Looking Back On 2024 – Part 2 With Rich and Mark¶
Published on Fri, 13 Dec 2024 18:00:00 +0000
Chatting over the last year in watches, what we liked, the big moments, and a whole lot more.
Synopsis¶
In this year-end retrospective episode of Hodinkee Radio, host James Stacey is joined by editor and photographer Mark Kauzlarich and editor Rich Fordon to discuss the defining moments and trends of 2024 in watchmaking. The conversation begins with an exploration of what characterized the year, with the group identifying "shaped watches" (non-round cases) as a major trend influenced by the vintage market, particularly noting how the vintage Cartier Crash may have paved the way for modern releases like the Burneron.
The discussion highlights 2024 as "the year of fan service," with brands like Omega delivering exactly what enthusiasts wanted, exemplified by the white dial Speedmaster and the strategic use of Daniel Craig as a product "leaker." The hosts praise Omega's accessibility compared to other luxury brands, noting how customers can actually obtain these watches without jumping through hoops. They also discuss the continued success of the MoonSwatch and Swatch x Blancpain Scuba Fifty collaborations, defending these accessible entry points as important for growing the hobby and creating conversations about watches at all price points.
The episode covers major releases including the controversial Patek Philippe Cubitus, which the hosts view as receiving typical internet backlash rather than warranted criticism, and Tudor's strategic year of rolling releases including the "monochrome" Black Bay and various special editions. They discuss the trend of high-end independent watchmakers creating more accessible lines, citing examples like the MB&F Mad1 and Theo Auffret's Space One. The conversation concludes with personal favorites from the year, ranging from affordable options like the Doxa Sub 200 to high-end pieces like the Greubel Forsey and the significant John Mayer Royal Oak perpetual calendar that marked the end of an era for AP's movement generation.
Links¶
Transcript¶
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| James Stacey | Welcome back to another episode of Hodinki Radio. Today's episode of the show is sponsored by our friends at Brooklotty, the award-winning whiskey from Isla, who we have partnered with here at Hodinki for the last couple of years. Stay tuned for an update later in the show on what we're up to this season. Hey, it's me, James Stacey, and I'm back for another episode of Hodinky Radio. If you saw our previous episode, which was sort of a look back at 2024 with a Tantan and Maleka, we're repeating the format today, but I've got two new guests to chit-chat as sort of a retrospective of 2024. Our favorite watches, the kind of big moments, things we remember, maybe some stuff we forgot, all that kind of stuff. So uh welcome to the show. Uh editor and photographer Mark Koslerich and editor Rich Fordin. How you guys doing? Doing great. Yeah. Good. Thanks, James. I think it makes sense to start kind of as broadly as possible here. In your mind, did twenty twenty four have like a this is the year of something, or was it kind of too varied? I found it to be kind of a uh a surprising but varied year because, you know, we we talked about this a bit on the previous like you know, we did start at what felt like kind of a lower note with uh a sort of subdued watches and wonders. But I actually think if you look back, this wasn't that quiet of a year in total. What are you guys feeling about it? I think one of the questions on the list is |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | about trends, which sort of overlaps with this one. Um but I found twenty twenty four to be the year of like the non-standard, non-round quote unquote shaped watch. Um and that is both in the pre own market honestly as well as the modern market reflecting some of the trends we've been seeing in that other pre-on |
| James Stacey | market lately.. Okay And I'm just interested in the I was just going to say before we get too deep into it because you know so much about the vintage side, is this something where the vintage side is actually pushing the modern watch idea forward, like people got interested in vintage shape cases and that's why we're seeing modern ones. I mean, I guess that makes sense, but and if so, what were the ones that what are the real like trend makers on the on the vintage side of it? Yeah. I mean, yes, it does feel like it to me, but I think my pos |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | ition is a bit biased there. Um I would you could dumb down things to say like, hey, look at this motto release. It dates back to this trend that started three years ago in vintage. Um this is a comp that they might not love, but um I do think that the crash sort of popping three, four years ago, is the exact reason why we have burner on in 2024. Um, and that says nothing to diminish what Burner on did, but there's a through line. Like a downstream thing. For sure. There are other examples of that as well when you talk about minis and just differently shaped watches that brands |
| James Stacey | have Yeah. And we we talked a ton about even the the Cartier effect of like they're having such a moment that it's actually bleeding out into other brands getting some shine for having a similar idea or a similar model. All really good watches. And certainly I think the the crash to burn a run is like a very direct sort of not an homage, but it's it's a nod. It's a love letter uh to that idea for sure. Um Mark, what what else kind of sits out for you, like maybe outside of the the Cartier space? I mean the shape case thing is definitely something that's here this year that was less prevalent last year |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | . I I feel like this year was sort of the year of the slow burn when it came to like releases just because I remember my you know fever dream sleep deprived induced hands-on with the Cartier Rewind that a lot of people read during Watches and Wonders. I feel like the response to that was sort of overall pretty negative. People were thinking like, what the heck? Why do we need it? It's you know, unnecessary. It's kind of silly or even stupid. But now in the last couple months, I've heard a lot of people talking about how amazing that watch is and how creative that watch is. And I think there's a lot of releases like that this year where I was going back through stories for things that we introduced that I think took a while for people to come around to. And I don't know if that's a reflection on the fact that the the overall release pattern, or how Watches and Wonders played out, or whatever it may be, was not so heavy hitting right away that people had to take some time and think about what came out this year and see if there was anything that they actually genuinely liked because there weren't a lot of obvious mega releases. Um I think even stuff like Patek releasing white gold versions of watches that they had previously done in steel, like the the denim strap thing wasn't really a denim strap, but I think now people are starting to come around to these things after |
| James Stacey | I I think it was a year that was largely characterized by really solid product. Not just the wild stuff, but like on the previous app with Tantan, we spoke about the White Dial Speedy. Almost universally loved the exact sort of watch that Omega should should get into. And to be clear, we didn't get into this, but I'm really fascinated by the way that that brand is now using Daniel Craig as like a a leaker. Like a like a you know, they give him a watch, he shows up at a party, people go nuts. We we you know, Mark, you shot him uh you know, we we shot him wearing uh yet unreleased watch at the Olympics. I feel like he did it at least once a couple weeks ago again, and then now we have the watch. And guys like a no-date steel seamaster. These watches look incredible. And I think they fit in really nicely with the Tutor, the mon what we're all calling the monochrome. I think like that genuinely entry level to like omega had a pretty solid year as far as like product you can buy and enjoy sport |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | watch. I think that's I think that's like the other trend I think of in 2024 as well, which is when I looked back on the releases. 2024 is sort of the year of fan service. When you think about the White Tower, Speedy, and the first Omega in space and the C Masters that just come out, and that's just Omega. The shaped stuff fits into that too. Cause it's like you're looking for that in the pre-own market. Hey, here's this. It's a little bit different, but the you already want it. Um and I always felt in terms of new releases as someone who'd pay so much attention to pre-owned and vintage stuff that the brands just will never give you what you want and it'll be this gap between here's what you want, this is what we're gonna make. I think twenty twenty four was like the gap is here or it might even be exactly what you want. Yeah. I do think that is a very interesting thing that Omega is doing. As you said, it's fan service, it's something really great to drive hype. I don't think they have too many more in the chamber before that gets already too old. I mean, we we saw sort of the pushback a little bit on the the no-date seamaster that he was spotted and people were like, all right, you know, you did it once and it was fun, second time not so much. Third time now we didn't we didn't cover it with the sedent of gold, but at the same time you look at the response that people had to those stor |
| James Stacey | ies and number one story of our year was the one you wrote of him wearing that uh that model at the Olympics. People this is like, you know, we got a comment on a story we ran yesterday saying, like, hey, could you guys write less about the moon swatch? And my reply to the comment was just if you guys stop reading it, we'll stop writing it. Like I don't know what to tell you. These are very, very popular stories. And Omega's genuinely in everyone's mind, uh, especially when they you know when they really nail a product that people want and you can go out and get it. I think that's an important part. Tantan brought that up in the last chat where people can get really excited about an omega because there's a good chance you're not going to have to fight to get one. You might have to wait a you might have to wait until they get a restock, but they're coming. It's not this like nebulous genie's wish sort of scenario like it can be with other brands |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | . This is not a shot at Rolex or Patek at all because I still think they're making really great products. But that is something that I point out to a lot of people um when they say, like, oh yeah, well, Rolex and and Patek, they have to be the number one red stories for for you guys at all times. And I think people are burned out on the idea of like something great being completely unattainable. You have to jump through hoops. You have to sort of massage an A D to figure out what the way to get them to be your friend and give you what you want. Omega went from saying we had so much demand for this watch that it could be, you know, a year before you could get the white dial Speedmaster to, hey, we ramped up production and now you can get it in a couple months. And it went, it was a period of a couple of weeks where they were very responsive to the demand and the interest and you know they they are making sure that people can get what they want. They're adjusting things accordingly. And to me, I think that's part of what makes that so great. The other thing that I wanted to highlight when you said we were talking about how slow the year started out, I got a kick out of looking at the top stories for the year and realizing that the no the number one story to come out of Watches and Wonders was me writing about buying a moon swatch at the airport as I left Watches and Wonders. People are still excited about it. And as he says, if if they didn't keep reading about it, we wouldn't keep writing about it. But people still want to hear about |
| James Stacey | it. Yep. And look I think the the interesting thing with Moonswatch, and I I said this way too much on the on the previous outing, is it just proves how important it is to be able to have fun in this game. Like, don't get me wrong, there are collectors who are buying very needle point specific things for their collection, but most people are doing this just for the emotional response of of of being able to find the watch, maybe learn about it, uh, you know, may maybe you have to travel to get a moonswatch or or a scuba fifty or something like that. But I I think what we're actually capturing with that is is how much maybe this whole hobby didn't feel that fun during the pandemic necessarily. Prices went through the roof. Uh it felt like doors started to close on people. And then I think on the same like almost in the same breath, you could say that like think about the Omega experience from a more generalist enthusiast, someone who loves watches, but maybe doesn't read about every new release, doesn't know about wait lists, and they go to a mall or whatever and they go to the Rolex store, they go to whatever store, and they are told, like, well, we don't actually have anything. Um, you know, let us, you know, get on this wait list and we'll mess message you. Or like, I don't even know what your in-road is anymore. You buy a two-tone date just, I'm not sure. And then they walk across the aisle to an Omega store and they see the White Dial Speedy and they're like, oh, you know, maybe we don't have one today, but probably in the next two weeks, let us give you a call. I just think that's a uh an experience that is going to in ingratiate a lot of people to Omega. And to add more conte |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | xt on the on the the Moon's watch thing, I know it's super, super accessible for someone who's either just getting started, but and Mark can probably speak to this as well, the collector you talk about who's laser focused and buying Pateks at a high level and maybe is like super into 3970s right now, is leaving his house on a Sunday morning with a moonswatch on. And it the the same buyer at that level because at the end of the day, and I've talked about this before, I don't know where, but um, watch guys kind of want someone to come up to them in public and say, Hey, hey man, nice watch. Like at some level, that is why you're putting on a nice watch, whether you admit it to yourself or not. And maybe it's maybe it's 1%, maybe it's 10%, but the moon swatch creates the same conversation that a cubitist does or a 3970 does. It is a signifier to those who know or those who care that you also know and care. And that's powerful at that price point. And that's why everyone's buying it in. And also you think about you wanna get people into the space and you say like, okay, it starts conversations. I've talked to more people that have been wearing moon swatches than any other watch that I've seen around. 50% of the time they're like, oh no, this is the Omega Satwch. You know, they don't know what they're wearing. They just liked it. They saw it, they bought it. But 50% of the time, it's either somebody that e has other watches, like you said, and you can start up a larger conversation. Or it's somebody that, you know, I get a lot of messages from people saying, like, I want to buy my first watch. Um, you know, it's gonna be a big purchase for me. What should I buy under $500ars. For us in this world that's all imaginary points are you know, points don't matter, everything's made up, that kind of thing, like we're thinking five to ten, but for a lot of people big purchases five hundred and if if the door opens at five hundred and you get a moons watch, I'm not gonna tell you that you're less of a watch person because in six months, a year, maybe you're buying a citizen diver, maybe you're buying a Hamilton and then the next thing you're buying your tutor and you start reading more. And I I think you you want people to get excited. You want people to to get into this space or if they don't get into this space to look down at their wrist and be happy that they bought something that makes them happy. Absolutely. And look, I |
| James Stacey | think for me. Because you don't have to buy Moonswatch or Scuba 50. They make a bunch of really cool fun watches that don't cost that much money. And you can get into and like I do believe like you could go buy a Neon Swatch and then go to your first red bar and have a pretty good time. And like that's that's a rel like for a world that is largely obsessed with money and what that some like that's a relatively low barrier to entry to go hang out. Um and I and I think I think it's an interesting development in this world where we get two very different responses to the the sort of moon swatch scuba fifty program where certain folks in the industry don't like it because it cheapens something that they focused on, like whether that's a speedy or a Blanc Pond or something like that. And I'm not convinced that it does cheapen anything, but that's the that's the rhetoric. And then but on the same time, like think about how many people we've talked to in the last few years, like since 2021, that got into this because of that watch. It's just w what an amaz it's just such a solid gateway drug, especially in a world where you can't buy a double oh seven Seiko. You can't even you can't go up and buy an SNK Seiko for $90, like you used to be able to. Like the math has kind of changed, and I think being able to have fun and enthusiasm and credibility it within the within the enthusiast space at $500 or for $300 is amazing |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | . I I also think that leads into the this idea of how to how to broaden your reach and your appeal without cheapening things. And I think that's another big trend for the year. Um, you know, I'm sitting here with my mad one. Hey, hey, there you go. And I absolutely love this watch, but I think you see a lot of more high-end independent watchmakers start to navigate that question of how do we reach a broader audience without cheapening the product that we make. And I read an interesting interview with Theo O'Fray, I think it was in a collected man, that did a really good job about talking about what he's been doing with his, you know, he's a young indie star making cool turbulence and the kind of stuff high-end collectors want to do uh or want to pick up. And then he's also doing space one. And that's somewhere between, I think like eighteen hundred and three thousand dollars or something, depending on the model. He said in the interview, and I think this is exactly what Mad One has uh has done for MBNF. I think it's what grown the grown offels tried to do recently as well is figure out a way to reach a broader audience without cheapening your own name. And it's a hard thing to do, but it's a trend that I think is really picking up this year. And it makes me happy as somebody that I can't imagine that I'm gonna buy a turbulent opera from Theo O'Frey as much as I love that watch, but now I can get a space one and his name is associated with it. It's a completely different as well. They're they're super cool. Um, so I think that's another big trend that I hope continues on into the future, especially as the higher end of the market kind of quiets down a little bit, these brands are gonna have to start navigating that. And yeah. you look You look at the at the financials for MBNF, and I think this is something like 30 or 40% of their their income for the year is now mad ones, which does great things for the brand as well |
| James Stacey | . Again, special thanks to our partners at Brooklady for the support of Hodinky Radio. This holiday season, we've partnered with BrookLaddie on a special giveaway that you can learn all about in the link in the article below or in the notes for this episode. You might be surprised at what you see, and you most definitely don't want to miss it. And now back to the show. So I'm gonna give you guys a choose your own adventure. I think we'll get to both of these, but you guys can pick where we go next. You want to you guys want to hit cubitus or you want to hit tutor? |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | Mark, I never liked goosebumps, so you go ahead and pick our path. Oh man. Let's let's start with cubits and and I I think we'll probably keep it. It was a huge moment short. It was a huge moment. Um it's hard to figure what hasn't already been said, |
| James Stacey | but um we can do that I would say yeah, d definitely defer to Ben's story. He he wrote it from the perspective of someone who actually buys Pateks, which I think is important. Um, you know, m I have a I have a dilettance, you know, perspective on it from fifty yards away. I'm looking through the glass at the boutique. And uh I don't I'll I'll I'll kick it off. I don't really understand the extreme negativity. Um, but I assume that's not coming from people who are going to buy the watch. And obviously that's been largely the tenor of the feedback from Patek as well. Um, I d you know, I don't have a problem. I would say most brands watches I don't like. Every brand here there has watches I really like, but I'm not like a brand guy. I don't think it Cubitus wasn't first watch that Patek makes that I don't think was for me, right? You if that makes any sense. Uh but I also I don't find the watch like offensive or that strange, especially not downstream of an increased interest in watches that aren't round, uh the, the need for brand, the their self imposed need to move beyond the fifty seven eleven. Uh I think all of this kind of makes sense. I think we'll have to wait a year or two to really understand if the model was successful from Patek's standpoint. Um, but I think f as far as a brand like Patek being able to create a moment for themselves, I don't think they could have done much better, weirdly, than they did with the Cubitus. Let me try |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | to stir the pot a bit for you and boil you up a bit more. Does it make you any more upset that the tech both discontinued your favorite watch, the 5100? Yeah. And then comes out with the cumidus. Do |
| James Stacey | es that brand positioning make you any more concerned? I mean, look, again, I can only speak from like uh like video game bucks, if you will. Uh I I was not in the market for either of these. Uh, I know Mark is also, I think we share our extreme love of the 5164A, but there's also like a lot of them. They made them for a long time. Uh so if I think if you really want one of those, you can probably it might even be easier to get a fifty one sixty four than a cubitus. Probably quite a bit easier, uh depending on who you're calling. Um I yeah, that's true, but I'll t I'll touch on that in a second. Sorry. Okay, cool cool. I I've to to attempt to answer that question. I don't even think like that just because I'm so far from being like a a Patek buyer. None of it's real. The fifty one sixty four A I think is just an evolution of a twin time Patek lineage that I really love that dates back to the fifties. Um, and there's something about that that I adore. I think I might have a different opinion on the cubitus if I was in love with the Nautilus. And I like the Nautilus. I have no I have no qualm nothing against it, but I'm an I'm an Aquana guy, I think deep down. Like if if it was my credit card hitting the table, it'd be probably for an Aquanaut. I like the idea of a Patek on a rubber strap if you're going up for a sporty Patek. Otherwise, like yeah, I I you know, 3940 or something like that would absolutely curry my favor. But I think that's where I probably land. I just because I I feel so much more strongly about the Aquanaut than the Nautilus that I don't I don't really feel um like the cubit like the cubitus just adds. It doesn't seem to take anything away in my mind, which is yeah, again, I I don't I don't fully understand the negativity, parts of it for sure, and especially the part that's coming from like actual collectors that feel like they're not getting what they want from a brand. And that's not a a problem unique to Patek at all. That's how all brands have to deal with their best clients. They're also the ones that know the most, typically. And I think you do have to make them happy. And I I'm you time will tell if |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | In terms of negativity, this is Patek experiencing what like every single brand on our site experiences when they release a brand or a new watch, like Nihoda Grunchen releases a new GMT. It's thirty six millimeters. So many people commenting. If it was only thirty eight, if it was only thirty seven, like this is unique, not to Patek. It's it's across the industry. It just is so much more heightened when it's Petak's first watch in twenty five years |
| James Stacey | . Like Yeah, well it's it is like I saw someone compare to like waiting for a band to drop an album and you really want the album to be similar to the one that came out 20 years ago, but how could it be? It's not twenty like a lot has changed, the band is older, everything's different. And I think like we see a little bit of that in the cubitus where it's it's a bit of a you know, a fifth album from a brand that you love, and it's a new sound. And sometimes that like I can list brands where I liked the new sound eventually and I list other where like I only like their first three albums or whatever. And I think that's what the tech's dealing with. And I agree what they're dealing with maybe novel to them because they don't release watches that often, but it's not novel to the watch world at all. They're just getting what most brands get when they drop stuff. That's a good great great perspective |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | . Like you say, the the audience has been waiting twenty-five years for this. Um, but also Patek has sort of iterated on designs and stuff close to home for that amount of time. And so it's not I don't think anybody after 25 years would necessarily knock it out of the park the first time. Um I think the accessibility thing is an interesting thing. I think the question of whether or not we're going to see them discontinue all steel Nautilus next year. Um, you know, the fifty nine ninety, the fifty seven twelves, like are they gonna pull those just to put more pressure on consumers to buy the cubitus? I don't think they're having any trouble getting people to buy the cubitus, but I'm also hearing from people that have not been offered a Nautilus, have not been offered an Aquanaut, that they're being offered a cubitus. Um it seems like maybe Patek is putting more production uh into that model to drive that model and drive customers towards that model. I've been in uh a number of places that retail Patek over the last couple weeks and seeing that customers are seeing the cubitus every single time I walk in. You've got customers sitting down and handling them and they've got models there for people and they seem to be taking orders um and registering interest, which they wouldn't be doing on an Autolist. Uh so I think, you know, there's a the a bigger strategy with how Patek is going to be rolling this out. And as you said, it'll take year a year or two to figure out what that strategy is just for that model, but also for the brand in general, the changes that they might make to sort of make the cubitus more of a success or at least more ubiquitous. My only feedback is the same things that everybody else has said, which is it just to me doesn't look as thoughtfully designed as some things in the past. And part of that is the size. I've tried on two of the three models. They do wear quite large. They are quite flat. I think this is what happens when you make a big square watch. I think the other thing to think about too is what it will look like on the secondary market when things cool down. I don't think it'll go below retail, but when you look at stuff like 5270s and the things that we as as watch lovers look up to and want to have, the fact that those sell below retail and stuff like the cubitus is so much above retail or the Nautilus or or these other things is still surprising to me. So I think that will be a a curious thing to watch as well over the next year or two |
| James Stacey | . Yeah, look, I think I think a lot of this is pointing towards some unknowns about Patek's strategy. I I think that the cubitus could mean that watches and wonders might be wild. But we are going to do a couple episodes on 2025, so let's hold off on that uh line specifically. Let's get to a favorite of mine who I think had like a uh sneakily strange and successful year of changing how they speak to the audience and and the the wider world and that's tutor. So we kind of kicked off the year with some r really solid consumer product. That's the BB58 GMT, and certainly the what we're calling the monochrome, the nicely made update to the uh the current 41 millimeter black bay. But then we saw multiple, you know, unique dial variations for the Formula One. They did Miami in Las Vegas. Uh we also saw the pink dial, we saw the blue boutique edition. And then of course we still have we have our first Pelagos that like isn't even a dive watch. So the brand's like actively trying new stuff, including making models that people can't buy. They still have this very strong connection with cycling. What do you think of the tutor strategy? You know, I think a lot of times, myself included as a huge fan of the brand, you focus on these tiny boxes that maybe aren't perfect for you. Like BB58 G GMT comes out and it's in a uh coat colorway with guilt, and you go, Well, you know, if it wasn't guilt, I'd buy it. If it wasn't you know, if it was Pepsi instead of Coke, I'd buy it. If it was black and like, you know, there's all that kind of discussion. But if we go be if we go a layer beyond that, what do you think of the year for Tudor? Because I I think that we saw kind of a new playbook or or a new page in the playbook. Ye |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | ah, I mean it's I think the product is super interesting, but the other thing that goes with it is a lot of brands do the, you know, watches and wonders release, dump a bunch of product onto you, kind of a deluge that you have trouble to process, and then wait six months until two or three fall releases. I think it's much more exciting to have these things rolled out slowly over the course of, you know, here's one and and then two months later there's another one, and then a month later there's one that's kind of niche, but it's fun. And uh, you know, the inter Milan Black Bay 58, which is not everybody's favorite, but they're doing stuff like that. And it that was available largely for for people that wanted them for a short amount of time. And I think that's a more fun way to engage with consumers. It does make it a little hard to if you're the kind of person that like me has to stave up for a watch and and see what's coming out and and decide what you want and and be able to make some decisions and not worry that you're gonna have a better watch come out in two months. But it at least keeps the excitement going and keeps you surprised at what the future might hold. And I think that's really good for the community at large. I think the playbook is new and it's interesting to follow it from our viewpoint and it feels new, but what they're doing is very core to the tutor brand sort of goal and ethos, which is I can remember I walked into a tutor boutique in Chicago five years ago that uh I was at AD that stocks tutor, just to correct myself. But they had stalked all of Tutor's line, and that was a really eye-opening experience to me because I had seen Tutor through the lens of the relaunch in the United States and the Hodinky lens, which is like the black bays of the world, the black bay fifty-eight of the world. Then you see the whole catalog and you're like, oh, they make something for everyone. Their whole catalog is a commercial product brand. And they relaunch by creating interesting models for the enthusiasts to layer on top of that commercial product catalog. Now they're treating those enthusiast watches the same way they treat the rest of their catalog, which is like, hey, we're here for you, and we're gonna offer you everything that you want eventually. Like, just wait for us to build out this catalog. It's not just not just the 58, it's not just one Palogos. Now we have five, now we have the 54. Like, it's just the expansion of the catalog in the same way that the rest of the catalog spoke to like just to dumb it down a bit, like that elevated mall watch buyer |
| James Stacey | . Sorry. For sure. I look, I I think I think everything you said is almost directly proven by that monochrome, the the 2024. Right. That was the tip. That was like, this is what we're doing. They started in 2012 and they've just been progressively iterating, and now they've essentially locked in on their take on a modern sub, and it's this deeply conventional, but they've checked every box. You get T fit, you get a great bracelet, you've got the loom, you've got a great bezel, it's a great looking watch. It wears really well. They've obviously locked in on a movement strategy that's much different than twelve years ago. Um and and I think, yeah, I think it's been a fascinating sort of time for the brand. And you know, we've we've only got a couple minutes left here and we've got there's so much to talk about from this year. Obviously we did some great stuff with Hodinki and with like the UBS House of Craft. The other big story which I think will play out obviously more next year and I'm very excited to get into it in parts three and four of this little December year-end series is tag and LVMH taking F1. I think this is like it was a big story when it came out, but I think we we don't even understand how big it will be. We don't know what the execution of that stuff's gonna be. Admittedly, this is just a bit of a teaser for parts three and four, but I will have Rich and Mark on to talk about the future of this sort of stuff. But uh why don't why don't we wrap it up with like if you've got one or two quickly, uh favorite watches of the year? Anything stand out? Anything you bought that you love? That's usually a pretty good metric. For me, like I'd go Doxa Sub two hundreds way up there for s for something I could afford. Uh Mark wrote about a group of force for and the EMC SR seventy one, those are probably my two favorite like no budget cool new things that came out this year. Uh what how about you guys? What what landed on the radar, whether it's something r in reality or something you just kinda dream about. That |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | Gruble was definitely on my list too. I mean the watch blew my mind. I think your photos did a great job as well, Mark. Like it's very hard to take a small-ish watch and have the time that's spent on the movement come through in a photo and I thought that was really great. But in terms of watches that st stand out to me, a watch I purchased this year at the very low end of the market is an impossible watch co malachite dial. Oh cool. Just a simple like time only watch made by one guy in Tolkien, Alaska using imported Chinese parts. But these stone dials are really, really crazy. Um, I always like to shout him out 'cause I do wear that watch a lot and it's you can spend seven hundred dollars in way worse ways. Um and at the other end of the spectrum, um I think LaRock Ferrier had a great year if we were talking about trends. And the classic moon is probably my favorite watch of the year. Totally biased. I love the brand. I love the aesthetic, but I think they knocked it out of the park and signaled a new direction going forward for that brand that I think is going to be really cool. So I'll call that one out as one of my favorite watches of the |
| James Stacey | year. I love it. And I love the the mix there. Uh uh that uh that stone dial brand. We'll put that in the in the show notes. I believe you showed me an early one. I'm not sure if it was the one that you have or not. Um, and then I think it was also in one of our staff picks and just a really, really cool watch. I and I love seeing that type of like taking something that's not really part of the micro brand space, usually, whether it's a shaped case or a very cool dial, usually it's sport watches. And I love that we're now seeing that micro brand space, that sub thousand dollar category, like really branch out into taking the format that used to give people sport watches that they couldn't buy for a reasonable price and now we're getting dress watches that you can buy for a reasonable price and very interesting designs and that sort of thing. So good call out on that one. How about you Mark? What uh |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | what one or two kind of stood out for you? You know, the one that has gotten the most risk time, and I'm lucky that because I I won the lottery while I was in Geneva and they had a few watches um available at the time. So I apologize to everybody that's still waiting on delivery of the Mad One. But I've been wearing this a lot, so much so that I end up trying to spin my GMT uh when I put my GMT on. I like I'm used to that feeling of the rotor going. And so I it just becomes like a fidget spinner kind of thing. But it doesn't work when you're using a normal watch. And I'm worried that maybe I'm actually damaging some of my other watches that are not meant to spin like that. But um I I love the mad one. I also love the reaction that people get when I am showing them the new slim for the first time I wore it in Singapore. Um and MBNF was there. There most most of their you know commercial team was there, Max was there. They didn't bring one because they were all allocated. But people still wanted to see it so much that I ended up just basically handing it over to the team for the weekend just so they could show it to everybody. Um and people got such a kick out of it. And it it is again one of my favorite watches that they've done. I think it's amazing that they're making it slightly more accessible, not as much as the impossible watchco stuff, but um but still like very nice from a brand that is making things starting at fifty or sixty thousand dollars generally. Um yeah the the group was just incredible. Uh the Laurent Ferrier releases were on my my list as well. The the classic uh sandstone auto was a little bit high priced uh as a limited edition and it wasn't one of their natural escapement watches, which is kind of what I would think about going for if I was buying a Laurent Ferrier, but still two really great releases this year. Um you know, I have a soft spot for this in in a lot of ways, but from the high end, the John Merrill Royal Oak was just a a big moment |
| James Stacey | . Which also like does mark that 5134, but like the t the 2120 2800, the end of that generation. And that does kind of tease because some eventually we'll see something new for QPs from them. That could be part of the 2025 conversation, that sort of thing. But I agree it's it's a moment as a complete nerd for the first generation of that movement in a Royal Oak back in the 80s. Uh it's it's something to see them end that that movement entirely. Yeah. And I also |
| Mark Kauzlarich and Rich Fordon (speaking alternately) | think, you know, selfishly for us at ODN Key, where we've had John sort of be a part of our our family for a while. It's fun to see him finally have something that speaks to the the higher end collector that he's been for such a long time. Um and a lot of thought that went into it. It's a really cool watch. Um not at the super low end, but the other one that I wanted to call out that I think is just a great buy. And at some point I'm gonna have to get it uh the Grand Seiko SLGW003, their manual wine high beat, white birch dial, their brilliant hard titanium case, which they've used, I think m now it's three times or something, including with the Kodo, uh super high polish titanium, really cool watch, really great wine to it. Um I think one of the best watches of the year. I I would have for GPHG Academy, I put it, you know, pretty much at the top for whatever I could put it for just because I love that watch so much. And and it just highlights like not everything, as I was saying before, not everything has to be a gut punch to be a a solid watch that maybe flew under the radar, but it's it's a great watch and I think like a great uh re representation of what the year has been for a lot of brands |
| James Stacey | . I don't disagree at all. I think uh I think it was a year largely categorized like we talked about by a conventional product, product that brands actually wanted to sell to a wide market of people who knew what they were buying. But I also think we're at the end of this episode. This has been an absolute treat, guys. I love doing these sort of retrospective looks back at the year. It's kind of a fun thing. It's always one of my highlights of December. And to sit down with you guys and chit-chat from I mean we we really covered some bases here so I really appreciate it but uh Mark and Rich thanks so much for joining me and I can't wait to chat 2025 with you guys in the next couple weeks |