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Your watch storage evolution

Discussion area for watch straps, boxes, winders and other accessories.
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Sussa
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Your watch storage evolution

Post by Sussa »

We've had a few threads about building new storage, or current storage, but how has it evolved for you?

Once I reached three watches, I decided a box of some sort was necessary. I like to repurpose things and my extended family likes to hold on to things. We're a perfect match. Helping said family with round 1 of a house de-clutter netted this box, originally used for filing film negatives. I put padded headliner fabric in the bottom, cut some balsa wood dividers and it held 4 or 5 watches.
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It's now used to store spare bracelet links or bracelets I'll never wear but am holding on to for some reason.
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Next came an antique store find. Labels on the side of the case indicate it was used to store small bottles of chemicals. I sewed some pillows, put headliner fabric in the bottom of each shelf and now had room for 10 watches. I bought my 11th watch shortly after finishing the pillows.
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Currently use: nothing. The shelves were just a tad too short and I had a tendency to scrape the cases on the wood.

It was time for a proper, store-bought box. I wanted to protect my nicer or more favorited watched from the possibility of scratches on the wood shelf, so they went in this. These two cases were enough for a couple years.
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Current use: Holding for watches I want to sell or am considering selling. I love this box and will probably re-enlist it in active duty when I inevitably outgrow my current storage.
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Which brings us to the current set up. During a second house de-cluttering from the same family members, I acquired a large display box with a glass lid. I wanted a case that was functional for more than just holding watches, so I removed the glass lid and replaced it with a solid wood top with a few layers of poly. I tried to strip and refinish the box, but didn't like the results and ended up painting it black. Found a set of tall hairpin legs on eBay and turned it into a standing desk. This is my watch repair and modding station, my sewing table, and a step for my cats to get on top of my seated desk's hutch.
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Inside are two large blocks of pick and pluck foam. The "pillows" are 1" pipe insulation. It holds 48 watches and you can see I'm running out of room.
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There are two downsides for the foam: 1) It's so thick and heavier watches will sink to the bottom of the case. I put some folded scrap foam at the bottom of the hole to keep them in place. The remaining squares can get a little mashed, especially when storing a watch on a NATO. Still perfectly functional though, because only the tops get mashed.
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I love that it's discreet. Should someone break into my house and somehow make it past the guard dog and guard cats, this doesn't scream "valuables inside." If if they did find it, it's not something they can just pick up and run off with. The biggest downside is that the solars don't get sunlight. For this, I made a two-watch stand that fits on a windowsill and leave them on it for a day or so after each wear.

How has your storage changed over the years? Were you sure you'd never need more than 10 slots and now find yourself eyeing unused furniture for re-use? Do you keep adding more boxes? Let's see it!
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pdsf
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Re: Your watch storage evolution

Post by pdsf »

Thank you for sharing, [mention]Sussa[/mention]! I enjoyed reading about your evolution. :)

Mine is nowhere near as exciting, thoughtful, or aesthetically pleasing - I just went from a 5-pocket watch roll to a 7-pocket watch roll. :|
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