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The Best Watch Boxes for Your Watch Collection

Don’t keep your most worn watches in your sock drawer — invest in a quality watch box instead.

watch in watch box Henry Phillips

By Oren Hartov and Zen Love

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You spent hundreds or thousands — or hundreds of thousands — on beautiful watches. Now what? Well, you need to keep them organized, accessible, and clean, that’s what. And how does one do that? You could use a watch roll or pouches, sure, or keep them in their original boxes or packaging. But that ain’t elegant. And surely there’s a more elegant solution than simply stuffing them in the back of your sock drawer.

Products in the Guide

Instead, try a dedicated watch box. These come in all shapes and sizes, from simple wooden affairs to multi-level, leather-clad, luxurious towers of horological splendor. You can buy a watch box for $25 or $2,500, and ultimately, it doesn’t really matter — what you need is something that fits your aesthetic preferences, won’t fall apart, and will hold enough watches. You can buy one on Amazon for the cost of a few coffees that’ll show up the next day and will do just fine, or you can spring for a beautiful, vintage-inspired affair from Wolf that looks like classic watch boxes of yore. The choice is yours.

Benefits of Using a Watch Box

It might not be obvious why you need a box especially built to hold watches. Can’t you just put your watches in any old box? Well, yes, you could. But the drawbacks of doing so highlight exactly what makes dedicated watch boxes practical.

Firstly, if you’ve got a bunch of watches, keeping them organized becomes an issue. You can keep them strewn around your desk or in a pile or in a drawer, but that’s messy. A jumble of watches in a box won’t be much more organized than that, either. Those little pillows give them order.

Moreover, they keep them from being scratched by other surfaces and each other, and a watch box with a lid will keep them dust free. And finally, the last point shouldn’t be overlooked: they also present your watches in an attractive way so that, even if they’re not on display to others in that box, it offers you another way of enjoying them and can make selecting one a pleasant experience.

Other Ways to Store Your Watches

Watch boxes are nice, but there are other options for storing your timepieces (besides in a pile or a sock drawer or their original boxes or whatnot). Watch rolls and pouches are intended for traveling but also make fine options for keeping your watches safe and not strewn about. Watch winders are another great option for stashing watches that you’re not wearing, and they have the added benefit of keeping an automatic watch wound. Finally, safes are always a reasonable choice for keeping watches, especially valuable ones, and there are even those that are designed for watches and incorporate pillows or even winders.

We’ve assembled a collection of all sorts of watch boxes below and for any budget. No matter how simple or fancy you wanna get, you’re sure to find the ideal storage solution here. And if what you’re looking for is more in the line of pouches, cases and rolls, that’s no problem — we have a handy guide to those, too.

  • Materials & Finish: Wood, glass
  • Number of Watches: 6

The wooden design and burlap pillows in this inexpensive, six-watch box will lend your watch collection some serious vintage vibes — and the price can’t be beat. A larger, 12-watch box is also available.

  • Materials & Finish: Wood, faux leather, glass
  • Number of Watches: 6

Don’t have a lot to spend? No worries — this small box with glass display top will safely hold six of your watches. Made of waterproof leatherette over an MDF body, it’s available in five colors and includes a locking top.

  • Materials & Finish: Faux leather, velvet, glass
  • Number of Watches: 12

Need room for watches as well as jewelry and other accessories? This 12-space box should suit you well. It’s got plenty of room for just about everything you keep on your person on a daily basis.

  • Materials & Finish: Faux leather, glass
  • Number of Watches: 24

Do you have a metric shit-ton of watches? Well then, this is the box for you — it’s got room for, like, 24 of ’em. And a soft interior will make sure they’re well protected.

  • Materials & Finish: Wood, glass
  • Number of Watches: 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12

This beautiful wooden watch box comes in your choice of configurations, with space for 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 watches, with or without an optional drawer. You can also choose a wooden or glass lid, and each piece is handmade to order.

  • Materials & Finish: Pebble-textured faux leather, silver-textured silk lining, glass
  • Number of Watches: 5

Wolf knows watch boxes better than most any other brand. Their Windsor box has room for five watches and features a locking glass top, chrome hardware and a leather finish.

  • Materials & Finish: Burled wood, felt, velour, glass
  • Number of Watches: 8

A burled wood exterior and elegantly curved lid, this is an elevated way to keep your timekeepers. Adding a further touch of class, it’s meant to be personalized with an etching on the glass top.

  • Materials & Finish: Top grain Aniline leather, Nubuck
  • Number of Watches: 3

Top grain Aniline leather outside, soft Nubuck leather inside…this may be one of the finest small watch boxes we’ve laid our eyes on. Two security lugs on the lid keep the box securely shut, while a modular design means that you can use the box for display or travel.

  • Materials & Finish: Maple wood, walnut wood, cork, canvas, brass, gold foil, glass
  • Number of Watches: 5

This minimal box is crafted from maple wood, featuring a walnut inlay with cork and khaki cotton canvas lining. It’s got space for five watches and is accented with brass hardware, miter joints with contrasting hardwood splines, a knurled puller and a subtle gold-foil logo.

  • Materials & Finish: Leather, suede
  • Number of Watches: 2

The workmanship and materials are a big part of what make watches special, so it’s natural to appreciate the same qualities in other objects. With its trunk-like studs and latch, this classy leather-lined box holds two watches, but one spot is occupied by a travel roll that can be easily removed and packed.

  • Materials & Finish: Cork, steel, Ultrasuede
  • Number of Watches: 8

A nod to cork watch boxes of the 1970s, this vintage-inspired model from the folks at Wolf is a collaboration with our good friends at Analog/Shift. It neatly holds eight watches.

  • Materials & Finish: Composite wood, croc-embossed calf leather, velvet
  • Number of Watches: 5

If you’ve got some seriously classy watches, it might only feel right to keep them clad in calf leather and velvet. Just imagine how your precious timepieces will look against that deep brown when you open it to choose the day’s wristwear. Don’t they deserve that? The Rapport Brompton is made from solid wood with croc-embossed leather and golden fittings. Capacity is five watches.

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