Lonely Wrist: All Things Watches & Horology

A mechanical watch that reads like a screen sounds like a contradiction until you hear how Ressence pulls it off. I’m joined by Benoît Mintiens, the founder and CEO of Ressence, a brand famous for doing the things most watch companies won’t touch: no hands, no crown, rotating disc displays, and oil-filled dials that seem to float on the crystal.

Benoît explains how an industrial design background (trains, aircraft cabins, medical devices) reshaped his view of watchmaking. We talk about the “mechanical screen” philosophy, why flat 2D information is easier for the human eye, and h...

Your watch looks incredible in hand, so why does it fall flat on camera? That gap is where luxury watch photographer and videographer Nolan Shi lives. Nolan is based in New York and has quietly become the person behind the kind of watch imagery you’ve probably double tapped without knowing who shot it. We talk about how he went from acting and commercial production to filming vintage watches, then quickly leveling up to some of the most expensive, unforgiving pieces you can put under lights.

We get nerdy and practical about luxury watch videography: why dust is...

Luxury watch talk gets weird fast: more hype, more ego, higher prices, and somehow less clarity. We wanted the opposite, so we sat down with VJ, CEO of Oris Americas, to hear what it actually feels like to lead one of the last truly independent Swiss watch brands while still chasing real growth in the United States. His story starts far from the usual “born a collector” path, moving from accounting to the watch world, then market research, and eventually into running Oris across the Americas. That mix of numbers and real-world experience shapes the way he leads: data help...

A global tire company nearly ends a watch brand before it even begins, and somehow that becomes the origin story. I’m joined by Brent Fedrizzi, founder of Serket Watch Company, to talk about what it actually looks like to build an independent watch brand from scratch, stay small on purpose, and still put genuinely compelling watches on wrists.

We get into the early days of direct-to-consumer microbrand watches before social media, the first Scorpion-branded run, and the jaw-dropping moment Brent receives legal pressure tied to Pirelli’s “Scorpion” trademark. From there, we unpack the pivot to Serket...

Rolex waitlists, microbrand value, and what “great design” actually looks like when you live with a watch every day. That’s where this conversation goes with Scott Lancaster, the founder of Emerton Scott, an independent brand that started years ago, detoured through branding and marketing work, and came roaring back with a clear mission: build watches that punch above their weight and celebrate the human spirit behind the grind.

We get practical about the stuff enthusiasts care about but brands rarely explain well: why seeing a watch in person beats spec sheets, how events like Wind Up can ma...

He fell in love with Ikepod in 1990s Paris. Years later, he didn’t just buy a watch, he bought the brand. Christian-Louis Col joins us to tell the unfiltered story of reviving Ikepod after bankruptcy: what you actually get when you acquire a “dead” Swiss watch brand, what’s missing when there are no archives, and why rebuilding trust means more than a new logo and a press release. 

We get into the real mechanics behind the comeback, from service challenges and sourcing parts to the controversial decision to bring Ikepod back with accessible quartz watches that stil...

A watch can be a flex, a tool, or a tiny machine that marks time, but that’s not why it stays with us. Perry Dash joins me to get under the surface of modern watch culture and enthusiast life, where a piece of steel can turn into a memory, a personal ritual, and a signal of who you are. We talk about the path that starts with aesthetics and quickly becomes storytelling: who made the thing, what it meant in its era, and why that meaning still lands today.

We also challenge the lazy definition of lu...

A great watch doesn’t just tell time, it tells on you. The choices you make, the memories you keep, and the people you want close. I sit down with Dreis, co-founder of  Arsène Lippens, to talk about how an independent Swiss watch brand can feel like family, not just a product drop. Our conversation starts with a chance meeting at Chronopolis during Watches and Wonders and quickly turns into the deeper stuff: belonging, heritage, and why some pieces connect emotionally while others never do. 

We trace the brand’s origin back to Dreis’s grandfather’s collectio...

A watch can be steel and sapphire, sure, but it can also be a receipt for a life moment. Sitting down with Leon, better known as WristtimePapi, turns into a wide-ranging story about how watch collecting really works when you strip away the flex. We talk Wind Up Watch Fair overwhelm, why it’s hard to buy anything when everything is “good,” and how the pieces that stick aren’t always the ones with the biggest price tag, they’re the ones tied to real people. 

Leon shares his path from growing up around cheap digital watches to buying a...

A watch that can be read instantly at 3 a.m. is either a gimmick or a quiet form of freedom. Barry Cohen has spent decades proving it can be the second one, first as the co-founder of Luminox and now as the force behind ProTek and the vintage-leaning Santo line. We talk about how self-powered illumination went from military-only utility to a consumer expectation, and what that shift reveals about product design, branding, and real-world performance.

Barry walks us through the tritium story with unusual detail, including how GTLS tritium tubes are drawn from glass, coated with...

A watch can be “tough” on paper and still fail the moment it needs a quick repair, a secure crown, or a bezel you can actually grip with gloves. That’s why my conversation with Theodore from Micro Milspec goes deeper than specs and into the real decisions behind building a modern military tool watch. 

We talk about how Micro Milspec started in Oslo with founders Henrik and Martin, how the Milgraph became their benchmark, and why their Field Testing Unit is central to the brand. You’ll hear how operator feedback changes everything from case ergonomics to crown...

A minute repeater that sells out before anyone sees the movement should make every watch nerd stop scrolling. From our first studio recording in Las Vegas, we sit down with Belal Shaher, the founder of Grandeur, to hear how an independent watch brand pulls off bold complications, alternative materials, and factory-direct pricing without losing the plot on quality.

We get into Belal’s path from collector to manufacturer, including the early Apple Watch case hustle that helped fund years of mechanical learning. Then we dig into the watches that put Grandeur on the map for collectors: the St...

A designer’s origin story can smell like acetone, sound like ticking, and feel like a country waking up to its own potential. That’s where we go with Zviad Tsikolia—a friend, an industrial designer, and the creative force turning Georgian identity into watches, jewelry, eyewear and more. He walks us from a Soviet-era workshop stacked with model planes to a modern boutique in Tbilisi, explaining why design isn’t “pretty things,” but a hard marriage of function, engineering, safety and logistics. Then he adds the missing ingredient: emotion. A wristwatch, he says, must carry feeling first or it’s just ha...

The watch world loves a good story. We love a good material even more. James “Black Badger” Thompson drops by to unpack how real experimentation beats borrowed heritage, and why joy—yes, actual fun—belongs on the wrist. From a tongue-in-cheek “Saturday morning hero” collab to blasting an AI theme song at Geneva, he shows how play fuels rigor when you’re willing to push past the safe zone.

James walks us through the gritty side of independent watchmaking: pulverizing slate to recast stronger stone dials, isolating pigment from blue mussel shells to create the lavender Havender, and learning t...

What if the best watch conversations aren’t really about watches? We sit down with Chris and Iman from A Tale of Two Wristies and follow the thread from wrist checks to real life—friendship, mental health, boundaries with screens, and the small rituals that make a hobby sustainable. Along the way, we get hands-on with an Omega Seamaster 300 Heritage, Tudor Black Bay in steel, gold, and bronze, and a handful of Grand Seikos that inspire both devotion and doubt.

We trade stories from the sales floor—where Rolex carries cultural weight but not always deep product knowle...

A watch can feel brand new with the right strap, and James Rose knows exactly why. As the founder of Watch Innovation Straps, James walks us through the hard-won lessons of building a strap brand that collectors actually trust—from dialing in materials that feel great to solving the fitment puzzles that make integrated-lug watches sing. We get candid about the early missteps with FKM and lint-loving silicone, the path to a safer, hypoallergenic silicone blend with transparent chemical data, and the enduring pull of leather in calf and suede that never goes out of style.

We di...

A stretched Jubilee bracelet. Scratches that read like chapters. That’s where Lucy’s journey began—borrowing a humble Datejust that revealed how watches carry lives, not just time. From that spark grew Watchbox Diaries and a mission: make watch culture warmer, clearer, and far more welcoming to women and first-time enthusiasts.

We trade spec-sheet chest beating for honest experience—how a watch fits, why a dial pulls you back, and what makes an “everyday” piece quietly perfect. Lucy opens up about starting a channel in a male-dominated space, the creators who encouraged her, and the subtle shift she’s...

What if buying a watch felt less like chasing hype and more like discovering your taste—one smart step at a time? We sit down with Watch Gang CEO Chad Tsagris to unpack how a bold subscription model, a curated “Wheel,” and five-figure mystery drops turned collecting into an experience that’s equal parts education and adrenaline. Chad shares how he went from vintage dealer and early vendor to acquiring the company with Swiss investors, and why the next chapter centers on trust, transparency, and a gamified path for every collector.

We dig into the mechanics behind the scen...

A forgotten factory. Old machines humming. A movement that comes back to life after being frozen in Antarctic ice. That’s the energy behind our conversation with David Henderson-Stewart, the lawyer-turned-restorer who picked up Raketa when it was on the floor and made it tick again.

We talk about why he refused the easy route—outsourcing movements, buying CNC, copying Swiss design—and instead doubled down on authenticity. David walked every line, learned every machine, and built trust with master specialists who could hit micron tolerances by hand. He opened a watchmaking school to train a new genera...

How do you preserve a 40-year legacy while innovating for the future? When Coralie Charriol unexpectedly stepped into the CEO role following her father's passing, she faced exactly this challenge with the iconic Swiss luxury brand he'd built from scratch.

Philippe Charriol was a visionary who left Cartier after 15 years to launch his own brand in 1983. His revolutionary approach focused on women as independent purchasers—not just recipients of gifts chosen by men—and centered around a distinctive stainless steel cable material still manufactured through a 27-step artisanal process. This signature element became Charriol's DNA, appearing in ever...

Meet the guardian of horological history at one of Switzerland's most storied watchmaking houses. As Head of Heritage for Zenith, Laurence Bodenmann oversees a treasure trove that would make any watch enthusiast weak at the knees—more than 1.3 kilometers of archives and a collection exceeding 5,000 timepieces that document the brand's 160-year journey.

Drawing from her background in anthropology, Bodenmann approaches watch history not simply as a catalog of beautiful objects, but as a window into human innovation and problem-solving. She reveals how Zenith became the first fully verticalized watch manufacturer in Switzerland, revolutionizing production methods and challenging tr...

What happens when a frustrated vintage watch collector stumbles upon a forgotten brand with a fascinating cinematic history? Angus McFadden joins us to share how he breathed new life into Alsta, the Swiss-made American watch brand that adorned Richard Dreyfuss's wrist in Jaws and Johnny Depp's in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

McFadden's journey began in 2014 when his frustration with authenticating vintage Rolex pieces led to an unexpected discovery – an Alsta dive watch in a part-exchange bundle. That chance encounter sparked a deep dive into the brand's rich heritage dating back to 1946, culminating in his acquisition of...

A century-old American watch brand doesn’t just survive on luck; it survives on purpose. We sit down with Joe Wein, the third‑generation CEO of Hampden Watch, to explore how a family business threaded its way from Chicago’s catalog era to today’s Swiss‑powered precision—without losing what matters most: the stories people carry on their wrists.

Joe opens the vault on a lineage that includes Clinton, Wolbrook, Douglas, and Benrus, revealing how Chicago’s shipping hub and direct‑mail culture shaped the company’s early growth. He shares the quirks that make watch history fun—like C...

What if your watch could do more than just tell time? What if it could help protect the very places that inspire its design?

Trip Henderson's journey from Navy service to tech entrepreneur to disaster relief leader ultimately led him to create Lōcī (pronounced "low-kai"), a watch brand with environmental conservation at its core. His experiences at sea—standing on a ship deck in the middle of the Atlantic, witnessing a night sky untouched by light pollution—sparked a lifelong passion for meaningful places. Later, working with Team Rubicon on disaster response operations, Trip witnessed firsthand how vu...

What does it take to resurrect legendary watch brands from the past? Tom van Wijlick, the visionary behind CDMLEC, joins us to share his remarkable journey from IT entrepreneur to guardian of horological heritage through his revival of Lebois & Co and Airain watches.

Tom reveals how a side hustle trading timepieces evolved into a passion for preserving watchmaking history. His story begins with a Christie's auction discovery that captured his imagination—a vintage Lebois chronograph he printed and magnetized to his refrigerator as inspiration. That single image sparked a decade-long adventure acquiring and breathing new life into di...

What happens when watch enthusiasm meets a passion for service? The Anti-Watch Watch Club (AWWC) is redefining what a watch community can accomplish by focusing on those who protect us every day.

Cody Fite, Head of Business Development at AWWC and 20-year Army veteran, takes us inside this unique nonprofit founded by veterans and first responders who initially connected through their shared love of watches. Unlike traditional charities bogged down by bureaucracy, AWWC delivers immediate help to veterans and first responders in need – whether that's emergency transportation, housing assistance, or specialized training that saves lives.

Th...

What happens when two Australian watch enthusiasts decide to challenge the status quo of luxury timepieces? Andrew Herman, co-founder of Panzera Watches, reveals the remarkable journey of building a global watch brand that's sold 300,000 watches across 100 countries without traditional retail channels.

Founded in 2009 with partner Roger Cooper, Panzera emerged from a simple frustration: quality watches were too expensive for regular collectors. Their solution? Cut out the middlemen, eliminate retail markups, and deliver watches directly to consumers. The result is a brand that offers bold, rugged timepieces at prices that don't require a second mortgage.

Andrew...

What transforms a casual watch observer into a passionate enthusiast with a collection of over 35 timepieces? For Anna of Chrono Girl Life, it began with simple curiosity about her partner's hobby and evolved into a rich journey of discovery, creation, and community.

In this revealing conversation, Anna shares how her initial skepticism about watches gave way to genuine fascination as she began asking questions about movements and mechanics. Her first mechanical timepiece—an Orient Bambino—opened the door to a world that would eventually see her become not only a collector but also a content creator, writer for...

Two passionate watch content creators pull back the curtain on what really happens behind the scenes in the watch industry, revealing truths that most enthusiasts never hear about.

Blake and Skyler Santana engage in a refreshingly candid conversation about the ethical tightrope walk of working with watch brands while maintaining authenticity. "I'm not worried about growth as much as being authentic," Blake explains, challenging the common misconception that watch YouTubers are rolling in sponsorship money. In reality, as he reveals, his entire project generates less than $10,000 annually – hardly enough to sustain a luxury watch habit.

Th...

What happens when your entire life is erased in an instant? At 23, Robert Spencer survived a catastrophic accident that left him with total amnesia - wiping away every memory from birth until that moment. This devastating experience gave him a profoundly unique relationship with time that most of us will never understand.

In this riveting conversation, Robert shares how he rebuilt his life without past experiences to guide him, concealing his condition from loved ones for over a decade. He reveals how this blank slate paradoxically freed him from the limitations most of us carry - allowing...

From overcrowding a restaurant to hosting 60+ prestigious watch brands across America, Rich Park's journey building Minutes and Hours represents something extraordinary in the world of horology – a genuine commitment to community.

The spark ignited in 2019 when what was supposed to be a small gathering of watch enthusiasts literally burst at the seams, drawing the attention of fire marshals. This unexpected response revealed a hunger for more personal, authentic interactions between collectors and brands. What began as "LA Microlux" quickly evolved into Minutes and Hours, now recognized as one of the premier watch shows in the United States.

What begins as a chance friendship forged through watch enthusiasm unfolds into one of the most illuminating conversations about why we truly collect timepieces. James Bachici (The Timist) shares his remarkable journey from a 15-year-old boy mesmerized by a Citizen Blue Angels watch to becoming a respected voice in the watch community and creator of the Wandering Watch Project.

The conversation takes an unexpectedly emotional turn as James recalls how his grandfather placed $100 down on layaway for that first Citizen, teaching him that valuable things require dedication and sacrifice. This watch—still his most cherished po...

What happens when watch passion evolves from personal obsession to global media movement? Rashawn Smith, half of the creative force behind Super Niche Studios and co-host of Wrist Check Pod, reveals the extraordinary journey that transformed casual watch conversations into a multimedia platform reshaping how enthusiasts engage with horology.

In this deeply personal conversation, Rashawn shares how his grandfather's military precision about punctuality and his father's pride in wearing a Rolex Datejust shaped his early fascination with timepieces. These formative experiences created a foundation for his unique collecting philosophy that prioritizes conversation-starting pieces over trophy watches. Rather...

The watch industry has long been dominated by male voices, but The Wrist Chick is changing that narrative with her refreshing approach to horological enthusiasm. In this captivating conversation, we explore how a Hamilton Khaki Field watch sparked a collecting journey that has transformed into a rapidly growing social media presence in just six months.

What makes The Wrist Chick's perspective so valuable is her genuine passion for making watches accessible and fun—particularly for women who might find the predominantly male watch world intimidating. She candidly shares her experiences navigating watch events where she's often one of...

What happens when a collector deliberately ventures beyond the comfort zone of familiar luxury brands? Yandretti, known for his eclectic collection of independent and micro-brand watches, takes us deep into the world of horological obscurity where conversation-starting timepieces reign supreme.

This fascinating conversation traces Yan's evolution as a collector, beginning with his passion for niche fragrances that naturally led him to appreciate watches that offer something different from the mainstream. "Most of my watches get those 'What's that on your wrist?' responses," he explains, highlighting how these unusual timepieces become natural conversation starters and expressions of...

Step into the world of intentional watch collecting with Georgia Benjamin, a creative director whose approach to horology blends design thinking with emotional resonance. This conversation delves deep into what makes a watch collection personally meaningful beyond brand names and price tags.

Georgia shares her journey from first acquiring an Omega Constellation to developing a carefully curated collection that reflects her bold personality and design sensibilities. With her background in UX design, she offers fascinating insights into how watchmakers guide our eyes across dials, creating visual stories that speak to us on multiple levels. Her particular affinity...

Beneath the surface of every iconic watch brand lies a philosophy that defines its approach to design, value, and market positioning. For Doxa, that philosophy remains refreshingly clear: stay true to your origins, deliver exceptional value, and never compromise on functionality.

In this candid conversation with Doxa CEO Jan Edöcs, we explore how this historic Swiss brand has navigated its remarkable resurgence since 2019. While many luxury watchmakers chase trends or continually expand into new categories, Doxa remains steadfastly committed to what they know best – creating purpose-built dive watches with distinctive designs at fair prices.

"We...

Discover the rich tapestry of history, innovation, and family legacy as Andreas Leibundgut from Delma Watches takes us through a century of watchmaking excellence. We unwrap the pivotal 1960s era when Andreas's grandfather ushered Delma into the exhilarating world of sports and dive watches, laying the foundation for the brand's current identity. Andreas shares fascinating insights into his family's unwavering dedication to maintaining Delma's independence and agility, enabling them to pivot quickly in response to market demands and customer needs, even in the face of industry upheavals like the quartz crisis.

Feel the palpable personal connection as...

Join us for a captivating exploration into the resurgence of traditional alarm clocks with our distinguished guest, Lisen from Båge & Söner. Aiming to transform bedrooms into tech-free sanctuaries, Lisen shares her journey of creating these nostalgic timepieces. Inspired by travel memories and driven by a desire to eliminate digital screens, she embarked on a two-year venture with watch expert Federico Casado, culminating in a product that promises gentle awakenings over jarring smartphone alarms. Immerse yourself in the art of crafting these Swedish-inspired clocks, where nature, high-quality materials, and the concept of allemansrätten play pivotal roles in the...

Join us on a captivating journey through the world of watchmaking as we sit down with Justin Walters, the innovative mind behind Marin and Alterum. See how Justin's unique experiences have shaped these brands, offering insights into the surprising hurdles of showcasing watches in big cities like New York and the rapid rise of Alterum's limited-edition world timer. With an eye for design and a passion for high-quality timepieces, Justin provides a window into the philosophies that drive his creative process.

Our conversation explores the fascinating origins of Marin, from its maritime connections to its inspiration drawn...