Watch Storage
Winders, Movement and Capacity
How many positions, how they turn, and the honest answer to whether you need them at all. We make the cabinet; the winder modules themselves are bought in, and that is deliberate.
Nine positions, each one independently set, with a lit ring round every cushion and the controls on the face of the panel where they can be reached without taking a watch off its post. The whole panel is leather-faced and comes out as a unit.
What the film shows is the part of the job that has to be quiet, smooth and right first time — a module seated properly, a cushion that holds the case without forcing the bracelet, and lighting that is cool enough to sit against a watch all day.
We do not build the movement
We are cabinetmakers. A winder module is a small, precise, quiet motor with a control board, made properly by people who make nothing else, and there is no sense in us machining our own version of one. What we do is design the safe around modules that can be lifted out and replaced. They sit in a leather-faced panel that comes out as a unit, so in ten years when a module is tired, or when the market has moved on, the panel is unscrewed and the modules are changed without a cabinetmaker coming back to the house.
That single decision is what makes the difference between a piece of furniture that lasts a generation and one that is obsolete when the electronics are.
Turns, direction and rest
An automatic watch is wound by the wearer’s arm, and a winder imitates that. Two things are set: how many turns a day it gives the rotor, and in which direction. Different movements want different numbers and some want clockwise, some anti-clockwise, some both — the manufacturer will state it, and a decent module lets you set each position independently. Good modules also rest between cycles rather than turning continuously, because a mainspring held permanently at full wind is doing no favours to anything.
If you only wear a piece occasionally and are happy to set it by hand, you do not need a winder for it. A lined, tray-fitted drawer is enough, and it costs a fraction of the space. Where winders genuinely earn their keep is with perpetual calendars, annual calendars and anything else that is a nuisance to reset.
How many positions
Count the watches you actually wear in rotation, add the complications you never want to reset, and that is your winder count. Everything else goes in the drawer. Nine is a common number and sits well in a recessed face; twelve and up want either a wider aperture or two banks. It is worth buying a couple of positions of headroom, because collections grow and re-cutting a hole in a finished wall does not.
Cushions and straps
Cushions are made to the watches, not bought by the dozen. A heavy bracelet wants a firm cushion of the right diameter so the case is supported and the bracelet is not forced open; a leather strap wants something softer and slightly smaller so it is not stretched out of shape over months. Send us the list of pieces and we will size them properly, in a leather that goes with the lining.
Power, noise and heat
Everything inside runs at low voltage from a supply outside the safe, with the cable entering through the base inside the wall. Noise matters when the safe is in a dressing room next to a bedroom, and good modules are close to silent — a cheap one hums through a steel box beautifully, which is one reason we would rather specify the module than be handed one. Lighting is low voltage and run cool; nothing warm sits over a watch.
Magnetism and servicing
Winder motors carry magnets, and mechanical watches do not like magnetic fields. It is worth saying to your watchmaker what you are planning to keep and in what, and taking their view on placement — it is their trade, not ours. What we will do is build the face so that positions are spaced properly rather than crammed, and so that modules and wiring are reachable for service.
Back to how a watch safe is made, or on to security, glass and locking.
Send us the list
The quickest way to start is a list of what the collection is and what is worn in rotation. It tells us the number of positions, the tray sizes and the aperture, which is most of the drawing.
Security glass and locking · How a watch safe is made · The watch range
Questions we are asked
Do you make the winder movements yourselves?
No, and that is deliberate. A winder module is a small, precise, quiet motor with a control board, made properly by people who make nothing else. What we do is design the safe around modules that can be lifted out and replaced: they sit in a leather-faced panel that comes out as a unit, so in ten years the panel is unscrewed and the modules changed without a cabinetmaker coming back to the house.
How many turns a day does a watch need?
Two things are set: how many turns a day the module gives the rotor, and in which direction. Different movements want different numbers, and some want clockwise, some anti-clockwise, some both. The manufacturer will state it, and a decent module lets you set each position independently. Good modules also rest between cycles rather than turning continuously.
Do I actually need a winder?
Not always. If you only wear a piece occasionally and are happy to set it by hand, a lined, tray-fitted drawer is enough and costs a fraction of the space. Where winders genuinely earn their keep is with perpetual calendars, annual calendars and anything else that is tedious to reset.
Where a watch safe goes — where the piece can sit, and what the wall has to be.
Leather, trays and lighting — cushions, fitted trays and why the panel is removable.