The Best Watch Boxes For Collectors

Odds are that if you’re into watches, you probably own more than one. And since you can only wear one watch at a time (or rather, since you should only wear one watch at a time), you’re going to need a place to store the pieces of your collection when you’re not wearing them. And since just leaving them in a pile on your nightstand or in your sock drawer is far from ideal, you’re going to need to get a watch box. The best watch boxes offer not only a place to securely store your watches but also act as an attractive complement to your home decor.

For our guide to the best watch boxes, we’ve gathered a diverse collection of timepiece storage solutions at a wide variety of price points, styles, and sizes. So whether you have a collection of four watches or forty-eight, whether you favor traditional or modern designs, and whether your budget is $40 or $2,600, you’ll find something that works for you here. That’s because every item on our list of the best watch boxes is at the top level of quality for its price and is well-suited to perform its task, i.e., they’ll all keep your watches safe while looking good doing it. So take a look below at our picks for the best watch boxes for your collection.

Why Buy A Watch Box?

If you’re spending thousands of dollars on quality timepieces, you won’t want to just leave them lying in some random drawer in your bedroom where they can get damaged and disorganized. Watch boxes come in all shapes and sizes, but owning one is crucial if you want to protect and/or travel with one or a select few of your favorites.

Likewise, watch boxes are a great way to show off the highlights of your collection to those who come into your abode. After all, you’re only going to wear one on your wrist. These displays let you show off multiple references at once.

Watch Box Vs. Watch Winder

As you probably know, an automatic watch will stop ticking after the power reserve runs out (i.e., after you stop wearing it). While most watch boxes simply store your timepieces, certain models double as winders — devices that will keep your watch’s power intact when idle. For the sake of this guide, we’ve focused on watch boxes, with a single watch winder thrown into the mix.

Glenor Co. 6 Slot Watch Box

Best Budget Option: For our budget pick, we went with this fan favorite. For this price, you’re not getting real leather or authentic carbon fiber, but you are getting a solidly-built watch box with a legitimate glass top, stainless steel hardware, sturdy hinges, and room for six watches. It’s sleek and stylish while maintaining a compact footprint, and it has room for watches both large and small. If you’re operating on a tight budget, you really can’t beat this offering from Glenor Co. for the price.

Nalpak Pelican 1170 Watch Case

Best for Travel: An age-old trick among watch collectors is creating bulletproof watch boxes out of Pelican storage cases. The travel-ready cases are crush-proof, waterproof, and dust-proof, making them an attractive option if the safety of your watches is your top priority. Nalpak, an authorized Pelican dealer, has done the work for you with their line of Pelican watch cases. The cases feature precise cutouts of the Pelican foam, creating ample room for your collection without you having to lift a finger — or a blade.

Bey-Berk Stanley 48-Watch Box

Best for Large Collections: There are almost countless types of watch collectors. Some go for the simple and classic three-watch collection, while others operate under the belief that more is better. If you’re the latter type of collector, then this is the case for you. With space for a whopping 48 watches, this four-level monster has room for all but the very largest collections. And when we say it has room, we mean it. Unlike some other watch boxes that inflate their capacity claims by counting random drawers as storage space, this unit actually includes dedicated spaces and pillows for all four dozen watches.

Windup Watch Shop The Tool Watch Box

Best for Tool Watches: If you’ve got a collection of tool watches, then why not store them in a tool watch box? That was the thinking behind the Windup Watch Shop’s Tool Watch Box. Designed to look like an actual old-school toolbox, the clever original design has room for 12 watches. Fashioned from rugged steel and available in black or classic red finishes, the Tool Watch Box looks great on just about any surface. And its interior is surprisingly just as nice as its snazzy exterior, thanks to stained wood dividers, a microsuede lining, and dark tweed pillows.

WOLF Windsor 10-Piece With Drawer

Best for Jewelry Collectors: Out of all the brands on this list, WOLF is by far the most synonymous with watch storage. The company has been around since 1834, and they offer premium watch storage solutions at practically every level. The Windsor is one of their most classic designs, and it will work for almost any collector whose collection consists of ten watches or less. Constructed of vegan leather with a locking glass top and chrome-finished hardware, the Windsor features an additional valet drawer for accessories in addition to its ten-watch main level.

Shinola Watch Collector’s Box

Best for Small Collections: Shinola is mainly known as a watchmaker, but the brand makes lots of other goods, too. This watch box blends both sides of Shinola’s business beautifully, offering a well-made and attractive storage option for a four-watch collection. No corners were cut on this watch box, as it’s made of sturdy oak with supple real leather lining and pillows. There’s even a sizable leather panel on the top of the box that’s meant to be monogrammed, allowing you to personalize your collection’s beautiful home.

Scully & Scully Saffiano Leather Watch Case

Best Space-Saver: Scully & Scully make some really high-end watch storage solutions. For example, they offer a $180,000 facial recognition cabinet that looks like something Tony Stark would own. But since you’re not Tony Stark, this more modest offering of theirs should suit you just fine. Made of gorgeous scratch-resistant Saffiano leather, this stunner will seriously elevate the style of any room in which it finds itself. It also splits its 10-watch storage between pillows and a flat-lay arrangement, which adds a touch of customizable versatility to your storage setup.

WOLF x Analog/Shift 1976 Collection 8-Piece Watch Box

Best for True Watch Nerds: Our second option from WOLF is a collaboration the brand did with vintage watch dealer Analog/Shift. The first thing you’re likely to notice is that the box is made of cork, a rather unusual material for a watch box. Unless you’re a vintage watch nerd, that is. This box is meant to invoke the quirky and extremely rare cork boxes that the original Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 3700 was packaged in, all the way back in the 1970s. It’s a very inside-baseball throwback, but if you love nerding out over this kind of attention to detail, then this is the box for you.

WOLF Axis 6-Piece Winder

Best Watch Winder: Does a watch winder count as a watch box? That’s debatable, but since a winder is a box in which you store watches, we’re going to go ahead and say it does. WOLF is arguably an even bigger name in the watch winder space than it is among watch boxes, and any one of their offerings is worth your time. But for this guide, we went for the middle of their lineup by selecting a winder that will work for many collectors. With laser-cut perforated steel decoration, a locking glass cover, a backlit LCD display, and six winding modules with versatile low-density foam holders, this winder makes for a stylish and luxurious home for your collection.

The Best Men’s Watches Under $1,000

If you’re ready to get a head start on filling those empty spaces in your new watch box without breaking the bank, then have a look at our guide to the best watches under $1,000.