Scratch me if you can: How to wear your luxury watch and minimise the wear and tear

Fergus Nash

There’s nothing more frustrating to a budget-oriented collector than seeing safe-queen luxury watches that get snapped up and hidden away, only to drive up prices and leave those watches unappreciated. Sure regular wear is likely to result in the odd scratch and bruise – that’s an inevitable part of the process. But if you want to minimise the wear and tear, here are a few tips to wear your watch safely out of the safe.

Wear it under your wrist

Members of the military have been flipping their watches to the underside of their wrists for decades upon decades, keeping the watch away from accidental bumps and scrapes that are the bane of every watch-wearer’s existence. Not only are you less likely to throw your watch up against doorframes and brick walls, but it can also be more ergonomically comfortable to check the time and gives off a cool, casual look. You may find the transfer of weight a little alien at first, but especially if the watch isn’t too big, then you should get used to it pretty quickly.

Get a good quality carry case

If you’re someone who takes a lot of public transport or simply gets distracted easily while travelling, you can always take your watch off between destinations. Accidents usually happen when you’re not paying attention, so you can remove that factor by popping your watch into a soft carry case or pouch and then putting it back on once you’re ready to actively protect it once again. Make sure that whatever cradles the watch also keeps the buckle or bracelet away from the caseback to prevent those scratches which may be invisible while wearing, but still affect resale value. You can check out the Time+Tide carry case here.

Carry a microfibre cloth

A good microfibre cloth to a watch owner is like gaffer tape to an engineer — utterly indispensable with infinite uses. You can use it for its intended purpose of cleaning off stubborn dust or fingerprints, but the soft surface can also protect it in all kinds of situations. If you usually lay your wrist across a desk or a laptop, you can put the cloth down as a soft barrier to stop the bottom of your bracelets or strap clasps marked by the hard surfaces. If you want to take your watch off at any point, you can also set the watch down on it, or even wrap it up as a makeshift carry case in emergencies. Plus, you always want to make sure your watch is fingerprint-free before taking a wrist shot for instagram.

Old-fashioned caution

It may be slightly too obvious to mention, but a small amount of mindfulness can go a long way to preventing scratches. It doesn’t take too long to form a habit of keeping your wrist tucked in when walking around enclosed spaces or next to other people, or even keeping hands in pockets may help you stay aware of where your watch is spatially. If this approach causes too much overwhelming anxiety though, you may need to confront some other underlying issues.

Scratch it first!

This is the most counterintuitive tip of this list, but the concept itself has been proven to be effective with any brand new and expensive item. If you make the first scratch yourself as soon as you can, then you may find that you start to care a lot less about more scratches that may occur. If anything, a watch that looks evenly worn with a few scratches actually looks better than something sparkly and new except for one scratch, just don’t go overboard and start taking steel wool to your collection.