Traveling with your "good" watch?

Insurance and realizing watches are things

Depends on the destination;

If I am comfortable about the criminality situation over there, I wear an expensive watch, 1 watch on the wrist for the entire holidays and I don´t take any others with me.

If I am uncertain about the criminality situation, I take 3 cheap entry level Seiko´s with me (a field, dress and diver watch)

Just wear your Breitling, if it's on your wrist there is very little chance of losing it.

Developing a habit of putting your watch into a watch roll is an easy way of making sure you’ve got your watch at the end of the day.

Just make sure you’ve got a watch roll or pouch with space for 2 watches so when you put one away at the end of the day you can see the other.

Am travelling to The Philippines in a few months and will take only one timepiece with me; my old 2009 Timex Expedition. It travelled with me there before and didn't miss a beat! Plus, I don't really care what happens to it 😉 ... though the thing really doesn't seem to want to die despite some of the abuse it's taken! 😮

I apparently haven't fully processed owning such a nice piece, and more concerned with a "thing" than is completely healthy, lol.

Good advice, thanks! I'll bring the travel roll, for sure. I'm realizing that my concern is more than a bit irrational.

Spending a lot of money on things that tell the time less accurately than the phone most of us have in our pocket isn’t completely rational so I wouldn’t worry about it.

This habit is something that’s worked for me. Enjoy your break 👍.

Wear the watch and enjoy it. I doubt you'll get robbed while hiking.

1. To prevent the watch from being damaged while hiking, wear it underneath a fabric wristband.

2. To prevent flashing it in public, wear a long sleeve shirt with cuffs, and wear the watch an inch higher on your wrist than usual; that way it stays hidden until you actually need to check the time.

I recently went to Puerto Rico, and planned to bring the Lorier GMT, and a Christopher Ward diver for the beach. At the last minute, I thought screw it, and also threw in the Grand Seiko SBGJ249 Shosho. I ended up wearing that pretty much the whole time, except at the beach. I worried not a jot on the streets of San Juan, or up in the rural mountains where I spent most of my time. I did worry a bit about losing track of stuff as one does with the chaos of travel, but the the watch was always at the front of mind, so it was fine. It might have been different if it I had moved every day or two, rather than mostly staying put. And as an aside, I live in New York City and wear my Grand Seikos everywhere and at all times day or night, and I worry not a jot.

While I appreciate the comment and consideration, it's less anxiety of ownership and more "I really love this watch" and sh*t happens, you know.

While the imposter syndrome is real, I have earned and know I'm deserving of a quality piece.

Thank you!

your wrist has 2 sides so wear on inside for security and outside of wrist when safe. Brand recognition is only visible dial out.

I'll be doing some international traveling this year, and have been considering this too. I'm leaning toward just wearing a Casio digital or something while traveling, or no watch at all. I want to be able to focus on the sights without introducing the potential hassles of being robbed or losing a multi thousand dollar item I didn't even need to have with me in the first place. I can enjoy my nice watches all day every day when at home.

It all depends on where you’re going and what you’ll be doing.

when I go on beach vacations I don’t bring a very expensive watch and I normally am not one to travel with more than 1 watch.

At the beach I’m wearing a solar tuna most of the time. It’s rugged enough and I’m not worried about sand or anything ruining it.

Travel should be fun. If it’ll stress you out, just leave the breitling at home.

I travel with my GW-M5610U on a combi bracelet. Problem solved.

I see your point, although I think you´re pretty safe around tourist attractions, I don´t see it happening too soon anyone pulling out a knife or a gun to rob your watch when a lot of people (tourists) are around.

Actually, I can very much see that. I once had to push back multiple kids at a train station who were trying to pickpocket me. I wouldn't say it is frequent, but I certainly take more precautions than I did in the 90s, for example.

What’s the quote? “There is nothing to fear, but fear itself.” Ask yourself, how often have I lost a watch whilst wearing it on your wrist? I’m assuming never. Have you damaged your watch whilst wearing it? If you are as clumsy as me, then yes – quite often. Door jambs, corridor walls and table edges hold a magnetic attraction for my watches. However, after the first scratch or ding, you become more accepting and life becomes more sanguine. Have you had your watch stolen by a machete wielding scumbag or been mugged? I really hope never. As others have pointed out being careful where you go and how you display your goods is a good starting point. Having to do this, is sadly just part of life. But, if you avoid if possible being in ‘dodgy areas’ and are careful, this can be mitigated to some extent. Any busy area with lots of tourists will attract thieving scumbags, but by being aware of your surroundings and cautious, the odds are in your favour. This is the same approach I take myself. I’m fortunate that I have more than one watch to choose from, so I tend to wear something appropriate to the occasion and activity. I like to think (whether I’m fooling myself is a moot point), that I wear watches for my own enjoyment and not to impress others (yep – definitely fooling myself), so if I’m somewhere I think its more appropriate to wear my G-Shock, that’s what I wear – I still love it. The ‘professional scumbags’ will only be targeting hype watches so, leave your Daytona (including lookalikes) at home, wear what you like and remember other than fellow watch nerds, most people neither know nor care what watch you wear. Sorry for such a long comment and have a great trip whatever watch you wear. 😁

Pickpocketting a watch is as good as impossible, especially when the watch is on a bracelet.

This only happens with so called street artists/magicians....they will approach you on the street or at your table at a café/restaurant....they usually start with some classic tricks "pick a card, any card..." or do a trick with a dissapearing ring, stuff like that.

Until a trick comes up where they will firmly hold your wrists while they are supposedly thinking intently....that´s when it happens.......just be aware of this......otherwise a watch only can be taken with violence or by the threat of a knife or gun....therefore you should be safe around tourist attractions.

I travel for a living and carry two of these cases in different colors. I actually prefer these to a watch roll as they are extremely durable, functional and take up minimal space. I bring three watches and keep one on-wrist. I bring a GMT on bracelet, a 100+ meter water-ready sport watch on NATO and a chronograph on leather to keep the bases covered.

I have watches that I bought expressly for traveling where I won’t be gutted if something happened to them. Of course, insure all your watches . . . But sometimes no amount of insurance can really replace your watch if you know what I mean. Anyway, I consider robustness, water resistance, price under 2k, and ability to either fall under the radar or look too colorful to be mistaken for your typical grail/popular luxury watches. Farer checks a lot of those boxes for me esp models like Crooms, Lander, Pembroke. More conservative/heritage nod brands like Nivada Grenchen, maybe the new Lorca also fit the bill. That said, if I’m going to a safe country like Japan or other parts of Asia (or not really leaving a resort) I’d have no issue wearing just about anything . . . So long as I’m also wearing common sense.

Haha yeah I have a feeling that I’m not the only one who leaves their divers home when going to the beach. If I’m on vacation I probably don’t need to worry about that time while I’m in the water.

I will say that I do not trust Hotel safes at all after watching a vid of how easy it is for staff to break into them!

I have been wearing a watch on my wrist since 1970's never lost one yet and can only think of two reasons why you could pick pocket or loose/badly fitted or made strap .

I'll echo what some others have said, which is basically:

1. I almost always travel with just one watch, and wear it 24/7. I'll never lose it or lose track of it if it's on my wrist.

2. I have my watches insured. So if I do get robbed, at least I can replace the watch.

That way, I can choose the watch that will be the most enjoyable for the trip!

I'm going to Iceland and France next week... Currently unsure which watch I'll wear. BLNR is my usual travel go-to, but getting out and hiking around glaciers and ice caves and so on makes me think I might enjoy the Ranger more :)

I think there only to keep out the mildly curious mate yeah sad but true , not all hotel safes are the same either . Some hotels have a strong room behind the desk , i tend to use those if they are available . I was nervous the whole time in Thailand til I got my Tudor I purchased in BKK’s Siam district home . I left it in the hotel safe , better than on my wrist . I never take my passport out of the hotel either, just carry a photo copy of it with me and no cards just cash or a travel money card in the local currency ( signature required ) no pin or tap and pay activation either.

Murphy’s law

Yes! Easy to change time zones; low-key; won’t get damaged going thru security, or by airplane armrests.

LOL!! You could be right 😉 If it craps out while I'm in the PH, I'll just pick up another inexpensive beater. Heck they assemble Timex's in Cebu City 😀

Ha ha ... not really! I'll just pick up another beater if this one "shits the bed" 😉 Though, it is a good 'ol beater, that has a bit of a tacti-cool vibe to it 😎

I was also worried about losing watches, but the paranoia never let them get out of my sight. If it's on the wrist it won't go anywhere, if not, keep it in a safe or somewhere on your person, like (although it's not the safest) a pocket that closes with a zip or somewhere where you will feel it's weight. The only time you shouldn't take a watch with you is if you're going somewhere where crime is a problem, but a Breitling isn't the first choice of most thieves, who usually look for Rolexes.