World beater!

So I’ve just had the pleasure of getting hands on with the soon to be released Farer World Timer.

For those of you unfamiliar - I’ll let TGV give you the run down on the previous version of the watch:

https://youtu.be/neLkJZbAOog?si=VIfMwE0QpX7OEsN7

How, you might reasonably ask, did I come to get hands on with a watch that’s not yet been released? Afraid it’s not because I’m an insider, nor a heavy hitter able to buy his way into exclusive pre-releases. It’s down to one man, Paul Sweetenham, one of the four founders of Farer.

Paul is a gentleman and a giant (literally, he’s 6’5” sitting down). And this afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting him at Farer’s showroom near Ascot.

As I often do on a Friday, I took the time off to fuel my watch obsession. Some days that’s simply done from home, browsing watch sites, YouTube and reading posts on WC. Some days I venture into town to visit ADs and try on watches. But this afternoon I decided to take a drive to Farer’s showroom, about an hour and a half’s journey from door to door. The welcome and the watches made it more than worth the effort.

The showroom is nestled alongside a beautiful farm house hidden down a country lane, far from the bustle of the typical watch boutiques of Bond Street. Immediately I arrived I was surprised to be greeted by Paul. We sat down and, over an hour or more, chewed the fat on all things watches.

Paul is a seriously interesting guy, having spent the best part of 30 years building and running retail and marketing businesses. From selling dutyfree watches in airports to building £billion high street retailers, this guy has been there done that, and then some.

His decision to co-create Farer in 2015 has that vibe of a passion project done good. The result: a brand that has a flair for colour, an eye for detail, and a design language that blends vintage and modern in a simply killer way.

I could have spent the afternoon happily discussing the world of watches, cars (Paul has a passion for that too) and our relationship to these marvels of engineering. But I was also itching to see the watches up close and personal.

Having just seen the announcement that they were re-releasing their immensely popular World Timer collection - I cheekily asked if he had any I could take a look at. He did! And they are amazing!!!! I won’t give away any details, that will all be revealed in a couple of weeks time. But suffice to say “I REALLY, REALLY WANT ONE”.

I suspect my chances of actually getting one is slim. Farer has a very loyal following - which includes major collectors. So I’ll be up against some tough competition to buy one. But the quality, the design, the uniqueness of this watch is simply stellar. If you don’t see a bunch of watch journo’s and influencers gushing over this thing in a few weeks time, I’ll eat my proverbial.

While I was tempted to run away with the World Timers Paul showed me, I controlled myself and handed them back begrudgingly.

To console myself - I also took a look at a few other models. Their Tonneau case models (London, Milan and Paris). Although the photos of these watches are works of art, in the flesh they’re even better. The sizing is simply perfect, and the colours… just wow.

It was a real effort not to buy one there and then. The only thing holding me back was the fear of my wife and love of my marriage (just picked up a CW C65 and have a JLC on the way). But seriously, the design of these Tonneau watches is amazing, the build quality superb, and the details simply spot on (colour matched rotor, decoration on the dial …).

I also took a look at their relatively new model, their Aqua Compressor.

The comfort of the watch is other worldly. It’s a bigger watch, but not oversized. The brushed and polished titanium case really stands out - and has fully converted me to titanium. I’d previously been rather sceptical of other watch brands when they use titanium: seems gimmicky. But with Farer, the use of titanium feels purposeful but avoids looking drab.

Having tried on more than half a dozen watches, and stolen most of Paul’s afternoon, I felt I should take my leave. A warm handshake goodbye, I headed back home.

For anyone in any doubt - these are truely amazing watches. Having now seen them in the flesh - take my word, they are better in person, and that’s really saying something. And when the World Timer drops later this month, I’ll be all over it like a rash; just hope I get to scratch the itch.