Windup 2025! (364)
Published on Tue, 21 Oct 2025 22:23:34 -0700
Synopsis
In this episode of the "40 in 20" Watch Clicker podcast, hosts Andrew and Everett share interviews recorded at the 10th anniversary Wind Up New York watch fair. Throughout the episode, they speak with numerous watch brand owners and representatives while sipping on New Riff bourbon. The interviews capture conversations with figures from brands like Christopher Ward, Traska, Monta, Astor and Banks, Haim Watches, Arkin, Micromilspec, Citizen, and more. The hosts discuss how the Wind Up show has grown dramatically over its 10-year history, with the current show featuring around 140 brands across multiple floors and drawing massive crowds. Between interviews, Andrew and Everett provide personal commentary on the watches they saw, the people they met, and highlight how the watch community has grown and evolved. They emphasize how special it was to finally meet in person many of the brand representatives they've known only virtually for years.
Links
Transcript
| Speaker | |
|---|---|
| Andrew | Hello, fellow watch lovers, nerds, enthusiasts, or however you identify. You're listening to 40 in 20, the Watch Clicker podcast with your hosts, Andrew and my good friend Everett. Here we talk about watches, food, drinks, life, and other things we like. Everett, how are you? You know, I'm good. You like that new move today I saw. I got a good pop on the cork and then I've never poured it while into the mic. You like that. I guess I saw a little chuckle. |
| Everett | Well, first, the cork pop was a little juggy. It was a juggy cork pop. It was. I think it's because it's synthetic cork. Yeah, well, you know, we've had synthetic corks on the show before. It's not our first synthetic cork. |
| Andrew | But I think that lends itself to a juggy. |
| Everett | We're actually a special drink tonight. We're drinking a new riff, eight year, 100 proof. Is it bib or not? It's 100 proof. But this was acquired by the watch clicker and illegally mailed to me. Not illegally. I think illegally. |
| Andrew | Yeah. I mean, I think if you... The problem with a bottle like this, so this is like an ombre black fade to clear bottle. The problem is you don't get a really good gauge of your consumption until it's almost gone. Until it's gone, yeah. So you could easily drink two-thirds of this bottle and be like, oh, no. |
| Everett | Yeah. That's a long morning, the morning after that. um no i've had a i had one pour of this and it was nice and then i uh i haven't had any sense so um will will have this available and we i don't i've never seen it in oregon so i asked him to pick this up for me and he did so um i had to pay shipping in addition to the cost of this booze. So the nerve on that guy. Well, no, I was very, I was very, uh, I was very happy. He was willing to do that for me. So, um, yeah, no, Andrew, I'm doing all right. I'm, I'm still kind of recovering. |
| Andrew | Yeah. We got that jet flu. I attribute it entirely to being on airplanes. Yeah, that's possible. I think just the up and down and... No, I think it's breathing recycled butt air. |
| Everett | Yeah, I guess that is possible. I guess that is possible. But no, I'm feeling good. You know, my legs are recovering and my sinuses are recovering and my throat is recovering. You know, it seems like you come back from something like that and just everything hurts. I got a headache and... My throat hurt and my legs hurt. Maybe it's just being old. |
| Andrew | That could be it. This could be an advanced age thing, but I'm pretty convinced it's jet flu. Yeah, it's possible too. In conjunction with, you know, a bucket load of walking. |
| Everett | Andrew, how are you? How was windup for you? Oh, it was fine. |
| Andrew | It was a blast, as as with any vacation or trip. I, too, am exhausted on the back end, but man, I had so much fun. And, you know, we were really deliberate this time where we said, hey, we're going to go to the show, but that's not all we're doing. We're going to also enjoy being in New York City. And I think we did it. We struck a really good balance there. In large part because the show was wild. Absolutely wild. Huge venue. 140 some, maybe even 150 total brands present, I think was how it was billed. And just... Packed. |
| Everett | Oh, yeah. |
| Andrew | Absolutely packed. And you'll hear it because today we're going to share the interviews that we were able to get done. We're going to drink and listen to the show today. Yeah, so we'll join you in listening to the show. But you can hear it in the background. And this was just during press hours. This wasn't during the actual height of the show. Yeah, this was quiet. Where you couldn't move around freely in the show. It was like being on the subway and looking at watches. |
| Andrew Perez | Yeah. |
| Everett | Well, with that, we did this a couple years ago. We took some opportunity to talk to some old friends, some new friends. And some people that we don't like. Yeah. And we'll let you sort that out. Yeah, we won't identify those people, but you will hear them. So without further ado, I think a familiar voice for these folks. It's mine. |
| Andrew | And here we are back. We're at the Christopher Ward table. And I've got to say, this is one of the tables that, because of the density of the crowd here, I've not even been able to get this close to you. I saw you yesterday through the crowd. |
| Michael Pearson | It is nice to see you, though. |
| Andrew | It's great to see you. So I'm with Michael Pearson sitting at the Christopher Ward table. How's the show going for you guys? |
| Michael Pearson | So this is day two. Day one, especially this is our second year in this venue. We knew it was going to be busy. It just continues to grow. It continues to be exciting for the entire team. What is exciting for me, I mean, obviously on that side of the showcase, we get to see all the community. But on this side, on my side, we've now got a bigger American team. And as a brand, we continue to grow here. So I can't tell you how proud I am that I've got the majority of people back here, work for Christopher Ward here in the U.S. as we grow our showrooms. |
| Andrew | That's really cool, because in previous years, you used vendors or temporary employees, right? |
| Michael Pearson | Or brought people from the UK, yeah. But now, obviously, I've been here with the brand for two years. We've got our first showroom in Dallas, our second one in Virginia, and we just announced the third one here in New York City. And so we've got some of the new team here in this city. It's just nuts. That's exciting. What's your favorite part so far? At the show, I mean, when I'm here, I get a chance, obviously, to talk about all of these wonderful watches. But this year, the most exciting one we're talking about would be the Brooklynite, which is the watch that we've made and created alongside Worn & Wound. This is one of our locos, the first time we've done a special edition loco for anyone, a 100-piece limited edition that really celebrates the architecture of Brooklyn. And, you know, we've been working alongside Worn & Wound now for 14 years, 10th anniversary of Wind Up. And so for them to trust us and us in return, celebrate each other, I think it's a really nice story to tell. |
| Andrew | It is, and you've been a part of a lot of wind-up shows up to this point, and you've seen the growth. What's that meant for not just you personally, because you've got to do it with a few different brands, and seeing how wind-up, not just wind-up as a whole nationally, but wind-up New York, what's that done for this industry? |
| Michael Pearson | Well, I think if I spoke to Mike France just before I got out here, I wanted to kind of get his gauge of what wind-up means to him and what it meant to him. And it means everything because that first time in Chelsea Market, I mean, if you look at how people were dressed with Christopher Ward's team, they came suited and booted and no idea what to look like, how to dress, how to present. And in the end, it's just people talking to people. And very quickly, the guard came down, the personality came out. And I think with Christopher Ward being the brand that's online only, you know, you can sometimes miss that personality, especially 10 years ago when the internet maybe wasn't as prevalent as it is today and as accessible as we are today. But from that minute to today, it's always been, you know, Zach and Blake and James and the team that's continued to grow. The venues have got bigger, the community's got more educated, but us as a brand being alongside it, I think our growth and Worn & Wound and Wind Up's growth, I think is a compliment to who we are and how we see the industry. |
| Andrew | Love it, love it. Anything else you want to share with the world before we sign off and our press hour ends? |
| Michael Pearson | Well, we've got the Ember here, which is one of our 12 collections, but it's the first time that we've done a watch that celebrates America. I'm a really, really, I've lived in this country now for 19 years. I've lived in Michigan, I live in Texas now, I've lived in New York City, and I always think that as loud and as crazy as this country can be, there are subtleties that have to be celebrated. So on the back, we've got Old Glory etched into the case back, but on the front, I think some of my favorite moments in America have always been around a fire, drinking a whiskey or cooking some s'mores, and that tip of orange on that second hand, it really kind of shows the embers of the end of a great day. So I didn't need red, white, and blue. We really wanted to celebrate America in our way or how I've seen it through our eyes. And we're only making 300 of them, and you won't see that online, but at the shows and in our showrooms, we'll get to show you it. |
| Andrew | That's exciting. I didn't realize you were opening up your third show or your third showroom. |
| Michael Pearson | Yeah. |
| Andrew | How's that growth been for you? |
| Michael Pearson | Well, we got the keys on Monday. Okay. We start building it this Monday coming after the show and it opens in the first week of December. It's been very quick. I mean, the New York conversation was going to be a few years from now, maybe even a few months if we were really, really lucky. But with the success of Dallas, the way that we do our business model, it kind of transferred into Virginia. New York had to happen. And so we took a chance, found a space. The aesthetics are great. It's still going to be appointment only, which is unique for New Yorkers. But once they're in there, it's not pretentious. There's no glass. There's no white glove service. It's going to be good people over a table having a coffee or a drink and enjoying watches. And so we really, really can't wait to welcome people. |
| Andrew | Love it. Love seeing this growth. Love seeing you in person. Have a great rest of your show. |
| Michael Pearson | Thank you, sir. |
| Andrew | Thanks, everyone. |
| Everett | You know, he's such a pleasure just to be around. I think that's part of what makes him... really successful at what he does. He's got this like really joyful, genuine mentality. He's clearly a salesman too, right? You can see him selling, but he doesn't in a way that's like, even for someone who's like very used to telling salesmen, no, I find myself wanting to buy things from my friends. |
| Andrew | Or from Michael Pearson. That's what I meant to say. He's so disarming and so inviting. I saw him at the table and he was, he was, they were getting set up right during press hour. It's like also the vendors opportunity to set up and prepare their, their tables for, you know, for the expo. And he, he walked right over and just excitedly greeted us. Uh, I mean this, he's, he's a way more important guy than we are. He gave us the time of day and he recognized us like immediately. Um, and it was just, it's so fantastic. I loved seeing the Christopher Ward growth over the last couple of years, their special editions. He showed us some things that are, uh, on the horizon. Uh, and I'm, I'm, it was just a treat to get to chat with him for a few minutes in the new twelves, whatever the 66 or whatever it is. |
| Everett | Terrific. |
| Andrew | Yeah. I'm here with Adam Afar and Swit at Wind Up New York. Still, as you've heard, you know, with our previous dozen episodes, we're still at Wind Up New York, the 10th anniversary edition. And I've seen your table every time I've walked by, but I've not been able to get near it. So I'm really excited just to get my hands on and my eyes very close to your watches. Adam, how are you? |
| Adam Afar | Great, great. It's a crazy show. |
| Andrew | Yes. |
| Adam Afar | The fact that my voice is still working is amazing. |
| Andrew | It might be a miracle, and that you're still on your feet because you're up here. I guess you have stools back there. Oh, that's for the old man. |
| Adam Afar | I bring my dad along to these, so he gets the stool. He gets priority on that. |
| Andrew | Tell us a little bit about what you've got going on, what you're bringing here fresh to wind up, because I think there's probably no one unfamiliar with most of your line. Oh, that's good to hear. Wow. |
| Adam Afar | Okay, so, yeah, this is a brand that I started as a passion project back in 2018. Started with Swiss Automatics. Next thing you know, our follow-up launch is a full-loom dial sweeping quartz, and I'm an automatic snob that got turned into the sweeping quartz. From there pivoted and even went to a solar powered with a sweeping chronograph so like changed the movement again And kind of got into an 80s vibe with my with my vice editions Realized which I think I was telling you earlier is people liked what I was making and I was just making what I liked which is really great to have happen and then my my son I had bought him a Garbage Pail Kids version of a Casio and He's like dad. Why don't you make this? You know what? It doesn't fit in my line. It's a $30 watch. But he was right. And the more I thought about it, I had this concept for a cassette tape, and it just fit. And I took a gamble and built this mixed tape, which looks like your old three-button Casio that we all had. We've all had that watch. I just wanted to bring some color to it, make it transparent, give it a look of nostalgia with the whole cassette tape theme. And it took off. And I've just been kind of trying to keep up with the market. run with new ideas as fast as I can because I love it. |
| Andrew | You've got all these great colors and I see you guys can't see because this is audio only. There's a VHS box here on the side of the table. What's going on over here? |
| Adam Afar | So this is our latest launch. So we did two launches at Wind Up. We did our B-Sides, which is our fall launch of the mixtapes, which is our bright, bigger, bolder version. So volume two of the B-Sides came out, they've been doing well and then we opened pre-orders for this crazy line which we're calling the Be Kind Rewind series. So these come in what you're gonna think is a real VHS tape. And we built a whole folklore around the VHS, the fake movie, we built a fake trailer. I went really deep into this and I'm gonna go deeper in the next version as well. But the whole idea is a slasher flick, and you've got a blood splatter on your watch dial. So I want to have as much fun as possible with this one. So I'm not holding back on this at all. |
| Andrew | Not even kind of. You're even wearing the shirt. |
| Adam Afar | Yeah, so we got posters. If I could, I would have put up a bunch of fake posters, guerrilla style, outside to make it look like it was a real movie. |
| Andrew | We did that a few years ago with our stickers all over New York City. Oh, I tagged some stuff around here. I love it. There might still be some around. Awesome. So you've got the next edition of Be Kind Rewind. When can people expect to see that after this launch? What kind of timeline are we looking at? |
| Adam Afar | So you're going to see a different style. This one's going to be a buddy cop. And we're going to go heavy on the trailer. And we're going to incorporate a lot of people that you may know in the watch industry. We are going to be making cameos. We're going to have so much fun with it that I may forget to make the watch. So I have to be careful on that end. I absolutely love it. I would say next year. Next summer. Summer for release. |
| Andrew | Yeah, summer blockbusters. I love it. |
| Adam Afar | Yes, there we go. |
| Andrew | Anything else you want to share with the world before we have to wrap up here? |
| Adam Afar | You know what? Come to these watch shows. If you guys hear this and you're thinking about coming to Wind Up or coming to the Wind Up in New York or Chicago or any other show that you'd like to intersect shows, If you can make it to one of these, go, because talking with the owners, and for me, it's the benefit of talking to somebody who's followed us or seen our watches. Face-to-face stuff is so awesome, and I can't promote shows enough. Just go to the shows. Go meet, if you can, with the people that are making the watches for you. |
| Andrew | Couldn't agree more. Thank you so much for your time, and we've got to get you on the show for a full-length interview. |
| Adam Afar | Oh, absolutely. Love it. |
| Andrew | Take care. Enjoy the rest of your show. |
| Adam Afar | All right. |
| Andrew | He was so fun. He was so real and charming. He had his dad there. He brings dad along with him to the shows. The watches were exactly as fun as you'd expect them to be in person. He was a lot of fun. That was one of the brands that I was very much looking forward to seeing in person. And it held up. It did the thing. And he was really fun. He went and got me some Ricola. Because he was like, hey, my throat sores. I'm sure yours is too. And he went and hunted down some Ricolas for us. |
| Everett | That's sweet. And you know what? I think the thing that impressed me the most about him was that it was evident from his table that he had an idea that his brand might be one thing. And then when the A-side was so successful, maybe he's going to continue to make and sell the watches that he started with, but he's going to lean into this thing that people have really been excited about. |
| Andrew | He called it his business card. The A-side and B-sides. He called them his business card. And it's not during this interview. It was while we were chatting leading up to it. That's what gets people familiar with his brand. That's what gets people excited. That's what gets people remembering it. And then they get introduced to the rest of the line that he has to offer. And he has some cool stuff to offer. But using the A-side and B-side and the Be Kind Rewind line as his fun outlet business card is really clever. |
| Everett | We've got Matt Zinske from Tips and Watches out of the Northwest, out of the Northwest, fellow Northwest people. Really appreciate that about your brand. Matt, how are you? Good, good. Thanks for having me. Yeah, so I believe this is your first New York windup. |
| Matt Zinske | This is, yeah. |
| Everett | But not your first windup. |
| Matt Zinske | First New York windup. I've done two San Francisco, so third windup altogether. |
| Everett | And slightly different show. I've been to San Francisco a handful of times. The feel of the show is just a tiny bit different. |
| Matt Zinske | It is, it is. It's a lot of hustle and bustle here. It's big, it's crowded, but it's enthusiastic. |
| Everett | Yeah, yeah. You know, I really like just New York as a place. Although I'm not sure, like, it's not the most practical and pragmatic place for me. Late nights. Yeah. It's a really great place. So tell us a little bit about what you brought to the show today and your new stuff and the stuff you're most happy about. |
| Matt Zinske | Yeah, well, I bring the full line to the show with me. I like to show off where I started and where I'm going. So, of course, I've always got the 200M. That's where I started. This was the quintessential. |
| Everett | Which is just a beautiful, beautiful watch. |
| Matt Zinske | Yeah, yeah, a classic dive watch. And where that's kind of evolved to is the 100M. And this is the... Reduced size, skin diver, 100 meters water resistance, but it's kind of a new spin on a gilt dial. You're going to see its sun ray effect. It's a little bit of a matte satin finish, and it just kind of sings, I think, in its proportions. |
| Everett | And lovely friction bezel. Yes, yeah. Lovely friction bezel. Everything's kind of blasted and soft and perfect scale out here. Yeah. And then tell us about this guy. So I'm just going to explain to you real quick at home. I'm holding a white watch, all white, white bezel, white dial, maybe silver, a bit of silver there. And then we've got four colored hands. We've got a blue, yellow, red and green hand. all spinning in conjunction. You've told me what this is, but tell the folks at home. |
| Matt Zinske | Yeah, yeah, yeah. So this is the pool timer. This is all white watch. This is something I was inspired by, taking my kids to swim lessons, taking them to swimming, and seeing the pool pace clock at the end of the pool. And this is where you see forehand spinning. It's mesmerizing. And I wanted to take that pace clock and put it on your wrist. And so you're seeing four hands, all a different color. And what that is, is it's allowing anyone, or if it's on your wrist, you, to start your lap any 15 seconds you want to. And it doesn't require the chronograph pusher, no reset button, no extra holes in there for water intrusion. and then as you get going you pick that color that you started with and let's say it's red you're doing 60 second laps so it's red up every time the red hand is up that's when you're starting your next lap so you're swimming at a 60 second pace with the bezel countdown bezel you set your uh workout schedule so you're doing 30 minutes to the minute hand count down to the end and you've got 30 laps 30 minutes pace of 60 seconds a lap |
| Everett | I think one of our very favorite things on the show, one of our very favorite types of watches is a watch with sort of a, I won't say absurd, this isn't absurd, but the absurd complications that it's like good for one thing, but it's just interesting. Anyone who sees that is going to ask. Exactly. And if you're into swimming or even if you're not into swimming, people are going to want to see this. They're going to want to ask. It's so interesting. And it doesn't limit your ability to keep time either. Oh, no, no. |
| Matt Zinske | You're still telling time with it. Everyday watch. If you're a swimmer, you know. I've had a lot of swimmers come up and say, oh, a pool clock. But what's really fun about it to me is it's very functional. It's very precise. It's niche. But because it's got that precise function, it presents a really interesting design case, and it makes for a really interesting watch. |
| Everett | It's tremendous. Yeah. Well, Matt, I know we're getting started. The show here is about to get busy, but thanks so much for taking a few moments with us. Oh, totally. Glad to talk. You know, Seattle guys, I think have like a pace to them, a cadence to them. |
| Andrew | Yeah. It's like unmistakable. |
| Everett | Yeah. So I really like Matt. He brings like a bit more straightforward vibe. to the industry than I think you get with a lot of these guys. |
| Andrew | And a touch less of the sales vibe. He knows salesmanship. Yeah, none. And it's not to say he's not a good salesman. It's just to say he's not pitching you. He's not trying to sell you on his watch. He's just telling you about it. And I think that's a really interesting dynamic because so many of the people that... that are there are really trying to sell their watch and hustle as they should be. That's just not him. And that that pool timer was super cool. We were talking about it while you guys couldn't hear us. It's like this fun, novel watch, but it's not novel in the way like a novelty watches. It's just really practical and could be a design decision, but is actually, in fact, a functionality decision. |
| Everett | It was my, you know, of course I talked about it during the interview, but it was my favorite thing on his desk. But you also mentioned how much you liked the 36. |
| Andrew | His 36 GMT was hot fire. Yeah. Yeah, it fit amazing. The case shape and size, the finishing was great. The bracelet was money. I saw it and was like, ooh. Yeah. |
| Everett | No, I think an old friend here. |
| Andrew | And here we are again at Wind Up 2025 in New York City, the 10th anniversary show. And I am with Mr. Tom Clements. Tom, how are you? Tell us about the show. |
| Tom Clements | Hey, Andrew. Yeah, really good. Thanks, man. Yeah, thank you for stopping by. Second day of the show so far. We're still standing. It's been a fantastic start. And yeah, really looking forward to what Saturday's got in store. Is this your first Wind Up appearance? It is, yeah. It's our first show in North America, in fact. How are you feeling about it? Very good, very good. Yesterday's reception was incredible, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of people who knew about the brand but had never seen the watches in person, so it was really special to be able to share them with people in person. Love it. What did you bring along with you? So we've got our preview of our Fotic Mark II, which is our all-new dive watch. It's the most advanced watch we've ever made. It's got anti-magnetic, scratch-proof coating, you know, all the bells and whistles, but without the price. We've also got our field watch, the Monroe. So this is kind of coming back in the four original colorways. And yeah, it's great to be able to share these with folks. Tell me about this three-color dial. So yeah, this is our Ridgeline dial. Three colors, as you say. It was inspired by a winter mountaineering course, which I undertook about two years ago now. It was in the Scottish Cairngorms. And whilst we were in the hills, our mountain guide explained to us that there are two critical gradients that you always have in your mind's eye. It's 27 degrees and 40 degrees. Between those angles, avalanches are likely to occur on slopes. So I took that concept and translated it into this dial, and this is the result. That's fantastic. It looks great. What's your favorite part of the show so far? Probably just speaking to all the people, but also meeting all the different brand owners. We've been in the same room as a lot of these people before, but rarely do we actually have the time to enjoy each other's company. And being together in New York is such a special city, so it's been really nice to have a couple of hangouts. bump into people literally on the street like yourself. And yeah, just get to know folks, really. I love this. Anything you're looking forward to? |
| Andrew | I mean, you've got your Mark II here that you're kind of exposing to the world for the first time. |
| Tom Clements | Is there anything else in the pipeline? So yes, we've got something pretty left field in the works. I'm not quite sure when it's going to be released, but stay tuned because when you see it, you'll be like, oh, that's what he was talking about. But yeah, at the moment, our focus is... firmly on the mark 2 photic we haven't even got any official images of this yet on the website so this is so fresh um but yeah stay tuned for the pre-orders which will be launching in november love it and i'm sure all those out here listening are going to be flooded with photos from wind up so you will definitely see the photic mark 2 and you will see mr tom anything you want to share with the world before we sign off uh no just uh you know thanks for tuning in guys and yeah get in touch if you've got any questions thanks so much great to see you thanks bye |
| Andrew | He is so handsome. Oh my gosh. Uh, we were sitting in a bar and I looked outside and I was like, I see Everett and he is with the most handsome man I think I've ever seen. And then Everett in this handsome man come in and he's like, no, we've, we've seen each other before. I'm Tom. And I'm like, Oh, super hard man crush. And he was just so lovely. And I think that's maybe my favorite part of wind up. It's, you know, seeing watches is really cool, but really it's the community of people that you get to meet and interact with. And these people who, you know, we've known Tom for. A couple years at this point, and we've never met him. And getting to meet him in person was just so delightful. And this community of nerds and people that love this thing of watches just coming together is so fun and so lovely. We haven't seen Debbie in years. And picked up right where we left off. Same with Jerry and, you know, this community that is built around this joint passion and joint interest is really special. And getting to meet Tom in person was just fantastic. And the watches are really good. The watches are good. |
| Everett | Yeah, terrific watches. Yeah, and he was there with Ken, who we're going to talk to a little later. And just their community, they brought a community. |
| Andrew | They did. They brought wives and girlfriends and friends and partners and sisters. And they made it a trip. And that's super fun. And they're all terrific. Yeah. |
| Zakir | Zakir, how are you? Yeah. Hey, not bad, Everett. It's good to see you. It's been a while. |
| Everett | Four years ago in New York that we met for the first time at Chelsea Market. The wind-up watch fair has changed a ton since that time. Here we are with, I think, 140 vendors. |
| Zakir | Yeah. |
| Everett | Of which you are one. |
| Zakir | It's a massive show. It's a massive show, Wind Up. I've seen over the past four years that I've been attending, I've seen Wind Up just grow. And this year is kind of just the peak for now. I mean, who knows what's going to happen next year, but right now it is massive. I haven't had a chance to visit everybody myself. It's been incredibly busy. Once the doors open, even with them filtering how many people can come in and capping how many people can come in at a time, it's still just incredibly busy. |
| Everett | yeah you know lines around the building yeah well and that's not the only thing that's grown since when we first met i believe you were a a a guy sitting at a table with about four watches total yeah and happy and willing to talk to everybody and here you are now four years later with just an absolutely gorgeous lineup of watches on your table |
| Zakir | It's been a journey. So initially when the brand started, and I do have to mention 40 and 20 as well as Watch Clickers, you guys have been pivotal in me actually getting the brand off the ground. I will always be indebted to you in that sense. I'll never forget just the support that you guys have shown. So I remember when we did that one sponsored giveaway, and that was just when the brand just came out because initially this brand wasn't, It wasn't a brand, like I wasn't trying to make a brand. I was trying to make a watch for me. And after the feedback kind of brought it to market, brought it to life, and now I've been able to pivot the design. I've been able to pivot the design language into what speaks to me personally. Initially, the first designs I was kind of like trying to make something for everybody in one box, but then I'm realizing, okay, it's not something that I truly 100% appreciate because it's not me. So when I shift my design language to what's me, things have started to fall in a much better place and I've been able to grow my product line as well. |
| Everett | You know, you make a watch for everybody. It's a watch no one's going to love. |
| Zakir | Yeah. |
| Everett | Instead, you make these watches that really show your personality and people are over the moon. Speaking of which, brand new release for you. the Anom. Tell us about this watch because it's stunning and we're going to talk about this more at some point. But in the next minute or so, tell people what you were going for with this. |
| Zakir | So I wanted to, I enjoy complicated pieces. I was trying to go for a complicated piece and my first complication was Viajero, which is a world title. so i'm like you know how do i add another complication to my lineup so my next route was annual calendar like i want to get into a full calendar or something a bit more complicated so started to research different calendar modules uh vintage calendar modules and started to find blueprints that come across and figure okay how can i make my own but also how can i keep it within the brand's ethos of where uh of where the pricing is So after almost two years of development, I'm happy to announce it. It was just announced on day one of Wind Up on the 17th. Three versions of Anom. There's Dark Cobalt, Stone White, and Fumi, which is a smoke transparent dial. And that, for the show, that's been the star of the show. |
| Everett | Of course. Yeah, it's really cool. |
| Zakir | And I keep telling people about the other ones. Hey, there's C&C Gyoche here. |
| Everett | no it's not the one for me but it is the one that draws your eyes because you can see things below the surface for me it's the white dial now i'll just say i pick you pick these watches up and this feels like something that they should have down in gotham hall for a little bit more money thank you these are really really well done beautiful watches my margins are terrible i believe it i believe it you know in a room like this we've got these overhead lights and kind of lights coming in from the side and it's just a twinkle fest coming from this beautiful dial and the cnc geosh is so good yeah so i'm with the dial uh stone white it's kind of a white dial there's some i added a little |
| Zakir | hints of gray and blue to it as well so you can't see it too well in photos however once you see it in person you can see it but there's also silver accents and all the rings around the sub dial so that does help with light play when it catches light and of course the moon phase the applied gold moon phase as well that catches the light too gorgeous uh but then also the case itself the the bezel's high polished and the sides are brushed did that intentionally just so the light can actually catch the bezel and it's got that german look to it yeah it's uh that's also one i appreciate you saying that my some of my favorite watches are german uh german watchmaking is something i really appreciate yeah i I love what they do with the watches, especially in the movement side, and my own little ode to it. So if you look at the finishing over here, the balance cock, I have Philly Green engraving on it. It's kind of my ode to that type of watchmaking. |
| Everett | It's gorgeous. It's gorgeous. Well, Zakir, it was great catching up with you. We're going to have to have you back on the show. |
| Zakir | Hey, it sounds good, Everett. |
| Everett | Thanks, man. I've got to tell you, I was a little bit... I think blown away is the right phrase by that watch, by the anim. Yes. You know, I think Haim has always made interesting watches. They've always made cool watches, watches that are well-made. But this watch is, I think it's actually special. It's really pretty stunning. And the work The Watch does is really incredible. So this is on the website now, just launched and available for reserve on November 7th. It's not an inexpensive watch, but with a custom module, you know, custom movement module and a really pretty clever complication. I got to say, the finishing on this watch really blew my mind. |
| Andrew | And the growth of Haim from our first interaction with them to now is... It's immeasurable. This is a whole new brand. Yeah, I think that's right, Andrew. It's super cool to see not just the brand's growth, but Zakir's growth as a brand owner and as a designer. And to see his personal level of comfort with the watches that he's creating and his security in that over the last few years is absolutely phenomenal. |
| Everett | Yeah, that's right. I can't say enough. I can't say enough about this watch and just what he's done. How he's built this company into something really cool. Neil, good morning. Morning. I'm here with Neil Brick, director of merchandising for Citizen. Correct, yes. So... Neil, this is your third year, fourth year at Wind Up. |
| Neil Brick | New York Wind Up. We've been to a few other ones as well, but fourth year New York Wind Up. |
| Everett | How, so Sunday morning, how was this year compared to previous years? |
| Neil Brick | This year's been so much fun. I mean, the palpability in the air is like amazing. There's been lines outside the door all day, Friday and Saturday. I really feel like the watch community and the enthusiast world and just, you know, watches in general are having a major moment. I love being a part of it. Yeah, and this is a good show. |
| Everett | You know, we didn't come last year. I understand last year the space was kind of an issue, and I think the wind-up crew did a good job. Spreading everything out. Spreading everybody out, giving everybody a little bit more breathing room, but it's been a super fun show. Citizen, making cool moves. Yeah. You guys have some fun watches. What's your favorite new thing on the Citizen table? |
| Neil Brick | My personal favorite new thing is our new 40-ish millimeter Promaster Drive and Eco Drive. It's very classically designed, crowns at 3 o'clock. It's got the perfect case size bezel, 20 millimeter lugs. a really nice bracelet much sharper than we've done in the past beautiful micro extension for either a wetsuit or just one notch at a time if your wrist swells and just like very classic if you wanted eco drive dive you always kind of had like which i love you had to be kind of quirky and off and citizen does amazing things at that but if you want something a little more refined like a fujitsu bow but if you just suppose titanium it's automatic it's beautiful it's amazing i'm wearing one right now yeah um but if you wanted eco drive we didn't really have that answer so i'm glad that we finally have that for the consumer |
| Everett | And that watch comes in the wake of the new sort of flagship ProMaster diver. |
| Neil Brick | Exactly. |
| Everett | The Zilla case. |
| Neil Brick | Yeah. So like I think I've seen people call it the ProZilla. Yeah. So we've had the EcoZilla for 20 something years. It first was automatic. Now it's EcoDrive. And that's a stalwart. It's not going anywhere. But we want to introduce a new kind of like, like you said, flagship ProMaster dive. So it's 300 meters of water resistance. It's got a helium escape valve. It wears beautiful. It's 46 millimeters, but there's no lugs. So it's just one kind of puck. if you will yeah um really fun we've had what we have a red color in the core line and kind of gradients so it's like how light escapes into the sea and with this really awesome limited edition with the unite with blue we call it yeah it's got this really cool blue green purple style yeah it's awesome well and this watch wears it better than it should 200 you'll put it on your wrist and you're like oh i could wear this definitely i can wear this because it in on paper it's huge yes and so also we've got the new display the new citizen displays several versions of that with the |
| Everett | I can't remember what the tech is. MIP, so memory in pixel. Yeah. |
| Neil Brick | Yeah. |
| Everett | So this is a clever display because you can just do a lot more with it than in prior LEDs or even LCDs. |
| Neil Brick | Exactly. So we've had two iterations so far. Last year we introduced kind of like a land adventure watch, and then this year we have a new. Pilot Watch, which is a little bit more better wearing, it's a little smaller, a little sleeker, bracelet's a little more refined, but the screen, like you said, you come for the screen. It's memory and pixel, you can do dual time, countdown, chronograph, two time zones at once, and the screen is so sharp and crisp, even in bright sunlight, it's really a thing to look at. And theoretically with this, there's firmware that could be updated. And you might see something in a C kind of version next year. Yeah. Cool, cool. Hey, Neil, thanks so much for chatting with us and enjoy the rest of the show, man. I appreciate it, man. Thank you. |
| Everett | Bye. The Citizen Boulevard table is, I think, special for us because Mike works there. |
| Andrew | Mike, who famously writes for the New York Post, Mike Rezac works at that table. |
| Everett | And so you go over there. It's a huge display. It's a corner display and sort of combined Citizen Boulevard. It's just people you know. |
| Andrew | And the Caravelle. That's right. That was actually good in person. My concerns about it, like from paper to in person, totally alleviated. Yeah, I agree with you. |
| Everett | It's a good watch too, whatever that thing is, 300. |
| Andrew | Like almost free. He told me I could have it for $49.49. And then he backed out of his agreement with me. So I'll take that up with Caravelle directly. |
| Everett | But, you know. You know, pretty cool. They bring all the good stuff, right? They bring all the new stuff. So, you know. A lot of, I think, really fun watches. And they bring the old stuff too, right? It's fun. They had some vintage stuff there too, which was cool. To go to a display and be able to see everything. Like everything I want to see. And Neil's terrific. |
| Andrew | We had breakfast with him. He's just delightful. |
| Everett | He doesn't seem like he's a big deal. He's a big deal. He's a big deal. And he knows just absolutely everything about Citizen. |
| Andrew | Yeah. The resin cases, I forget what they call them, the scubas. The snorkel, yeah. The snorkels, yeah. The snorkels were really good. They had a special edition snorkel there for just wind up. That was good. Like a fun gift box. I was actually surprised by how much I liked those in person. If they were $49.49, I would have bought a few. Mike just keeps backing out on his promises. All righty. Again, here we are with Jerry of Dryden Watch Company. Jerry, how are you doing? Good. How about yourself? I'm living the dream. Obviously, we're here at Wind Up New York 2025, the 10th anniversary show. How many Wind Up shows in New York have you been to? |
| Jerry | five or six over the years I want to say the first one I went to is 2016 and then I think I was helping out Steve in 2017 18 and 19 and then I helped our good friend Andrew over in Astrobanks the last few years too like the free agent of standing behind boots and free agent I like that but you've got your own your own table here today this whole weekend so what have you got in front of us so this is my first time actually doing the show for myself which was feels surreal because when you first start you just coming as a fan you're just here nerding out with everybody else and now to be here with my own booth and showing my own product it doesn't quite feel real Why is that? Just because I feel like you, I don't know, I feel like growing up, quote unquote, you know, you see some of the OGs of micro brands like Steve and Andrew and everybody else. You're like, oh man, like they have done this for so many years. They're like the pioneers of the industry. like basically creating micro brands into existence and here I am just a kid at the time but now I feel like I'm having my like I'm a I'm a big kid now this is this is my I'm an adult woman here with my own brand and and you've got quite a lot you've got a good lineup in here in front of us and I see a new batch in 2025 what are we what are we looking at there for a new batch So the first watch that we launched was the Chrono Diver in what feels like a gazillion colors. And we've sold out of that and I've always wanted to bring it back. And I know one of the things that people talked about was it didn't have a bracelet, which we remedied with this new launch. I haven't shown photos of these online yet. But I think I'm really excited for how it's come together. I wanted to, because it's the second gen of it, I wanted to make sure all of the updates and feedback that we got were properly implemented into the watch itself. |
| Andrew | That's awesome. And so now 10 years of Wind Up, what has Wind Up kind of meant to you as like a growing brand and as somebody supporting really like founding father kind of brands of this space? |
| Jerry | I mean, I think it's... I think it's super neat watching the event itself grow organically over time. I feel like you can tell the energy and the community are what's driving the event together and just having collectors and you know I was talking with some of the other friends too like I've known some of the guys here for like 10 years and I feel like When I first came just as a fan, I didn't expect that I would make what I assume will be lifelong friendships just out of this. We have group texts where we just hang out and talk about life. All of that came out of just an event and a hobby and a passion. And I think that's the coolest thing to see happen from just what is an event. |
| Andrew | Yeah, I wind up bringing together all these members of a community in a way that just didn't exist prior. |
| Jerry | Well, and I think the glow up too, you know, I was joking like when they first started, you know, we would help set up lights and we would help like full tables because it wasn't this full production, right? And we're currently standing in the space with 140 plus brands. I mean, it's a full production, right? And just, again, watching that change over time from what feels like a smaller organic show to now a full-blown production has been amazing because that's a journey that doesn't happen just overnight. |
| Andrew | No. Well, I'm excited. Anything you want to share with the world before we sign off? |
| Zakir | No. |
| Andrew | No? Thanks for taking a few minutes to chat with me. Enjoy the rest of your show. Thank you. Jerry's so fun. |
| Everett | Yeah. We spent a lot of time with Jerry this weekend. He's been one of my favorite people outside of the shows. When I've gone to these shows, specifically New York, I've spent hours and hours and hours with Jerry. He's just such an easy guy to hang out with. And so the watches are terrific. And if you've not spent any time with Dryden's watches, you should. But Jerry is just such an amazing person. Of all the people that we hang out with, I almost put Jerry in a different category. |
| Andrew | Yeah. And one of the things, you know, talking about community is like we've found this really interesting place at these shows with, you know, a handful of brand owners and just people adjacent to the industry that it really is a community that extends beyond just wind up. but he was, it was super fun. And seeing his watches in person for, I think maybe the first time, I don't know if I've seen dried in the head of that. It was super fun. |
| Everett | Yeah. And this next one, interesting. These are watches that I think I saw one time before, but had not really taken the time to appreciate. And so I really had a good time talking to this owner and checking out these watches. So I'm here with Jesse from Lorca. Jesse, really nice to finally catch up with you, man. Yeah, thanks for coming by the table. Yeah, you know, we see watches on a regular basis and releases from companies, and so it's always fun to actually finally, I think that's the best part about wind-up, is to finally meet the person that you've heard about or that's designing watches. So this is your third wind-up, is that right? |
| Jesse | Third wind up, yeah. We started in 2023 and that was when we also announced the Model 1. I believe we had just opened the pre-order on it, so that was our debut in a sense. And then I think the second one, we had announced the Model 2 and now we have them both available and we're working on Model 3, which may coincide with next year's fair. |
| Everett | it's kind of been a good marker like october to um to strive towards you know uh putting out new things yeah you've got a really uh a really cool design aesthetic i think a lot of brands do sort of retro or vintage yeah but i've never i think you guys do it in a really sort of discreet way with the yeah the bezel uh design language and the fonts uh yeah |
| Jesse | they're just and they're in the in the person in the flesh really stunning watches thank you yeah the idea is to sort of have them feel like they're out of time in a way like you can't tell if it's new or vintage um i draw from inspiration all over the gamut um in terms of time periods so the proportions are decidedly vintage um the chrono is a 37 millimeter case The GMT is 36. So I like watches that wear a little more restrained. But, you know, construction is modern. The goal of the brand is basically to just create watches that feel classic, but that don't seem to be referencing any particular icon or model. Sure, they're not a direct homage to anything. Exactly, and I wanted to make watches that people can feel proud wearing, not feeling like it's a substitute for something else. |
| Everett | You know, I think my very favorite thing about the Model 1 and the Model 2 both is the decision to go with an unadorned end link. I made my own watch and when I did that I also went with another. I just think it's the best decision you can make when it comes to these things. |
| Jesse | The two end links that attach here is kind of stolen from the Mark 12, which is one of the only watches that has that other than the Royal Oak, but that's a different style of bracelet. Yeah, it's just very utilitarian looking, and it allows for a flat end link. And you haven't messed with that. You haven't done any fake engraving on it, which I just think is a great decision. No, I like that. It looks cool. It gives it a lot of meat. It gives the case a little bit more beef, and it's kind of a nice paradox between the slender proportions and then this sort of, you know, block of metal there at the end. |
| Everett | Yeah. Yeah. well well jesse thank you so much for your time i know you're super busy uh and i i'll be looking forward to that announcement of that third release here yeah yeah look out for it all right thanks man thank you really beautiful watches i i had a uh i had a good time actually looking at the watches you know i don't know that jesse knew quite what i was complimenting with the end link but he they he has just such a well-developed sense of style that you can tell just from the center of the pinion to the clasp, everything's been thoughtfully considered. And not to say that my own tastes line up directly with the Lorca image or design language. But he's making a watch for you. |
| Andrew | In some ways, yeah. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, he's making a watch for you. He knows where the itch is. He's shaving the middle of your back and giving it a good scratch. I felt the same way. And, you know, I found this year at Windup, press hour was really the only time that we could really get to tables and actually engage with the watches. It was so, so, so full. |
| Everett | Yeah. I mean, if you wanted to get to the Shinola tables, you could. Or Bremont. Or Bremont, yeah. |
| Andrew | That was it. |
| Everett | Outside of that, it was a struggle. |
| Andrew | Because in fairness, they had like 150 square feet each. Yeah. But everyone else, it was like... Yeah, yeah, sorry. |
| Everett | I did make that. I wasn't saying because no one was there. |
| Andrew | They had a lot of real estate. Yeah, they had more than our soundstage in real estate. Everyone else had like a table or the brands downstairs, Haim and Farnswit, they had like a bar table, like a high top. Yeah. And Christopher Ward also had 150 square feet and a mob. You couldn't close the Delta. So press hour was really our opportunity to get close to these watches without waiting in line for 20 minutes and then getting elbowed around. But yeah, getting to engage with those watches was a really cool opportunity. |
| Everett | This next one is the only one of these interviews that I'm sure you at home will have never heard this person on another podcast. |
| Andrew | Yes. |
| Everett | Or interview. That's kind of fun, right? |
| Andrew | It's super fun. And here we are back again at Wind Up 2025 in New York City, the 10th anniversary edition. We have a really special interview for you right now. We have John Mack of Traska, and this is your first interview, correct? |
| John Mack | First interview ever, yeah. |
| Andrew | First interview ever. So you're hearing it here first. John, how are you? It's awesome to meet you in person. How's the show been going for you? |
| John Mack | It's been great. It's one thing to do it online, and I think everybody says this, but when you see people that really love your stuff and your watches, wearing them, coming by the booth, it's pretty surreal. Because we live in this online world, and so it's nice to do these physical shows and get everybody together. |
| Andrew | How many shows have you done leading up to this? |
| John Mack | This is our second wind-up, and we've done district time twice. Okay, okay, district time. So, go ahead. Then one more shout-out to the guys at Notice for putting on Intersect. Last year we did Austin for the first time. |
| Andrew | Oh, Austin. |
| John Mack | Because where are you based out of again? Jacksonville Beach, Florida. |
| Andrew | Okay, okay. So for some reason I had in my head that you were in Texas, but that's not true at all. Not quite. Okay. So what have you got on the table in front of us? |
| John Mack | So we got the full spread out here. The commuter in all new colorways. Those should be hitting the site hopefully in the next two, three weeks. So early November. We'll be restocking everything around mid-November. But what I'm most excited to talk about today are two of our new releases. So we've been kind of spreading our wings and seeing what we can do with complications. The first of which would be the jump hour. Pretty neat one, and yeah, it's been much more complicated than one might imagine. Yeah, I mean, you're only reinventing a wheel here, so. Trying to, yeah. It's our own unique take on the jump hour. So, it uses the Miota 9000 series that we've come to really love, but what we've done is created our own movement module that we put on top. So, no off-the-shelf movement module completely designed from scratch. That's terrific. |
| Andrew | I love getting to see all of your watches in person. So I have a commuter myself, and that's the first thing I always talk about with this. It's affordable, and for some reason it's indestructible. And I see you have a rock on your display. Are you doing any of the, like, watch, I'm not going to scratch this kind of action here? |
| John Mack | We weren't really thinking about it, but everybody's bringing that up, like, oh, how weird that you would be putting this on a rock. But, yeah, I forget that some watches scratch. Yeah, I'm wearing something that's very scratched up today. because it just gets scratched up because of the polish. What else can we look forward to in the future? So on my wrist right now, funny enough, nobody's been asking about this. I find that everybody is just like so overwhelmed with all the watches. They haven't looked at my wrist. We have here the Trasker Chronograph. Right now it has a tungsten bezel and we've color matched the dial to the tungsten. This is the only colorway that we're doing for now, but we'll probably do more coming out. And it was meant to actually kind of coincide with the release of the Jump Hour, but the Jump Hour has been, you know, as previously mentioned, taking a little longer than expected. So this one will actually be ready before the Jump Hour. I don't think we're going to sit on it too long, and they should be available in January. January. |
| Andrew | Like available for shipping or available for pre-order in January? |
| John Mack | For shipping onto people's wrists, yes. |
| Andrew | Awesome. That's terrific. |
| John Mack | Anything else you want to share with the world? |
| Ken Lamb | Okay. |
| John Mack | Take a look at us. We're changing things up. So from going to 50s, 60s inspired watches, we've been really inspired by kind of like neo-vintage, the 90s. It's an interesting period when I feel like a lot of brands were fighting for their life and trying to like give it everything they had. In the wake of the quartz crisis, they're like, all right, let's do funky case shapes. Let's do complications. Let's throw it all together and really show people what we're made of. And so that's kind of what we're trying to do with our take on the jump hour and the chronograph. I love it. I'm excited to see you here. I'm glad to see all your watches in person. Thanks for taking a little bit of time for me. Thank you so much for having me and for all the support along the way. And it's great to do the first interview with you guys. And happy to have you. Enjoy the rest of your show. Thank you so much. Have a good one. |
| Andrew | He was super fun, and I can't wait to have him on for a full episode, which he has committed to. Traska is a brand that we have just been, and I have just been enamored with since their launch. Their proprietary anti-scratch technology is just... unreal uh they're super affordable his designs are great he just gets it and he's this really like personable like very humble guy uh seeing the entire lineup was great the chronograph i don't know how much i'm allowed to share uh so i won't overshare but i will tell you that when will and i went to the table and were examining the chronograph we both got the giggles so watch out Because that one got us both in the giggles. Like, not in the, like, oh, this is a silly way, but in the, like, oh, this is so cool. In that way. That's pretty cool. The jump power is really cool, but that chronograph module execution is phenomenal. |
| Justin | Justin, how the heck are you? Everett, I'm much better now that I get to see you, my friend. |
| Everett | So, year 10, Wind Up New York. |
| Justin | How's the show been for you guys? Two days in, it's been fantastic. This is our seventh Wind Up. Our seventh Wind Up in New York, I should say. Obviously, your listeners already know we dropped the new Triumph. And the story I've been telling everyone is back in 2017 when we did our first Wind Up, We didn't know what to expect, and that was when we launched the original Triumph that you're a proud owner of. |
| Unknown | Yeah, yes sir. |
| Justin | And so here we are back again in New York, kind of where it all started. You know, eight years later, second generation Triumph, and everybody who comes to the table immediately wants to see it. So the word is out, and I'm just very grateful for that. |
| Everett | Well, and I think it is. I mean, every watch is this way, but I think it really is a watch you kind of have to get hands on. All of ours are. To appreciate. Certainly all of Manta watches, but I think that people are going to have questions about the size and people are going to have questions about, you know, it is a bigger watch, certainly, but it wears really, really well. I had the opportunity a couple weeks ago to spend a few days with it. and uh i was really i was really so pleasantly surprised that the extra size wasn't a burden didn't take away from the comfort yeah on the wrist yeah it's a shinier watch it is it's a more blingy watch yes a little bit different dial it's beautiful how's been the reception to that more open dial kind of like what you just said a lot of people maybe saw 40 and a half and if they're uh |
| Justin | 39 is their limit in the normal parts. |
| Everett | Which it is for a lot of people, right? |
| Justin | Yeah. I think once they try this on, their brain kind of starts to shift a little bit because the lug-to-lug is only 47.8, so it's only .8 longer than the previous generation. even though the case is two extra millimeters in diameter. And I think coming up on our 10-year anniversary, that's where Mike and I have really gotten good at this, is those little details of the proportions and the way that it fits on the wrist, the way that the lug's turned down, understanding diameter to thickness to lug to lug. all those different proportions, whether it's a field watch like that or if it's one of our turning bezel watches like the Ocean King or SkyQuest. You know, 10 years later, we're an overnight success. Yeah. And very similar case to the new Ocean King, right? The mid-case is similar, yes. That's kind of where we started, but it's not just a take the mid-case of the Ocean King and put it on the bezel. Oh, sure, you can't do that, right? Yeah. You've got another three millimeters of dial there. yeah definitely a lot of inspiration uh just from that profile but you know the the the shoulders of the lugs are a little different and um and obviously the crown guards are different but um Yeah, you know, it's no secret. What we're doing here is just really classic watches that you won't get bored with, that 50s, 60s inspiration with modern technology. We're just trying to be excellent. We know we're not perfect, but we're going to be excellent. |
| Everett | Just be excellent. And you are. I will say the bracelet on this watch and the clasp on this watch... The clasp was the one thing for sure. When I took this thing off and I put it back in a box, I was like, I might try to swap out that clasp before I send it off. |
| Justin | Try to pull a fast one on me. And that's another thing that people keep coming to the booth saying. Even if they've heard of us, but they've never seen them in person, most people say, I hear you guys have the best bracelet, and I never get tired of hearing that. And I really think we do. That's another thing that we focused on. since our we got started was make the best most comfortable bracelet yeah well and you guys you guys are nailing it so great release uh as ever wonderful to see uh likewise i'm so glad we get to do this um you know i love telling people that we otherwise probably never would have met in this world if it wasn't for our shared passion for watches and my favorite quote is i like the watches but i love the people and uh you and andrew are definitely a big part of that so thank you for your support thanks |
| Andrew | You know, we've gotten to interact with a lot of brands both on and off the air since we've started, right? We're 360 some, 370 weeks into this and a few windups and a couple intersects and your own brand experience. And there's a couple brands that like kind of took a chance on us in like showing up on the show and like hanging out with us and Monta's one of those brands, right? We had no business talking to Justin when we talked to Justin, but he gave us the time of day. And he talked to us and he hung out and has done so without reserve in that intervening period. And we're both Manta fanboys. Everyone knows this about us and not everyone is. I'd be a Manta fanboy aside from the owners. But I love those guys. The Manta brand is one that I will never stop. touting. |
| Everett | They're just really terrific watches. Justin nailed it right. He says, you know, we've always wanted to make the best bracelet. They just do. They just do. Yeah, that's right. |
| Andrew | All right. And here we are with Theo of MicroMilspec. And this is a brand that Everett and I have been pretty high on over the last six, nine months. We became familiar with it and started seeing it. So getting to see this in person is absolutely fantastic. Theo, how are you? I'm good. |
| Theo | Thank you very much. It's good to meet you. Great to meet you. Wonderful place to meet you guys in the heart of New York City. Right. During New York Watch Week. Exactly. And it's, you know, the 10th anniversary, which is really special. Is this your first windup? It's my second. It's my second. But it feels like I've been here for the last 10 years already. These are some long days. |
| Andrew | This six-hour long show with, you know, I don't know if they're doing a count through here, but we're in here like sardines during this not press hour. So I'm really happy to get a little bit of time with it being a little bit slower to chat with you. So why don't you tell us about yourself? Tell us about your watches. |
| Theo | Yeah, sure. So like we're a Norwegian brand but all our watches are made in Switzerland and we specialize in custom watches for the military but as well for individuals. So currently we've done roughly like 52 projects for 26 different armies in the world and what will happen is we'll send individuals a watch called the Field Testing Unit out which is a very naked bare watch that has no markings on it and they'll wear it for six months and little by little based on how they've worn that watch they'll start giving us feedback as to what they're looking for. And that's how we created the Millgraph, which is the watch that we launched last year at Geneva Watch Days, which in wind up is what everyone was coming to see in regards to our brand was the Millgraph. And the reason for that. is because after wearing that watch, the special forces realized that steel was too heavy, so they asked for titanium grade five. They've asked for the case to be micro blasted with sand so that you have a matted finish under the light so it doesn't give away your position. On top of that, the crown's been reversed for comfort to avoid having friction on the wrist. You have a little red ring that is sticking out around the crown to remind you to screw it in before you go into the water. The chronograph has been reversed because it's easier to actually stop and reset in that manner as well, of pushing the lower button first. You have little grooves in the bezel, which is done intentionally because in Norway it gets really cold in the winter, as I imagine in New York it does as well. And it means they can turn the bezel without having to take their gloves off. And on top of that, most of these guys who serve in the military are parents. So, you know, knowing what time it is at home is important for them. So they put a little GMT hand in there so that they can think of their kids when they're out on the mission. But everything that we do has a purpose. So we've done watches for the Najaf de Khumbar that people can get. We've done it for the US Space Force, the Hercules pilots, which the green that you see on our watch took us three and a half years to produce. So it's exactly the same green that's inside their cockpit. And then to slightly gravitate away from the military side, we launched a pilot collection that came out this year at Geneva Watch Days, being the dual timer in August and then the world timer in September at Geneva Watch Days. |
| Andrew | I love it. This is great to see us in person. That's one of my favorite part about shows like this is I'm familiar with most of these brands just through pictures and through videos that people are taking. So getting to see us in person is really special. How's the show been treating you? How's your reception you're feeling here with this group at Wind Up? |
| Theo | Yeah, it's really good. I mean, at the end of the day, 60% of our sales come from the US. So if I don't turn up here, I'm probably not looking after my customers very, very well. And for the US market as well, it's one of the few chances that they have to literally get their hands on some of our watches. So we've had lots of people who've been interested in purchasing a watch, who've literally flew into New York, bought a ticket, come to wind up, came to my stand, because they wanted to see the watch before they purchased the orders. So I've had about six to eight clients who made the effort to come round and see me, because we haven't got a retail space here. So I think these type of experiences are invaluable for us. And I always think to myself, you know, customer has to come first. So getting to meet these people, understanding who they are, and hopefully, you know, next time I come back next year, I could do a dinner with them and, you know, really look after these people rather than just treat them like another client coming in and out. Here's your card. Thank you. Goodbye. Love it. Anything else you want to share with the world? Stick around for next year. We're making, you know, some cool stuff in a smaller case size. So I think it's going to be helping us get to that level up because in the U.S. you guys like big watches, but in Europe we like smaller watches. So, you know, when I come to the U.S. I always joke because when, you know, I have my watches out on 42mm cases, everyone's like, is this a ladies watch? And after when I'm in France, they're like, I can't wear this. It's too big. Yeah. So we're trying to do something for both markets, keeping you guys happy, but also keeping our guys back home happy as well. So stick around for that. |
| Andrew | I'm sure love it. Theo, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of the show. Thank you very much for coming around. It was super cool to see his watches in person, particularly his test model, which was, yeah, that was fun. It looked like the 12. Right? Yeah, a little bit. It was a little bit of a hexagonal case. It was micro mil-spec dimensions and case shape, but it looked just kind of like a dress sport watch. And that's what he sends to his clients who were trying to build a watch. And they're like, all right, start with this and let's build it out. It was great to see his watches in person. They are absolutely phenomenally finished. |
| Everett | All the watches at the show, Micromill Spec and perhaps Serica. We didn't get Jerome for one of these interviews, but we will get Jerome on the show. But really, Micromill Spec was the one that I was like, I think I'm going to buy this. I think I'm going to open up my wallet. I did not for you at home. I did not. I was kind of good. I was close to. But those were the two really Micromill spec and Serica, the two that had me reaching for the old debit card. |
| Andrew | Yeah, that left-hand crown and chronograph functionality was just money. And he was super fun. The brand is really cool. And we've been high on him for a reason. |
| Everett | And I think our favorite accent of the show. |
| Andrew | Yeah. |
| Everett | Confusing and interesting. Second favorite accent of the show coming up now. Here with Ken Lamb of Arkin. Hi. Last time we talked, at least on a microphone, was June of 2023. |
| Ken Lamb | So it's been, what, almost two and a half years. It's been a long time. How have you been? I'm good, man. I'm really happy to finally meet you guys in person. This isn't your first US show, is it? It is. It is your first US show? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the second one I've attended, but it's the first one I've exhibited at Arkin. What do you think of it? What do you think of Windup? We have some folks that we're gonna talk to today that have been here for 10 years. I know, I'm one of the newbies. But I love it, it's great. Everyone's just ready and on their A-game and there's so many watches and everyone's brought new stuff and all the community and the customers and everyone, they're all super informed and ready to just come and put their mitts all over your gear. Yeah, yeah, I actually put some of your watches on my pants earlier. Oh, thank you. Thank you for that. It means a lot. So talk to us about what you have here on the table. So I've got the the altar room here. We've got our two kind of original colorways and then some accessories. But then we also have our speakeasy limited edition. Did you hear about that? |
| Everett | Andrew told me about it. Andrew told me about it. It's not out. This isn't it. |
| Ken Lamb | So I understand I have to know the secret code word. Yeah, yeah. So it's like a speakeasy bar, right? You have to ask to see the goods. And so we have a speakeasy limited edition, which I'll I'll show you about... I'll show you it in confidence. Okay, wonderful. And I won't tell anybody. Except everyone on this podcast. Except everyone that's listening to this. That's exactly right. That's exactly how we go about it. Okay, so the Cerakote... No. Or PVD? Neither. |
| Everett | What is it? |
| Ken Lamb | It's our speakeasy. This is amazing. And this is a concept that we launched this year to basically encourage community to come up to our booth, to the shows, and ask me to see a watch that they can obtain at the show. And so this one is available exclusively in New York. |
| Everett | And so you do this for each of your shows? |
| Ken Lamb | Yeah, so we have a different variant depending on the show or where you bump into me. If you run up on me in the street, I'll have a different one on me and then you can get that one. And so they're made to order. So, you know, if we get 10 orders, we make 10. If we get 40 orders, we make 40. But it's something... to create a tight, close, intimate relationship with me and the owners. And so if you see someone wearing a speakeasy, you know they've met me in person. So that's the concept. And we don't do any press photos, no kind of publishing or anything on it. |
| Everett | Not like underdog fears. Got to get in line. |
| Ken Lamb | We're a little bit more underground. A little bit more punk rock. Well, that's fun. |
| Everett | Thank you. I really like that. I really like that. Well, Ken, it's been really... We had about 13 beers last night. I think we're going to try to double that tonight. |
| Ken Lamb | Well, there's no other way. |
| Everett | It's been really fun to see you, man. No, it's been a pleasure to see you. After all this time. |
| Ken Lamb | Thank you for coming by and wanting to have a chat. It's awesome, man. I'm so excited to be able to see you guys. It's about time to get you back on the show. Thank you. All right, man. |
| Andrew | It was so fun to meet him in person. Getting to see his mother-in-law putter around in the kitchen behind him while he's like handling it like a professional in our first interview with him. And meanwhile, personally panicking. He's like, Ma! I'm on a call. But to get to see him in person at the speakeasy watch line was super cool, super fun. It does create a weird image in my mind where he's like constantly carrying just a watch and a box in his pocket in case you run up on him, as they say. It was super fun. I loved meeting him. Him and Tom were, I think, my two favorite personal interactions of the show. |
| Everett | Of all the people at the show that we met for the first time, they were my two favorites. For sure. |
| Andrew | Because it's people we've known for years. |
| Everett | And Tom, bless his heart, a little bit more reserved. Ken is just like... You get it. He's all there. |
| Ken Lamb | Yeah. |
| Everett | His hair got super long, too. Yeah. One more interview. |
| Andrew | And, again, at Wind Up 2025 in New York City, the 10th anniversary edition, I'm with Andrew Perez of Astor and Banks. Andrew, how are you? |
| Andrew Perez | I'm good. How are you, Andrew? |
| Andrew | I'm terrific. I kind of love talking to myself in this way. Changing my voice is kind of hard. So, like I said, we're here for the 10th anniversary, and we've said it a bunch of times because I don't know how many interviews we're at so far. But I feel like we should introduce it every time for whatever reason. How's the show going for you? |
| Andrew Perez | You know what? Yesterday, for the first day of this tenure, was really, really good. Just a great crowd. The most people I've seen at a wind up, which is pretty cool. And and it was a great day for us, you know, showing some of our stuff, showing some of the new stuff we talked about in the last show. And the feedback has been really good. So, yeah, it's a great day. |
| Andrew | I mean, most people, most brands, biggest venue. When I walked in yesterday, I saw the first floor of the venue and I was like, oh, it's big. And I look at the map and I'm like, there's stairs. And I walk up the stairs. |
| Andrew Perez | I'm like, this is bigger. And there's more rooms. |
| Andrew | Yeah, there's eight rooms. I mean, the windup at Chelsea Market was the size of just this one hall that we're in. And there's four more like it. How's that size? How do you feel about the size increase? The population density, the diversity in the people that are coming to wind-up fairs? |
| Andrew Perez | I actually... A little intimidating at first. Last year was the largest show they've done. And it was really busy. But I think... has worked out better because, one, more people can come, there's more room, and it feels like the community is getting bigger, which is obviously a very good thing for all the watch brands here. So size, diversity, I think it's been really good. |
| Andrew | for the new york show so i'd say so far this is looking like it's probably one of the best ones yeah i think i'd have to agree with you and so you're sitting on the 10-year anniversary panel today yeah what's 10 years of wind up kind of mean for you what's that look like you know i talked a little bit with jerry about what 10 years has looked at look like for him like how are you feeling about 10 years feeling old yeah yeah i feel like one of the old guys uh it's crazy the first wind up |
| Andrew Perez | you know, I was here for the first windup and there's 15 or 18 brands and a cool spot. And now you look around, there's like 15 brands just in my row. |
| Andrew | There's 15 brands I've never heard of. |
| Andrew Perez | Yeah. There's plenty of brands here that I'm also like, man, there's so much I haven't even heard of and I'm in this industry. So, um, and people are making cool stuff. You know, there's a little bit of taste for everything and Um, so it's really cool to see the progression over 10 years of where, you know, back then we were just trying to figure out what a micro brand was and now it's like this, which is amazing. |
| Andrew | Yeah. Yeah. And you've got some new stuff sitting on the table in front of you. What have you got in front of me? |
| Andrew Perez | So obviously I've got the Sea Ranger line here, Fortitude line, which people know. On the Fortitude side, the new light series I have out here with some new colors to show folks. Changed a couple things on the light to make it a little bit more differentiating from the pro version. So open case back on it, all gloss dials on the light series. A little bit more polish on that series as well. And then of course I've got our new field watch, the Terra Scout that we're showing folks here for the first time in New York at least. And that has been really, really cool. I wish I had them in stock because we would be selling quite a few of these. But anyway, it's been really great feedback. The limited edition with the Cerakote is by far the most popular watch on the table yesterday. And so it'll be interesting to see what today will be. |
| Andrew | Yeah, I wonder if it'll hold true or if today you'll get a new one. Because the amount of people standing in these lines who aren't watch people, they see a sign for a watch fair and are like, I'm going to go look at watches, is astounding. And it's been a really cool experience to get to be a part of it. |
| Andrew Perez | Yeah, when I saw the line outside yesterday, and even this morning, there's a big line already. That's a great sign for the watch brand. All right, well, I appreciate your time. Anything else you want to share with the world? Hey, thank you for supporting. Thank you for supporting us, Andrew and team. And, you know, we'll see you at the next fair. In a few minutes. Yep. Thank you. Thank you. |
| Everett | He's my favorite. I love Andrew. You know, Andrew's become, I think, one of my really good friends over the years. And so getting a chance to see him was really great. I had a blast. I love New York. I love the people. I love watches. I just had a ton of fun. |
| Andrew | And you'll notice, if you go back a couple years and listen to our Wind Up New York 2023, 2022, I think 22, the ambient noise. So the ambient noise you hear in all these interviews today is press hour. Like people who got press credentials. This is like 10% of the amount of people that were in the venue during peak hours. This like windup is, windup New York, it's the only windup I've been to, was absolutely insane. The first day on Friday, we went to go. For those of you unfamiliar with New York City blocks, they are large. We went to get in line, and we walked towards the venue, and the line stretched half the short block, the full long block. We walked the full short block and said, fuck it, let's go get lunch. |
| Andrew Perez | Yeah. |
| Andrew | and then we still waited in line for 30 minutes after lunch so two hours after opening maybe 2 000 people in that line right easy easy easy easy uh when we went to get breakfast on friday morning uh neil showed us some photos of a hundred people in line at seven o'clock in the morning |
| Everett | Yeah. Yeah. It was really, it was really astonishing. And I do want to say when we had lunch on Friday, it was phenomenal. Oh, it was a really good lunch. |
| Andrew | That was the right decision. Yeah, the power lunch was the right decision. Andrew, thank you for going to wind up with me. Thank you all for making it possible. And for those of you who got to meet, we loved it. And for those of you we didn't, I just, I got to pitch it. |
| Everett | man the experience of going to one of these shows like it's so worth it just for the community just for the experience so worth worth it hey guys thanks for joining us for this episode of 40 and 20 the watch clicker podcast do me a favor and go to our website that's watchclicker.com that's where we post articles and reviews of watches If you want to follow us on social media, you could do that on Instagram at 40 and 20 underscore watch clicker or at watch clicker. That is where we post pictures and other updates about things we're doing on this podcast or on the website. If you want to support us, and oh boy, we hope you do, you can do that at patreon.com slash 40 and 20. Look, the folks that support us are the ones that keep us going by directly funding our website hosting, image hosting, and podcast hosting. Patreon.com slash 40 and 20. Go check it out and maybe drop a buck. And don't forget to tune back in next Tuesday for another hour of Watches, Food, Drinks, Life, and other things we like. Bye-bye. |