Like many watch media outlets, we tend to focus on watches while forgetting the multitude of accessories that let you personalize, maintain or store them. After the Wolf 1834 watch winder, we present a watch case from the Ploumanac’h collection by the young French brand Avel & Men.
Avel & Men: "made in France" leather goods
This young Breton brand, founded by a brother and sister, Agnès and Xavier Broise, takes its name from the Breton for "the wind and the rock." It reflects its founders' passion for regattas, Xavier Broise himself being a dedicated racer who is also passionate about vintage watches. Since many sailors are drawn to anything that reminds them of their boat, creating an accessories brand seemed an obvious choice. Designed first and foremost for lovers of the sea, all of the brand's leather goods are made in France, with the goal of offering a quality range.
The "Ploumanac’h" leather watch roll
A "marmotte," you say? You have probably already heard this French term for a watch roll, a strange name whose origin is hard to pin down. We know in particular that the word was used in the 17th century to describe a trunk made of two parts fitting one into the other. Also, in the 19th century, young Savoyards who left their villages to earn a little money in the city would catch and tame small marmots, which they put on show. These "marmot showmen" made the rodents dance to their flutes and carried them in a marmot box. Since then, the word has referred to a sample case used by sales reps to present their products, and in particular to the fold-out cases used in watchmaking.
We got our hands on our favorite case by Avel & Men: the Ploumanac’h navy. This navy blue watch roll, designed to hold 3 watches, is made of full-grain leather, the part of the hide densest in fibers, which therefore retains its strength, softness and pleasant feel. In addition, the leather has been milled, that is, tumbled and kneaded in a drum to give it a wrinkled look. This medium-grain navy leather features white topstitching at the ends and tone-on-tone stitching between the 3 compartments.
The flap features a cotton lining with nautical chart-style patterns and the discreetly embroidered brand logo. When open, the case measures 24 cm wide by 18 cm high. Closed, it depends on your watches, but it is relatively slim, about the size of a glasses case. The compartments are quite tall, fully covering each of the 3 watches it can hold. Its use is therefore less commercial and more focused on protecting your watches. It all closes with a technical rope, color-matched to the watch roll, threaded through an eyelet, and comes in an ecru drawstring pouch. It's beautiful, useful and well made. The price, you ask? €144, or €159 with a personalized phrase embroidered on the case. Note too that Avel & Men offers other cases (soon in canvas for 3 and 6 watches), travel watch pouches and watch straps.
