Watches in the Wild (Party in the Bay Part 1, Volume 61)

Note: A Pam346 borrowed from my brother from another mother @valleykilmers

Come ye watch nerds one and all to witness the greatest horological show on earth.  Forget that musty old affair in Geneva and party in the Bay.

https://youtu.be/J7_bMdYfSws?si=71fmW0NQHClVueeM

Windup returns to my hometown: bigger, badder, and crazier than before.  On Friday afternoon, i met up a ton of Crunchers there: @SpecKTator , @blackbookalpha , @AlohaBrah21 , @TomatoBass , @artpordiaz among many others who I don't know the handles for.  You guys are all awesome.

If you haven't gone to Windup yet but want to know how to get the most out of the experience, I can only offer the following advice.  Jump in.  Try watches on.  Talk to the brand owners about them.  Compliment a fellow nerd's watch.  It literally doesn't get easier to spot watches than this.

And whatever you do, don't be the neck beard who lectures a brand owner about appropriate pricing or design for their products.  Just walk away if you don't like the price on offer and let other people see the watches. You know who you are.

Anyway, for the second year in a row, Windup was an absolute blast and, as with last year, I have entirely too much to write in a single post.  Watch spots on nerd wrists to follow after!

Show notes

All pictures sourced from the internet because I don't love taking pictures of people's watches in person.

My first stop was the Jack Mason to meet @TimeToDesign and drop off a bottle of gin as thanks for his support during my and @valleykilmers s's charitable auctions of the Joker Strat-O-Timer.  He is every bit the gentleman in person in person that he is online.  I got to handle the Ellum in person (it's awesome but I want a full gold one!), saw the new Emperor Strat-O-Timer (very clean) and heard about a pair of super duper secret drops for this year and 2025.  I'm 100% pre ordering the Sept drop when it happens.

Complecto sponsored a pit stop area and I chatted with the folks there for a bit.  I've occasionally considered joining but I've frankly done little research to honestly consider it.  Still a pleasant bunch.  They also took a picture of my watch!

Horage, once again, punched well above its weight.  Everyone I talked to came away marveling at just how light and beautifully made the K2 date and K2 GMT were.  Horage also probably made the other watch from this watch show I am likely to buy, the Autark Tourbillion.  It might be the most well balanced and comfortable tourbillon I've ever worn.  Not the best finished or most good looking (probably Lange, Moser and VC take the lead there) but by far the most comfortable.  That's saying something.  

Nivada had a selection of Chronomaster Chrono divers, F77s and Antarctic Spiders on display.  Having finally played around with the F77 in person, I can safely say that the watch does not appeal to me at all.  I don't really have the issue with it being a touch Royal Oak esque (same era, things were done differently back then) but I just didn't like the look very much, something about the way the bracelet integrates with the case.  The Antarctic spider though....that's a gorgeous on the dressy side of everyday watch.  Of amusing note, I think the Nivada guys spent more time looking at my watch than I did at theirs.

From the F77(meh) to the Jan Mayen (oh yes).  I didn't really have a specific thought on Straum when I went in but I am VERY positively disposed towards them after having seen their Jan Mayen integrated sports watches.  They look and feel awesome, so much so that it vaguely makes me wonder why I have an AnOrdain deposit down for a slot five years from now when I can literally buy a Straum today 

Lorca had a small booth with just two public watches (and one secret one!).  Their art deco designed GMTs are absolutely beautifully executed but also just too small for my wrist.  I am told that the owner had a chronograph on his wrist that might be for sale this year.  Maybe ask about that too.

I was looking forward to seeing the Typsim 200m and the Noir but it was just one guy, alone at a table.  I suspect some luggage was misplaced in transit which is a shame.

I only breezed through the Formex booth.  They had new color ways of the Essence and the new Reef 39.  I already own an Essence 39 and love it. The new color ways (especially the gold-copper one) are very tempting. As expected the Reef 39 feels just slightly off proportions wise to me with the 39mm x 22mm lug width.  YMMV on this one.

Vero had a selection of their Open Water divers, Forest Service kinetic quartzes, and workhorse chronographs on display. I always appreciate how funky and different the designs that Vero puts out are.  I mean, the open water is a diver that looks very little like other divers (in the best possible way) and the Forest Service feels like a crunchy Microbrand casioak.  My cousin ended up buying one.

We chatted briefly about a collaboration they're doing with the Wildwood Company, a custom clothier, in Portland.  They had some absolutely gorgeous renders of a bronze dress watch.  I will have to see those in person some time.

Minase had some beautiful watches on display, primarily their Horizon Sports watches.  They seem well built and have beautiful dials, of perhaps a little stylized for me.  I did ask why they decided to go with Swiss Movements rather than Japanese given the heritage and didn't get much of an answer.  I suspect it has something to do with the ease of getting high quality ebauche movements but I'm just speculating.

The Oris booth was well manned as always.  This time I decided to play around with the Oris Pro Pilot GMT.  I liked the color way surprisingly and thought it was quite a lovely piece.  Maybe I just need to look outside the Oris dive watch zone.

The Fortis booth felt super weird.  Like they had too much space for the number of people and watches they brought to the show.  I am trying very hard to convince myself to give the Novonaut a chance but it just falls flat for me.  Cool history but too big, too blocky 

I don't honestly think that I am cultured enough to appreciate Fears.  Everyone raves about their refinement and their finishing...which I get.  It's a very lovely watch and a lovely shape.  But you know, it's a thin Swiss.manual dress watch.  Maybe I just need more jazz hands.

And as for Christopher Ward....well, I don't expect to win many friends here with this take.  I went to windup with one real goal; go to the Christopher Ward booth and try on the Twelve X and the Bel Canto.  

Part of my journey as a watch collector (paging Dr. @Aurelian ) is a constant drive to experience the new and uncomfortable things.  I know what I like.  I like well finished chronographs and GMTs with fancy flourishes.  

I am the personification of a luxury watch buyer in that I tend to value things like history and design and improved engineering even if I pay a premium for those things.  Value doesn't move me much. My watches are jewelry.  Timekeeping I do with my phone. 

CW stands at the opposite end of her spectrum where the entire reason for their existence is the drive for improved value versus competitors. At the core of who they are is the value proposition they aren't cheating you like those other watchmakers because they only price up on their cost of goods sold by 3x.  They are the sabermetricians of watchmaking and I mean that as a compliment.  As a business proposition , they are exactly how I would run a watch company.

It is also the reason why they appeal to me so much less than the other premium microbrands.  Formex stands for hilariously overwrought engineering solutions to problems only watch nerds care about.  Monta is about just being the very best quality in the category.  Farer is all about unique and vibrant use of color and texture in the context of watches.  CW's "you would pay $5k for this anywhere else" orientation is admirable but not why I buy watches.

And so we have the Bel Canto and the Twelve X, two watches priced like IWCs, Tudors, and Omegas.  When I held one for the first time, I was struck by how light they were.  To be clear, I am no stranger to titanium. I own a titanium Seiko and am wearing a titanium Radiomir right now. Titanium, by virtue of its lightness, can run the risk of feeling flimsy.  A good titanium watch to me needs to be well balanced and have a low center of gravity, otherwise it begins to feel odd on wrist.  On this, I found both the Bel Canto and the Twelve X somewhat lacking. Given that neither is a particularly tall watch, I do wonder if it has something to do with the way that the movements are sitting in the case.

There is also the matter of them mixing usages of grade 5 and grade 2 titanium.  I don't mind this in theory, but I do think they made a choice to prioritize the case of the watch looking better for longer by using Grade 5 there with somewhat less care for the bracelet.  The potential for differential wear patterns on the bracelet and the case is significant.

On the Twelve X, I did not particularly like the finishing on the dial side of movement (particularly the top barrel).  The sound of the Bel Canto was okay though I admit that that feeling of the button press to switch the chime on and off was very good.

This is all very nitpicky of course but movement into a new market segment invites it.  And I am no more valid a watch authority than anyone here.  If you love it, then that is all you should care about.

But as is the case generally with me and CW, I walked away marveling at just how much they had accomplished within the budget but not particularly motivated to buy. C'est la vie.

Part Two has dropped.