How To (Safely) Store a Rolex When Not Wearing It in 2024
We'll take a look at how to store a Rolex when not wearing it to keep it in tip top condition and have it ready to go for it's next outing.
How to store your Rolex
Let's be honest here, you've paid a decent chunk of cash for your Rolex and you will want keep it in the best possible condition even when you aren't wearing it. You may have more than one watch in your collection and wearing the same piece daily isn't an option. You may not wear your Rolex for work so need somewhere to store it safely while not on the wrist. Watch boxes, rolls and winders all provide a good home for when your watch isn't on the wrist. We'll have a look at what suits best for which scenario.
Best place to store your Rolex overnight if worn daily
This is quite a straight forward situation and probably the most common. When wearing your Rolex daily, your movements keep the watch fully wound. This is good in that you can look at watch boxes and watch rolls and you might not necessarily need a watch winder.
Watch rolls offer a good level of protection and comfort for your Rolex but one might say that they are better suited to being a travel companion as they tend to be more compact and have been aesthetically designed as such. View our selection by clicking here. A watch box however, offers a great safe and comfortable space to keep your Rolex overnight. All have lids, thus protecting from dust, pets and flailing arms during the night! You have a great choice of watch boxes available to you, including wooden watch boxes and leather watch boxes. Browse our wide range here. You also have a variety of watch boxes that suit different sized collections from 1 watch to 32 watches and more!
The Rapport Heritage range offers some stunning wood finishes, premium build quality combined with luxurious suede interiors, all most befitting of a Rolex watch. Perfect solutions for storing your Rolex overnight if worn daily.
Best Place to Store Your Rolex if You Have a Watch Collection
Having a watch collection is great but you usually only wear one at a time. Depending on the size of your collection, this can mean that several of them might stop while not being worn.
You may or may not see this as an issue but at 1010 Boutique we like to keep all your watches ticking away, ready for their next outing. But for now, let's not worry about that, we will just concentrate on the storage question.
Scatola del Tempo have been producing some of the very finest watch cases available for 40+ years now. They manufacture cases that can suit between 1 & 32 watches. The Valigetta range are available to store 4, 8, 16 or 32 pieces. The quality of build, leather and styling is quite simply unrivaled and aimed directly at the high end collector of where a Rolex would sit quite nicely.
Re-visiting the idea of a storage facility for a collection where the owner wants all their watches to be kept fully wound and ready to wear, then we need to be looking at a larger capacity watch winder.
Watch winders are available in various configurations including 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 & 12 with certain brands offering modular and bespoke units. Modalo, Benson and Rapport offer some excellent units for collectors all with doors for protection, display windows and a range of programming features. Visit the range.
A growing collection of Rolex would be very much at home in a winder such as the Ambiente 6 by Modalo. Sleek modern design, fabulous finishes and extremely versatile programmability which suits the 650 tpd (turns per day) minimum requirement of almost all Rolex models.
Most Secure Place to Store a Rolex
When considering security for storing your Rolex watch you might want to consider choosing a watch winder or a watch box that will comfortably sit within your safe - should you have one. Many safes are quite small and given the nature and build of safes, have a deceptively small interior space. Bare this in mind when researching your watch winder or watch box.
Should you be considering a watch winder that would be kept in the safe, then unless you have access to power in the safe, then consider a unit that can operate on batteries. Many single watch winders have this feature, with many of the larger Modalo units also capable of running on batteries too. Reliability and autonomy will also be a consideration with the SwissKubik Startbox and Masterbox being capable of 3 years' operation from a pair of C-cell batteries.
How Proper Storage Maintains Watch Value
Whether you buy your Rolex as investments or to wear daily you will always want to look after it the best you can. Should, for whatever reason you need or decide to sell your Rolex one day, then the better you have looked after it will surely reflect in it's resale value.
A watch box or a watch winder (with door) will keep your Rolex protected from dust while not on the wrist preventing build up between the links of the bracelet thus ensuring less wear and tear. Watch boxes with solid (non glass) lids can protect the dial from direct sunlight which over long periods can affect the dial and bezel by fading.
Insurance considerations
One of the most common issues with having a watch collection, is with owners overlooking the potential for loss through burglary or other problems when stored at home.
Insurance policies often stipulate that high value jewellery and watches need to be kept in a safe within the property. We recommend you review your policy. The insurance company will also stipulate that the safe will need to have a fire or cash rating of which you need to comply with, otherwise your prized possession or collection could be at risk from being uninsured.
You will also need to have the safe installed by a qualified tradesman in a suitable location and might be required to provide certificates of the safe and installation as proof.
Common storage mistakes
Perhaps the most important mistake to avoid is mentioned just above. Make sure you have adequate cover and a correct insurance policy to cover your Rolex collection.
Store your Rolex or collection in a good quality box or watch winder but make sure that it isn't accessible to curious kid's hands or wandering pets!
Store your Rolex in a clean, dry and temperate environment.
Should you remove your Rolex and not put it away in a box or winder then it might be worth considering sitting on the table or desk with the winding crown in contact with the surface. This minimizes the contact, thus less chance of scratching. Many sit on the side of the case without the crown. Should any damage occur, then it will definitely be cheaper to replace a winding crown than a full watch case.