Boxes...

One would think that when transporting watches from the principal to the Authorized Distributors, the watches would be packaged in the boxes the watch will be eventually sold in right? Well, sometimes its far from that....

Seiko box. This is the outer most cover. 

The box where the watch you bought is placed or comes in.

The inside of the box.

So is your watch in the box when it is sent from the principal?

Nope... it comes in this.

How the inside of the transportation box looks like. It is made of paper or card box.

Of course the watch is wrapped in bubble wrap and plastic. 

A watch inside the transportation box. 

Cool right? 

Ammiraglio Mk II

Picked this up the other day. The Ammiraglio Mk. II watch box from Wotancraft. This is the second Ammiraglio watch box, the first run of 100 units sold out. And trust me, there is not many left in this second generation (of 100 units).

The Ammiraglio Mk. II.... Unboxing.

Well protected.

The Ammiraglio comes in at 25x25x11 cm. It is not a small box.

Marina Militare.

The X Flottiglia M.A.S. on the quick release buckle. Well made and easy to use.

The box features an all wooden interior lined with microfiber cloth to prevent scratches. The box is design for 6 watches.

Each box is personalised with its own limited edition number.

 The interior can be removed to reveal a lower layer.

The lower layer, a perfect place for those extra straps and tools.

As with any Wotancraft product, the overall build is just great. I believe the exterior is made of aluminium. The exterior has been 'aged' to make it look worn and used. 

By Wotancraft. 

The box retails for USD 449 and you can find more information here:

Ammiraglio MKII

The Martinator

Here is a cool watch case to keep your precious. The Martinator Watch Case. The cases retail from about USD 150 to USD 450. The cases are based on the robust and very strong Pelican cases. Martinator have customised the cases to carry 4, 6, 18 or even a whopping 32 watches. 

So what happens if you already have a Pelican case? Well, they do sell the inserts by themselves. But only for the following cases, the 1170, 1470 and the 1495. 

The Martinator.

The 6 watch case.

The 4 watch case. 

The 18 watch case. 

Photographs: Martinator

For more information:

The Martinator

Sadly I use these and they don't have the inserts for them. Otherwise it would make an interesting option.....

Skagen Pouch

I got this pouch from Skagen free with one of the magazine I usually get. It is a black pouch measuring 7 x 5 inches. The pouch is pretty thin, so I don't think I will be using it to store watches. The zipper opens 'L' shape from the top to the right (bottom). I think I will use it to store my collection of thumb drives (which I have lots). 

The pouch. The cartoon character from One Piece (Luffy) does not come with the pouch. 

Pelican Hardigg case

This is not really a review of the Pelican Storm case but just to show you the 'new' Pelican Storm Case. The case is the same Hardigg Storm Case reviewed here: 

Hardigg Storm Case

Pelican has bought out Hardigg and this is the result of that buy out. The new Pelican Storm Case, reference iM2050. The case is still the same, the only change is the sticker on the case. It now says Pelican Storm Case.

This is the black case.

The new sticker.

Still proudly made in the USA.

The pinch and pull (pluck and pull?) foam. I like the foam. It is easy to use.

I have to say that the foam is different from the original Hardigg foam. There seems to a 'border' on the foam. 

A better view of the 'border'.

The foam (padding) on the cover is also thicker as compared to the original Hardigg. Could be my imagination.

Well it still says Hardigg on the bottom of the case. 

I like the case. It is easy to use and gives me the protection that I need. 

MK travel watch pouch

A good friend gave me this watch pouch recently. I appreciate it very much. I was told that the pouch is hand made in Singapore. Anyway here is a short review of the pouch and why I like it.

The pouch. It is a two watch travel pouch. It has the typical design, where the watches are held on opposing ends so that the watch head do not knock into each other. 

It is made of light brown leather. It has a very smooth finish. The stitching is also brown and matches the leather well. The thread used is thick and nice. In contrast, the zipper is dark brown.

The zipper tab is also made of leather. Sadly the finish of the stitching is not as good as the rest of the pouch.

I am happy they went with quality zipper. It is smooth to use.

The brand is YKK, a well known zipper maker. It has a brass finish

Inside the pouch. The inside is leather lined. The sides and bottom is also well padded. The quality stitching continues inside the pouch. You can see that the manufacturer, MK has stamped their brand on the inside of the pouch, which I like. Very discrete.

Other legends include '100% Hand Made' and 'Genuine Leather'. The stamping is well executed.

The main reason I like the pouch, the rubberised straps that holds the watch down. One is fixed and the other has an opening. It is held by Velcro. 

The reason I like it  is because it makes storing a watch much much easier. 

Unlike many travel pouch/ case that I have, this one has two (instead of the typical one) tongue to separate the watches. The tongue is also made of leather and is padded. The padding is not as thick as I hope it would be, but since it has two tongue, it doubles up.

Now to show how to use the pouch and the ease of use. Open one of the hold down straps. 

Insert the watch strap as such. 

Now, just put the holder over the other strap. As easy as that. On normal pouches with two fixed hold down straps, you will need to pull and tug to get the other strap under the hold down strap. This, you just loop it over. OK, I do admit that I am that lazy :).

A snug fit. The watch is held securely in place. 

I have to say that I do like the pouch (the reason my friend gave it to me). I like the leather smell, the overall feel and quality, but most of all the ease of use.