Do Watch Packaging And Watch Boxes Really Matter?

No one buys a watch because of the box it comes in or the packing that comes with it. However, watches are luxury goods so being handed your new purchase at the bottom of a plastic carrier bag just won’t cut it. The watch box and all the paraphernalia that accompanies it adds to the occasion, opening a decorative or highly crafted watch box makes us watch nerds feel all giddy and excited. It’s why watch unboxing YouTube videos are so popular. But, is watch packaging and a good quality watch box actually important or does it just take up space in the cupboard?

First, let’s try to understand it from a brand’s point of view. Any luxury industry is built on experiences, head to many high end watch boutiques to purchase a watch and you’ll receive the red carpet treatment. A private sales advisor, a glass of champagne, ‘would sir like a shoulder massage?’ This is all part of the brand experience and brands need their packaging to be an extension of this. A brand like Patek Philippe can’t talk about craftsmanship and then hand you a £30k watch with a scrunched up receipt, it would ruin the brand image. Instead your receipt is confined to a decadent leather wallet along with all other paperwork.

The other benefit of great packing is you might buy another watch from said brand. Realistically, are you going to buy a watch because you like the box it comes in? I hope not, but it’s a lacquered wooden reminder of the brand and the great timepiece you’ve purchased from them already. It’s like having a permanent advert for the watch brand in your home.

Omega have leaned into this in a big way with the Speedmaster collection. Most of the Moonwatches come in a fabric style box with straps and buckles to emulate an astronaut’s space suit. Very on brand. They’ve also taken it a step further with several models by offering little extras. The Speedmaster First Omega in Space watch comes with an Omega branded loupe and steel paper weight – presumably to prevent your papers flying around on takeoff. While the Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary edition even came with its own lunar module watch stand.

These additional touches have an impact on us watch lovers. We engage with the full watch experience and often treat the box and papers with more care than we do the actual watch. The main reason for this is that today the box and packaging has value. A quick trawl of eBay and you can see how many branded watch boxes are for sale, and should you consider selling your watch, box and papers makes a big difference to the price. Historically, this was never the case. The packing was treated much like a shoebox and discarded almost immediately. It’s why vintage watches very seldom come with original boxes.

This new found love of the packaging has meant many brands have upped their game. Back in the 1990s Tag Heuer watches came in a small round case with a rather poorly fitting cushion wedged in the middle. Your papers and warranty card were just left loose in the bottom of the outer box. Today, Tag provides some more sophisticated options including the Monaco Gulf Edition, which, Russian doll style, includes a removable leather travel case inside your larger watch box. The papers have been given their own secret little compartment underneath as well.

There are a few brands who have gone to the extreme in the packing stakes and made what seems like an unnecessary amount of effort to impress with their watch box. These extremes are often reserved for the top end of the pricing spectrum where more is seen as better.

In 2020 Franck Muller, known for crazy creations, introduced the Vanguard Revolution 3 Skeleton with a triple axis tourbillon for the princely sum of $520,000 (approx. £387,000). If the watch was impressive the watch box was even more so. Regarded as the first automated watch box it’s more a piece of theatre. The lid opens at the push of a button followed by the watch rising out of the base and finally a revolving display case door opens to unveil the watch like a jewelry heist movie scene.

In the interest of balance, there is a very strong case to be made for the watch box and additional packaging being entirely redundant and not relevant at all. At the end of the day we buy the watch, not the box it comes in. So, what is the point of going to all the extra effort to create light up boxes and boxes with astronaut straps. It is surplus to requirements. A few brands subscribe to this school of thought, most notably Rolex.

Like everything Rolex does, its box is iconic yet, no one would describe it as luxurious. Certainly not compared to Patek, Audemars Piguet or even Omega. It’s odd to think that one of the most highly regarded luxury brands in the world delivers its timepieces in a green plastic box. When you’re in a privileged position like Rolex perhaps you can afford this seemingly lacklustre approach to packaging. Would other brands get away with it? I doubt it.

The idea of a seemingly unimpressive watch box does have its merits. It shows that all the money you paid has most likely gone into producing the thing you actually bought. The watch price is covering the cost of materials, design, technology and craftsmanship. Not an overpriced cupboard ornament.

If the packaging isn’t the star of the show then it puts the focus on the watch. Where it should be. Breitling finds a nice balance here, their watches are well packaged but with simple, non-fussy, materials. Often in a fabric material they aren’t unnecessarily big, just big enough to fit the watch and nothing else. It’s a less in more approach designed to take you straight to the watch and forget the faff. Pilots don’t have time to mess around with loupes and paperweights.

I suspect the majority would agree that they’d rather pay slightly less for the watch if it meant it came in plain Jane packaging. However, given that’s not an option I’ll take the fanciest most decadent box you have please.