Winders & Safes
Safes
A safe place to store valuable watches is essential. Start with a hidden spot, which will probably be complicated by the need to have power to run watch winders. There are options for large collectors like the Virginia K2 RSCII Biometric (which means it can use a fingerprint as a combination)
A safe place to store valuable watches is essential. Start with a hidden spot, which will probably be complicated by the need to have power to run watch winders. There are options for large collectors like the Virginia K2 RSCII Biometric (which means it can use a fingerprint as a combination)
Photo:Casoro Jewelry Safes
standing safe like the 16-winder model shown Photo:Wolf Safes
above right for about $36,500 which is B-rated for fire resistance up to two hours. Keep in mind that you will pay more than $36,000 for any all gold tool Rolex. A two-tone Daytona can come close to this price as well. So the Atlas isn’t “crazy” money, but it is a huge and very heavy safe, nonetheless.
By the way, a fire rating of “B” means the interior will not get hotter than 350º for up to two hours even if the safe is dropped (like from the first floor to the basement in a house fire) 30 feet. Paper burns at 450º so documents allegedly remain safe as well as watches and jewelry.
This writer struggled with which to prioritize: fire safety vs. theft prevention. Seeking an alternative to expensive safes like the above, he looked into file cabinets that were burn rated. The FireKing shown below left is $2900 and burn rated for one hour. You can add optional pull-out shelves as shown below right for about $120 each.
Photos:FireSafe Safes
Envision drilling a hole in the safe’s case to pass a power cord through to power watch winders kept on pull-out shelves to make a pretty safe storage site. You can even add a digital lock, but now you are back to a 600 lb. cabinet costing well over $3000. Drilling a hole in the safe’s case compromises the fire protection, but you could use battery run winders if you are willing to recharge or replace all the batteries periodically.
Built with thin steel surround thick solid foam insulation, these cabinets are pretty easy to break into so you lose theft protection in favor of fire protection. The biggest difficulty is given their size they are hard to conceal to augment theft protection. This writer thought he could make it look like a standard storage cabinet in his home office, but adding a digital front mounted lock would give away its purpose to any home invader.
OK, continuing the search how about a pharmacy safe? FireKing and other companies also make under counter safes, like the ones you see behind the counter in pharmacies, which have pull out shelves making access to watches and winders easier. They are much lighter and smaller than a floor standing safe, but still a substantial 350 lbs. One again you have to drill a hole to get power into it to run watch winders, but since there is no fire protection in the first place, that does not compromise its fire proof integrity.
It is B-rated for resistance to break-in and runs about $2400 delivered, so this looks like a reasonable option. BTW, B-rated resistance means the safe has at least 1/4” steel walls and a 1/2” thick door. There is no UL or other testing to rate resistance, but it is much better that the standard “RSC” (residential security container) rating which means a safe can withstand five minutes of vigorous break-in attempts by one person. This could involve prying, drilling, etc. Think the little safe in your hotel room as an example of a RSC rated device. A “TL” rating (used largely in gun safes) means the safe is built of ≥1” thick steel (massively heavy) which only ensures it can withstand 15 minutes of break-in attempts by a professional thief. You start to get the idea that more steel doesn’t equate to much more theft protection from a professional burglar. This suggest it might be wise to think concealment over bulk in a watch safe.
Don’t confuse a B resistance rating with A and B “fire” ratings which are UL ratings certifying safes that can withstand a ≤1850º fire for one or two hours, respectively. While the pharmacy safe option offers no fire protection is does seem like a reasonable option for theft protection that is not overly big, heavy or expensive. With some adaptions like drilling a hole to allow a winder power cord it could serve as an affordable. He was looking at the AMSEC Narcotic Pharmacy Safe which could be had for $2370 delivered. Believing theft deterance more important than fire protection this safe seemed like the best option; however, it only offered a few minutes protection from break-in by a professional, and given its size it was impossible to conceal. This writer, while not enthusiastic about it, was about to buy one of these pharmacy safes when he came across another option:
The Blum safe was developed by an engineer who collects watches and faced the same dilemmas as this writer did about where to store and protect his watches. Rather than opt for a large floor safe, he concentrated on concealment using a thinner walled safe allowing it to mount between the studs of a standard wall anywhere in a home. You do need 7.5 inches of depth in the wall, but you can buy a frame to shim out the safe.
It’s best is to find a wall where the back of the safe can protrude out into a closet or unused space. Screwed from inside the safe to the studs makes it difficult to break into, unless the thief is willing to take the time to demolish the wall and pry out the safe – activities that should trigger a good supplementary security system in a home. It’s far cheaper to pay for sheet rock repair than replace a stolen Rolex of any variety.
Furthermore, there are options to hide the safe behind a mirror or even a “smart screen” like shown above right which can display photos (a collection via wifi) and real time information like a calendar and weather conditions as shown below right. This particular model has a keypad, biometric fingerprint reader and backup key system to open. It costs $1400 and can hold up to 12 winders in increments of three.
Twelve winders adds $900 or $75 each which is a good deal, as they are nice programmable BOXY winders which stack on each other allowing a single corded winder to power others in a modular fashion. They utilize the standard Mabuchi motor and belt drive system. You can email Mr. Blum and chat about the safes, and even pay a bit extra to get one made entirely in the US, vs a Chinese-made one which is of very fine quality as well.
Final notes: It is not mentioned on the website, but a very cool features of the BOXY (and other) watch winder is that it always stops in the same orientation allowing your watches to all appear with 12:00 o’clock up when they are in the pause state, which is most of the time. So when you open the safe, and an internal light comes on, you are presented with your own collection in a nice display mode. This is can be even more emphasized given a glass-fronted door option on the Blum safe, but that seemed a bit overkill to this collector.
Furthermore, there are options to hide the safe behind a mirror or even a “smart screen” like shown above right which can display photos (a collection via wifi) and real time information like a calendar and weather conditions as shown below right. This particular model has a keypad, biometric fingerprint reader and backup key system to open. It costs $1400 and can hold up to 12 winders in increments of three.
Twelve winders adds $900 or $75 each which is a good deal, as they are nice programmable BOXY winders which stack on each other allowing a single corded winder to power others in a modular fashion. They utilize the standard Mabuchi motor and belt drive system. You can email Mr. Blum and chat about the safes, and even pay a bit extra to get one made entirely in the US, vs a Chinese-made one which is of very fine quality as well.
Final notes: It is not mentioned on the website, but a very cool features of the BOXY (and other) watch winder is that it always stops in the same orientation allowing your watches to all appear with 12:00 o’clock up when they are in the pause state, which is most of the time. So when you open the safe, and an internal light comes on, you are presented with your own collection in a nice display mode. This is can be even more emphasized given a glass-fronted door option on the Blum safe, but that seemed a bit overkill to this collector.
Winders
There is a bit of a debate (see this NYT article) over whether you even need a watch winder. The newest Rolexes can sit for 70 hours before needing winding, while older models have a reserve of around 48 hours. If you have one or two Rolexes you wear nearly every day, there is not need for a winder. But if you collect and are interested in tool watches which often have multiple complications, which can be hard to set and wind, then a winder is in your interest. Some vintage watches require rotating the hour hand twice around the dial just to move a date 24-hours, which can be really tedious in setting a date function if the watch stops. A big issue is that oil can get gummy from sitting too long in a mechanism, as parts can freeze in place.
Using a winder to simulate movement on the wrist and keep a watch running makes good sense. However, just like you don’t want to leave a car running 24/7, simulating movement for around several hours a day with long breaks and doing just enough to keep the watch wound and running continually would be best.
Quality single winders run from around $380 down to $75, or even much more with fancy containers, etc. Regardless of cost, most winders are powered by the Mabuchi motor with a belt drive system to rock the watch back and forth, or rotate them either clockwise or counter clockwise for a a preset number of minutes (which you can vary), and then pause.
There is a bit of a debate (see this NYT article) over whether you even need a watch winder. The newest Rolexes can sit for 70 hours before needing winding, while older models have a reserve of around 48 hours. If you have one or two Rolexes you wear nearly every day, there is not need for a winder. But if you collect and are interested in tool watches which often have multiple complications, which can be hard to set and wind, then a winder is in your interest. Some vintage watches require rotating the hour hand twice around the dial just to move a date 24-hours, which can be really tedious in setting a date function if the watch stops. A big issue is that oil can get gummy from sitting too long in a mechanism, as parts can freeze in place.
Using a winder to simulate movement on the wrist and keep a watch running makes good sense. However, just like you don’t want to leave a car running 24/7, simulating movement for around several hours a day with long breaks and doing just enough to keep the watch wound and running continually would be best.
Quality single winders run from around $380 down to $75, or even much more with fancy containers, etc. Regardless of cost, most winders are powered by the Mabuchi motor with a belt drive system to rock the watch back and forth, or rotate them either clockwise or counter clockwise for a a preset number of minutes (which you can vary), and then pause.
The single watch winder to the left cost $23 on sale, while the six-watch winder above was $170, both from
Amazon. Japanese-made motors are used in most of the famous high-end winders because they are reliable and quiet and superior to Chinese motors. Even the “best” winders like the Wolf Cub ($575) and Barrington ($250) single-watch winders use Japanese motors. The English Watch guy talks about need for and quality of watch winders. He particularly likes the Mozly for $90 in a variety of colors and finishes. BTW, check out this Omega Forum blog where some guys took a Wolf winder apart to see what it is made of; spoiler alert–you’ll not be impressed by the cardboard or ~$10 motors they found!
Inexpensive winders will advertise their use of a Mabuchi mechanism, like the $23 model above left that this author recently bought for a friend on Amazon. While the electronics may vary, and the stitching or “vegan leather” cuffs you insert into the watch band maybe be better on a fancy winder, it seems you can do well at a low price. This writer bought the six-watch winder, above right, on Amazon which came with a smashed corner – but it was easy to return and get a new one. The finish is remarkably nice and it’s a cool way to display watches and it has many adjustments on each winder – all for $170.
In this collector’s humble opinion, getting a Chinese-made winder with good ratings for quality on Amazon with a Mabuchi motor should do you just fine. You’ll see many sellers representing pretty identical units, and you can save even more money by buying the same unit on AliExpress with free shipping, from China which is where the Amazon sellers get them. Although, given the hassle, why would you not just go with the $23 model shown above from Amazon which offers buyer protections and one-day free shipping?
Inexpensive winders will advertise their use of a Mabuchi mechanism, like the $23 model above left that this author recently bought for a friend on Amazon. While the electronics may vary, and the stitching or “vegan leather” cuffs you insert into the watch band maybe be better on a fancy winder, it seems you can do well at a low price. This writer bought the six-watch winder, above right, on Amazon which came with a smashed corner – but it was easy to return and get a new one. The finish is remarkably nice and it’s a cool way to display watches and it has many adjustments on each winder – all for $170.
In this collector’s humble opinion, getting a Chinese-made winder with good ratings for quality on Amazon with a Mabuchi motor should do you just fine. You’ll see many sellers representing pretty identical units, and you can save even more money by buying the same unit on AliExpress with free shipping, from China which is where the Amazon sellers get them. Although, given the hassle, why would you not just go with the $23 model shown above from Amazon which offers buyer protections and one-day free shipping?
