10 minute read
SMOOTH OPERATORS
WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE. You wake up, bleary-eyed and head out to an appointment so early that you need to check your emails en route to find out what exactly it’s all about. About half an hour later, as you’re checking your watch to see just how late you’re going to be, you notice that your watch is still telling you it’s 11PM the previous evening. So, either time’s broken or you’ve forgotten to wind your watch. You my friend, need a watch winder.
There’s plenty of discourse over whether a winder is good for your watch or not. On the one hand, some say that it means your watch is going through more wear and tear than it would if you let it wound down. On the other, that continual movement stops the lubricants from settling and therefore keeps the movement operating smoothly over time. The bottom line though is that if you hate having to keep all your watches wound by hand, you could probably use one.
But which winder to use? The relatively straightforward contraption runs the gamut from simple boxes with a singlespeed winder to multi-directional masterpieces with more settings than a space-age microwave. There’s just as many styles too, whether that’s classical in the vein of a 19th century writing desk or sleek and stealthy.
Yet with automotive season fast approaching – both figuratively and literally – how about a winder to reflect the obsession for all things mechanical us watch lovers share with the petrolheads of the world? From racing red leather to aerodynamic shells, the choice is yours. Or at least, your wallet’s. Because let’s be fair, if you’ve not tried a watch winder before, you might want to dip your toe in first.
Here then are the coolest automotiveinspired watch winders for every budget.
Edited by SAM KESSLER
WINDING UP
THE AUTOMOTIVE SLANTED WINDERS THAT’LL KEEP YOUR HOROLOGICAL ENGINES TICKING
Vintage Vibes with a Modern Engine:
WOLF BRITISH RACING GREEN SIX-PIECE WATCH WINDER
The classic combo of gold and green is as appealing as ever in winder form, particularly when said green echoes the golden age of British racing in a way that should see Sir Stirling Moss make an appearance. Though the vegan friendly, pebble-grained leather is a distinctly modern twist. It’s contrasted with fluted borders to the winding apertures ripped straight off a Rolex Cellini for an inimitable dash of glamour.
Equipped with space for six watches, the winders themselves are among the most advanced out there, despite the classical surrounds. WOLF’s are the only winders which count the exact number of rotations rather than an estimate. They also let you factor in the power reserve left in the watch, meaning there’s no risk of overwinding. Pair that with more customisable settings than a Savile Row tailor and you have one of the best winders around.
£2,829, wolf1834.com
Stripped Back & Sporty: SCATOLA DEL TEMPO ROTOR ONE RED
If you need a winder for a single watch, it’s more likely that you want a place to show off your grail piece than actually needing to keep it wound. Most of us can keep up with winding a single watch. Whatever the case may be however, Scatola del Tempo’s entry-level single watch winder is a fitting vessel in which to preserve your piece, especially if you happen to have the matching Rolex.
Pepsi Cola GMT Bezel aside, this high octane take on the Italian brand’s seminal Rotor One is draped in racing red livery with a tactile, soft touch finish as suited to a classic car interior as a winder. Mechanically it’s one of the simpler winders out there but for good reason: the streamlined, battery powered winder will last you for up to three years without any need to replace. If there’s a better travel partner for your grail watch, we’ve yet to find it.
€495, shop.scatoladeltempo.com
Lightweight, Carbon-Clad Performance: RAPPORT LONDON FORMULA DUO WATCH WINDER
Pure Mechanics on Full Show: INFINITE ITALY UNICO 3
Wish your geartrain could wind your watches? Wish granted, courtesy of Italian studio Infinite Italy. The UNICO range is a collection of 1-, 2- and 3-watch winders where the box has been stripped away entirely, right down to a cog turning at the base of each watch. For the mechanically minded, this is it.
Of the set, the 3-watch version has by far the most impact, with all three cogs and the watches on them turning in unison. It’s mesmerising. There’s an LCD display on the back and a remote control for changing the various settings, but honestly the UNICO feels like it should be hand cranked. Sure, the lack of a box means dust can get to the watches, but the unobstructed view is worth it, especially if you have a Royal Oak-level bracelet.
€2,290 (approx. £1,960), infiniteitaly.com
Nothing says high performance quite like carbon fibre, the material de choix of hypercar designers and adrenaline junkies the world over. Or in this case, arguably the UK’s most innovative creator of avant garde watch winders. While the Formula Duo doesn’t have quite the same visual impact as, say, Rapport’s Time Capsule, it’s a good deal more practical and, let’s be honest, accessible – and I mean that in both price and style. The regular pattern of the carbon fibre will suit most modern interiors nicely. Lined with soft velvet and equipped with an LCD screen to adjust not only the winders but the interior lighting, you can choose how you display your perfect pairing of, ideally, modern racing chronographs. And of course, you can lock it. After all, for everyone bar you, looking is better than touching.
£795, rapportlondon.com
Solid, Stately and Spectacular: MJJ EXCLUSIVE ARMOURED IN LUXURY SAFE
Ever demanded the watch winding equivalent of a bulletproof RollsRoyce? This is the one for you. Custom watch and jewellery specialist MJJ Exclusive know what their clientele need and apparently it’s a (up to) 12 watch winder surrounded by a sleekly designed, heavy-duty sheet of armour. Hard and impenetrable as the outside is though, the inside is lined with sumptuous quilted leather straight out of the nearest Roller.
Tech-wise, this safe has it all. Each of the 12 winders can be individually set, allowing you to customise the winding speed of each of your watches. When we’re talking about high complications – as befits a safe of this stature – that genuinely matters.
Sealed by a six-digit pin code with a million possible combinations and the kind of attention to detail you expect from the jeweller and watch customiser to the elite, this is about as high-end as a winder can get. And as heavy.
From £23,400, mjjexclusive.com
Bold, Brash & Aerodynamic: MODALO WATCH WINDER SPORT 4
While this intense watch winder might well look like a crosssection of the next land speed record holder, it’s aerodynamic shape is more sculptural than practical. That said, the fourth generation of Modalo’s incredible Sport winder pushes the technical envelope, with a fingerprint lock, touch screen display and the kind of ease of use you would expect from any decent dashboard. Designed for four watches – with plenty of space between them for the perfect aesthetic display – it’s specifically kitted out to hold heavy timepieces, meaning big, chunky chronographs with equally macho bracelets. It’s definitely not the kind of watch winder meant to blend into the background; this is a tour de force more unmissable than a blackedout Lamborghini. £1,047.90, modalo.com
Style \ 74 / Gucci’s Off The Grid delivers cool in a greener package \ 76 /
Bolster your green credentials with a few pioneering brands \ 78 / Pair this season’s best clean-cut watches with the fashion to match \ 90 / Stock your grooming cabinet with these ecofriendly unguents \ 92 / Separate the good from the greenwashed in our EDITED BY sustainable fabric guide SHANE C. KURUP \ 102 / Pack for your next trip away with some planetfriendly essentials
Fashioning a Greener Future
>—> Even before the arrival of a certain viral contagion, you’ll have been well aware that our planet is facing an environmental crisis that feels as though a Nostradamus-style apocalypse is imminent. Taking a share of the blame is the fashion world, which has been called out for its heinous waste and gluttonous consumption of natural resources. But it’s not all doom and gloom. The industry is taking heed and slowly, but surely, turning over a new, greener leaf. For our sustainable issue, we present the brands and knowledge that you need to make better decisions when it comes to your wardrobe and grooming regimen. Because looking good shouldn’t cost the earth.
Edited by SHANE C. KURUP
PACKING TIPS
Karen Tierney, excellence centre manager at Jeeves of Belgravia – dry cleaner to HRH Prince Charles – shares her wisdom for keeping your backpack in fine fettle
1— To clean the outside of a backpack, wipe it over with a microfibre cloth dampened with a mild washing liquid solution and leave it to dry naturally
2— For the interior, remove the framework and turn it inside out, unzip pockets and use a soft brush and vacuum to remove small debris trapped in corners
3— If you’re not using your backpack for some time, store it in a soft pillowcase to prevent dust and oxidisation, and stuff it to maintain its shape
BAGGAGE RECLAIM
Gucci’s Off The Grid collection delivers the house’s eclectic cool in an altogether greener package
>—> Given that the relentless churn of the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of the world’s carbon emissions, haute houses and high- street stalwarts alike often find themselves in Greenpeace’s bad books. But with many column inches being given to the topic of late, things are starting to change from the very top.
Along with a growing slew of style powerhouses, Florentine label Gucci – helmed by design wunderkind Allesandro Michele, whose jazzy, retrospective-modern designs are often seen on the backs of fashion’s great and good – has taken heed of the planet’s plight and is aiming to redress this balance with its Off The Grid collection. “When globally-recognised luxury brands take a stand on the need for fashion to benefit people and planet, people listen. It is powerful when a world-leading house makes a stand”, says Naomi Bulliard, Head of Strategy at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion.
Each piece in the line up is made from ECONYL® – a recycled nylon generated from salvaged seaborne plastics, from old fishing nets to PET bottles – in short, the sort of stuff that has Sir David Attenborough weeping salty tears. The material has a two-fold benefit for the Blue Planet: not only does it help reduce those hazardous rafts of plastic detritus floating around the Seven Seas, but it can itself be recycled time and again. “Unlike virgin polyester, ECONYL® can be recycled many times while maintaining the same quality, so it has continued use. Its production requires less water and chemicals than virgin nylon, making it better when used for garments requiring the properties of a synthetic fibre” adds Bulliard. It seems high fashion’s most idiosyncratic house has literally turned one man’s trash into another’s treasure.
