Is it safe to travel with a luxury watch? Of course, one of the biggest concerns is theft. We bring you some simple precautionary steps you can take to make sure you have no issues during your trip – or even daily life – with one of your luxury watches.
There’s an ongoing debate in the watch community, surrounding the topic of whether or not it’s safe to travel with a luxury watch. There seems to be three conclusions, which can be summed up as the following: It’s incredibly dangerous to travel with a luxury watch and you should not attempt, it’s perfectly safe to travel anywhere with a luxury watch, and most destinations are safe to travel with a luxury watch, with a little precaution and common sense.
I tend to lean towards the final option stating that with a little common sense and small precautions taken it’s generally safe to travel to most locations with your favorite luxury watch.
The most important aspect to take into consideration is your destination of travel, followed by which exact watch you’d like to bring. It would be wise to avoid bringing any kind of luxury watch to, for example, Sao Paulo, Brazil, which can be incrediblyguardianialberto guardianialberto giga-sport senzamai blundstoneprezzi marellaoutlet akuschuhe marellasaldi harmonte-blaine fracominaabiti chilloutshut vondutchmutzen borsegabsoutlet fracominaabiti lecopavillon dangerous and is well known for brazen robberies in the middle of the day. Secondly, avoid traveling anywhere with a watch that has an excessive value unless you’re very familiar with the location and you consider it your “home away from home.” I’d consider an excessive value probably around the $20,000 USD mark, anything under that should be OK as long as it isn’t too flashy or recognizable and your destination of choice is relatively safe and comparable to your hometown.
Choose your travel watch wisely. It’s better to travel with a watch that is not ultra iconic. Colourless metal is also preferred, such as stainless steel or white gold—something sporty and under the radar would be ideal. One of my personal favorite watches to travel with is my Rolex Air-king 114200, which glides under the radar since it does not sport the obvious Rolex date cyclops. It’s also relatively unobtrusive coming in at only 34mm in size. While this watch may not attract the attention of onlookers, while abroad I can secretly admire it as I sit and enjoy a beer at, for example, a bustling European Bar.
A safe destination and a low profile watch are the basic rules I try to stick to even before I leave for my destination, but I also recommend following a couple other simple rules once you arrive at your foreign destination.
One of the most important precautionary steps I take when travelling with my luxury watch is never to remove it from my wrist when I’m outside of my hotel room or whatever kind of accommodation you may have booked. Do not remove and set the time on your watch in public. Do not remove it to try on jewelry or for any other reason. The only time I’d recommend removing it is during sleep in the safety of your hotel room—if you’d like. I usually place my watch inside a WATCHPOD travel case and place it on the bedside table to avoid any scratches. The moment you leave your room—even if it’s for a short period—your watch should be back on your wrist.
General common sense when abroad will also drastically reduce any risk of watch theft or loss, such as simply keeping to yourself and not engaging in any communication with those who may stop you in the street with a question. It may sound rude, but it’s best to stay safe when you’re in a foreign country.
If you follow these simple precautionary steps you should have no issues traveling with one of your luxury watches, whether it’s a Rolex, Tudor, Omega or Breitling watch – just make sure the model you choose isn’t too flashy or excessively valuable. I hope this helps those who have been on the fence about taking a nice watch with them abroad for a leisure vacation or even a business trip.
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