Right, Listen Up! Arken, Traina, and Geneva Chaos Incoming!
It's that time of the year.
Hey everyone,
I hope you're not just staring at your wrists but actually listening/watching to the podcast. We've had a couple of belters drop recently, so pull your finger out and wrap your ears around them.
First up, we had Ken Lam from Arken Watches. Ken started his brand in lockdown, which is more than most of us managed. Titanium tool vibes, unique designs, and he knows his emojis, apparently. Get the lowdown here.
Then we had Tony Traina back, you know, the Unpolished Watches fella. We talked about his newsletter, the state of the watch world (which is, as usual, a right mess), and all the things that grind his gears. It is essential to listen, honestly. Find the notes here.
Seriously, if you're not listening, you're missing out on some solid chat
Of course, the big dance of Watches & Wonders is looming on the horizon and will kick off at the start of April. Cue the inevitable cavalcade of Rolex mockups and speculation about what variety of Black Bay we'll get this year. That's the obvious stuff, but what we're excited about is the surprises — the watches they bring out towards the end of the presentation. You know, the quirky pieces with which one or both of us will instantly fall in love. Having said that, it's likely that Watches & Wonders 2025 will lean less to the oddball and more to the sensible — the natural effect of the sober luxury market we're currently in.
This year will be the first time the full OT: team of Andy and Felix will be deployed in Geneva, and we've got big plans and even bigger schedules (for real, our calendar for Tuesday to Friday is a solid wall of watch appointments). From new products to CEO interviews and maybe even a few old friends, we're going to be running on too much coffee and not enough sleep by the end of the show.
Expect a full report from on the ground, with plenty of live social coverage, and takes like this one from Felix on why we need better bracelets. You can follow all of the action on our socials and get some cheeky behind the scenes action in our discord.
Cheers,
Andy and Felix