Introducing BlumSafe’s New Boxy BLDC Winder

Our Boxy BLDC Watch Winder is an upgrade from our very successful Boxy Plain Brick Winder. We continue to offer both models, to meet the value needs of all customers.

By Rob Blum

Since we introduced the original BlumSafe in 2017, we have sold thousands  and thousands of the very reliable and successful multi-speed Plain Brick Boxy winders, probably the best quality winder value on the market today. However, some of our customers coming from Wolf and other higher end winders wanted a unit with higher aesthetics, more winder speed choices and other comparable features.

The Boxy BLDC Watch Winder. In response, in partnership with our friends at Boxy, we have developed the Boxy BLDC Watch Winder.  Backward compatible with our current Plain Brick Boxy Winder, the BLDC model shares the same patented power-sharing function through its Lego-like nubs, so you could theoretically mix and match the two models.

The BLDC model then improves upon the Plain Brick in several ways, both mechanical, utilizing Boxy’s new, innovative Brushless DC Motor (BLDC), and aesthetically:

— Longer Lifespan: No motor commutator and brushes, greatly reducing motor wear and tear, and thicker drive belt extends life before a belt may need replacing (like with the Plain Brick, this is a very simple five minute, user-friendly fix, as each of the winders is separately removable for servicing).

—Super Quiet: The BLDC motor rotates at 80RPM, vs 1000RPM  for the Plain Boxy, and speed is electronically controlled — there is no gear box. In the plain Boxy, the gear box ultimately leads to some winder noise, though in the BlumSafe this is not a real issue, because the safe door insulates any noise from getting outside.

—More Speeds: The Plain Brick has three speed adjustability (from 672 to 1248 Turns per Day (TPD)) and three directions (clockwise, counterclockwise and back and forth). The BLDC model offers 15 speed options from 650 to 3600 turns, with the same three directions. While I have been happily winding my Rolexes and other watches on the Plain Brick for over a decade,  the added flexibility of the BLDCs could be desirable with some watches, especially as more watch makers have gone to creating their own movements (though, IMHO, most of them are simply ETA-based modifications, but that is another discussion).

–USB Power Connection: Allows winder to be used with any 3-5V USB power adapter outside the safe.

–Upgraded Finishes: Bodies wrapped in black pebbled vegetarian leather, with choices for the front panel of either this same leather finish, a brushed aluminum finish or a brushed gold finish (the gold finish is by special order — Contact Us). The Plain Brick is plastic finish on all sides, but still attractive.

–Cleaner Look:  The BLDC winders have rounded corners for a more subtle look. The front power switch is an electronic touch switch, leading to better long term reliability over the rocker power switch on the Plain Brick winder. The speed and direction control switches have been moved to the bottom surface of the winder, further improving front panel aesthetics (though this DOES require you to set the speeds before you mount the winders in the safe, or you have to remove them to further adjust speeds – with the Plain Brick, you can always adjust speeds on the front panel of the winders without removing the winders).

–Deeper Transparent Cover: While not necessary inside the safe, the included transparent cover is 1 centimeter deeper than the cover provided with the Plain Brick winder, allowing for use in storage of chunkier watches outside a BlumSafe.

Pricing. As I said above, the Plain Brick Boxy winder is probably the best quality winder value on the market today, at $82.95 if bought on its own, or $70 per winder if bought with one of our BlumSafes. When the BLDC winder is bought with a Blumsafe it is $110 more than the standard Plain Brick Boxy, or sells separately from a safe at $189.95 per winder —  either way, an incredible value for a very high quality winder, if you can live without fancy woods and Bluetooth on your winder (a marketing gimmick, to many of us).

Though our safes are manufactured in the U.S. (North Carolina and Minnesota), the BLDC winder is manufactured in the democratic state of Taiwan (but NOT in China, where so many other winders are manufactured).

Bottom line: Both the original Plain Brick and BLDC Boxy winders are great winders, for use inside or outside a BlumSafe. Whether you choose one or the other – or mix them both for some interesting aesthetic effects – is a matter of choice, but you can’t go wrong either way.

Thank you.

Rob