Watch winders can seem like pretentious, esoteric toys for one-percenters with six-figure watch collections until you own more than one automatic watch. Unfortunately, many of them are trimmed in padded leather, faux carbon fiber, or built into a 16-cylinder Bugatti engine block. These excessive centerpieces for the nouveau riche can be as expensive as that self-winding OMEGA you just bought, or much, much worse. The Swiss KubiK Startbox ($460) isn’t part of that snobby crowd.
The StartBox is KubiK’s entry-level winder, but it still features the Swiss-made quality and modern style that you’ll actually want to display on a bookcase. The sharp cube — available in black, white, or four other rather bright and cheeky colorways — goes nicely on that IKEA desk. And with the same silent, battery-powered motor and programmable winding modes as Kubik’s higher priced models, the StartBox slots nicely above the cheapies sold in airplane seat pocket catalogs while staying accessible to watch collectors who’d rather spend their money on watches.