Wolf CEO Simon Philip Wolf V shares his personal watch collection

Zach Blass

Did you know Wolf is celebrating its 190th anniversary this year? Andrew paid a visit to the Wolf manufacture, where he met up with CEO Simon Wolf to discover some hidden treasures. In the showroom, many of Wolf’s various jewellery and watch boxes and winders are on display, but the Time+Tide twist in this video is that Simon has hidden pieces from his personal watch collection within the various boxes and winders they take a closer look at.

In the same manner that Rolex has become such a big name in watchmaking that it is typically the first brand people think of, Wolf is known as the pinnacle of watch and jewellery boxes. There may be a holy trinity of watchmaking, but in watch storage, Wolf stands alone at the peak. This is due to the fact the family-run, fifth-generation business has been operating for 190 years. Once the go-to destination for watch brands to have boxes and packaging manufactured for its watches (brands such as Omega, Rolex, Zodiac, Tissot, and many more), today Wolf is the go-to destination for collectors to consolidate their collection into a luxury box or winder. Five generations and 190 years of the Wolf family are showcased in the Wolf products the duo dive into, each holding one of five of Simon’s watches. But you’ll have to watch the video to find out which pieces are in his collection!

Silver Watch Jewellery and Legacy Box

Why does Wolf call it the Silver? Well, because it is actually made of silver. The Silver Watch Jewellery and Legacy Box is a commemorative piece for Simon’s great-great-grandfather Philipp Wolf, who in 1834 made silver products such as boxes for keepsakes. In line with the heritage of Philipp Wolf’s work, the silver box has a nice heft to it and it is handsomely decorated with a beautiful piano hinge and a lovely engine-turned finish. At the top, you’ll find the Wolf family crest. Aesthetic and functional, the inside is outfitted with two lift-out trays, and the section that securely holds two watch pillows also pulls out so you can tailor the box to your needs. Price: US$495

Ida Trunk Jewellery Box

The Ida Trunk Jewellery Box pays homage to a very important part of the Wolf story. “Philipp Wolf II, the son of Philipp Wolf I, was a box maker as well, but he retreated from life once something terrible happened in his life, as two of his five children died”, Simon Woolf explains. “So, he retreated from the business and his wife, Ida Wilhelmina, was left to pick up the reigns in 1925. She was an amazing woman, who for the next 30 years ran the business and kept it going. Without her, we wouldn’t have continued, and this box is in memory of her because she travelled all over Sweden on trains carrying trunks and cases that would have looked very much like this piece, with the heavy studying in the reinforced corners.”  Price: US$895

Ballet Musical Jewellery Box

This legendary Wolf design, created by Philipp Wolf III in the late ’50s, notably has eight compartments, all of which are lined with a vibrant blue ultrasuede. But it is ultimately the musicality of the box that sets it apart. “This is a walnut wood veneer and marquetry-inlaid music box with a ballerina inside. This was created in honour of my grandfather. He was a box maker like everyone who came before him”, Simon Wolf shares. “He invented this music box that has a dancing ballerina inside. You have two different ballet dancers to choose from, and when we designed this, we wanted to make it look like you’re in the theatre watching the ballet Swan Lake. So you’re listening to Tchaikovsky, and you’ve got this beautiful backdrop which would have been exactly like the backdrop of the theatre.” A further fun fact Wolf shared with us is that the embroidery within the inner lid framing the mirror was designed by Simon’s wife Fiona – still very much a family business. Price: US$495

Philipp Watch and Jewellery Lifestyle Box

Philipp Wolf I, Ida Wilhelmina, and Philipp Wolf III. Now we turn to the next generation of design with the Philipp Watch and Jewellery Lifestyle Box that takes inspiration from a creation of Simon’s father Philipp Wolf IV. “This is a commemoration of my father’s contribution to the business”, Simon Wolf tells Andrew. “In the ’70s, he designed lots and lots of very groovy boxes, and this one, under the label ‘Design Philipp’, has the ‘DP’ logo with a beautiful suede and leather exterior. This was very much the aesthetic and the look that he was all about during the ’70s, and you could put you can put just about anything in there – card case, cufflinks, watches…” Price: US$495

Earth Single Watch Winder Midnight Blue

A creation born this generation by Simon Wolf V, the Earth line of winders and boxes was created to commemorate the 190th anniversary of Wolf. Heritage and tradition brought into modern times, as its name suggests, the Earth collection blends sustainable materials such as apple leather with the latest Wolf tech (e.g. a lock-in dynamic cuff and app-set turns per day). One of the biggest concerns expressed by watchmakers is that if a watch is left on a winder too long it can harm the movement. Yes, your watch will always be running, but the constant turns of the winder can wear down the self-winding assembly. Wolf, however, assuages these concerns with a guide that contains the requisite number of turns per day for various watch models, and the ability to tailor the winder to execute that exact number of turns per day at your discretion. Price: US$995