As a watch collector, I hate to buy anything that detracts from my primary mission of spending the most amount money that I can afford on watches. With this mantra in mind, I am starting a new series of product reviews. These products will be watch-related tools and supplies, and not the watches themselves that get top priority for my limited budget.
Every watch collector should have a safe and secure way of transporting their watches to local events
The first product for review concerns something that every watch collector should think about, which is finding a way to store their watches and safely transport them. Introducing the Tech Swiss TSBOXAL 12, a small aluminum watch case that will fit the needs of many collectors.
The TSBOXAL 12 product detail on the TechSwiss web site
Before I actually review the item, I would like to share the reason I bought one. Recently, I attended my very first WUS GTG. For the uninitiated, that translates to “Watch-You-Seek Get-Together”. Watch You Seek is probably the world’s largest online forum of watch geeks and collectors.
Not having attended one of these events before, I did not know what to expect or what to bring. I’m sure that I looked like a complete noob because I carried in a large cardboard box of watches. In my defense, I brought the display boxes that came with my watches that I had for sale, which are bulky and required a practical solution.
Does this aluminum case match my silver sneakers?
Regardless, I instantly saw better ways to transport watches to events and share them with other forum members. These solutions ran the gamut of affordable to expensive. The latter category included watch rolls consisting of leather or waxed canvas that have pockets sewn in. These nicely lay flat on the table and secure with a string when you carry them. This is a nice compact solution. While there are cheap versions of these available made from synthetic leather, those might not be the best way to present any watch of value. The better ones may cost you hundreds of dollars and go against my mantra, even if I want one.
Worn & Woundย offers high-craft, American-made watch rolls that are lust-worthy. This is one of my favorite blogs ever and buying one from them supports the good work they do.
Worn & Wound watch rolls for sale
Hodinkee has a large variety of watch rolls in many materials from textures to leather.
Hodinkee watch rolls for sale
Other options that I saw included padded watch cases with watch-shaped cutouts. These are pretty good for carrying a small number of watches. They are usually padded, semi-rigid and provide a basic level of bump protection. One in particular that I saw was the 5 watch travel case seen here on Black List Watches.
A 5 watch travel case from Black List Watches
However, those other options went out the window when I saw theย Tech Swiss TSBOXAL 12ย andย learned that I could have one for about $50 including shipping. One particular member who had the best collection that I have ever seen in person had two of these aluminum cases so if it was good enough to house his rare watches, they would be just fine for my more affordable watches. Each case holds a total of twelve watches so he had a nice cross section of his larger collection with him.
The TechSwiss case holds 12 watches at a time.
The interior of the case consists of twelve cubby holes and 12 watch pillows. Each is covered in deep black velvet, which makes practically any displayed watch look amazing. The dimensions of the cubby holes measure 54 mm X 86 mm and will accommodate larger watches, up to 50 mm. I easily fit my largest watches in the cubbies with room to spare… important if you do not want your watches banging together.
You can store other things like watch straps if you pull out a pillow.
However, there is actually little chance of your watches moving because the top of the case is lined with soft foam egg crate padding, which compresses against the watches holding them in position when the case is closed. I would not want to test this, but this should protect your watches during transport when jostling and bumping might damage watches sitting loosely next to one another.
The egg crate foam absorbs shocks and prevents the watches from shifting once the top is closed.
Theย Tech Swiss TSBOXAL 12ย does a good jobย disguising the factย that it is not a heavy duty case. I would recommend it for intermittent use or storage. Even though it does look tough, I would not want to test it in adverse conditions. If you are going to some place really extreme, get a waterproof Pelican case instead. Those are engineered to take a lot of punishment.
The case has pretty nice appeal. This was much better than the cardboard box that I used to my first WUSGTG
Theย Tech Swiss TSBOXAL 12ย is really better suited for trips to your buddy’s house or to the coffee shop to meet other watch nerds. It looks pretty good doing it too. The outer skin of the case is brushed aluminum. It has reinforced rounded edges in thicker aluminum and corner caps in polished stainless steel.
Basic locks, rubber footers to prevent scratching the table and polished stainless steel parts enhance the case
The chromed plastic handle looks the part as do the basic key locks. Do not expect a high degree of security here… but it will keep honest thieves from snooping (not from taking the case and just prying it open later).
These locks probably would not slow down anyone with a paperclip, but they’re better than nothing.
For those wanting to use this as a stationary watch case, you could certainly do that. I think that there are less expensive solutions that have additional features such as decorative finishes, nicer hinges and a plexiglass or glass display top that allow you to view the watches even with the top closed.
The list price on theย Tech Swiss TSBOXAL 12ย is $79, but I found mine for $49 from this eBay auction. If this auction is ended, simply search for similar deals on eBay or Amazon. I think that this watch case fits my needs and budget perfectly. The money saved can go towards more important horological quests.
The best price for this case for me was on eBay
