Instagram is full of videos of anonymous gloved hands ceremoniously opening up a watch box. What’s most striking is not the reverential way in which the task is accomplished, although there are probably brain surgeons who take less care when opening up a skull. What’s incredible is that, because of these videos, the general public can at long last see what watch boxes look like!
Think about it. Apart from watches you’ve bought yourself, have you ever seen how watch brands package their products for sale? Do you know which ones come in a black lacquered case? Or which use precious woods, or leather? Do you know what colour they are? Which offer something different from a cube with an embossed logo? Do the boxes change depending on the price range? To answer all these questions, you merely have to browse through the hundreds of private accounts whose owners reveal their watch purchases. Or those of retailers who promote their wares by pushing the suspense angle: will there be something inside the box, or will they prank you with an empty box? Will there be a rattle snake inside, or some candy? Or a stack of 100 dollar bills, as we see so often on Instagram?
Even though I see hundreds of watches each year, I must say I had virtually no idea about this hidden facet of the watch world. Some watchmakers have rather particular boxing policies. Minute repeaters are often delivered with a special sound box made of resonant hardwood: a cone for Cartier, a piano for Audemars Piguet and a writing desk for Chopard. Others create presentation cases to go with the theme of the special series they contain, such as cigar-themed timepieces whose case doubles up as a humidor. Some diving watches are delivered in a special watertight container, like the Oris Explorer cases. But apart from that, you generally have to be a client or a retailer to know more.
Collectors will often agree that these containers are useless for anything other than collecting dust in a cupboard. But the brands continue on the assumption that a watch delivered in a leather case will be stored in that leather case, when in fact that’s rarely true. Starting from when the watch is bought, clients are often advised not to carry their purchase in a big, obvious bag, but rather to wear it, or put it in their pocket, to reduce the risk of theft. Back home, watches are kept in far more banal places (in a drawer, on a shelf), in a watch roll or travel case, a case designed to hold several timepieces, like those made by Scatola del Tempo, or a multi-watch winder from RDI, for instance.
So we shouldn’t really complain when our watch is delivered in a less than fabulous box, or one rather less sophisticated than the product it contains. Sometimes it’s an oversight. But it may also be a pragmatic admission of their irrelevance. And a recognition that what you’re paying for is a watch, not pointless accessories.
