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The First Timers

Published on Sun, 3 Apr 2022 01:25:41 +0000

The fourth and final episode of our daily series is brought to you by those who had their first experience at a watch trade show.

Synopsis

In this special episode of Hodinkee Radio, Danny Milton takes over hosting duties from James Stacey to record a conversation with three first-time trade show attendees at Watches and Wonders 2023 in Geneva. Joining him are Nora Taylor (Deputy Editor at Hodinkee), Brynn Wallner (creator of Dime Piece), and Nick Marino (SVP of Content at Hodinkee). Recording on day four of the event from their hotel, the group reflects on their inaugural experience at the watch industry's most important trade show.

The conversation covers their initial impressions of the massive scale and production values of the event, with booth setups described as mansion-sized structures inside airplane hangar-scale facilities. Nick reveals that the first day of coverage set a company traffic record, suggesting growing interest in watches beyond traditional enthusiasts. The group discusses how experiencing watches in person differs dramatically from viewing press photos, with several noting that their favorite pieces of the show were ones they wouldn't have expected to love based on images alone. Nick's pick is the 31mm Tudor Black Bay S&G, while Danny was impressed by the Rolex Air King and left-handed GMT, and Nora was captivated by Van Cleef & Arpels' unconventional approach to watchmaking.

Beyond the watches themselves, the discussion touches on the theatrical presentations brands staged, from Chopard's sensory-deprivation room to Roger Dubuis's ethos of "excess, madness, pleasure, and freedom." The group also reflects on Geneva as a city, the watches they chose to bring on the trip, and lessons learned for future trade shows. Throughout, there's a palpable sense of excitement about being present for these product launches, able to provide readers with untainted first impressions before online discourse shapes opinions. The episode captures both the privilege and exhaustion of covering the industry's biggest event as newcomers navigating this rarefied world for the first time.

Transcript

Speaker
Danny Milton Hey guys, it's Danny from Hodinky. Uh this is a special presentation of Hodinky Radio. I'm taking over for James Stacey today. I just wanted to give you all a heads up. There is some strong adult language in today's episode, so it might not be for everyone, but it's nothing too crazy, so I hope you enjoy. And uh yeah, here's this episode. Hey, it's me, Danny, and this is an episode of Hodinki Radio. Today I am joined by Nora Taylor, our deputy editor here at Hodinki, Brynn Wallner, aka Dime Peace, and the SVP of content himself, Mr. Nick Marino. There's a reason that all of us are sitting around a table here on day four of Watches and Wonders. We're actually back at the hotel where we're all staying here in Geneva, a little bit down the road from the Palax Pueblo where the convention's being held. And each of us, this is our first watch trade show. So we are trade show newbies, and so we're sort of sharing in the newness of that and uh just sitting down to have a conversation of things we observed, what we expected, did it meet our expectations, you know, everything. So thanks for uh sitting uh around with me and letting me take the mic from James for once. Pleasure to be here, Danny. Yeah. Um, but let's just like kick things off. Um, I'm not gonna go first, uh, cause I was just at a frantic pace the whole time. But maybe uh Nick as sort of uh the overseer of the Hodinki editorial operation and the entire plan that you uh put together that we hopefully executed on. Um was this everything you expected and more? Yeah, I um
Nick Marino keep a pretty close eye on our performance and and the first day of Watches and Wonders, um we set a company record for the most traffic in a single day ever, which I think is testament to a couple things. It's testament to the amazing work that all of you guys uh did and and always do. Uh but it's also a testament to just the surge in interest in watches. A huge percentage of that audience were new to the site. They didn't come last year, which not only means that we're growing, but it means the watches are growing. I I guess I didn't fully know coming in who was gonna join us, but it's a lot of new people. I think that's a really healthy sign for the
Danny Milton industry. Do you think that is a testament to the growth of watches? Do you think people like the idea of examining a trade show from afar, living vicariously through us? I mean what what what is that what is it? I I can almost guar
Nick Marino antee there's not pent up trade show fascination out there. I mean, I think I mean we we we brought Brynn in because she's sort of a friend of of Hodenki and writes for us whenever we can get her to. But I I think like the success of Dime Piece, and Bryn, you can even speak to this, has really tracked and maybe even sparked growth and watches. Like what the work is that Bryn is doing is is really hand in hand with what we're doing to try to welcome more people into this community. So I would be curious to hear from your perspective um what it was like and what your audience was saying. But I I don't think it's pent up trade show demand. I think it's we and our peers in the space are doing a pretty good job of getting people interested and then they're coming along.
Danny Milton I think that's a really good point, and Brynn maybe you can take it from here. I mean I don't have the exact date of when Dying Peace started or when you sort of kicked that off. This has to be the first time that you are really a player in the industry and you're at a uh basically the entire watch world has convened in Geneva. And let's get super macro on this thing. I mean, what was it like being at your first trade show? Well, I mean, I'm shocked
Brynn Wallner they even invited me. I feel like a petit poisson in a big ocean. But for me personally, when I entered the security where they have this really dystopian voice. When you do your access card, it's like access granted. It's actually kind of scary. But then I walked in and I saw how massive it was. I mean words cannot describe how big it is. And I got full body chills. And I just had such a visceral reaction to it because it really felt like kind of all of my work and all of this just dedication to watches, it all is here where you can actually touch and feel. They call it that. They really do call every every session a touch and feel session. Super unfortunate. It's very like ESL. I think they need to rebrand. If the FHH is listening, it's a little creepy. Um no, but it's an honor to be here. And as far as my audience goes, I mean, like you said, nobody's clamoring to hear about the trade show. I mean, just by definition, like trade show, it sounds so industry, but there's just been so much hype around watches and it's I feel like the lifestyle element, which you guys have been doing an amazing job of, where it's not just wrist shots, it's not just, you know, movement. It's also lifestyle. It's fashion. It's music. It's everything. And I think it's just something exciting for people to be interested in that's new because fashion feels like, you know, you've been into whatever for so long. Watches is something that's I think brand new for a lot of people and it's exciting to see what the the brands drop, especially a big name like Rolex or something where it's kind of accessible for people
Danny Milton to Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that because most of what we see from Dime Peace is is the cultural sort of moment the watches are having on a broader scale. But now this is you interacting with new watches that are dropping immediately and are you changing the way you are how does that affect how Dime Peace is and the branding of Dime Peace? So you just switching to like breaking news. Now here's each
Brynn Wallner watch. I mean, what what has changed for you? Well, I mean, I really just follow my gut. So if I'm in a room and I'm genuinely excited by something that I'm gonna take a wrist shot and post it and and I try to give my little spin on it. Like I don't know. Everybody was talking about this Rolex GMT, the left-handed one, and everybody was trying to, you know, do their take on the nickname. And I was like, it's Buttercup from the PowerFuff Girls. Or it's like the fact that I have an opportunity to just kind of make it mine and that a lot of it resonates with a lot of people is exciting and yeah. Nora what was the the brand that made the biggest impression on you
Nora Taylor ? Ooh Kate. We just had so much fun in that room. I talked about it on the pod uh two episodes ago. I was at a really fun time there. And then Van Cleef and Arpels aft I think, which I went to the next day, we just had a really great session and peak session. Peak session. Just kooky and delightful and informative and not something I was expecting to be wowed by, but walked away sort of with a new perspective on the brand and um an excitement about some of the watches that I would not have felt if I hadn't seen them in person. Yeah. I mean that that
Nick Marino 's one that I think a lot of sort of hardcore traditional watch people, the sort of folks who like, you know, Rolex Tutor Paddock often overlook, which for that, you know, maybe a big portion of our audience. Can you bring all of us up to speed on what they're doing that's so interesting and striking
Nora Taylor to you? Just hearing the story behind the watches and how they approach making them where it is like story, concept, idea, look first, and then the actual like mechanics second, where it's sort of this deep, I don't know, almost romance in the way that they think about watchmaking and the way that they think about time, there's this watch that they just came out with where they've totally revolutionized how you are supposed to look at time and use the watch to see the time. Where the minutes are on the side of the the case and then the dial is just all of these flowers and for every hour a flower opens up. So you know that it's one p.m. because one flower is bloom has bloomed. And but when it's two, it's not just that like one stays open and another one joins it. That one closes and then two more open in a different pattern and there are three different cycles of how these flowers bloom on your watch. And it looks beautiful. It is just like such a slow and thoughtful way to tell the time. And then you have to think about holy shit, how did they like what is going on inside of this watch to make all of this happen? And I am like not a flower and butterfly gal, but it is it I walked away with a um kind of giddiness and thirst to learn more about the watch and kind of the history of Vancouf, which I is not a brand that I know that much about gener
Danny Milton ally. I think if if you were listening to yesterday's episode, we talked a lot about that watch, but I think one that caught your eye was the a certain uh maybe not a new release, but the the midnight kiss. Ah, the
Nora Taylor midnight kiss. Yeah. Now with more kissing. Um yeah. Unlimited smooch. Was unlimited kissing was said to us several times. Several times. And what I really want to know about the research and development is that they had a discussion about the perfect length of a kiss and they landed on three minutes. Oh no. For one kiss. Um, it's a perfect amount. Yeah. It's the exact perfect amount. Three minutes? I thought you were gonna say three seconds. To kiss in public. Maybe we're just American prudes, I think is like I think so. But yeah. I did not expect to come to a trade show and have the word uh kissing, private kiss said to me
Danny Milton so much. Yeah, I mean I've now been at Hodinky for over two years and it's kind of wild that I've never been to a trade show, but this is also my first trade show and I think that I've heard enough stories from colleagues like James, Jack, Cole that I felt like I've been to one of these before, even though I've never been to one of these before. So when I walked in, I it didn't shock me. Like it didn't shock my system the way that I thought it would because I I'd seen photos and heard stories and I almost pretended like I had, not even like actively. I just almost felt like I was like, oh yeah. Mm-hmm. There's a massive Rolex booth next to a massive tutor booth across from an even more massive Patek booth that look like nicer than any house I've ever been inside of. And they're three stories tall and they're inside of a convention hall. And you know, these are the kind of things that you know you've been to maybe an auto show in your life, but you've never been to a watch show, and these are really different, even though the objects are markedly smaller. Um and Nick, I'm interested in what your I mean, you had to have a similar reaction. I mean, what's what was it like for you stepping into the hall for the first time? Yeah, be the
Nick Marino word booth sort of barely covers what you're looking at here. It's what they're called, but it's I mean it's the size of a mansion tucked inside a facility the size of an airplane hangar. The scale of it is amazing. And then these things are carpeted, you know, they're staffed by people in uniforms. You know, the lighting is on 11. You know, it it is it the production values are unbelievably high, which I guess when I had heard, you know, I'll be stopping by the such and such booth. I mean, I was expecting like a kid's lemonade stand, you know, and it couldn't be further from
Danny Milton that. Yeah, I mean I I completely agree. I mean, that was the part that even though I'd I had a an image of what it looked like from the exterior in any of these things. Each one was more impressive than the next. You literally enter into I'll use Rolex as an example, like a hall, like an inter an interior hall where you just wait to be escorted into some other interior space within an interior space up another flight of stairs and I'll start with Brent. I mean, there are some weird or interesting or kind of wacky presentations. What was sort of the most wild that you encountered
Brynn Wallner ? If there even is one? I think my new favorite brand is Roger Dubuis. Okay. I'm obsessed with them. They are well, I went to their keynote today, which felt very I mean, this all feels like we're living in the future kind of, but also being very old school at the same time.
Nick Marino Yeah. It's it's it's the tension between the futurism and the sort of pervasive nostalgia for the past is really wild. Yeah. You can feel that everyw
Brynn Wallner here. Totally. That was very poetic. Have you guys been to the keynotes? They're kind of, I mean, it's just like these guys and they're really excited and they're you know they're kind of spewing their marketing language, but the Roger Dubuis, they were really basing their whole ethos on four words, which is excess, madness, pleasure, and there was something else. Freedom. And I was just like, whoa. And the fact that they led with excess, I thought was really they're just owning it because it is so excessive. This whole thing is excessive, like it's surreal.
Nick Marino I I really appreciate someone owning it. Because there is this kind of like, oh it's it's a terrific value at only twelve thousand dollars. You know, or in the case of Roger Jabwe, much more. Yeah. So for someone to at minimum to acknowledge it and even kind of re
Brynn Wallner vel in it. Absolutely. It's like refreshingly honest to start with. I was really I was happy to hear that because it's we're just coming out of the pandemic and uh he even acknowledged there's a w there's a war raging next door. But here we're living for today and you know, we're we have the privilege to kind of enjoy these insane items and they just go ham. Like they're nights at the round table, and it's just like my I feel like, you know, I'm wearing a Cartier right now. It could not be farther from a rocher dubuis, but just like the ethos and the attitude. And they had a s professional skydiver who was on the panel and they showed just like a video of him flying through the air, like a flying squirrel. He had this like these sleeves and it was branded Roger Dubuis. I was like, this is so lit. Like I love this brand. And
Nora Taylor their booth they had a watchmaker kind of in the wall in the way where I walked by and I was like, that must be a really hip DJ. Like it was sort of like totally is that Calvin Harris? And I was like, no, that's someone who makes watches. I guess it's this is a bit of a tangent, but my dad is a union stage hand, and part of being a stage hand, shout out to Ayatsi, is building conventions like this. So he would often be like, I have like an 18 hour day where I go to the McCormick Center and I build out this like booth. And so the entire time I was just sort of like the manpower that it would must take to like ship all of this in and build it to the quality that they did, like that is just absolutely bonkers to me. Like the people that we saw, the boost that we saw, the planning, and then just the sort of like the physical like build out and then tear down that's gonna happen. The like how the temporary, how like feeling that it was temporary, um, knowing that it was temporary well, it still felt so like strangely permanent, although I did like lean on a wall and This is giving a bit. Yeah, this wall gives. How embarrassing would it be to flop into just like a tray of diamonds?
Danny Milton Um there's some interesting, unexpected moments. Uh we touched on this in yesterday's pod, but uh James, John Buse, and myself went into a show pard which from the exterior and even the interior, it's very reserved, very old fashioned, very classic. And before we walked in to see the watches, they handed us noise canceling headphones and pushed us into a pitch black room with a three-dimensional curved television screen where an insane presentation began where all of our senses were just out of whack and we were watching a watch get built and we were turning around the room with each other with noise canceling headphones on. It was it was pretty crazy. And that's the kind of stuff where like I would never have expected that to happen. Uh I was like, oh we're gonna go see watches. Oh yeah. I don't I can't I can't see or suddenly you're an Epcot center. Yeah exactly. And for example, Tudor had arcade games uh in their in their booth, which was a little bit interesting. You'd you wouldn't really expect something like that. But I wanna uh move the conversation a little bit to the watches because one thing that I I found was over the last two years, sure, it's not like we've been writing without seeing watches. I mean that's an absolute misnomer. We get watches sent to us when they're released and we can touch and feel them to our heart's content. But there was something about being in one place with all these new watches and having instant reactions and having instant context and being able to really get a bird's eye view of the industry at the moment and comparing what each brand is doing and how it feels different from what they did before, as opposed to things sort of happening piecemeal throughout the year. I don't know, Nick, like as as sort of the one who is literally in charge of content, I mean that was a that that was the most content we could probably produce at one time. I mean did it affect you you were in as many meetings as I was. Did it affect how you sort of were contextualizing the industry?
Nick Marino Yeah, definitely. And Cole touched on this a little bit in his GMT hands-on piece, you sort of led with this idea that the watch enthusiasts, particularly online, tend to rush to snap judgments based on a photo that might be a rendering or partly rendered or certainly photoshopped, and actually the experience of let's say touching and feeling the watch itself in person can be quite different, and it's better if you can to kind of reserve judgment for a minute. Now, the truth is not everyone has the luxury of being able to have the new Rolex Destro GMT on their wrist on day one. That's that's true, but his point still stands. Th these things really do look different in person. My favorite watch of the of the show is a 31 millimeter tutor. I would have never gotten that from a press photo. And to be able to see them side by side, like I would take the 31 over the 36 every day of the week. But the only reason I know that is because I got to try them on. It's interesting you say
Danny Milton that because it to me it it is we get to see things, audience, before you do. Um it's just the nature of the beast, and then we're sort of delivering information. And so we get them free of the noise. And so to Nick's point, who knows if you if he would have felt differently about would he announce to the room that his favorite watch was a 31 millimeter tutor. Nick doesn't care about that kind of stuff. But I I might, but I I agreed with him in the moment. I was like completely untainted by any exterior uh opinions that have already entered the realm. I think it's interesting our follow-up coverage sometimes gets in sort of the zeitgeist of things, but all that initial stuff, watches we love, you know, I've been on the record saying that the Air King was a watch that really excited me, even though a lot of people vehemently disagree with me. I stand by it. I think that's really cool that that we're sort of there at the front. And that's why sitting with you guys here like this was our first time getting to really do that. I don't know if you guys Brynn or Nora agree with that. Ye
Nora Taylor ah. Strong agree. It was something about just kind of like having all of these watches at your disposal and like putting them on your wrist. Cause they're I don't know, being still relatively new to and seeing them over the year that I've been here, like you get one every couple of weeks and it's like, ooh, it's just so nice to like actually touch them. And then here you kind of like the excitement of just like feeling being around a watch has dissipated and you can be a little bit more um
Nick Marino discerning. Well if I may there there was a moment in the Cartier session where Nora tried on the new black dial tank Louis Cartier. And the whole room just kind of stopped and looked at it on her because it looked like it was made for her. It looks like she was born wearing this watch. There's absolutely no way that experience could have been replicated through some kind of publicity photo. It's only in the moment that you see actually kind of who you are as a watch person, what your tastes really are, what you want to buy, what you don't want to buy, what's overhyped. Um that was a really special moment. I think for you as a relative newcomer, my read and watching your reaction and everyone's reaction to that was
Nora Taylor this is what it's supposed to feel like. Yeah. And nothing will make you get ready to be financially reckless more than a room full of watch people being impressed with you wearing a watch. Absolutely. You need that. Ye
Brynn Wallner ah. Be bad. Yeah. Yeah. I also think I feel like when I see online the press photos of their very specialty, like one-of-one, Metida, like the hand painted there's always the the crash with the crash, even the crash, which I it's no secret, I'm obsessed with the crash, but I see those online and what you were saying, how they kind of look sometimes it's like a mock up or a photoshop it almost like it's too high res on the online and you see it and you're just like, eh, I don't know. I can't even picture it on my wrist because it almost feels like a cartoon or something. And then you see them in person, and not only do you get to see them, but you have some person with a French accent telling you about the artisans that have spent, you know, 800 hours or whatever working on this one watch. And it's just so incredible. And sometimes, you know, I do get lost in the sauce of the culture. And to be reminded that there are artisans and there are people with, you know, these little teeny tiny instruments and they're working so hard and there are only so few people who can do this in the world and they're in some Swiss valley. It's just like so it really brings you down to earth and you can really appreciate the craftsmanship. And you just it it hits different in person.
Danny Milton I agree. We had a moment in the sh in the Chopard booth where we saw um an Alpine Eagle turbillon. Mm-hmm. And if I saw that in a press photo, I would say, okay, that's the same watch with a turbulent. It doesn't excite me. In the room, looking at it, the watch A is thinner and it wears amazing. But you it just hits you that there's something about this that was cre and it's probably 20 times more expensive than the steel version. But you in there, I was like, Oh, that makes perfect sense. You know, but if I was at my computer, you know, at home, I'd be like, come on, like I'll spring for the for the normal steel version. But I think you're right. I mean, I think it helps. I would normally tell myself, you know, pinch yourself and realize this is ridiculous, but there is something about this industry that pays attention to these little details. And these little details cost a lot to produce and the price is just a result of what goes into them. And there is a world for those watches as much as there's a world for the more affordable value propositions, you know, brands that aren't even, you know, exhibiting here, the Seiko's of the world, but even like the orises of the world, which are not inexpensive, but they're the more fun side of watches in my opinion. And also shout out to them, one of the coolest booths at the show. But no, as being our first show, I mean we're always going to remember a watch, the watch of the show for our first I mean, was there any watch that stood out for each of you sort of being the one that will stick in your in your mind that sort of was a highlight? To
Nick Marino me it's the it's the Tudor Black Bay thirty one uh S and G what a surprise. Yep. And and such a pleasant one.
Danny Milton I would I would totally wear that watch. And not just from a design perspective. They I think they put a new movement in it too. And then Tudor's really not just gonna push that watch from a marketing standpoint, but it really represents something of uh we talk about this on Hodinki a lot about inclusivity and watches not being for for men or women specifically, but I mean you don't normally see a thirty one millimeter watch get given that sort of attention and that and that's it that's important, I think, industry wide. Yeah.
Nick Marino I think sometimes people maybe misread our whole unisex campaign as some kind of like gender politics crusade. I mean, it's partly about inclusivity for sure. It's also partly about everyone being able to wear what makes them look and feel good and and not having anything pre prescribed and just sort of being honest about your body type and your skin tone and all that stuff. I mean look, the the industry has a ways to go in terms of inclusivity, that we know, but I I also think just personal expression could could could use a a modernization in this industry. And I'm here to tell you the thirty-six does not look good on me and the thirty-one does. That's it. Can't argue that. W
Brynn Wallner hat about you, Bryn? Well, I think the biggest learning thing for me has been I mean, I know what I like, you know, I know what I wear. I know I like a tiny Cartier, a tiny, you know, I'm all about the teeny tinies, but this was a chance for me to really immerse myself in like the big extra watches that I don't know if I would necessarily wear them, but I'm so blown away by the, you know, the technique and the and the mechanic. The mechanic. I'm I'm like, I'm still trying to grasp all the vocabulary, which I'll fully admit. But I surprisingly I was so impressed by Ulysses Nardin. Um they had these three watches. One of them is named The Freak, which I love. There was one where the guy just went so in depth about it and it tells you the exact phase of the moon and exactly where the sun is and the tide and not only that, but you know, like 24 different cities. And there was just so much information. And I felt like I was in like an astronomy class and and I'm just I have a newfound respect for the watches that I'm I don't jive with aesthetically, but that I'm like I fuck with the technology and the vision and the passion that goes into it. Cause it's not an everyday thing.
Nora Taylor For me, this is actually probably the first time I got down with like Chronamaster. I've always been like too busy, too sporty, like I don't want to time anything in seconds. And then um went to Zenith and tried on both the Chronomaster Open and the Chronomaster Sport and just had a blast. They were not too busy, which is even with like the tricolor subdials, like it was I saw it it I think for what was for the first time and how it could wear on the wrist and how all of that information and all of those um pushers and all of that could look really balanced and not look overly sporty in the way that I thought it would um look on my wrist. So that was kind of the first time I was like, okay, I get this. I could see how someone might be into these. For you was it the air k
Danny Milton ing, Danny? It's the air king personally. If I'm gonna remember one, it's probably gonna be the year of the the left side crown GMT, but it'll also be the first time that I put a platinum Daytona on my wrist. You know, like there and that's a crazy thing, you know, it's not something that many people will ever get to do. I'm never gonna own a platinum Daytona, but I can say that I wore one. Um, and one that is really a feat for Rolex in a lot of ways. I mean, a fluted platinum bezel is a big deal, and to get to see that up front, I don't know that I ever would. I don't think that's a watch that would have been passed around, you know, to the press very eas
Nick Marino ily. You also, when you're um touching and feeling these watches, you you realize how important the metal actually is. One trend that we've noticed this year. Jack pointed this out, is that there's a lot of platinum, and then Logan pointed out there's a lot of titanium. So you got both ends of the spectrum: the super heavy duty and the extra light and industrial. I think
Danny Milton that's really fascinating. It's interesting you mentioned that because I just before we started recording this pod was visiting uh Acrivia today and I held a platinum watch and a titanium watch, one in each hand. And it couldn't be a more insane uh experience. But I want to zoom out a little bit from the PAL Expo because this is also I don't I'm I don't of our first times in Geneva, but I think it's our first time being in Geneva where the entire world of horology is in Geneva. And you can for me to see where all of these watches sort of reside, all the brands reside, where this industry is like the industry of the city. Every building around the water has the different watch brands advertising on top of the building. I mean it's you feel at the moment you get off the plane the whole way into the city, walking around. Um we visited the Mad Gallery on our first day, you know, MBNF. Uh I just mentioned I went to see uh Crivia and and what they're doing over there. Um, what was Geneva like for you guys
Nick Marino ? I had some surprisingly good tacos. Was not expecting that. Um, I had tacos one night in Ethiopian the other night. I'm sort of determined to not succumb to like you know beef wellington and foie gras and fondue for you know seven hundred dollars a plate kind of a deal. Like just like get get me to the Persian place. Um and I I was just happy to see that that's a thing, but have
Brynn Wallner I luckily I arrived when it was super sunny and gorgeous and I got to walk all around and seeing the skyline with all the watch brands, I'm like, this is a dream coach. Like I was being so I felt like I was at Disney World and I had fondue twice in a row, much to my dismay. So much from the most filmage. Oh my god. I mean, but I'm I'm enjoying leaning into it
Nora Taylor . Um yeah. Geneva's mad cute. Like I didn't expect it to be as cute as it is. Like I was sort of like, oh it'll be because everyone talks about how expensive it is and it's this luxury industry capital. I'm like, it might I expected it to feel maybe a little more sterile, but it feels very lively. Between the Pal Expo and the hotel, you kind of walk through a student area and past the UN. So you just kind of see everybody hanging out, doing their thing. The architecture's really great. I think we were like how, how great would it be to live on this like cobblestone street where there's just a fountain and then a tiny cannon and a And these streets make you they make you whis
Nick Marino per for no reason because they're that quiet. You just feel like you have to. Yeah. A New Yorker I shall not name told me one day during this trade show that he's thinking about moving here. W
Brynn Wallner ow. That would be a commitment. I think it's also funny being here meeting all the people that I know from Instagram, all the all the watch people. You got Andrea Castellano for he I am casa on Instagram, like all the watch influencers from around the world, Austin Chu from Horle. All these people, I'm like, hey, I feel like I'm on a college campus almost in the trade show. Everybody's like, What's up? How was last night? Like, so were you spotted on the trade show floor a bunch of times?
Nick Marino And I was like, hey, yeah. It was it was really fun. You even hosted an event, right? You were not just an observer,
Brynn Wallner but a participant in the trade show. Yeah. I came a little bit early. I moderated a discussion panel for Brightling for their relaunch of the Nava Timer. So I was on the stage with Georges Kern and uh Gregory Breitling, the son of Willie Breitling, who created the Nava Timer, and also like an aviation pioneer and creative director and yeah, it was cool to be here kind of early to settle in, but do something that w felt very professional that I had to I was nervous about. And then I got to just enjoy it and see people. It's it's really fun.
Danny Milton I'm interested in what watches you all brought on the trip because again, like we talk I talk about this all the time in my stories that people may or may not read. Who knows? No, but uh that watches really are um like keepers of memories and this being our like our first time doing this, I think we're never going to forget it and we're going to remember that when we look at the watches we wear. I personally brought two pieces with me. I brought my uh Rolex GMT master, the quote unquote Batman, and also my tutor Black Bay 58, and sort of a nice little combo. Um and yeah, I I was really thoughtful about bringing those watches. Um and I'm curious what uh what you guys had on
Nick Marino RIS. I deliberately wanted to wear something from a brand who was not represented here so as not to show any favoritism to the folks who were that's very Swiss of you. You're more thoughtful than I. So I brought a Zodiac complete calendar vintage from I think the nineteen sixties or 70s. It was a gift from my girlfriend when I got the job at Hodenki. She wanted to give me a watch that would sort of commemorate that moment and that I would always sort of look back on not just as a emblem of this new job, but also sort of her support of it, which I think is really beautiful. So it's a cool, smaller. Yeah, what size it's very cool. It's very cool. Yeah, it's I think it's maybe thirty-four. So it's it's yeah, it's triple calendar with a moon phase. The month currently says it's February, so we gotta work on that. But otherwise it's running pretty it's run it's running pretty well. We'll get there. It feels like February. Yeah. I me
Brynn Wallner an Here Watch tells the spiritual month. Yeah. Groundhog day. What movement would be the spiritual month? I'm wearing my Cartier Tank Fonse, my first watch. I have a Cartier. I haven't seen the Cartiers yet, so you know I had to wrap it up. Get ready. I also brought my teeny tiny two-toned date just. Two-tone club. Yeah. Let's go. Also, this is uh hodinky exclusive. Uh I got a new Rolex. I'm rich. Just kidding. My dad gave it to me. He it's the watch that he wore in the 90s that he never wore when I was like old enough to know. Um, he would wear like a garment or something very outdoorsy. But he gave me his date dress that he that's from nineteen eighty six. It's like a blue dial Buckley Roman numerals. And I was like, should I bring that? And I was like, hell no. It's gold Roman numeral. It's really nice and it's engraved with his initials. That's great. But I did not bring that because I'm terrified of bringing an heirloom anywh
Nora Taylor ere. I did bring an heirloom. Not like a fancy one, but I w brought the watch that my mom got here in Geneva in nineteen sixty nine. Just 'cause it's my favorite. It's small. Felt kind of fun to bring it back here under wildly different circumstances. And uh Bruna and I were texting about how hard it is was to pack for this. Oh my god. Because we're like, we don't know what the vibe is. Well, what's vibe check?
Brynn Wallner Um but be yourself, I think is the the lesson. Yeah. And you can
Nora Taylor wear sneakers. You you should because many kilometres. Yeah. But yeah, this is what I wore. And it is, you know, just kind of a stretchy cheap bracelet, so very easy to slip on and off because not only did I try on new watches, I tried on a bunch of other people's watches, which was great. That was also a fun thing to just be like, what are you wearing? Let me try it on
Danny Milton . I think as we sort of uh wrap things up here, as we look to the future, future versions of ourselves at our second trade show. You know, what what did we learn? How are we going to prepare better? You know, because I agree, like some of these like wardrobe choices, choice of footwear, you don't think about that really, but I'm wondering, you know, I can start with you, Nora, go back the other way around the table, which no one knows what the table looks like because podcasts are not a visual medium. But you know, what what are you telling Future Nora for
Nora Taylor trade show uh the sequel? Bring a gigantic water bottle. Don't lose your black dial tank Louis Cartier. Because it's gonna be on my wrist next year
Brynn Wallner . Manifest. Um I want to finesse my way into some of the dinners. Because I'm still I'm like a small fry and I'm realizing I I know I'm I have been humble throughout this and I think it's like how do I get to a really fancy Rolex dinner or or how do I get on PadX distribution list? 'Cause I I didn't get invited to that. Um, so just, you know, working my angles and trying to reach a more global audien I I don't I'm not sure this is the exact right
Nick Marino phrasing, but I'd like to try to work a little less. story and I there were a couple of moments where I know I was missing having some fun just because I was trying you know my my focus is on the end product which is what the website looks like and I'm super proud of the stories and the podcasts and the photographs that we put out there. But I would just love, even if it's one night, to take to just take one night off next week next year week. Next year. Next week. Yeah. If you test positive for COVID. It could very well be and rather than wolfing down tacos by myself to get back to the hotel room to edit, you know, just take a beat and get out and enjoy it because as sometimes our commenters will will rightly remind us, it is an immense privilege to be here. And while it is totally work, I think next year I'll remind myself to look
Danny Milton around and enjoy it just a little bit more. Listen, first of all I want to give a shout out to James Stace Woohoo. And thanks to all of you for uh giving me the chance to talk and sharing all of our first-time experiences. Um as always, if you're enjoying the show, please share it with a friend. If you have anything to say to us, please, you know, hit the comment section. The show will be back on its normal sort of schedule and cadence next week. So you'll have uh the one and only James Stacey back with you. So uh but yeah, thanks again, everybody. Thanks for having us.