Watch stands essentially exist to hold watches, but there's much more to them than that.

Early watches (the watch was introduced in about 1500 AD) were hugely expensive and were therefore supplied in strong protective cases. We don’t know when someone had the idea of designing the watch case so that the watch face and therefore the time could be seen, but if the result wasn't what we'd call a watch stand, it was perhaps the last step before the separate watch stand.

Simmons Trade Dictionary of 1858 defines a watch-stand as a “mantel-piece or toilet rest or support for a watch". Watch stand without the hyphen is now the standard term, and is preferred to the term watch holder which is first recorded in text in 1915 (OED). There has been a tendency to use stand when the watch is hung, and holder when the watch is held by other means, but the distinction is barely worthwhile.

Mike has produced turned wooden watch stands since 1980. Three models are shown below. Mike can also design and produce bespoke watch stands. For more details and to buy a watch stand, email mike on mike@mikedarlow.com