This is a great question. Going by the numbers of Swiss and high value watches sold each year in comparison to the numbers of watch storage pouches and cases sold, you would say not. The public clearly feels they are not required. Or maybe, they haven’t quite thought it through? Let’s explore this a little further.
Luxury watches are of high value. They have Swiss-made movements and are manufactured from materials such as stainless steel, gold, ceramic, or even platinum. Additionally to this, high-end watches often are set with diamonds and or other precious stones. These may be on the dial, set into the bezel, or even within the bracelet. Quality luxury watches also have quality dials, batons and hands. Dials can be made of gold, silver, or mother of pearl.
So, we educate ourselves, work hard, climb the ladders of success, achieve promotions, or are successful in business. We treat ourselves by purchasing a luxury Swiss watch. Some go for Gucci, others TAG Heuer, Breitling, Zenith, Hublot, Rado, IWC, Omega, or Rolex. The list of luxury watch brands available numbers hundreds.
In terms of watch servicing, most luxury watch owners understand that they need to have their timepiece serviced in order for them to run correctly and continue to look their best. In my previous business at The WATCH Lab, I found however that sticking to the manufacturer’s official service intervals rarely happened. Most people serviced their watch only when it needed to be done ie it was no longer running correctly or perhaps had been dropped. Why spend money on something that seems to be running just fine? What I could not understand however was, without realising, how complacent we all are on a day to day basis with our expensive watches.
What do I mean by the above outrageous comment? It’s simple really. Why spend thousands of pounds on what is a piece of jewellery then put it down on the side in the kitchen, in your pocket if washing the car or on the bedside table at the end the day? Luxury watches are complex pieces of mechanical engineering with perfectly balanced movement components that work together in harmony. They should not be be placed down onto a hard surface with any kind of force. Their external components such as case, bracelet, clasp and bezel are highly sensitive to and surface that is either harder than its materials or not smooth.
When assessing watches prior to repair, our Technicians would note the condition of the watch case, bracelet, clasp, dial and bezel. When looking at just about any watch through an eye glass, multiple fine scratches become visible, most prominently on the clasp and bracelet where it gets laid to rest when off the wrist. Fine damage was noted to be always worse with gold watches simply because gold is a soft metal and much softer than most household surfaces. It doesnt need to be this way!
To avoid fine scratches and unnecessary damage to watches, the solution is simple. Get a watch case or pouch then place it in it at the end of the day rather than on the bedside table or the windowsill. Luxury watches are valuable pieces of jewellery and deserve a little protection. Why wouldnt you?
At Luxury Watch Winders are passionate about not just maintaining the inside of your automatic watch with a watch winder, but protection of the outside. It is for this reason that we have a large range of watch pouches, travel cases and jewellery storage. See the collection here ‘link to watch storage and travel items’
