Safe Deposit Box Storage: The Long-Term Impact on Luxury Watches

Seeks · 2020-10-13T08:26:41Z

Explore the long-term effects of storing luxury watches in cold, dry safe deposit boxes. Collectors discuss lubricant health, winding practices, and modern oil resilience.

Seeks

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

37 replies4529 views1 photos

Seeks's original post delves into a critical, often-debated topic among luxury watch collectors: the long-term effects of storing timepieces in safe deposit boxes. This discussion explores whether the typically cold and dry environment of these vaults negatively impacts watch lubricants and overall movement health. Seeks shares his personal routine of winding and repositioning watches during visits, prompting the community to weigh in on best practices for prolonged storage.

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Hello!

Recently during a lunch with a few watch collectors, it was mentioned that perhaps the room environment of Safe Deposit Boxes are too cold and too dry for watches which will result in the lubricant of watches to become sticky or to dry up. This might lead to greater wear and tear due to increased friction against moving parts if the watch is not then serviced immediately.

I have read in this forum a few years ago and it was recommended that we wind our watches every 1-3 months and this can help maintain good working conditions and extend the time between (costly) services.

Thus, every time I go to the boxes, I made it a point to wind all watches to at least keep them moving for a while. I also changed their position (face up to face down etc). So far so good, as all watches are still ticking fine.

But we wondered, if watches were left unwound and in a single position in these very cold and very dry places for a long time (say more than 2 years) would that give rise to any concern from you?

I would love to hear stories or best practices or advice from fellow collectors!

Thank you in advance

Key Points from the Discussion

Cold and dry conditions are generally not an issue for mechanical instruments; hot and humid environments pose a greater risk. Modern synthetic oils are less prone to drying out, making frequent winding less critical for watches serviced every 7-8 years.
Occasional winding is beneficial, but constant running on winders is often considered counterproductive unless necessary for high complications like moon phases that are difficult to reset.
Storing watches in a sealed container, such as a Ziploc bag or a Pelican case, inside a safe deposit box can provide an extra layer of protection against potential water damage from incidents like pipe bursts.
It would be valuable to hear directly from watch brands regarding their recommendations for long-term storage in specific climatic conditions, as their insights could offer definitive guidance.
Some collectors prioritize wearing their watches over strict storage routines, accepting that servicing can address any issues arising from prolonged inactivity.

The Discussion

K-

K-Lo

Oct 13, 2020

Use and replace desiccant bags often. I use ziplock bags for the last 10 years, never any issue.

Seeks

Oct 13, 2020

Similar frequency as myself then... Best regards

Seeks

Oct 13, 2020

May I ask how frequent is often? And do you wind them when you change the bags? Many thanks

K-

K-Lo

Oct 13, 2020

I really don’t care about winding my manual winds, I have given up on accuracy on them. I just wear manual winds usually without winding them, Andy Warhol style. Always worst case you get it serviced....

myles721

Oct 13, 2020

No oops..great things are aspirational!

Blansky

Oct 13, 2020

But I also wind my watches once a month....just because.

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Safe Deposit Box Storage: The Long-Term Impact on Luxury Watches

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