Coming full circle with a pizza.

I put a post out earlier in the week on Studio Underdog after attending British Watchmakers' Day on Saturday. Please do give it a read, but I'll pop the guts of that experience and how it set the foundations for buying this watch here:

"Founder, Richard Benc was there [at British Watchmakers' Day] alongside Time+Tide’s Andrew McUtcheon on the day. Both were happy to sign coasters, take orders for watches and give out access codes for pizza watches online….once the 500 they brought that day sold out!"

"The little white card I’ve obscured contains a QR code and password. These are only available if you meet either Richard or Andrew in person. If you manage to get one of the cards (they’ll both be at plenty of events this year!) only then can you purchase a pizza party watch."

Hopefully, that sums that earlier post up. The story behind this watch just made sense to me!

I've been playing guitar for 20 years this summer, in that time I've gigged, recorded and jammed more times than I can count. One of the best parts of being an active musician is being part of a community or scene. Acts get to know each other, they'll share lineups and even just come out as fans to support their friends. This is how I see this watch.

I absolutely love what Richard Benc has done to the watch space in just 3 short years. Colour, humour, and an active interest in contributing to watchmaking in the UK. Even the strap is made by The Strap Tailor, a UK brand that I've bought from before. Admittedly I feel the "company x company" collaboration craze a little oversaturated. This collaboration between Richard and Andrew just feels right to me.

I want to support independent brands and encourage more iteration and experimentation. Just like music. More broadly outside the local music scene, I'll buy merch to pay it forward and hopefully extend the lifetime of their touring and recording careers.

This is what I want to do here. Added to this is the reasoning of only being able to purchase one of these if you meet Richard Benc or Andrew McUtcheon in person.

It sounds exclusionary (not just exclusive) but I like this. Not everyone needs to have every watch. How often do we read stories about waitlists and the 'hard to get pieces?' I'd love a privé Cartier, but that's not happening. I'm not annoyed at Cartier for that though! This watch is all about encouraging people to go to watch events, meets and fairs. I love that.

In September 2022, I attended my first watch meetup, with Hamish and Ed's Watch Collectors' Club. It's all about getting people who like watches to meet in person. No gimmicks, no snobbery, just a vehicle for getting watch-people in a room together. Up until that point I had one mate in another city who liked watches, but I'm not going to pester him with random messages about watches out of the blue. I was leaning heavily on online watch content instead, Hodinkee, YouTube etc. I met Adrian Barker at British Watchmakers' Day for example, and thanked him for his Explorer/Blackbay36 comparison video, as it convinced me to go try one on. I then bought one! Adrian's reply to my thanks? "I'm so sorry..." I'd have expected nothing less than that quip!

I've gone from feeling a little embarrassed about what I see as a 'nerdy' interest, to throwing myself full pelt into things like WatchCrunch. I'm not ashamed to say that I passed Adrian once, felt awkward and moved on. I then wised up and just went over for a chat and a photo. I should be more like this!

Watches have become a huge part of my social life, with Watch Collectors' Club events genuinely getting me out of the house around 3 times a month! It's been an incredible experience and I've made some new friends. That's not easy in your 30s in London. It's taken an introverted interest and got me into boutiques, watch shows, launch nights, hangouts, online meets and talks. I'd no reason to hold back and the club showed me that.

So there it is! My justification, not that I need one, for buying a watch with pizza toppings on the dial. Not a review, I've only just wound it up, but more an open letter of appreciation to the Watch Collectors' Club, Studio Underdog, Time+Tide and the world of watches at large!