mm Panerai is going to be (too) tight. The good thing is that ladies watches will fit in this box perfectly as well.

There are so many watch boxes for sale on the internet, is becomes difficult to see what’s a good quality box and which ones aren’t. Personally, I think the interior is very important. The black velvet should have no traces of glue or loose edges, the pillows should be nice and soft and yet sturdy enough to keep the watch in place and pay special attention to the hinges. No sharp or unfinished edges and no chromed metal, just stainless steel. This particular watch box comes with a lock that will keep the lid closed safely when moving it around or picking it up.

This box is for sale over at watch-winder.co.uk for just 46.99 UKP, excluding shipping costs. As I wrote before, I’ve done business before with them so buy with confidence. The exact link for the same box as described above can be found here.

I am a huge fan of watch winders. The practical ones that is, the ones that don’t take up too much space and do the job right. Now, I have written on winders before (a 2009 watch winder review and one in 2005) and always wrote that you should be on the look-out for a programmed or programmable winder. This means that the winder will work a few programs in such a way that your watch gets enough excercise to keep on running. Although I can’t imagine that you are still able to overwind your watch, a running watch is still better than a watch that stands still. This probably has something to do with the synthetic oil that thickens a bit after a long period of non-wear.

Anyway, the Leather One Watch Winder by this English based firm called Watch-Winder.co.uk has a programm that makes sure the watch turns clockwise for 5 minutes then rest for 15 minutes; turn counter-clockwise for 5 minutes then rest for 15 minutes. This cycle is then repeated.

This low-cost and easy to operate winder comes with an adaptor (UK plug, but you’ll find a converter at any super market) and is ready to go as soon as you take it out of the box it came in. The black pillow is big enough for large watches, and can be squeezed enough for people with small wrists. On the backside of the winder you’ll find the connector for the adaptor (can’t go wrong) and a red button for operation. There is no more to it.

The rectangular shape of the winder makes it easy to put it away any way you want, but I believe it will function best if the winder is placed flat on a table/shelf/floor, as pictured below. I tested the winder with my 1997 Rolex Sea-Dweller ref.16600 and it works perfectly. I did screw down the crown and gave it a few turns before putting it in the winder, but it kept running for a whole week. I have seen more expensive winders making my watches stop after the minimum power reserve had been reached.

If you are interested in getting a watch winder for your watch (or watches), make sure you decided whether you want to have it stored/tucked away somewhere out of sight or in a safe (battery operated?) or that you need something small and convenient like the Leather One Watch Winder (which is adaptor-only) or that you want to have a nice looking watch winder with wood or piano finish to show-off your watch or collection of watches. My friends over at Watch-Winder.co.uk has them all, for very sharp prices.

The Leather One Watch Winder measures: 110 x 110 x 160 mm (L x W x H). The removable, adjustable watch holder will to take a maximum watch strap width of 30mm and circumference of 210mm. It can be compressed to hold a strap circumference as small as 160mm. The watch winder leaves enough space between the pillow and the cover for a large wrist watch (think IWC Big Ingenieur of Panerai).

Click Watch-Winder.co.uk

If you have a collection of watches (2 or more) and at least one of them has an automatic mechanical movement, chances are pretty big that – after a few days of not wearing it – you have to correct the time/date when you pick it up again. A watch winder may come in handy. If you search on the various watch forums, you will probably read about the oil in the movement that will thicken after a long period of not wearing. However, this has never been confirmed by a watch maker.

I think a watch winder is just there for your convenience?��Ǩ�� if you have an automatic watch with a date, which does not have a quick set (quick set = changing the date by pulling the crown in a certain position and when you turn it, the date will change into the next date), correcting the date can be a time consuming activity. Especially when you are in a hurry. The lucky guys with a watch that has a complication like a moonphase and/or perpetual calendar should get a watch winder anyway, it really prevents you from fiddeling around with your watch during the first two hours of your precious sunday morning.

Watch-Winder.co.uk offers various winders for great value to keep your [other] watch running perfectly. The compact winder I reviewed, is pictured above and is available through their website for only 42.99UKP.

Click here for the full review on this burlwood finish watch winder!