One important question that you have to consider once you purchase a vintage watch is where are you going to keep it stored? There are many options available to you and they depend on your taste. You could store your luxury watch in the original box it came with. Or you could keep it safe and secure in a display cabinet. You may prefer to use a watch case, wrap, wallet winder, or even a safe. It doesn’t matter how to store your vintage watch as long as you keep it somewhere where you have access and it will stay clean between uses.
Watch Box
Many different companies have created watch boxes for storage. Prices tend to be in the $50 range and these are considered by many rare watch owners as great storage solutions that will keep a collectible watch safe, secure, and clean.
Original Box
There are several pros and cons to keeping your watch in the original box it came in. You should keep the box and original papers somewhere safe in case you choose to sell your watch but storing it in the original box may not be the best idea. That is because the more you open and close that box, the more wear and tear it will experience. If the original box is made of cardboard or other paper product, it will show signs of wear quickly which may harm resale value. Plus, a box that gets damaged may eventually cause damage to the watch inside of it. Original watch boxes made of stronger materials such as plastic or wood can withstand regular opening and closing but will also start to wear down. One more negative to storing a rare watch in the original box is that you can’t see the watch. It is not on display and this means the box must be opened to view. This breaks down the integrity of the box.
Wallets/Pouches
Often your watch will be returned to you in a pouch or wallet after it has been repaired or cleaned by a watch technician. These are good storage solutions if they are used in only a temporary fashion. As they do not have a solid structure, the watch inside could be damaged when the pouch or wallet is dropped or stepped on. However, they are safe enough to use when traveling if you tuck them in your luggage surrounded by other soft items to provide additional cushioning.
Automatic Winders
Boxes that contain automatic winders are a popular storage solution. That is because they are designed to provide an action that mimics the natural wrist movement. This keeps a watch that has a self-winding mechanism functioning when it is not being worn. The downside here is that many newer style watches require winding in two different directions. Many automatic winder watch boxes are designed to address watches that require winding in a single direction. There is one more very important consideration to keep in mind. While watches that sit inactive for long periods may be damaged by the drying up of the oils required to keep the movements doing their job smoothly, having a watch stored where it receives constant stimulation to keep it running indefinitely is as bad. Watches that never get a break from running will wear down over time and an automatic winder may speed up that process.
Bank Safe
Although a bank deposit box is a very secure place to store important papers and valuables, it is not the best place to keep your luxury watch.
That is because bank vaults tend to be cool and dry and that will change the way gold looks over time and dries out the mechanism inside the watch that keeps it ticking. It also isn’t very easy to access at the spur of the moment.
How To Store Your Collectable Watch
Watches should be stored somewhere where they will not be affected by a light source. So a cool, dark place that is not too dry would be the best option.
Don’t Forget Insurance
If you own a particularly valuable timepiece, it should be properly insured with all your other valuables. Because watches are easy to steal due to their size and portability, storing them away out of sight when not being used will keep you from losing a special collectible watch. When you insure them, record the serial numbers and have each watch photographed.
In Conclusion
For owners of luxury watches, you will want to keep them stored somewhere safe, but still somewhere that you can access so you can choose to wear any of your luxury watches when you want to. However, the method you use to store your watch may harm the condition of that watch. Depending on how often you wear a specific watch and the setting you typically wear it in, you should be able to determine the best storage solution for that watch based on the information provided here.
