Lessons From the 2023 NYC Windup

That is a wrap on my weekend at the NYC Windup. I figured I would share the musings of both a watch and unabashed microbrand fan. This will be a text heavy post, but I strongly encourage you to check out @drcarter13’s amazing work capturing photos. PS, I had the pleasure of spending time with Danilo at the WatchCrunch meet up and all I can say is, what a nice person, a sentiment that will be a constant throughout this tread. Below are some of my observations from the weekend.

• Size and scale: This is second NYC Windup I attended and everything was bigger. The downstairs section was converted to more vendor space with a larger carve out for the EDC crowd. It also hosted many smaller brands while also welcoming big names like Fossil and upcoming brands like Xeric. The crowds were also larger. I was able to navigate more freely Friday and engage in slightly more in depth discussions, but even on Saturday if one was patient enough they could interact with many of the brand owners and designers.

• Access: Similar to my observations last year, there is something special about talking to the owners and designers about their brand and vision. For example, two brands that I knew of and liked their products, but had not spent much time researching, Stella and Duckworth Prestex had amazing stories. Stella being a punchy brand from NYC with gorgeous dials and finishing and Duckworth being a family passion being passed down from one generation to the next was spectacular. Hearing Neil share stories about his grandfather’s original designs (with pictures for reference) that inspired the line up, one could not help but walk away knowing the sheer passion behind the brand. I could share similar stories from so many makers, be it Bespoke Watches, Formex, Fears, Farer, Oak and Oscar, and on and on.

• The Watches: Like big chunky watches? Check. Divers? Check. Bespoke one of a kind pieces? Yep, those too. No matter what you’re into, there was a watch or ten for you. Were there any trends? With all the buzz about small watches you would think there would be more of them, but I did not notice it. Ditto for integrated bracelets. There were several examples for sure, but not as much as the internet will have you believe. One thing of notice was all the color. Our course baby blue is still a trend, but the greens, oranges, purples, reds, etc, are coming. We will see more dress watches. I was lucky to see a couple coming down the line for a couple different brands you would not think of and I cannot wait.

• Swag: I am not a big swag person, but man, was there a lot of it to be had if you wanted it. Kudos to the brands for using it to engage. Pretty sure I saw a Brew bag every few feet, or the Oris hats. Lots of good books and magazines from the show and individual brands.

• EDC: Pens, hats, bags, and knives. While I appreciate a well made pocket knife, it was good to see other types of items there. I had a great discussion with someone from Esterbrook Pens and while I barely have my toes dipped in that world, they have an equally passionate community.

• Community: Last year I was fortunate enough to connect with several WC folks and it was great to spend time with them. Each night I was fortunate enough to have dinner with various members here. On Friday night one @timegeek and his son at Capizzi pizza (seriously, go there and try the hot honey pepperoni pizza, it’s delicious) or Saturday night when I had the privilege of dining with two WC celebs, @Ichibunz and @DeeperBlue at Mad For Chicken.

• WatchCrunch meetup. Of course @Max was there being an amazing host, but 40 of our closest WC friends were there too. Folks flew in from all over the country and planet to be there like @VictorAdameArt. Peter from Jack Mason had some lovely words of appreciation for this community as he raffled off a watch. Many folks brought out several cool watches to share that we had the opportunity to geek out over. Then there were the brand members that were hanging out chatting; Jack Mason (of course), Spinnaker, Fears, Vertex, and others.

Thank you to everyone and all the friends I made along the way. If you get an opportunity to attend or travel to a Windup event, I promise you will come away with a newfound appreciation of at least one brand, likely dozens, and many new friends.