Dimepiece Founder Brynn Wallner¶
Published on Mon, 7 Jun 2021 10:00:00 +0000
All you need to love watches is to, well, love watches.
Synopsis¶
In this episode of Hodinkee Radio, host Stephen Pulvirent sits down with Brynn Wallner, founder of Dime Piece, a platform dedicated to women and watches. Joined by Hodinkee's audience engagement manager Daisy Alioto, the conversation explores Brynn's journey from working at Sotheby's to becoming a prominent voice in the watch community. Brynn shares how she discovered her passion for watches while editing content for Sotheby's watches department, despite initially knowing nothing about horology. After being laid off during the pandemic, she launched Dime Piece as a personal project that quickly evolved into a movement, thanks in part to early support from Hodinkee.
The discussion delves into Brynn's first serious luxury watch purchase—a Cartier—which was notably covered by Vogue magazine. She describes the experience as her "coming out party" in the watch world, complete with champagne and macarons at Cartier's boutique while wearing her mother's vintage Chanel blazer. The conversation touches on broader themes including the emotional versus technical appreciation of watches, with all three agreeing that the emotional connection is paramount. They discuss how watches were once invisible to them—like the famous "invisible gorilla" experiment—until they suddenly became meaningful objects worth noticing and investing in.
Brynn and Daisy bond over their similar journeys into watch enthusiasm as millennials, discussing how access to archival photography and social media has changed how their generation discovers and appreciates watches. They critique traditional watch marketing, including a recent Vanity Fair cover featuring Gillian Anderson with a quote about men's watches, and discuss how the industry needs to embrace more playful, imperfect, and inclusive storytelling. Brynn shares feedback from her community, including women rediscovering inherited watches and making their first luxury purchases inspired by Dime Piece. She reveals her preference for small watches, her love of two-tone pieces (including aspirations for a "baby Royal Oak"), and her vision for expanding Dime Piece beyond Instagram into more robust educational content, video, and celebrity interviews.
The episode celebrates the power of community in the watch world, the importance of making the hobby accessible and fun, and how new voices like Brynn's are reshaping the conversation around watches to be more inclusive, emotional, and genuinely joyful.
Links¶
Transcript¶
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| Brynn Wallner | I feel like everything has led up to this. I was talking to my therapist yesterday and she was like, This is like your coming out party. I'm yeah, it's kind of like my sweet 16 or like my debutante ball. Like I'm coming out into the watch world like with my first luxury watch and I'm so excited and I get the watch but I'm not allowed to post it because of the vogue |
| Stephen Pulvirent | Hey everybody, I'm your host Stephen Polvern and this is Hoginky Radio. This week I'm joined by someone I've wanted to get on the show for quite some time now, and that's Brynn Wallner, the founder of Dime Piece. Honestly, if you're not familiar with Dime Piece, I don't know what watch internet you've been on the last few months. The Instagram account turned publishing platform brings a fresh, fun, and female perspective to the watch game, mixing pop culture, watch nerdery, and a healthy sense of humor. Along with Daisy Aliotto, our audience engagement manager, we dive into how Bryn first fell in love with watches while working at Sotheby's, why she launched Dime Peace in the middle of a global pandemic, and the impact she hopes to have on our Time Piece-obsessed community. We also talked It Girl watches, how Watchbrand should be speaking to millennials, and what it was like for Brynn to have her first serious watch purchase covered in Vogue. Yeah, that happened. This is a fun one and it's definitely not the last you'll be hearing from Brynn here on Hodinky Radio. So without further ado, let's do this. Hey Brynn, welcome to the show. Hi, how are you guys? Doing well. Doing well. We've got Daisy here for the first time |
| Daisy Alioto | too. The stakes are sort of high because either I do a good job and get invited back or I get roasted in the comment section that I myself moder |
| Stephen Pulvirent | ate. We'll see. I think it's gonna be a terms of service violation to uh shit talk daisy in the comments, but uh we'll we'll see. Show me two of them. I'll defend you. Yeah, we'll put up hands. All right. Let's start with the table sticks here. Let's start at the beginning. Brynn, just like tell us who you are. Like people know about Dime Piece, I think. I would hope everybody listening to this knows about Dime Piece, but like who are you and what's the kind of like Brynn Wallner story pre-Dime Piece? Yeah, well, my name is Bryn Wall |
| Brynn Wallner | ner and I am the founder of Dime Peace, which is a platform for all things women and watches. Pre-Dime Peace, I was working out Subwee's and I was on the editorial team and I was working on content for the watches department. And I was like, you know what? I don't really know anything about watches, but I'm producing this content. I will get the job done. And so we commissioned some pieces on the goat watches, like greatest of all time. So just a heavy hitting watches. And I was just like stunned at how I'd never even heard of these before, first of all. And as I was reading all the articles that I was forced to edit and fact check and source imagery from, I was just like, oh my God, I love watches. Like I didn't even know this before. Like I like lost my mind. And I started noticing them everywhere, like every single TV show, every movie, every random dude on the subway. I was just like, oh, like time key. So yeah, I just got super into watches really organically really late in life. I just got bit with a bug. And I was like, I want to do more with this. What can I do? Like I was even trying to transition myself from the regular editorial teams to the watches department at Southeaves. I was like, I'll do anything. And you know, one thing led to another, I got let go from Southease because of the pandemic and also the acquisition and it was just kind of a mess. But I still didn't forget. I was like, I gotta find a way to continue to work and watches. And when I was working on the editorial content, I was just like, there's not really much for women here. I'm like, you know, it felt like a little bit bare. And I felt like if I Googled it, I was only scratching the surface and there I just wanted to learn more. So it really started as like an own my own personal project. But yeah, it's evolved so much. And honestly shout out Cara because when she discovered Dime Peace and then reposted me on Hodinky, that's when I started getting all the followers. I was like, damn, the Hodinky effect is real and one thing led to another and Harper Zar reached out to me to be the monthly watch call on this and you know next thing you know I'm sucking buying a Cartier |
| Stephen Pulvirent | . Yeah, we're gonna talk about that card here. Yeah. Not many people's first serious watch purchase gets covered in Vogue, but you're Brian Wallner. So so you get you get a Vogue story about your watch. Well it's funny because |
| Brynn Wallner | I was so excited about the purchase and for all you listeners out there who are familiar I actually never had a luxury watch before and I know there's a Rolex that belonged to my grandmother like sitting somewhere in a safe but that's the closest I've gotten and since I started Dime Piece everybody's like oh show us your collection or you know what watches do you have and I was just like I don't have a watch and this is a new thing for me. Like, I literally didn't care about watches until I started learning more about them because I've worked in fashion and media and I care about all of that. And I feel I consider myself a very like in tune person with like what's on trend, but for whatever reason, watches just like missed me completely. And I never even aspired to own one. So when I started this project, I obviously became obsessed with them. I'm like, I need a watch but i can't just like go out and buy like twice my rent's worth in steel and yeah i just feel like i spent so much time on dying piece and all these opportunities came to me. And I was supposed to get a watch last year for my 30th birthday. And my dad was like, what kind of watch do you want? And I was just like, I don't know, maybe a Rolex. That I like to me the only option was like a Rolex date just and I was like I honestly don't know and I was googling and it was just so overwhelming and I I just couldn't really find inspiration and I was just like I give up. My dad was like, well, you know, the deadline passed. Here's some money. He like Venmo'd me some money. And I was like, cool, like thanks for the money. This isn't gonna cover like half of what I want. Not to sound like a spoiled brat, but I was just like well, you know what, we'll wait till next year. And I'm glad that I waited because in the process of doing Dime Peace and just looking at tons of archival imagery and celeb photos and like I really was able to see, you know, who I related to, who was wearing certain watches. I was able to see watches in real life. Like I would go into like a tornado randomly when I'm visiting my mom in Florida. And I'm just like, the more and more I'm taking it in, the more I'm like, okay, like I understand my taste. I understand what I want. I understand that I kind of want a smaller watch. Like, I'm not a big watch gal. I want something I could stack. Like, it's even though I know people are they're like, don't stack watches. But yeah, it all led up to my 31st birthday and my friend Liana at Vogue was like we're going shopping I'm covering it in Vogue and I was like okay sick we arrange it with Cartier and we walk up and there was this gorgeous suite for us and they have little bottles of Cartier champagne and macarons and I just feel like such a princess and they're so nice and they're just showing the watches and my friend Leon is recording it and just like snapping photos on her iPhone. I'm dressed in my mom's Chanel blazer that she kept from the 1980s because she used to work at the Chanel store in Waikiki. And I feel like everything has led up to this. I was talking to my therapist yesterday and she was like, this is like your coming out party. I was like, yeah, it's kind of like my sweet 16 or like my debutante ball. Like I'm coming out into the watch world like with my first luxury watch and I'm so excited and I get the watch, but I'm not allowed to post it because of |
| Stephen Pulvirent | the vogue. I was wondering why you were like something coming, but like I can't tell you yet. I was like, what's what's the deal with this? Like what the hell is going on here? I know |
| Daisy Alioto | . Bryn, I have to follow up. Is your therapist a watch person? Do they wear a watch? Are you getting them into watches? My therapist is not a watch person. I |
| Brynn Wallner | think she thinks I'm like the most materialistic person in the world. Because I've dedicated my whole life to like these like highly luxury items. But she was so excited for me and who knows I might influence her |
| Stephen Pulvirent | to buy a watch. She understood the stakes. My therapist is a watch person, so maybe my therapist needs to talk to your therapist and we can get them, we can get a little watch therapist thing going on. Yeah, please. Therapist link up |
| Brynn Wallner | . But I was like, I need to tease this a little bit. So I just posted the red bag and everybody was like, W'hats in the bag? And I'm like, you know what? This is kind of a champagne problem that I have to wait for the Vogue article to drop. But it dropped two days ago, and it was just like really cute and so exciting. And I posted it on Dime Piece, and I'm just, I'm honestly shook at how nice people are and how supportive. And it really feels like they're just like on my team and they're like, we're so excited for you. And I was just like, thank you so much. L |
| Daisy Alioto | ike the crying beauty queen with like the flowers. So just breaking off a piece of your tiara like the end of Mean Girls and throw |
| Stephen Pulvirent | ing it to your followers. Weirdly the two most referenced movies on this podcast are Devil Wears Prada and Mean Girls. So I love that we got that in here. That's that's that's the best. Well devil |
| Brynn Wallner | wears Prada. My dad when he saw my photo of my outfit when I went to Cartier, which like I got dressed up like I took every single thing that's designer in my closet and just like Frankenstein it together. Because I was like, I gotta look good for both. And my dad was like, you're like that girl in that movie. Uh, you know, Devil Wears Pirata. Not that you were from being before or look like you know he's like he was essentially saying the glow up is |
| Daisy Alioto | real. So well I think we need to shout out your mom for working at Chanel in Hawaii because this might be the most Joan Diddian job I've ever heard of, other than the job of just being Joan Diddy. Yeah. |
| Brynn Wallner | My mom is an amazing, amazing person. And she also worked at Louis Vuitton in Hawaii and she was just like a sales girl because this was right before she had me and she had me really young and she was like in her she was probably like 21 working at Chanel in Hawaii and we need to get her a watch because she |
| Stephen Pulvirent | doesn't have one. I was gonna say, it sounds like from the stories you're telling, your parents sound pretty awesome. I feel like we need to get the Walners on the show. We should get them on the show. Do a family episode? A family affair. She's already in the therapy., Steven Yeah, I know. Yeah, that's true. That's fair. I won't I won't do that to you. Sorry. That' |
| Brynn Wallner | s that's bad. My dad has a Rolex that he got when he graduated law school. And I'm just like, that you gotta hook it up. Like I need the Rolex |
| Daisy Alioto | . But we'll see. Well, Bryn, everything you're saying about your journey into starting your account really speaks to me. I think I might be the ideal audience for dime piece because I'm at sort of a similar place in my watch journey. And I've been thinking recently about the times in my life when I didn't even notice watches. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the gorilla experiment, but it's this experiment where you watch a video and you're supposed to count the number of basketballs being bounced in the foreground. And in the middle of the video, a gorilla walks behind the people bouncing the basketballs and most people think oh of course I would notice if I was watching a video and a gorilla walked through the background but like something like 50% of people don't even notice and for me watches were the gorilla. I was looking at people's shoes. I was looking at the interiors of their homes, their furniture. I was looking at people reading from their novel. I wasn't looking at what was on their wrist. And to even notice watches was a level of interest that was beyond what I was in. And then I think there's actually a difference between noticing a watch and registering a watch. And I've moved from noticing to registering, which means I've actually I'm in a place now where I can invest them with meaning. And it sounds like that's a similar journey to you. And then once you start registering them with meaning, there's sort of two levels. There's the aesthetic and emotional level, and then there's the technical level. And I think that people who are on the technical level of registering look down on people who are on the emotional and aesthetic level. But the only way to get somebody from the emotional and aesthetic to the technical is to educate them. And that's what you're doing. And I think that's really incredible and it makes it such a worthy project and I'm certainly grateful for it for where I am in my watch journey. And you must hear from probably only women all the time about this. Can you share like some of the your favorite feedback that you've gotten. Yeah. W |
| Brynn Wallner | ell, first of all, I love that. It's totally the gorilla. Just walk it down through the screen. Don't even see it. And yeah, I I find myself personally in the emotional to the technical pipeline. Like I'm like somewhere in the middle right now. But for most of my friends, and these are friends who are like, again, they're in media, they're in fashion, they're kind of in their late to early 30s. They like know what's up. And yet, watches never really even came into their life. And since I started the project, it's like they see it in a whole new light because I feel like like you said I'm I'm kind of educating but I'm also presenting the bigger picture in terms of like a lifestyle and an aesthetic and it's not just wrist shots and it's not just reference numbers. It's like here's what Rihanna wore to the grocery store. And here's what Victoria Beckham was wearing in the 90s. And just like these kind of really exciting images to communicate a grander kind of scheme. Like it's not just about the watch. It's about the whole picture. And I think when people are able to take in the whole picture then they're able to kind of dive in on the details and since I started dime piece I have I I love my reply girls like I just have all these girls in my DMs and they're like thank you so much for doing this like I'm so excited whether it's you know somebody reach out to me and they were like um I had an omega constellation from my mom and it was gathering dust in my room for like 10 years straight. And it really didn't take that until I saw dime piece for me to start wearing it. And she's like, I took it to the store, I got it service. Like, it's happening now. I I'm a watch girl now. And it's so exciting for me to hear stuff like that and then you have women out there who are actually making purchases and I'm like shit I'm like really driving some conversion here for these brands. Yeah Sotheby's fumbled the bag when they laid you I was literally pitching myself to be in the watches department. Like I was like, take I volunteer as tribute. Like and they were like, sorry, we can't fit you in. And I was like, okay. But yeah, my friend Alyssa, she's the editor in chief at nylon magazine, for example, and she's somebody who like loves fashion and she's very public about this. She just got divorced and um she was like, I want to buy myself a divorce watch and she got herself a Cartier Panther and she's like this is because of dime piece and I get so many people who are like I finally pulled the trigger I got the date just I got the Panther I got the tank and I'm just like, yes, yes, yes. So it's really cute. Did you watch the Hal |
| Daisy Alioto | ston show on Netflix? I need to watch that. Everybody's telling me too. Yeah, because I you mentioned in your piece for Harper's about the Panthera being sort of the it girl watch that it was big during the Stioud 54 era and so much of the show revolves around that era. And there are definitely a lot of watches in the show. I'm not sort of quick enough to spot them, but I think you'll probably find some fodder for Dying Peace. And there was also like a great quote about Halston in the show. They say that he wrapped a woman in a feeling. And to me, that's what men and women are looking for in a watch. And that's the quality that these photos that you post really bring through. Yeah. Somebody having a meaningful relationship with a watch. And it might be on the emotional level, it might be on the technical level, but the fact that you were able to help somebody who already owned a watch that they hadn't invested any meaning in to then invest meaning in a watch that they already had is so beautiful to me. No crying on |
| Stephen Pulvirent | Hodinky Radio. I think that's a really important thing though. Like I wanna double down on that. Like I think, you know, Daisy mentioned the idea that like a lot of people view the sort of like emotional connection to watches as a conduit to like technical appreciation. But like, I don't know. I would argue that like the emotional connection is the most important. And like maybe you come through that to the technical and then you come back around to the emotional. But like, I don't know. Like if when you put a watch on, it doesn't make you smile, if it doesn't make you feel like a superhero, like why the hell are you wearing it? Like why like why spend thousands, in some cases tens of thousands of dollars on like a totally like it is fundamentally a useless object, right? Like why would you spend all that money on something totally useless and antiquated if it doesn't make you feel great? If it doesn't put a smile on your face? Like what a what a waste. A hundred percent |
| Brynn Wallner | . It's all about that feeling. And like it justifies the money, like you said. Like when I got this, I was like, oh God, like, okay, I'm doing this, like, swipe the credit card and like don't even show me the receipt. But it's like it's all validated because of the feeling that I get wearing this. Yeah. And I think to a lot of outsiders, I, you know, for example, like when I'm talking to my therapist, it's like even when I talk about watches to her, like I'm like, is she judging me for liking these things so much? But it's like I have to convey the the importance that it's like it's not just an object, it is something that makes you feel confident, it's like a reminder of your hard work and you know who you are. And of course, not everybody might feel that way, but I think when it comes to like the Dime Peace audience and people who, you know, save up money or they like dust off their mom's old watch. Like they really come at it from an emotional perspective. And that makes it all worth it. And it like justifies the extras of like loving an object this expensive. Because it's like in this economy, you're talking about luxury. And I'm like, but yeah, I I am because it's it's like if we don't have this emotion and this feeling and these like this sense of confidence, then like, |
| Stephen Pulvirent | what the fuck? What are we living for? Yeah. And like the world's a crazy enough place. Like if putting a watch on can like put a smile on your face or like make you feel confident, like great. Like that's a really good thing. |
| Daisy Alioto | Yeah. And to Steven's point, I find that people who are most secure in their technical knowledge of watches, Jack Forster is a great example, somebody like John Mayer, other podcast guests or talking watches guests like John Goldberger, I would include in this. They're so secure in the technical aspect that they're totally willing to be vulnerable about how emotional and arbitrary a lot of taste is. And for people who are maybe less secure in their taste or their judgment, sometimes there's a negative proclivity to parrot what other people are saying or to find a common enemy. And that's when you get comments like, oh, this is a ladies' watch, or oh, this is for an NBA player. And people don't take the time to do the self-reflection about the implications of who you're locking out of the hobby because they don't feel secure enough in themselves in their taste. So they have to sort of pick on whoever they perceive as the weakest link in the hobby. When really there's no weak link, there's plenty of room in the hobby for everyone. And that is something that you know your project speaks to and I think Hodinki is really trying to do more to speak to and Steven's a part of that has been a part of it for longer than I have. Yeah. You're right. There's so much space. Ye |
| Stephen Pulvirent | ah. Yeah. I mean, you've you've written stories too, like pretty explicitly about, you know, the fact that A, that you don't like you love watingches. You are liv watches all day, every day. Like it is, it is your your life now, for better or for worse. Welcome to the club. Yeah. But uh like you don't personally own a ton of watches. And you did a story for the strategist about great watches to buy under $500. And like, I wonder if you can speak to the idea that like, A, you don't have to own any watches to like watches and to enjoy watches. And two, like, you don't have to, if you do want to own a watch, you don't have to spend five grand, ten grand, twenty grand to get a watch that can bring you happiness. Like this isn't a a money question at the end of the day, right? Yeah. No, totally. |
| Brynn Wallner | And I I almost like in this kind of experience, like I'm 31 and I almost feel like I'm going through another like adolescence, or like I don't know, there's something about this hobby that it's like I thought I knew it all, and I thought I knew what my life was about. And then all of a sudden, I'm like in the watch world and I'm looking at all of this like so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. And it almost reminds me of myself at like age 13 flipping through nylon magazine and teen vogue, and I'm reading all these things and I'm seeing all these beautiful people and all these beautiful clothes and accessories and bags and shoes and jewelry, and it's like I'm I'm kind of like developing a taste level for myself even though I know I can't afford it and I'm cutting out pictures of Kate Moss to put on my wall and I'm, you know, I'm just taking this all into maybe someday want to be a part of this lifestyle, but I'm giving myself the education. And now I feel like I'm 13 again and I'm like reading articles on Hodinky and I'm watching YouTube videos and I'm going through, you know, I'm watching Sex in the City again or The Sopranos and I'm seeing all these watches and I get so excited by them in the way that like a teenager would who's like learning all this stuff and like discovering her tastes and coming into her own and like maybe one day I can get you know a Rolex Daytona like not right now but when you're younger and you're kind of into luxury or fashion or whatever. I think a lot of luxury brands offer like that smaller price point item. So I remember as a teenager, I was like, oh, I love Mark Jacobs. Like that was really hot when I was, you know, 16 going to college. And I'm like, but I can't afford Marc Jacobs, so I'm gonna buy the Marc Jacobs perfume. That's the gateway in. And with watches, you obviously can't buy like a $500 Rolex, but I think another way to like get into it is just like start wearing a watch. And it doesn't matter if it's like a high-end Swiss watch. It could be a more direct to consumer watch. It could be a swatch. Just like get the feeling of a watch on your wrist. Like, |
| Daisy Alioto | yeah, what are you wearing? It's the bio reloaded swatch. Very nice. Oh. It's my everyday watch right now. I keep accidentally calling it the Bioshock, which is a first person shooting video game that I've never played, but somehow lives rent-free in my head. But it's the bio reloaded and we have it in the hooding shop and I absolutely love it. It's so comfortable. It looks great on you. Thank you. |
| Stephen Pulvirent | It's awesome. Bio reloaded. I know. I feel like we need some like sirens to play in the back there. Some like reggaeton sirens. Yeah, grey sound effects |
| Daisy Alioto | . What you're describing is really sort of like the experience of falling in love, too. And I think when you fall in love or you find a new hobby or new enthusiasm, especially when you're 31 or I'm 30, you're kind of at the point where you think you figured out how to be a person in the world. It becomes a new way to hold up a mirror to yourself through your enthusiasm and your passion for you know, falling in love is a person, but for this, it's the hobby. You're holding up a mirror to yourself and seeing yourself in a new way and learning new things about yourself at a time in your life when you feel like, oh, all of my attributes, my habits, bad and good, are sort of calcified. And so when you find a new enthusiasm and you actually see the gorilla for the first time, it just opens up a world of possibility. And I'm going through that right now where I didn't really think there were new things that I could learn about myself. I didn't think, you know, I was also laid off during the pandemic. And if you had come to me at that job and said your life is going to revolve around watches in you know eight months, I would have laughed at you. And yet here I am, and I'm happy. I'm so happy. And especially, you know, during a time period where stuff is reopening, I feel like the experience of my professional life right now, learning a lot on a daily basis, having new experiences is mirrored in coming out of this time where we've really been locked into our own selves, our own minds, our own sort of pods. And it's a really nice parallel between my life and my professional life. Yeah, for sure |
| Stephen Pulvirent | . And when you said it's like falling in love, I literally got chills. Yeah, same. I mean, I think what you've both touched on this is like when the watch community is good, it's the best. Like I have met, I've been doing this about 10 years now, and like I have met the most interesting people in my life, for the most part, are people I've met through watches. And not, they're not like all like quote unquote like watch people exclusively, but they're entrepreneurs, they're artists, they're musicians, they're like just really fascinating individuals and often like very kind, generous individuals. And when the watch community is at its best, like it is that. And it's people cheering you on for your new acquisition. It's people who want to sit and chat about a thing that you have in common. It's people who want to open your mind to new ideas and new ways of looking at things. And I think all too often, and I mean Daisy knows this from from moderating our our comments and our social media here, but like all too often it becomes this like weird competition to see who has the like most expensive, rarest thing and who knows more about whatever movement. And it's like that stuff can be fine, I guess. But like at the end of the day, we everyone who's listening to this in theory, like we all have a shared hobby and a shared passion and to be able to do that together and to have it connect people from every corner of the globe and and in theory every walk of life is is a really special thing. Like not many things can do that for people these days. Yeah. And |
| Brynn Wallner | God, now more than ever, baby. We really need we really need things that connect us. Yeah. The hodinky comments section when the piece went up about me, like that car wrote. She was like, just a warning, the comments section be can be kind of rough. And I was like, I'm not even looking at that. So to this day I haven't looked at, I'm too scared to look at it |
| Daisy Alioto | . I'm here to fall on the knife for you. I am apparently the only person on this call without a therapist, but give me six more months. Yeah, we'll have to get you one, Daisy. It's uh it's crucial in this business. Well, Brynn, I would love to know what's your next Grail watch. Yeah. You have the Cartier. What's the next purchase? Great question. Oh okay. Well I feel |
| Brynn Wallner | like realistically, like I just want to date just. I think it's a great everyday watch it's like you know but I really really want what I'm calling a baby royal oak like I want like the smallest royal oak Anyway, my friend Alan runs found. Well, he's a collector of watches and he also is a dealer and he finds amazing stuff. And when I first met him, incidentally I'm making all these new watch friends through Dime Piece, which is really exciting for me. But when I first met him, he pulled up with like a pouch of 10 watches, and it was like a show and tell session, and I got to try all of them on. And he had a little mini baby royal oak, and it was two-tone, and it was so gorgeous, and I just love it the way looked on my wrist and like I I I need it |
| Stephen Pulvirent | so tiny two-tone royal oak is a strong move that is a like borderline aggressive move and I'm I'm there for it. T T T R |
| Daisy Alioto | O tiny two tone royal oat. I can't even say that whole phrase. But two-tone is a little controversial at Hodinki. I would love to hear what you think about two tone just in general. All of the pictures that you post of two tone watches are of people that are totally pulling them off. So I think any fan of Dine Piece probably would have affection for Two Tone. Well |
| Brynn Wallner | , I was gonna buy a two-tone in the tank foncé, but I I felt like it was too subtle, like you could hardly even see the gold. If you were like a foot away from me, you would just think it's a steel watch. And I was like, no, I gotta say the two-tone moment for like my date just or my baby royal. And I like two-tone because it's so versatile. Like in terms of the jewelry I wear, like this ring, it's silver and and gold this is a gold pinky ring and right now i'm just wearing the steel and my mom's neighbor in florida was she has a tank phonet and she's like yeah it just sucks because you can't wear it with gold. And I'm like, yeah, you can. Who cares? There are no rules. It's like people who say you can't wear like black and navy together. Anyway, I but I love to phone because it's so versatile and it just like goes with kind of everything. And it I'm looking at it from like a fashion perspective. And I'm just wondering the two-tone haters, like what's that hate about? I know people were so mad about the explorer, the Rolex, the 36 millimeter one. Yeah. Like can you try to unpack that for me? Cause I'm still puzzled why people don't like |
| Stephen Pulvirent | two tone. Yeah. I think I don't know. I mean, we're all the same age here. I think for people of our generation, right? Like two tone was hot like when our parents were young. And so I think it largely depends on like whether or not you think your parents were cool. You know, like people, people whose parents were like living it up and who were awesome. People are like, oh cool. Like all those old pictures of them, like it's so glamorous and fun and cool, and let's bring that back. And people who are like, ugh, mom, like you're so lame. Like, those people think of two tone as like a mom thing. And like, I don't know. I also think like as we all get older and start to become like moms and dads and become kind of lame. Like I think maybe we'll we'll come back around to two tone and make it cool again. I don't know. I've kind of come around on it. I have a friend who who bought the two tone explorer already has it. And we're having lunch next week. I'm pretty, pretty excited to see it in person. I haven't seen one in in the metal yet. And I don't know, thirty-six millimeter two-tone explorer, like sure, why the hell not? I just want them to make a a solid gold one at this point, like with a full gold explorer. Uh I'll have to start selling organs, but uh it'll have to happen. Oh god, that would be such a good watch. I mean speaking of stuff that gets like a bad rap, um I'm curious, while we're talking about your taste, are there any watches that get a bad rap that you love or watches that everybody loves that you just like don't don't get that you just are like this is this is stupid? That's a good question. |
| Brynn Wallner | Well, I will say I just love small watches. I feel like even when I went into Torneau in Naples, Florida, and this was before I bought my watch, and the sales associate, well, first of all, he did not even want to let me in the store because it was like COVID, whatever they were like at capacity and he was just like I was wearing like a tennis dress. I I didn't look fancy and he was just like, he like opened the door slightly and he was like, yes. I was like, I'm just trying to browse, sir. But the more I was talking to him, I told him about die in peace and I was like just saying things that like made him know that I kind of knew what I was doing. And there was an automatic shift and he's like, oh she's a watch person. Like I'm totally going to be so helpful to her. Yeah. And he was like, all the women love large watches these days. Everybody who comes in loves a large watch. And I was like, can I try on the tank fonse? And he was like, yeah, but you need to try on the large one. Like it's large all the way. Like don't even think about the small. And I was just like, okay. And I tried it on and I was |
| Stephen Pulvirent | just like, I can't even see the for for people who can't see, there was there was a serious eye roll there that uh I wish we could communicate through the magic of radio. But that that was was that was a |
| Daisy Alioto | a majestic eye roll, Brint. Not to bring another rom comment to the mix, but this is maybe your pretty woman moment. Like I think you need to walk back into Torno with the watch and say, Do you work on commission? Big mistake. Huge. Huge |
| Brynn Wallner | . What point are you? And I'll wear my same tennis dress. Be like, don't judge a book by its cover. Yeah, so major I roll. I the big watch, I couldn't even see the bracelet, which I feel like is like half of the fun of wearing a watch. Is like you get to see like everything that goes into it. Like it's really about the architecture. Like look at how it's working on my wrists. Like look at how the bracelets hugging like the curvature of my wrist. Like to me, it's just like so amazing. And all of these watches are so incredible. I want to see the whole thing. And no shade to big watches. Like, I love a big watch. I love a woman who like Elle McPherson with that big ass Daytona. You know, it's just like it's such a look. Like I love Cara's style, like I don't know, respect. But I personally love little watches and I feel like I got in like a Instagram comment debate, like this girl was like, oh, I love that little watch. Maybe I should get it. I usually buy it big, but and then somebody was like, don't buy a little watch, like it's so big or go home. And I was just like, no, get the little watch. Like, who cares? But I think a lot of times maybe the stigma comes from the fact that little watches tend to be quartz, like for example, the baby royal is a quartz. And I know that those get a lot of shade. And I definitely want to watch with uh mechanical movement because all the talk of the feeling and the emotion, like that is not to say that I don't want to become a technical wizard at watches. And I'm trying, I'm watching the videos, I'm learning, like I'm taking it in like a sponge, but it's really hard. I'm just like, this is so much. Like I I need I just one day at a time, you know, I'll get there. But yeah, in the meantime, I'm a champion of small watches. I love a quartz. I'm trying to think if there's a watch that I just like don't get its appeal. I don't know. Do you guys have some ideas |
| Daisy Alioto | around that? I actually, while we were talking, I did think of one just lawn jeans in general. Okay. But I've recently long gene killed myself by looking at a bunch of pictures, and the more I look, the more I love it. I think this is a distinctly maybe millennial phenomenon. We are the first generation to have access to really an infinite number of photographs of objects, fashion, archival objects in fashion and Brynn, you brought this up in an interview that watches were big in the 90s because people didn't have phones. Yeah. Well, people have phones now, so it's the time to look at photos of watches that we didn't have access to at the time unless you were like looking through, you know, BFA party photography the next day or you know, a vanity fair spread. And so we have access to all of these photographs and that can really help you in developing your taste. But you do sometimes end up in these scenarios where you expose yourself to something so much that your feelings |
| Stephen Pulvirent | about it change. We've referenced Vanity Fair and Daisy and I actually had a conversation this morning because I saw something on Instagram. And Bryn, I don't know if you've seen this yet. So we may be dropping something new on you here, but have you seen the new Vanity Fair on Time cover? Their like watch supplement? What? No. So they they published this watch supplement and it's the Geneva issue. And uh the cover is Gillian Anderson, who is like as cool as somebody can possibly be. Yeah. In my opinion. Love her. And the cover is a poorly photoshopped picture of her in front of Lake Geneva. It looks like a high schooler did it honestly like VF step up your production game. But even more offensive than that, the cover line underneath her name is quote, a man's choice of watch says a lot about what he thinks of himself. End quote. Like, you got Jillian Anderson for the cover of a watch supplement, and her quote is about men's watches? Like that that seems like a huge miss to me. And I I just kind of want to like throw this out there and ask like for your your hot take on this having just seen it. Wow. What the |
| Brynn Wallner | F First of all, I just don't understand. I first of all they should have hired me to do this. I I agree. Yeah, wholeheartedly agree. I just I'm very perplexed by the kind of like slick, cheesy photoshop, just weird imagery that comes with luxury marketing in general. I think there are certain brands who are doing it really well, like Gucci. I just love what they're doing. It's the campaign shop, but then they also have like their regular PA guys like in the background with their cameras and their masks. And you're like you're seeing the reality and it's kind of trippy and weird. They break the fourth wall. It's like the watch world never breaks the fourth wall. No, there's no humor. I don't know. It's not just this vanity fair. Like when I see this, I'm like, yeah, this kind of like makes sense because it's so like in line with a lot of the watch marketing that we see. It's like super cheesy, just like weird Photoshop jobs, like I don't know. I'm trying to think of watch advertisers who are like really, really doing it right. I don't know. I it's time to maybe switch it up a little bit. Yeah. Make things look better. And the quote about the man's watch, it's just like, come on, man, really |
| Stephen Pulvirent | ? Like our time is now. Well, I wonder like how do we get out of this? Like if we want to be productive about this or proactive about this instead of just trashing VF, which I I feel a little bad about doing, but instead of cyberbullying. Yeah. Exactly. Other than cyberbullying the very kind, smart people at Vanity Fair, many of whom we know and and are genuinely great. But if we want to be proactive about this, like what would you like, how do we break out of this? Like how do we make sure that next time Gillian Anderson is on the cover of a magazine talking about watches that like it's handled better? Like what what can we do here that's proactive |
| Daisy Alioto | ? I think just to be more playful, to have fun with it. I mean we can't change how brands market their watches overnight, but we as an editorial platform, and Brynn, I include you in this because you do have an editorial platform and you built it yourself, can decide how do we want to showcase these products. One of my favorite photo shoots Hodinki did recently was a four plus one with a sushi chef and we had, you know, Rolexes next to fish. This guy reaches into the belly of a fish when he's working and he wears his Rolex. And my favorite shot was a watch hanging from its bracelet on a fish hook. And that's not something you see every day, but we need to do more of it. We have to show this generation like we like to see the grittiness of stuff we like stuff that's like a little bit imperfect and actually i mean stephen you can speak to this it it comes from sort of an older japanese idea of beauty as something that's that has some imperfection. And so I think the way to combat this is to welcome in the imperfection when we're showing what somebody's life would look like with a watch, because yes, people want to dream and a lot of you, know, consumers are aspirational and we want to show them something where they're thinking about this is what my life would be like if I owned this watch. But if what you show them is too perfect, they can't put themselves in that scenario, or at least I know I can't. So it has to feel realistic. It has to feel both aspirational but also accessi |
| Brynn Wallner | ble. Yeah. You know, when they were probably making this piece and they chose to hold a quote where I think they say a lot about what a man thinks of himself. I think they probably made an editorial choice where like, that's a compelling statement. But with us, like we're so in the weeds with it, I think, and we're so aware of that the fact that like this is a woman and she's championing like watches and this should be like on the forefront like it shouldn't be about men but I think if you're not as closely intimate with the watch world you don't know you don't really even know there's kind of like a disconnect there. Like, and I think it's on us to just like present more and more and be like, like this actually is a thing. Like, women should be represented more in watches. Like, and the more that we kind of champion smaller voices within the watch community, I think like the mainstream will also start to notice and then you know just like |
| Stephen Pulvirent | get on the bandwagon. I mean Brin to your to your point like trying to push the industry and to push the conversation in in a particular direction. I mean, what's next for Dime Piece? Like, where's Dime Piece going from here? It's it's crazy to think about it, but like you didn't launch all that long ago, but it seems like it's been a part of this community and this conversation for a long time already. But yeah, what's next? What are your goals? What are you what are you hoping to do? Yeah, I mean |
| Brynn Wallner | you know, obviously I'm spending so much time on the Instagram and sometimes I'm critical of myself for even doing that because I think I still have this bias against social media as like a time wasting tool. But I think the meat of what I'm doing on the Instagram is like community management and I'm I'm building relationships with not only like people like you guys, but also brands and fans and you know, just like people with six followers who like want a little advice about, you know, what watch they might want. And I'm just spending so much time in there, like kind of building that community and kind of building that trust. And I think like that's like important groundwork to then go to the next phase of the website, which I really want to focus more on and just make a more robust kind of content experience where it's like, you know, once a week I'm dropping the interviews and it's like first dimers, but it's also collectors, it's also, you know, eventually like celebrities. I want to, you know, explore more mediums. I want to do video. I want to really, really amp up like the educational part of it and you know create like buying guides and like what to look out for and you know what the hell is a bezel? And like, you know, just like really get into that. And in my head, it's this huge thing. And I feel like when I do interviews, everybody's like, it's the destination for women and watches. But when you go on the website, it kind of like falls short of like that image that everybody's kind of like pushing. And I want it to like live up to my |
| Stephen Pulvirent | bigger vision. Well, you know what, Bryn, this was amazing. I'm so glad we could finally do this. I know we've been talking about this for a little while. Uh Daisy, thank you for joining us here and co-hosting. Bryn, I have a funny feeling we're gonna have you back sometime soon. I can't imagine you're not you're not making regular appearances here. Uh thanks for taking the time. Yeah, of course. I'm so glad I got |
| Brynn Wallner | to meet both of you face to face. And it's been an absolute pleasure. That's what I |
| Stephen Pulvirent | love to hear. Thank you so much. Talk to you soon. Thanks so much, Brynn. Ciao. |