If you’re a Charlie Big-Potatoes in the watch world, you’ve been in Switzerland this week for Geneva Watch Days, an event that describes itself as “a decentralized and self-managed multibrand watch event”. (The watch industry really should give my team a call for help with the whole brand/comms thing…nudge, hint etc and so on…)
If you’re a Johnny Small-Fries, you’ve been in London getting a bit obsessed with classy British watches (40% of this post); watches inspired by Japanese artists (another 40%); and a rare-and-quite-expensive quartz movement (the final 20%).
Either way - big or small spuds - you should listen to GB Talks, a podcast from George Bamford. If you want to learn about oddball, off-the-beaten-track watches, it’s ace. But read this first…
Something…classy
I’m quite content with my life choices. But, every now and again, somebody comes along with a life story that really boils my piss with envy. This week, it was Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, MD of Fears of Bristol. He was a watchmaker with Rolex, but wanted to do something more in his career. So he resurrected a defunct watchmaking brand that was set up by his great-grandfather - Fears - and the rest is history. He tells the complete story brilliantly…
I’m now utterly obsessed with the Brunswick, a just-over-three-grand model that calls on a historic Fears watch for inspiration. Look at it!
The shape is a ‘cushion case’, which is so elegant. The numerals are in a bespoke typeface which is utterly beautiful - and they’re crafted from metal and applied to the dial, rather than printed, creating depth. Each case takes a whole day to polish. Despite being MD, Nicholas inspects every watch and signs off on ‘quality control’. Every aspect of Fears screams attention to detail. I’m not ready to buy my next watch yet as I’ve been on a bit of a spree and need to enjoy what I have first. But, by Jiminy, when I’m ready, this is the next one without a question…
Something…to grab quickly!
Another British watch. Another cushion case. And about a quarter of the price, at £875. It’s the Stanhope II, from Farer. I’ll cut to the chase and show the picture...
Farer is known for being generous with colours. But the Stanhope II is a bit more subdued. Although there is a lovely little pop of red on the second hand. And the texture of the dial is a lovely touch. A bit like the Fears Brunswick, the numerals are also applied to the dial, so there’s depth to the design. It’s a stunner.
Until last week, it was sold out. This week they released another batch of 200. I’d get in quick.
Something…arty
If you’ve been hanging out around these parts, you’ll know I’m a fan of Seiko. Grand Seiko aside, it’s not high horology - but it’s honest watchmaking and great value for money. So I was excited a week or so ago when they announced a new collaboration with uber-cool Japanese designer, Kosuke Kawamura. He’s known for his collage work - check out his Insta.
Just like his work, the design is a mash-up/collage of several Seiko watch references from the past. And it comes with either an orange-and-teal or grey-and-teal see-through dial, which shows the day and date wheels that sit under it. In English and Japanese, obvs.
The bad news? It was limited to 3,000 pieces (orange and teal) or 500 pieces (black and teal) which have already sold out. A couple are already listed on eBay for batshit-dollars. The good news? I got in early and this arrived yesterday…
Something…beautiful
If you’ve been hanging around these parts, you’ll know I’m a fan of Jaeger-LeCoultre. So much so, I went for a wander around their manufacture a couple of months ago, which was “a bad idea” according to my wife, who saw the receipts. (I did get some free honey from their beehive as a gift, though.)
Anyway, they’ve released a new Reverso. The front is green and stunning in itself. But on the back….oh, man. You’ll find a hand-crafted enamel version of Katsushika Hokusai’s Amida Falls.
Hokusai created beautiful woodblock prints. If you think you don’t know his work, ignore that thought - you probably do.
While the dial is enough to make me want this watch, that beautiful enamelling is something else. It’s so hard to master as an art - and what the artists have done is just stunning. JLC have done Hokusai proud. The price? If you have to ask…
Something…big and hummy
In the 1970s, the Swiss watch industry collectively lost its shit over the advent of quartz technology. It threatened to kill off traditional mechanical watches. In some cases, it did. Ultimately, Japanese makers like Casio, Citizen and Seiko won the quartz battle.
But that didn’t stop the Swiss from having a go. In the late 1960s, a consortium of them - including Rolex, Omega, Patek Philippe and IWC - got together and went down the shed. In 1970, after several prototypes, they started producing the Beta 21 - a quartz movement accurate to 5 seconds a month. Phenomenal at the time. And, unlike later quartz models, it had a smooth sweep from second-to-second. Watch Wiki has a great article that explains the ins-and-outs of the first Swiss quartz movement.
This week, thanks to an episode of GB Talks, I’ve been a bit obsessed with Beta 21 watches. Only 6,000 movements were made. Most members of the consortium released their own watches with the Beta 21 inside, often in gold and precious metals. They were expensive. They were big. They had a characteristic hum/buzz because they vibrated. The batteries didn’t last long. And I want one. I’m on the hunt. It makes no sense, but what does with this stupid hobby?
If your Dad is a Charlie Big-Potatoes in the watch world, you would be at the GWD too, haha! I love all the watches featured in your article. I have signed up for notification for the new Seiko watch, as I thought that they would be on sale later this month (for the US market at least). But you got one already! Big Congratulations!