Big Project this weekend. My watch collection was turning into a mire. I had a simple watch case, a couple of watch winders, and an overflowing collection of watches that was organically taking over various parts of my living space. Something had to be done. But what? If you have spent any time looking for watch cases, winders, etc… you will know that they are overpriced, often of dubious quality, and typically not exactly what you are looking for. Alternatively, you can be wowed by Orbita’s 40 watch winder cabinet, and then be awed and angered over its $50,000 price tag. What is a collector to do? Well I finally took things into my own hands and set up a great watch arrangement.

I went on eBay and found a watch store that was selling a commercial watch display case which was perfect for what I needed. I ended up winning the auction and getting the over 6 foot tall, and 5 foot wide display case for about $100.00. Luckily I was able to pick up the item myself. The case was perfect for what I needed, but a total pain to get into my place due to the size. The second I got it in however, I realized just how much of a fitting compliment a watch enclosure like this was going to be. The built in fluorescent lamp cast the right type of light to make my watches look their best. Using a cable hole in the top, I fed in some wiring and hooked up some AC adapters to plug in my winders. The glass and mirrors do a great job of refracting the light to illuminate everything perfectly, and because the lights are fluorescent no extra heat is generated. Further, because the enclosure can be closed with the glass doors it keeps out extra dust, and makes sure watch winders are at their quietest.

Placing my watch collection in the massive enclosure made it look down right diminutive, but that means lots of room to grow. The entire set up was very cheap, and highly effective. I’d love to hear about other people’s home watch displays. This is another testament to the power of buying otherwise unavailable or hard to get items on eBay that are originally meant for commercial purposes but great for personal use. In time there will be additional watches, winders and accessories living in my “watch terrarium.”

See watch cases and winders available on eBay here.