← HODINKEE Podcasts![[Hodinkee Podcast] Watches and Wonders - Day 1 | Rolex, Patek, Tudor & Cartier — HODINKEE Podcasts cover](https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/56960b51-f6a1-4676-8305-8ed72486240a/3064d7b9-9622-4de5-ba80-5a364f0517a0/3000x3000/podcat_ep_1_hero.jpg?aid=rss_feed)
HODINKEE Podcasts
[Hodinkee Podcast] Watches and Wonders - Day 1 | Rolex, Patek, Tudor & Cartier
00:32:24
Ben, Tim, and James chat over the new releases from Day 1 of the fair in Geneva and a special chat with the CEO of Watches and Wonders.
Loading summary
Transcript163 lines
- [00:01]
A
Discover the new chapter of Octo Finissimo. From ultralight titanium to the warmth of 18 karat yellow gold. The new 37 millimeter profile is the definition of Italian sprezzatura. Thanks so much to Bulgari and back to the show. One, two, three. I mean guys. Hello and welcome to the Hodinkee podcast. Live from watches and wonders 2026. This is one of our favorite things to do. We get to sit down and talk about some of the stuff we've done today. And man, we've seen some watches already.
- [00:31]
B
Let me just say this is like my favorite thing to do all year.
- [00:33]
A
Just to sit and chill. I prefer the ones where we had more beer, but we can fix that tomorrow.
- [00:39]
B
We'll get Andy to grab us a beer somewhere.
- [00:40]
A
For sure.
- [00:41]
B
Andy hopping right off camera, by the way.
- [00:43]
A
Behind the scenes.
- [00:43]
B
That's right.
- [00:44]
A
And it's a treat. I've got Ben and Tim today. We're going to have a mixed crew all week. We're going to try and keep it to three voices so there's not too much over talking. You can let me know in the comments. I know I over talk but I'm pumped to get into some watches.
- [00:56]
B
Let's do it.
- [00:56]
A
Let's do it. I feel like the natural place to start because we've done this every year. The first day we talk Rolex. So let's kick it off with Rolex. An interesting spread of unexpected sort of watches and I think the easiest place to start especially because we'll see the watches as a team tomorrow. Some of us have gotten a preview and Ben, you weren't part of that. But I don't know that you could have much more to say about this one specific watch. But because we did a big story.
- [01:22]
B
I'm done a video. I'm done with that watch.
- [01:24]
A
We did an Instagram and now we're doing a podcast. That's the four quadrants.
- [01:27]
B
We've hit all the quadrants. Yeah. I love that watch. It is really expensive as the comments. We knew the comments would be this. Why is it.
- [01:34]
A
Should we say what it is?
- [01:34]
B
Yeah, go for it.
- [01:35]
A
It's a new enamel dial steel Daytona with platinum accents.
- [01:39]
B
The Relesium. Yep, that's the technical term.
- [01:41]
A
Display case back.
- [01:42]
B
Display case back. Ceramic. New ceramic bezel. Patent pending ceramic bezel for the record. Four piece enamel dial. The watch is tremendous. I mean I was chatting with SJX on Sunday. Engineer, shout out to sjx. Great guy and a guy I really respect obviously in the space. And he said and I agree. This is peak Rolex. Right. He probably hypothesized that Rolex probably spent millions of dollars and tens of years, or a decade plus, maybe an exaggeration, but years researching this bezel technology, this type of enameling, all this stuff, to just produce a white dial, gray bezel Daytona. The average guy on Instagram will say, ah, it's four times the price. Who cares? You know? But Rolex does everything to the nth degree. They do everything for the long, long term. And by long term, I mean, like, we're talking decades, not years. Right? I mean, they know their stuff years out. The watch is incredibly cool. I think that the layman will not understand the price. I did not at first.
- [02:34]
A
As you know, we've had consternation for sure.
- [02:37]
B
We had severe consternation. I said, oh, man, like, what's going on here? Did we miss something? Is this a typo?
- [02:42]
A
It's a big number.
- [02:42]
B
It's a big number. But when you read the patent, which both you and I have, and you understand the enameling process that they went into it, that went into it, you start to understand, like, this is not your normal Daytona at all. And I think it also, you know, speaking with somebody else who knows Rolex, I would say intimately, but not from the inside. Rolex has a very particular pricing metric that is X times the cost. Right. And so the R and D put into making this bezel, which, again, has some little traits that I really like that harken back to the old stuff and the porcelain dials and whatever, you know, he believes that this watch is probably using the same metric that the standard steel Daytona or any other watch would use. If that's true, we'll never know. But it's a cool watch.
- [03:20]
A
Yeah. And I think it's worth saying, especially this year, anybody who's watching this on YouTube or maybe is in the comments on the site will know that the major complaint that anybody has about the watch world is that watches are too expensive. And they are, and they absolutely are. I would just say, especially this time of year for this fun week where the new watches come out and we get to see them all and we get to write about them. And it's a crazy four or five days try and disconnect the product from the price, unless you're absolutely a buyer, at which point, I get it, that may change the scope. But there is a world where you can simply appreciate these things for being kind of fun or interesting or unexpected, surprising, weird. I think that a lot of what we saw this year from Rolex was sort of coded in this hundredth anniversary of the oyster case. And for them to go steal another steel Daytona, one of the harder to get watches in existence, on top of there being already being a white dial, I think it's just really them saying, well, we could do this. And so that led them down this path. And yeah, the patent's pretty intense. You can find it very easily on Google.
- [04:27]
B
I was very impressed you found that.
- [04:28]
A
Yeah, sure, Google makes finding patents really simple, but it's a couple years out, so they've clearly been in the works for that. I thought the enamel dial, especially that very specific effect you get from enamel, which has a surface tension to it, especially where the sub dials are integrated, feels very different. And of course now you also don't have any color surrounding the sub dials. There's not black rings or something like that.
- [04:51]
B
Yeah, as I said in the video, and I think even the story short of in addition to the porcelain dials, which is from the 80s and early 90s, it brought me back to the Albinos, the late 60s, early 70s watches. These are multi hundred thousand, if not 77 figure watches. Are Clapton owned one. I mean these are kind of holy grail Daytonas. So no black ring or silver ring in the registers at all. This is an albino. You know, I don't know if we're going to call it that. We'll see what the Internet decides on. But I mean, this is a very interesting watch from my point of view. Removing all the technology and just citing all these tiny little kind of like hat tips to vintage Daytonas. The bezel, which is effect, I mean it is cerachrome, but it feels metallic. Straight printing on the bezel, straight printing, the horizontal printing. I mean it really feels like an older watch than it is. And the enamel is very obviously a very traditional type of manufacturing. So it feels like an old watch, even though it's brand new.
- [05:42]
A
And so like you're more of a Daytona guy than certainly I would be. You're probably more of a Daytona guy than most guys, period. But I'm curious, do you think that this watch could have existed before the Le Mans? For me, I see a narrative here of trying things.
- [05:57]
B
Yeah.
- [05:57]
A
Messing with a bezel, messing with a dial, messing with a movement for the Le Mans.
- [06:01]
B
It's a interesting question. I mean it feels like a sister to the Le Mans. I mean this is like an Uber Daytona, right? I mean this is like a Mega Daytona.
- [06:06]
A
It's a Nerds Daytona.
- [06:07]
B
Yeah, it's that, but it's also, like, taking a step up. Right. But, yeah, I mean, for many, many years, the consensus was that, like, Rolex kind of disregarded its history, so to speak, which we know is not true. But in terms of, like, paying attention to what people like me, and I will admit, like, I'm a Daytona nerd. I love them and I, like, studied them, you know, they're really paying attention. And I think the Le Mans was the first really tight reference to a historical watch. Obviously, Paul Newman style dial, et cetera. And this would be the second. But this is a much deeper cut.
- [06:36]
C
Right?
- [06:36]
B
I mean, like, a porcelain dial Daytona from 1988 is not a Paul Newman Daytona. So that's why I happen to love this watch. The price, I mean, I get it, but I think you're right.
- [06:45]
A
It's like, it's $58,000.
- [06:47]
B
It's a lot of money.
- [06:47]
A
If you didn't read the story.
- [06:48]
B
Yeah, you know, it's not for everybody, but it wasn't designed for.
- [06:52]
A
Exactly.
- [06:53]
B
Exactly.
- [06:53]
A
And, Tim, looking over the other releases, I know you two obviously daily a 36 millimeter datejust. And I'm curious, when do you plan on putting your reservation down for the 44 millimeter yacht Master II?
- [07:07]
D
To be fair, you know, I was thinking about it. I gave it heavy thought. But in fact, to our surprise, I'm really into the Datejust 41. And that green lacquer ombre dial, it photographs so well. I've not seen it in person yet, and I look forward to seeing it tomorrow. But just that richness in the green. The bezel looks great. Now, 41 is a little bit big
- [07:25]
A
for me, but I'm doing it in 36 as well.
- [07:28]
D
Yeah, well, great. Even. Even so. But, yeah, that's right in my wheelhouse. And I look forward to seeing that tomorrow.
- [07:35]
A
Yeah, there's a bunch more to uncover, and I think we can go deeper into some of the references. I have a real fondness for the new 126, 000, the Jubilee motif. It's just a bunch of color on a watch that's usually quite reserved. And while maybe I didn't connect with puzzle dials or celebration dials and that sort of thing, for whatever reason, that very kind of graphic design speaks to me. But we'll have more to kind of feed in on that. The next one that we like to see, day one and certainly a big year for this brand is Patek. 50th anniversary of the Nautilus. And right up until they announced you know, you sit in a room at the hotel waiting for 12:01 for them to drop what the releases are. We were kind of not thinking they would do like if you're going to do a Nautilus moment, you maybe do it later in the year.
- [08:21]
B
Right. So Patek has a grand exhibition, which is what they call these large exhibitions that they do every few years all over the world. They have one in Milan coming later this year. And the consensus among people like us was that they would probably wait for then to have the novels have its own moment. They did not. And they launched it today. I'll be honest, I'll be as I am with everyone always. I did not have a lot of faith that they would nail the 50th anniversary of the Nautilus. They did not nail the 40th anniversary of the Nautilus. I think that's the consistency over baked. Yeah, I mean the, you know, the stamping of the dial and, you know, just. Just not what, what you're kind of after or what collectors are after. They fucking crushed this. They nailed it. Like this is exactly. This is better, frankly than what I thought they would do. Better than I could have hoped for. Right. So you have historical movements which granted are 40 plus years old, but the 240 movement's been in the catalog since 1977, which is a year after the Nautilus was created. So a super slim micro rotor movement which allows them to create a nautilus, two or three different references that is dramatically thinner than the 5811 which is currently in the catalog, or the 5711 which we all know and love with no date, which has never existed on it, didn't exist on the 3700 or 5711. And no seconds hand, which is like the 3700. And on top of that, not only did they do it in the 41 millimeters, which is what the 5811G is, they did it in 38 millimeters in platinum, referencing the 3800 and the 5800, which are pretty obscure kind of collectory watches that have been pretty in vogue the last few years. It is wonderful on the wrist. I mean that 38 millimeter platinum watch, limited edition 2000, I would take that all day long.
- [10:00]
A
The thing that struck me, I had a moment to have it on my wrist and you don't have the bracelet sized, so you're making a few guesses here. But the thing that struck me is the case is as thin as the last bracelet link. So it really just melts onto your wrist and then at the same time it's so heavy because it's platinum. Right. And you have it in your mind. Maybe everybody's calibration is a little different, but when somebody hands you a watch, you kind of have an expected outcome. And then you put this on and turn it sideways and like the case disappears into the bracelet as you turn your wrist. Because there's no. It's very seamless the way that they've done it.
- [10:33]
B
It's six point something millimeters thick, which is very, very thin for Nautilus. I think the current one is seven point something, maybe even eight something. So dramatically thinner than the production stuff. 5811G. By the way, it's still in the catalog. This is limited edition. The 41 millimeter is white gold, the 38 millimeter is platinum. These watches are killers. They are going to be, I mean, just incredibly sought after. Obviously no matter what they did in Nautilus would be really in vogue. But these are like genuinely appealing to an actual collector.
- [10:57]
A
And I love that after the, like you said with the 40th anniversary, which was shouty about the anniversary, they've made something that's so subtle but just by dropping a seconds hand or a date, you know immediately what one it is. That's a cool way to do an anniversary.
- [11:09]
B
This is as I said, they nailed it. I mean like this is better than I could have hoped for as a. I mean, look, one of my first Pateks ever was Nautilus. I've owned a Nautilus, some variant for the last 15 years. I still do. So they crushed this. I mean in a way that like I don't think Patek has really nailed a collector focused watch in a long time. I give them a lot of credit for sure.
- [11:29]
A
Absolutely. And anything else jump out from the line? I mean the Nautilus desk clock is pretty wild.
- [11:35]
B
I mean look, it's a 200,000 Swiss franc desk clock.
- [11:37]
A
Again, you gotta disconnect from the cash sometimes.
- [11:39]
B
Not always.
- [11:39]
A
I get it.
- [11:40]
D
Not always.
- [11:40]
B
This one, wherever Tantan is, you know,
- [11:43]
A
Tan Tan's losing his mind.
- [11:44]
B
Tan 10. It was his first time visiting Patek Philippe which is a big moment for anybody. He was obsessed with this thing. So it's an eight day hand wound that was introduced last year in a like I don't know the size, but a large format Nautilus desk clock.
- [11:56]
A
Yeah, like a tilt up out of
- [11:58]
B
the case, sort of baguettes on the Markers. I mean, it is genuinely cool. It's 200,000 Swiss, as we said, only 100 pieces for the world. They actually told us in there, this might be breaking news, that it was actually the idea of an apprentice, like an intern, and Mr. Stern or somebody said, like, that is really cool. Let's make this. And so, like, okay, so they did. So they're doing 100 pieces. It is genuinely cool. This is like, again, a surprisingly fun addition to the Nautilus collection.
- [12:22]
A
Anything else stand out?
- [12:23]
B
You know, new dials, 5270s. New dials, 5204. This alarm watch, which is really, really neat. First automaton wristwatch from Patek. At least in the contemporary era, this was one of the stronger years Patek has had in a long time. You know, Patek is Patek, right? I love them, obviously, but the past few years have been kind of like hit and miss, you know, in terms of, like, enthusiast stuff. This year they hit everything, and they hit it really well. Look, I would still tweak things here and there, but the Nautilus was so strong. This automaton watch, the chiming the alarm
- [12:56]
A
watch, the packaging of that watch is fabulous. When you think of how complicated the movement is, it's unbelievable.
- [13:01]
B
I mean, it's like it just wears
- [13:02]
A
like a normal watch.
- [13:02]
B
It does, but, like, it's using technology from the minute repeaters. I mean, it's really very neat. Yeah, they had a great year all around. I mean, like, really a shockingly good year, I would say.
- [13:10]
A
I think it would take a lot longer than we have for these episodes to kind of run through all those references. Leave it in the comments. If you really want a sit down to go over Patak point by point in the future, we can make that happen. Just have to let us know. So put that in the comments. This special episode of the Hoodinki podcast From watches and wonders 2026 is brought to you by Bulgari and the octo finissimo. Since 2014, the octo finissimo has redefined the limits of horology. And this year, the story reaches a new peak of maturity. Introducing the Octo Finissimo 37, a reimagined blank canvas of architectural precision that brings a new universal proportion to an icon. Discover the new chapter of octo finissimo@bulgari.com. all right, so with Patek covered, we actually have a special episode of Business of Watches with Andy Hoffman that we're going to drop right here, right now. It features a conversation with Andy and. And Ben. And the guy behind all of this, the CEO of Watches and Wonders, Mr. Matthew Humer. He's frequent on our weekly, our annual daily shows from Watches and Wonders and it's an absolute treat to sit down with him and get a little bit more insight into the show. And let's jump into that and when we come back, we'll get into Tudor and some Cartier.
- [14:24]
E
Hey, it's Andy. And we're here in Geneva at Watches and Wonders. It is day one, so welcome to the Hodinkee Podcast. I'm here with Ben Clymer, the founder of Hodinkee, and on my left, Matthew Humer, the chief executive officer of Watches and Wonders. Matthew, thank you for joining us. Tell us how it's going on day one and what we should expect this year from Watches and Wonders.
- [14:53]
C
Yeah. Thank you, Andy. Ben, welcome to Watches and wonder Geneva 2020, 26th. Very happy to have you here. This edition is a record edition. It brings together 65 brands. It's marked by the arrival of Audemars, Piguet and 10 new brands. A very positive addition. We are expecting 60,000 visitors versus 55,000 last year, 1,700 journalists, 6,000 retailers, 15,000 guests from across the world during the professional days and also public days. We are expecting 23,000 visitors. So very positive numbers, positive edition. Good energy. So very happy to open this morning with many new major announcements and novelties. This morning.
- [15:52]
E
Amazing. I mean, how are you achieving growth like that? That's significant growth in the size of the show, the number of brands. It's not the easiest time for the industry. How are you doing that?
- [16:03]
C
You know, it's a big work throughout the year with the team. The Watch on the Geneva foundation team works hard. It's a team project. We are in contact with the entire industry. The notion of service and excellence should remain. You mentioned we are growing, but we also extending new areas, new experiences inside the salon, but also in the city of Geneva. And it shows the growing numbers of brands really shows the need to be together to unify the industry, to share a project. Because Watches and Wonders is. Is the perfect platform to showcase the know how the innovation of the industry together.
- [16:53]
E
Yeah, I mean talk about that interaction with the city and what kind of impact both financial and cultural that Watches and Wonders has on this city here and what it says about Geneva's place in the watch industry.
- [17:09]
C
Yeah, Geneva, long history in watchmaking. It's the capital of time. We are strengthening the program in the city of Geneva this year. New partnership. We have the watchmaking Village, located at the Pont de la Machine, with watchmaking workshops. Also presentation of the know hows from the young generation to the youngest, in order to share the passion for watchmaking, but also to open the doors to new carriers. It's also the point of departure, the watchmaking village of all the guided tours throughout Geneva and for the very first time, a partnership with the Montre Jazz Club invited to build a musical program of the Geneva nights. It's a premiere and it's going to be very vibrant during the week, every night in the city center. Because. Because watchmaking is cultural and needs to be nurtured and shared all together. We want to open the doors to a wide audience.
- [18:16]
B
As somebody who spends his days dealing with large Swiss watch companies, just like you do, I'm just curious, how challenging is it to please everybody?
- [18:24]
C
Thanks for asking. You know, it's a teamwork, the foundation, we are working hand in hand with the brands. We have a foundation board composed of the founders of the Geneva foundation and an exhibiting committee as well. And we have monthly meeting sharing ideas. So it's a team project, it builds from the brands, for the brands and in the end you see the space, how it's configurated, there's visibility for everyone. Des Hologer, the mezzanine, institutional brands. So I think it's a great collaboration between the industry.
- [19:08]
E
It was really interesting. You and I were talking earlier and it was mentioned that, you know, obviously the brands pay fees. There's a cost for them to be here, to participate in this great event. But talk about, you know, the evolution of the cost to the brands, say over the past five years. How has that changed?
- [19:32]
C
Yeah, costs are kept stable. We didn't increase. Squam Enterprise remains stable. We had definitely economies of scale possible and good collaboration also with all the partners. Palexpo, the convention center of the city of Genima, in order to remain those cost stable and you know, it's also in the entire City, it's 50,000 overnight stays during the period.
- [20:04]
E
50,000.
- [20:05]
C
50,000 overnight stays. So a lot of impact also for the city of Geneva and a huge visibility for watchmaking, but also for the entire city.
- [20:14]
E
Yeah, absolutely. And how are you balancing. Because, you know, it's just a couple of years ago that you opened up to the public and now there's three days open to public visitors. How are you balancing the needs of the industry, the retailers, the brands, the press, with the public's desire to come here and get a look at the great watches?
- [20:41]
C
In fact, the four first days are Mostly professional press, retailers end clients, a lot of meetings, retailers meeting on the brands booth. But we also try to have meetings throughout the week. Not only the four first day in order also to smoothen the arrival for all the hospitality, the services, the overnight stays and then three days open to the public with a lot of entertainment experiences. It's interesting. This year we have 800 sessions for the brands for the public. So public visitors can craft and design their personal day before coming to attend product presentation, guided tours, conferences, workshops, activities for the kids. We have a new space dedicated to the younger generation because watchmaking is built with them on the future. Watchmaking is build with those younger generation that respond very present throughout the week. 25% of the visitors during the public days are below 25 years old.
- [21:51]
B
Wow, that's amazing. I mean that's got to be encouraging for you.
- [21:54]
C
Very encouraging. And watchmaking is really relevant for those young generation keeps innovating and all the activation we do here in the salon but also in the city. We want to promote watchmaking culture through all those generations.
- [22:14]
B
And this to me, I always describe my friends at home who don't follow watches as this is kind of the big leagues, right? I mean this is where you want to be. If you're a watch brand or journalist or retailer, how do you decide which brands make it in and which brands don't? Because I would imagine there would be some that would probably like to participate,
- [22:28]
C
but maybe we have a strong interest. Many brands are asking to be present here. We have a committee of experts composed of exhibiting brands that are reviewing all the applications. We are in contact with the entire industry. We have objective criteria such as technical expertise, the history of the brand, DNA design and also it should be coherent also with the ecosystem of the salon. And this committee meets regularly and and go through all the brands and that's why we have every year newcomers at Watches on Geneva.
- [23:07]
E
And you want to get bigger though you'd like to watch some more events
- [23:11]
C
a bit, not too much. We still have a bit some space available for a few brands that will be interested in joining in the next years, but not so much space. Excellent.
- [23:23]
E
Matthew, thank you so much for giving us some some insights on how this great show works and where it's going. We really appreciate the time. Matthew Humer, the chief executive officer of Watches and Wonders. Thank you.
- [23:38]
C
Thank you Andy. Thank you Ben, thank you.
- [23:41]
E
Stay tuned for more Hodinkee Radio.
- [23:44]
A
The next one that we went to is obviously a favorite of mine, Tudor.
- [23:47]
B
Tudor.
- [23:48]
A
What'd you think, Tim?
- [23:49]
D
I loved It. You know, the first thing that caught my eye was obviously the monarch. You know, I love the shade of the dial, but I have a bone to pick. I really, really want to like the watch, but I just can't get over the California dial. There's something. Something about me with numbers I want to see either. All Arabic, all Roman, all indices. But there's. It's just a little nitpicky thing. But that aside, the watch wears amazing. It wears great on the wrist. And, you know. You know, Meta certified comes in. It's 39.
- [24:19]
A
Yep.
- [24:20]
B
And under 6000 retail.
- [24:22]
D
And under 6000 retail. Speaking of prices, this is a time where you can actually think about the price.
- [24:26]
B
Yeah.
- [24:26]
A
And, like, uniquely finished throughout. A movement for that watch, an execution of the finishing for that watch. The bracelet has specific finishing for the links. I highly recommend you check out the story that I'll be writing as this episode probably goes live. So stay tuned. Yeah, I was really impressed by it. It's one of those ones. I saw the pictures, and I was like, all right, this is my point of curiosity. Did not know what to expect. Was prepared to get in there and be like, not for me. And within a couple minutes. I mean, I really like the Cali dial. I enjoy Cali dials. I like the kind of oddball handset, which casts a very cool shadow on the. On the finishing of the dial. I think the case feels totally disparate from Tudor in a really interesting way. It has this very thin crown, which actually kind of reminds me of the chronograph that you're wearing. Tim, we can do a wrist check in a moment. And then. Great view through the case. Back of a different architecture than you're expecting. Wears pretty thin. Bracelet's quite nice.
- [25:19]
B
You would not give that watch up.
- [25:21]
A
I wanted to get the photos.
- [25:22]
B
Dude, 25 minutes.
- [25:24]
A
Nothing's worse than it being like, two in the morning and you're getting. And you're, like, downloading, and, you know, you wanted that one wrist shot, and you didn't get any of them. Because Ben wanted the watch.
- [25:31]
B
I really wanted the watch. We were very patient. I'm totally with you on this. To me, this is the most interesting Tudor for me in years. And I kind of gave him a hard time last year because it's a lot like more of the same. Line extensions, colors, line extensions, variations are the same. I wear a Tudor probably more than any other watch. I wear a Black Bay 58 Hodinkee edition. That's my go to. Truly. That is probably number one. Maybe Tied with the Daytona. I just like the stuff for the past few years. Just hasn't gotten me excited because it just feels like a line extension. Not enough for me to actually take my credit card out and say, I want this watch in addition to my Black Bay 58. This feels different entirely. This feels like a totally different product. New movement, new case. It's not just another professional vibe watch or another professional whatever, you know, I love it.
- [26:17]
A
Yeah. It's one of those ones where there's only one monarch in the lineup. There's a lot of Pelagos, there's a ton of black bays, and a lot of the rest of what we saw were for those further refinements, so.
- [26:25]
B
And they did a great job. Of course, the new thinner black, as I said, Black Bay 58 is my. I love it. Thinner case. They've made some really beautiful, really wonderful adjustments to it. But the watch was already good to begin with. You know, this is something new entirely, and I really like it a lot.
- [26:39]
A
Totally. Yeah. So we'll have a little bit more coverage on that in the next little while. Tim, anything else stand out at Tudor for you?
- [26:45]
D
I wasn't prepared to like the Royale. I wasn't prepared to like the Royal as much as I did. But for I think around 2,500 bucks, it wears really well and it's great for the value. Slim profile on the wrist coming in a bunch of different variations of case sizing and colors and variations on the dial. And that kind of surprised me. And just the bracelet, the five link bracelet on the Black Bay 58, I just love. That's right in my wheel zone.
- [27:11]
B
Yeah. Something I'm asked about often is like, people see these celebrities, rappers, rock stars, musicians with ceramic watches. Ceramic royal oaks mostly. Right. And they all want them and blah, blah, blah. And these are 100,000 plus watches. Tudor did a black bay. It's existed for a while in the ceramic case. It now has a ceramic bracelet. And the price is what I think
- [27:30]
A
it was around 8,000 Swiss.
- [27:32]
B
I mean, that's a neat thing too. And I give Tudor a lot of credit for that. They're always kind of pushing materials ahead of the big brother sometimes to have a fully ceramic cool, blacked out watch from a great brand for under.
- [27:45]
A
They've been tight buddies with Chanel for the last couple years through Kinisi. I'm not making those connections. I didn't ask that question at the moment. I'm just teasing. But Chanel is kind of the act in sort of ceramic bracelet dive watches and I think it's cool to see them extend. I think that's a really meaningful watch to a certain cut of their demographic.
- [28:02]
B
No question about it. And to me, I think a Tudor slash, a Rolex, like its final form is on a bracelet. Right. And so the fact that that watch existed without a bracelet was kind of a miss, you know, and so now it's on a bracelet, and I think people are going to love it.
- [28:16]
A
I dig it. I agree. Next up, we saw and kind of close out the show for us today would be Cartier. Another great brand. A lot of watches.
- [28:24]
B
A lot of watches. Always big brand stuff.
- [28:26]
A
Big brand. Kickoff Roadster.
- [28:29]
E
Yeah.
- [28:29]
B
I mean, the Roadster is back. I swear to God, I didn't know the Roadster is coming back when Marcus Stroman gave me one. Dave, behind the camera, Ken confirmed that that was a real thing that actually happened. Cartier was like, did you know? And I was like, I didn't. I wish I did. Cartier Roadster's back. I think it's cool. I mean, it's a great product for people. Kind of of my era of ilk, so. So to speak. You know, it's tons of variants, tons of sizes, tons of movements. I actually happen to really like it in yellow gold. But to me, the Santos Dumont on kind of mesh bracelet with the different stone dials.
- [28:59]
A
What'd you think of that, Tim?
- [29:01]
D
Oh, I loved it.
- [29:02]
A
I loved it.
- [29:02]
D
It's for me, you know, as someone who I don't have a Cartier, but I'm like, you know, just trying to dip my toes and kind of see
- [29:10]
B
you're a Cartier guy.
- [29:10]
A
Cartier curious.
- [29:12]
D
Some might say I'm Cartier curious, and I might be one of those people. But I think that, like, Cartier this year, really, with the breadth of what they did, celebrating some anniversaries, bringing back the Roadster. The Prive pieces are amazing. I really think that they had a strong release this year. The high jewelry pieces with the mist,
- [29:27]
B
I mean, Malaika was like, I mean,
- [29:29]
D
yeah, I'm sure we'll get a reel with that. But I think that the breadth of what Cartier is able to do, I think that was the big takeaway for me with them today. And for me, my favorite was the Tank Normale and I think in platinum. That watch, oh, I put on my wrist and I didn't want to take it off. Slipped right underneath the cuff. Real nice, Real nice. But for me, I think that Cartier is just a strong year for them.
- [29:53]
B
Yeah. I think that the other Watch worth calling out that Tantan was really into is they have a crash skeletonized with a new shaped movement with a crown at 4 o' clock instead of 3 o'. Clock. And it's interesting to see the crash has become this almost, I don't want to say cliche or like, kind of
- [30:07]
A
like it was like mythical.
- [30:08]
B
Yeah, it was mythical for a long time and now it's become like, oh, it's a crash. Like, you know, everyone. I shouldn't say everyone has one because it's ridiculous. But like a lot of celebrities, the
- [30:16]
A
right people have them, so you hear.
- [30:17]
B
But to see them actually innovating on the crash in 2026, I think is a really nice thing to see and kind of like restores my faith in.
- [30:24]
A
Probably not something they had to make at all.
- [30:26]
B
Right. I mean, they could have just released a few more of the platinum ones on Bond street or something, and people would have bought those for the same price. So having a new skeletonized movement, and it really is a new movement, is really rewarding for me.
- [30:36]
D
James, a question for you. Did you see any darlings at the Cartier?
- [30:40]
A
I did. So last year they brought back the Tortu monopusher with kind of the standard take on the Cartier dial execution. And this year they've got a special version from the Prevey collection with sort of like a classic dial outline and some really beautiful hands. And it's the right size. I didn't capture the measurements. I'm sure we'll have a do have or will have a story depending on when you watch this. It's. It's. It's darling. That's what it is. It's just. It kind of sits right in. That squares up on your wrist nicely. It looks absolutely gorgeous. And then it has this very sort of. I mean, maybe nothing's unique in watches, but a very unique sort of case shape that sort of flows quite nicely from the strap.
- [31:22]
B
Would you call it tortoise?
- [31:22]
A
Like, very tortoise, Like. Yeah.
- [31:25]
D
What's the French word for that?
- [31:28]
A
Tour two.
- [31:28]
B
It's Tour two. It's Tour two.
- [31:32]
D
I was doing a little bit.
- [31:33]
B
Okay, got it. He was doing a bit. He was doing a bit.
- [31:39]
A
Well, there you go.
- [31:40]
D
That's it for day one here on Hodinkee podcast. Rolex, Patek, Cartier, Tudor. All done. We got. If you think that's a lot, wait until tomorrow. It's going to be a bigger day, it's going to be a better day. The only request I might have is, can we have beer tomorrow?
- [31:54]
A
I can make that happen.
- [31:54]
D
Okay, great. Thanks. And so that's it. Follow us on YouTube, follow us on Instagram, download the app and see all these beautiful photos that we're taking here in Geneva. We'll see you next week.
- [32:04]
A
Hey, Tim, wait.
- [32:04]
D
We'll see you next week. No, wait, Sorry.
- [32:06]
A
Tomorrow. Do you know what tomorrow is?
- [32:07]
D
What's tomorrow?
- [32:08]
A
Wednesday.
- [32:09]
D
No, no.
- [32:10]
A
Should we.
- [32:12]
D
We can't.
- [32:12]
A
We can't. It might be illegal here.
- [32:14]
D
We'll have to see.
- [32:15]
B
Let's do it.
- [32:16]
D
We'll get outside of a Swiss wall.
- [32:18]
A
We'll do it in France. All right. Thanks so much for watching. We'll catch you tomorrow.