Watch accessories for the serious collector

If you own a watch, well, you own a watch. If it’s a quartz, you set the time and forget about it, except when you need to change the cell every few years. If it’s a quartz that runs on solar energy, then you don’t even need to change cells. Or you could be into the more traditional mechanical and automatic watches, and that calls for a whole other level of engagement. To own timepieces that run on a complex mechanical interplay of wheels and gear trains and are powered by the force of a mainspring that you need to wind manually, is to enter the world of horological rituals. You wouldn’t do it if you weren’t into watches to begin with.

So you have developed a passion for watches, and you have gone and got yourself a fancy automatic or three (or 10!). It’s now time to go and get yourself some watch accessories.

Watch Winders

Once you wind an automatic watch and set the time, it gives you a certain number of hours of power reserve before you need to wind it again. This could range from 40-80 hours depending on the movement. However, as long as it’s on your wrist, it remains wound thanks to a rotor which transfers energy to the mainspring. But what if you don’t end up wearing one of your watches for a few days, but you don’t want it to get unwound? Enter, the watch winder. It’s a box that gently rotates your watch to keep it wound. They are not absolutely necessary, but if you own a multi-complication watch that takes time to set, like a perpetual calendar, then a watch winder could be useful. There are plenty to choose from, including single or double winders (or even a vault of winders). Wolf’s watch winders are well-known and highly respected, and this simple double winder would be perfect.

Wolf Double Cub Winder

£459 (around ₹43,000)



A leather watch roll.



Watch Boxes

A stylish and spacious watch box to store your watches, away from the heat, dust and humidity, is a must. You can go for boxes that hold 2-12 pieces, depending on your collection, and you could opt for one with a see-through lid so you can cast admiring glances at your timepieces whenever you want to. The Lapis Bard watch and accessory case, a two-deck box in wood, is a useful buy. It holds up to eight watches in its upper deck, while a slide-out lower deck can hold accessories ranging from ties to pens and cufflinks.

Lapis Bard Watch & Accessory Case

₹14,995

Watch Rolls

Think of these as your portable watch case, where you can safely carry two- three of your favourite watches while travelling. These come in all shapes and materials, from canvas rolls to hard leather ones. This elegant leather roll in forest green from The Black Canvas hits the spot. It can hold up to four watches in individual pockets. Roll it up, set the clasp and you are ready to go.

The Black Canvas Leather Watch Roll

₹2,000

SPRING-BAR TOOL

A great way to freshen up your watches is to change the straps occasionally. Watches are strap monsters and you can dress up or dress down a watch by choosing to wear it with a bracelet, a nato or a leather strap. But do you really want to go to a watch repairer or a jeweller every time you want to throw on a new strap? Get a spring-bar tool and do it yourself in a matter of minutes. The Swiss brand Bergeon makes excellent spring-bar tools with standard fork and tip ends that are extremely useful.

Bergeon 3153

₹5,243