[VIDEO] Our Favorite Watch Accessories

When you collect watches, you also somewhat inadvertently collect a bunch of other things. You might realize it until you get pretty deep into the hobby, but it’s almost impossible to avoid acquiring a whole host of accessories for storing, cleaning, admiring, and tinkering with your watches. Over the years, we’ve tried tools, cases, and accessories in a bunch of other categories, and have naturally developed some preferences. 

Here, Kat Shoulders and Zach Kazan walk you through some of their personal favorites from their own stash. Let us know in the comments what watch related accessories you can’t live without. 

Zach Kazan 

Valet tray 

A valet tray is in some ways impossibly simple. Usually made from leather, they are small trays, often with buttons at the corners, made catching stray items that you might dump from your pockets upon returning home. Keys, wallets, loose change – you get the idea. Though not a watch accessory per se, they make a ton of sense if you have more than a few watches in your life and just need a place to put them from time to time. I have a few valet trays on my desk at home. One is large enough to handle all the things these trays were really meant for, and is where you’ll often find my AirPods, a memory card or two, maybe some cash (nothing larger than a five spot, sorry) and a pen. The other is smaller, and perfectly sized for two watches. If I’m going to typing for an extended period of time and don’t want the feel of a watch on my wrist at that moment, it comes off and goes in the tray. If I have a watch in for review, it probably lives in the tray when I’m not wearing it (because it feels very weird to put a watch that’s not mine in the main watch box, I’m sure you understand). 

But more than being incredibly practical, I also find these trays to be attractive desk objects. I like to surround myself with aesthetically pleasing, well made things, and a nicely crafted leather valet tray will always look great, even if it’s empty. 

Two-watch case

I’m not a huge fan of traveling with watches. It stresses me out. I have a few watch rolls of varying design, including one which can carry up to six watches. I have to confess, I’ve never used that one, at least not to its full capacity, because I don’t think there is a single scenario, save a slow trip to an underground bunker to wait out an apocalyptic event, where I’d feel a need to bring that many watches with me at once. 

That’s why I like this two watch case by Tawbury. It’s small enough to easily fit in my backpack when I hit the road, and offers what I feel like is a more than adequate level of protection for a number of watches that is much more manageable on a trip of any length. The leather shell looks nice and is hard enough to inspire confidence that an accidental drop won’t destory the contents inside, and the lining is plush and won’t inadvertently scratch the watch it’s meant to protect. If you simply must travel with multiple watches, a simple case like this is all you need, and the type of thing that I’ll reach for most of the time. 

Loupe 

Every watch collector should have at least one loupe. While you can spend quite a bit of money on a fancy, high magnification loupes, simple loupes made for inspecting jewelry are readily available on Amazon with magnification ranging from 10x to 40x, which is probably about the right range for inspecting a watch. 

Loupes are great because you’ll inevitably notice little details on a watch that you’d never pick up with the naked eye. I can remember, for example, the first time I took a loupe to a dial of a Grand Seiko and noticed there was immaculate, detailed finishing of the hour markers that I just couldn’t see without the aid of magnification. It gave me a new appreciation for the craft and precision involved in watchmaking, not just at Grand Seiko. Movements, of course, are a great target for a loupe as well, and you’ll quickly begin to see where some brands take short cuts, and some do the opposite and go all out. 

A loupe is also a necessity if you ever sell a watch privately. It’s a great practice to inspect a watch closely under magnification before writing the sales listing so you can properly disclose any damage. Even if it’s with the qualifier of “Only visible under magnification,” your potential buyer will appreciate your honesty. 

Kat Shoulders 

Tools

One of the first things you buy as a beginning watch enthusiast is a strap changing tool. I’ve probably owned at least 100 by now but only a few have stood the test of time in my collection as so many were cheap and broke, or were machined so poorly that they couldn’t really be used. Having a good set of tools is really important, especially when changing a strap or bracelet because you don’t want to damage your watch. Early on, I got myself an Everest Premier Bracelet Tool & Installation set and it changed my game. Not only was it much higher quality than the many cheap counterparts I had purchased on Amazon, it had these gnarled bits on the hand-grip portion so the tool wouldn’t easily slide from your hand while you were changing a strap. The screwdriver also comes in super handy when I’m attempting to size a new bracelet that has screw links. It certainly hasn’t fit every bracelet I’ve brought home but I’d say the 1.6mm sized flathead has worked on about 80% of the watches I’ve owned. 

Watch Roll

Ok…I’m going to preface this next favorite accessory of mine by saying that it is absolutely a “treat yo self” type of thing. The Oberwerth Watch Roll looks like most watch rolls from a distance but it’s when it’s in your hands that you notice how this roll stands out. The 3-watch case is made of fine grained calfskin leather and is butter smooth just like their camera bags, which I’m also a huge fan of. And because the German brand’s roots are in the camera bag world, you get that lovely “Leica” red as you open the roll up.

I love the bright splash of color inside. This feels like I’m rolling out the red carpet for my watches, and I kinda love that. It’s the watch roll of all watch rolls in a way. The price is steep but my watches feel incredibly safe and tucked away as I travel constantly for work. If you simply want to splurge one day on a case not only your watches will appreciate, but you’ll also adore, this case will do the trick. 

Flashlight 

Alright, now back to something more reasonably priced, but perhaps a nerdier item to have in my favorites list. This would be the Nitecore Tiki with the glow in the dark case. As someone who not only shoots watch photographs for a living but also just loves to geek out from lume on my watches, this light stays on me at all times. It’s teeny tiny and can easily fit on your keychain. All while pumping out 300 lumens. This little cute light is a staple just because I love luming up my watches between meetings and it’s incredibly small to travel with for watch photoshoots. It’s not a must for everyone but I enjoy the heck out of it.