Chani agreed. “A watch is the ultimate accessory, why detract from it?” He also had more practical concerns: “[I don’t want] so much stuff on my wrists that it gets in the way of putting on sweaters and jackets,” he wrote. “Also there’s more stuff to get attached to something like a door handle.”
2. Scratch-cre Bleu
The biggest danger of all when it comes to stacking, however, is the damage it could cause to your watch. A metal bracelet rubbing up against a delicate timepiece all day certainly feels like a recipe for scratches. “There’s potential to severely damage the case,” Dominic said.
But while you should be aware of the risks, scratches are a personal decision. Many collectors love the patina that comes when a watch is well-loved and worn often—the marks left by stacking included. “To be honest, scratches don’t matter to me—it adds character to my watches,” said Michelle Sylvestre-Williams, the founder of luxury watch retailer DavidSW and the proud owner of the most impressive stack I’ve ever seen in person.
“Without some patina on the gold, can you really say it’s yours?” added Alessandro Fanciulli, the collector and dealer better known as Mr.A, and a master stacker in his own right.
It depends, too, on what type of watch you’re stacking. For vintage collectors, scratches are often part and parcel of what they love about their timepieces. “I couldn’t care less about pieces potentially scratching one another,” @OldWatchLady told me. “My watches are vintage, so not every piece is pristine. Bit like myself.”
How to Stack, According to the Experts
Fanciulli ultimately sees all the resistance to stacking as a positive: “More stacks for us,” he told me. It’s a good point: In the arms race for small stackable timepieces and complementary bracelets, there can’t be infinite winners.
