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- [00:01]
A
Welcome to Scottish Watches Podcast. It is a full house. We have got the full team together, but it's not the team that you're probably thinking of. No, we have got our international team with us. We have got Mizziel, the show note maestro and we've got Floligous, all the way from a far fun place. So let me think, who'll we go for first? We won't go for Miz because he's probably too busy trying to spell some stuff in the background in his head. He knows what's coming next. But Miz, you can sit at the sidelines. We'll talk to Philo, we'll find out what he's been up to and then we'll check in with you over in the States. So it's been a while, man. How are things?
- [00:31]
B
Oh, it's been, it's been good. Yeah. It's been a crazy, what, 12, 13 months since we last spoke. Yeah, there have been to many watch events, many get togethers, so many new cool releases over the past few months. It's been really good though. I've had a chance to see a lot of new watches and I had a lot of fun with it.
- [00:49]
A
Well, we don't have to start off so business like. It doesn't have to be all about the watches. We can find a little bit more about you. Obviously since you were last on the show, which was probably about a year ago, after Watches and Wonders, the first one you came to, you managed to carve out a little bit of time to come across to Geneva, spend a little bit of time with myself, Barbara, Dave and the Motley Crew. But it has been a whirlwind. I can't even believe it's well over a year, well over a year and a quarter now since the last time we actually caught up in real life. But you came to Scotland prior to that with your new wife at the time and you have been across the world. But for the people that may not know who you are and what you do, do you want to give us a 60 second elevator pitch?
- [01:25]
B
Well, Philologus, I'm from Singapore, so I help out with Scottish watchers on the website. You know, when people want to write articles or if you're putting anything up on the site, reviews, new releases, things like that. And how about Miz with the Instagram stuff as well? If he's doing posts or if he's trying to organize people, that's about it.
- [01:46]
A
There we go. Perfect. And we have got Miz. You have heard his name many Many times. Usually in mirth, as we're describing, the way that he doesn't know how to press F7 on a computer keyboard. But for the people that don't know who you are or where you came from or how long you've been here because you are part of the furniture, I think you've been around here longer than Dave's been around here. So, Miz, your turn. 30 seconds or 60 second elevator pitch.
- [02:07]
C
You know, I think we complement each other because I can spell, you guys can barely speak. So I think we're the best of.
- [02:13]
A
Both worlds, you know, Dumb and Dumberer.
- [02:15]
C
Exactly. The Three Stooges. A lot of fun, but no, it's good to be back. I know you've been wanting me to come back for a while. So finally, finally have. I think it's been two years now since I was last on the podcast.
- [02:27]
A
Whose fault's that?
- [02:28]
C
It was mine. You know, I feel like you've brought me back kicking and screaming. I tried to stay far away from the Mac as possible. Just doing stuff in the background with, as Phil said, with the WE website and Instagram. The last couple of years have been just a lot of stuff just happening all at once. Finished school, moved house, got even deeper into the Watch game with Orage and Izotope. So yeah, just trying to make the best of it. This community is amazing. I've never felt the pull to get into something like I've done with Watches. Just going to events, showcasing stuff. Now with Azitope and Orage, it's been fantastic.
- [03:09]
A
So you were 15 when you got in touch with us? Many, many years ago. And the story that I've repeated numerous times, but for new listeners and new followers, we put out a call because it was getting a little bit hard to record, plan, edit, produce, upload and release two podcasts a week along with all the other stuff that myself and the team were doing. And we couldn't do the show notes. The show notes were absolutely terrible. We put a call out to the listeners and the followers. Any wanted to help out. Miz and various other people got in touch to say, yeah, we could do it. But when Miz got in touch, he didn't just say, hey, I can do it. He actually sent in show notes for multiple episodes. So we looked at it and went, yeah, that's great. We didn't check the spelling. That was our downfall. But apart from that, he is absolutely on the fire.
- [03:51]
C
And you know, I remember as if it was yesterday. I'm not the most outgoing person As a two year breaking podcasting will show. But I remember just being there. It was just after I had finished listening to the latest episode and for two weeks now I had been thinking, oh, I should probably reach out. For some reason I felt that connection with you guys, even though I've only like met you once and just recently met Dave. So it was just online through the podcast, you know, I thought, you know, there's something there, I should probably reach out. Sent in an email and cleverly obscure the fact that I was in, I was still in high school because I thought if they know that I'm still like 15 years old, they're probably not going to reach, not going to contact me and say, oh, start doing this for us.
- [04:38]
A
Yeah, this isn't Epstein Island.
- [04:39]
C
It isn't hope.
- [04:41]
A
No, definitely not. Definitely not. No tweets about us recently. But you're right, we didn't have a clue. And it's also another story that we've talked about many times. It took a number of months, I think. We're chatting back and forward through WhatsApp, which is a fantastic medium to chat internationally free of charge. And as people can hear, you have got quite a bass heavy voice and this has remained since you were 15 years old. So we were chatting back and forward and then you said something along the lines of many months down the road might be a little bit late at the show notes because, yeah, I've got some stuff to finish off for school. And I thought, all right, he means college or university. And I said, so what do you mean school? And you went, well, I'm 15. And then there was deadly silence. We thought child labor laws. Then we remembered that phone call. Yes, yes, well, I'm glad I remember some of that phone call. You know what my memory's like. But yeah, it's been a whirlwind. You've been involved since then. You look after Instagram, you help with the writers group, you. What would you say? You heard the cats a little bit for us. And this is a great opportunity to let everybody know that if you want to be part of our community, you can. You don't have to be a skilled writer. You don't even have to know how to spell properly or speak properly, apparently. Just get in touch and Mez and the team, well, Mezz and Flolog is here, obviously will look after you. Drop us an email if you want to do a review. If you want to write about something, anything at all to do with watches, drop us an email. Infooottishwatches.co.uk but I think we've done the int. It's time to do the wrist check and then we'll go on with the show. Mez, you are the youngest. How old are you now anyway?
- [06:09]
C
20. I know it's been five years. I never imagined I would reach 20. I don't know. For some reason it seems like so far away. And Now I'm already six months in.21 next year. Well, at least, you know, I'm six months away from finally being able to try alcohol. You know, one of the very cool perks of working with brands is that you get to wear stuff that you'll probably, that I would probably never be able to, to wear on a daily basis. Just, you know, go and see it whenever, you know, they, they come to seor town at windup store, stuff like that. But I'm wearing the orange Ozark tourbillon micro rotor, quite far away from a flic flac. So that's a combination of the tourbillon one that Yuriki. You have a watch that really put us on the map in 2020. And then we have previously also developed the, the microorgan caliber. So this is a fusion of, of both of those movements. The KTMR caliber. You know, you have your 72 hours of power reserve on this specific model. It's the platinum rotor. But now most of what we're producing nowadays has a tungsten with a gold coating and it's really a pleasure to wear. It's full front case, bracelet clasp, and even the tourbillon cage itself. It's made out of grade five titanium. So really light on the wrist. And also you have the micro adjustment. 10 millimeters of micro adjustment on the, on the clasp. So things have been getting a lot hotter here in New York, at least I don't know how it is in Singapore and Scotland. So that really comes into use once the sun comes out. And on the other wrist, I'm wearing our limited edition with Izotope. The Hydrum Alba setup feature on this watch is that beautiful enamel white dial. It's just something you don't find usually on dive watches. And paired with those blue, blue lacquer hands, it just looks amazing. Handsome as, as Dave would say. And I'm sure everyone who listens to the podcast knows that Izotope is a British micro brand, but actually Jose Miranda as the bad name. Like Coulomb, as the name suggests, he's not British, he's actually Portuguese. So I'm sure he's pretty happy right now because, well, I'm Cape Verdean with some Portuguese heritage. So we're all pretty happy that Portugal just won the Nations League. So I'm wearing this just as a reminder of that last time. That was a really big party that we had. I'm sure he's really happy with that result as well, actually. Probably should send him a message afterward then. Here.
- [08:38]
A
Well, I don't know about you, Phil, but I'm kind of blown away because, see, the kid that was 15 years old that we dragged kicking and screaming on the podcast, and he stuttered his way through trying to even pronounce his own name on the show. The first couple of times, there he is casually just, you know, raj, do this, that and the other. Better than Dave. Then he flips over and puts his other hat on and says, yeah, and our Scottish Watch is limited edition that we came out with a couple of years ago. It's got this, that and the other. Fantastic. Really proud of everything you've done, Miss. It is phenomenal to see. And we don't just deal with the show stuff behind the scenes. We all talk. We're always communicating. Back and forward. The last six months, not so much because I've had so much on my plate here with moving house, getting married. Couple of problems in the last month or two as well that we've been dealing with behind the scenes. But there is such a community. You mentioned that at the beginning there, the Watch community, not just within Scottish Watch's tower and the ecosystem that we've managed to kind of carve together, bring together people from the four corners of the globe, as you can understand here. But yeah, it's just. It's phenomenal to see. So congratulations on getting a footing with Hiraj. Obviously, Dave was impressed enough with your abilities in the show notes to drag you into the fold there to help out in the States doing concierge work for them and also helping out at different events such as wine up, etc. Because you're a man on the ground over New York. And then if we just jump on a plane in the alternative direction from the uk, we're going to speak to Filo. And what have you got on the wrist today?
- [10:00]
B
Yeah, I've got the Lange one in yellow gold.
- [10:04]
A
Is that a heavy hitter?
- [10:05]
B
Well, if you use it to hit, then yes, it's heavy for sure.
- [10:08]
A
Do you get that joke?
- [10:09]
C
I got it.
- [10:09]
B
No, not really. What were you trying to say, Mouse?
- [10:12]
A
Explain.
- [10:12]
C
Remember how last time you were on, you said hitter and.
- [10:15]
B
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I got It. I got it.
- [10:18]
A
For anyone that doesn't quite get the joke, maybe you're new to the show. You didn't hear the one. We was on the line last time we ran Filo through some AI processing software to remove background noise. And because he doesn't have an ENGL fied tone, shall we say, it reworded some of his phrasing. And instead of a big hitter from a Lang and Zona, it was a big shitter from a. And the problem was I processed the file after we'd done the edit, because usually AI does not stitch us up like that. So that show went out to tens of thousands of people, and we started getting comments from people saying, we thought this guy liked als. Why is he saying bad things about them? But anyway, tell us more about the watch.
- [10:58]
B
Yeah, so this watch, Langeon, is still one of the few brands that uses German silver for their movements, which adds a very nice heft. And you get that very nice warmth to the movement. When it's finished, it really hugs back to the older pocket watches, the older ways of watchmaking, and where you can see, over time, as it grows older, it becomes a very nice. It has a very nice patina. I mean, mine doesn't have the patina, but with the German silver, you kind of get that feel. And I've really fallen in love with this watch over the last year. I bought it shortly before Watches and Wonders about a couple of months before, with the excuse that, you know, it's Lange's 30th anniversary, so it's a good time to get something like that. I had a crap experience at a gray dealer, a renowned gray dealer, because they were trying to tell me that a used one was like, it had offset lux. So basically one side of a Lux was a bit polished too far down, and then the dealer took it. You know, when I was. When I asked about it, instead of just telling me up front, you know, that is fine, we'll take it back. We won't. We won't. I mean, you don't have to buy it or anything. You know, like, they slanted it up in one direction, like one angle. I said, if you look at it from this angle, it's actually even. So I got really pissed off. So. So. But then on the day I went to the boutique, and then they had one in store, and the service was really good. I mean, the last time I bought a Lange was probably three or four years ago. Thought that that would be the only one I would ever get. But I got lucky. Enough to be in a position to be able to afford one last year. So. So, I mean, given what had happened at the Gray dealer, I got, you know, let's just be safe, let's just get one from the brand itself. And the service was fantastic. I mean, they were always good to me, even before I bought it. And I think that's one of the biggest, the biggest things that I like about the brand, at least in my personal experience. I know there are people who have had perhaps, you know, differences in the way they have experienced the brand. But for me and my friends, every time we go down the staff, especially the one in Singapore that the boutique is in Aeon, if you guys are ever ion Orchard, for those of you who have never been to Singapore before, that's like one of the main shopping streets over here. And in one of the biggest shopping malls, that is where the boutique is. So the service staff there have always been really nice to me. The first time I went in, having bought nothing, the manager took, talked to me for about one and a half hours, you know, going through the watches, even though he knew I was there to buy probably the most entry level widget. And they range from, at that time, they range from what, 18k? I mean single, so that's about 10k pounds. So it goes all the way up, you know, into the millions. But even though he was, he knows I was there, maybe, maybe, maybe not to look at one of the cheapest things he took at a time, you know, enthusiastically going through the brand, the models. And I think that's the biggest connection I have with the brand. Of course it helps that the watch itself is amazingly finished. It has its own unique design language with this offset asymmetric dial position. It is just a joy to wear. You know, it's not the most common choice for everyday wearer, but given the fact that especially in Singapore, given how humid it is, at least for reference, I think the temperature now is about 33, 34 degrees Celsius. But the humidity is like at 75, 80% every day. So the minute you step out of the house, you're sweating. So it's not the most common choice. But because I work in an office job, air conditioner rooms most of the time. And the fact that I have it on this pink deluxe rubber strap. Sorry, it's not a rubber strap, it's a leather strap with a rubber lining. So that really helps with the ability to wear it even in a tropical climate. And I think this watch has really grown on me over the years. Over the past year I've wanted probably a watch I want the most and I really enjoy. You know, it's scratched and dinged here and there, but it's really fun. It's a really good experience for me.
- [14:41]
A
We should have you guys genuinely, we should have you guys on more. And the last couple of times, hands up, it's my fault we've arranged things and the stars have not aligned, unfortunately. All on my shoulders, that one. But. And I don't want to sound condescending, but the way you guys are chatting to me just now is phenomenal. See, you guys don't play with microphones. You guys play with computer keyboards, Internet connections. You know, you're back of back of house doing all the heavy lifting, doing all the cool stuff that it's Dave and me that act like idiots in front of the mic and the cameras. But make a promise to me, it's not going to be a year or two years until the next time you guys come back on because you add so much to the conversation. I'm pretty sure all the people who comment on this will write in and confirm that one. So I will do my wrist check now. And to play the game a little bit like mez, I am wearing a Scottish watches, limited edition. This one has been sitting at the front all one of the watch boxes because we did talk about it quite recently and it is the Christopher Ward collab that we did a number of years ago, maybe 2022 I think it was. It came out and it was actually because it was to celebrate three years of the podcast as we now come up for nearly seven years of the podcast, nearly 700 episodes. And this was based on the new then Sealander, the C63. And we decided because we're cheeky chappies, to completely change things up. So instead of calling it the Sealander, we called it the Highlander. A little bit like that movie that came out a number of decades ago that people associate with Scotland and all that jazz. The differences are subtle to begin with, but then as you look further, you will notice exactly what we are talking about here. The dial is not just a solid color of blue, it's actually got what looks like a paisley pattern effect. So if you look at it in certain ways, it looks almost as if it has been, I don't know, applied guillochade, something along those lines, a little bit like maybe the middle of a patektile in certain Calatravas and world timers. But it is actually the different looks logos. It says SW&CW for Scottish watches and Christopher Ward. The other thing they did here was to change the logo. As well as having the English flag and the Swiss flag at the top, it was actually the CEO Mike France of Crystal Ward who decided to rotate it slightly to look like a salter. So you've got that at the top. Then there are many hidden Easter eggs, including something at the 3 o' clock position and round the back. Instead of having a clear case back, this one has got a salter, although you can still see through the middle into the movement. Great little watch. Hardly wear it because we get so many watches in to play test and then return. But yeah, today's wear is the Christopher ward Sealander Highlander C63. That is well out production, but you can sometimes find them on ebay. So keep an eye out there or do a saved search or look on Chrono 24. Right, we've got the formalities out the way, Biz. What should people check?
- [17:19]
C
Should check the show notes for all the pictures and information on the watches that we just mentioned and also everything that we're going to mention up the until the end, all in chronological order. All the links and stuff that's interesting will be there.
- [17:34]
A
Do you promise?
- [17:34]
C
Pinky promise?
- [17:35]
A
Pinky promise. That's the best way. I like pinky promises. Yes. Okay, well, let's move on with things. So I don't know who to speak to first rate. Well, deal with Miz, because he hasn't been on the show for a long, long time. Bring us up to speed then, probably a couple of years since you were last on. Many things have changed in the industry, not just you working your way in, but you are now wearing multiple hats. You are first and foremost somebody that is invol in the community. You're an enthusiast, a collector and you've been growing your collection. Obviously starting at 15 years old, it takes a while to get off the starting blocks. But now you have been asked by different brands to help out at shows, to help out with a concierge service. Maybe you can explain what's involved in that. And if people are interested, maybe utilizing your services, they want to have a look at some of the brands that you deal with independently of Scottish watches. And that's something to be key here. We have been accused in the past by one person, though we did remedy it. We brought on to show, we talked about it, everything was kumbaya afterwards, words. Just because Dave works full time for Araj, just because Meziel works part time occasionally for Araj, for Isotope has worked for Formex and various other brands. It doesn't mean that they are going to poo poo other brands over and above the ones that they're currently talking about. Because there is this thought in people's head that, oh, well, you know, if you work for this brand, you can't talk about that brand. It's going to be in your best interest to dismiss the competition. And you don't do that. Neither does Dave. It is a rarity to find a brand such as Araj when they've started working for them as the COO for the owner of the company to sit them down and say, no, we want you to continue doing the podcast. We want you to continue being impartial and to say good things about our competitors. Taking money off the table from us, your new company, and putting it in the hands and pockets of competitors. So Miz, run us through what you've been up to, how you got involved in the concierge side of things and how you've seen things develop over the past couple of years. What have been the standouts? What have been the good, good, the bad and the ugly?
- [19:32]
C
Well, on your point of talking about different, different brands, I have to say I'm most happy when I look at our Instagram grid, for example, and I see, you know, high, high end stuff, your budget, micro brands, main brands. So talking about everything is really where the, the fun is, not just concentrating on, on one specific thing and that. I like to think of myself as your watch friend who can also get you some pieces instead of just a salesperson.
- [20:00]
A
So you're Morgan Freeman in the Shawshank Redemption. You're a man who can get things.
- [20:04]
C
I can get things. You know, I've never seen that movie.
- [20:06]
A
But well before your time. Which year were you born?
- [20:09]
C
2005.
- [20:10]
A
Oh, that's painful.
- [20:12]
B
Oh, Jesus.
- [20:14]
A
I thought my wife was young.
- [20:15]
C
And that's the feedback that I've gotten with a lot of people. One of my responsibilities as a concierge is going out there and meeting different people who get in contact with the brands and asked to see these watches in person. Oraj and Izotel, you know, they're mainly online. We have Azotope, not Azotope. Orange has. Orange has a boutique in Taiwan because of the relationship they have with Ming. But everywhere else it's mostly online or you have to wait for wind up or intersex shows or whatever else happens in your area to see these watches. So people have to experience them before buying them. Especially, you know, this expensive stuff. Like the Tourbillon, Microsoft. So in those meetings, in, in those meetings, I'm basically not just talking about the brand, but I'm talking about the, the person's collection, what they have, their interests. And we also like. It's part talking about the watch that they're thinking of buying and part talking about stuff that they're generally interested in. That makes for a much, much more pleasant conversation. And just talking about everything lets them, lets them know that you're also an enthusiast. It isn't just a job for you.
- [21:27]
A
You.
- [21:27]
C
But you're doing it because, because you enjoy it. You. And you have faith in not just the product that you're selling, but also in the industry as a whole, and you enjoy all of that. The way I got into it, into it, it was just after what's in Wonders of last year, they've got in contact with me and told me, you know, you're going to all these events, you know, these people, they're in your area. We're trying to build things up in New York and stay tuned for stuff that's, that's happening in the fall, in the coming years, because they have some big plans for the US as a whole. So, you know, we'll just send you some of our watches and you just go out there, show them to people and just grow the brand's perception. Here in New York, similar thing happened with Izotope. Me and Jose had connected over Wind Up New York. We had connected at one one up New York in 2020, 23. And again, because of that whole Portuguese connection, we end up. And ended up speaking. We ended up talking a lot during, during that event. And we were, I was even considering like doing stuff for Instagram for him, but then once this opportunity arrived, said, oh, I'm doing this for Aurash. Are you interested in. And also doing stuff with Azotope. And so that's how, that's how it all started. And I've also helped, helped out with Formex, Mermarquez and Rafael. They're also like incredible guys. And so, yeah, it's not just the products that have made me want to do this, but also the people. You know, you and Dave have been great mentors for me for a very long time.
- [23:01]
A
Surprised you're not bankrupt then.
- [23:02]
C
I know, you know, you guys are Scottish, so you've taught me well to, you know, get those bargains, get those deals. So it's actually helped my financial situation, you know.
- [23:12]
A
Oh, I'm glad, I'm glad. So you're dealing with A couple of brands just now. And again, there is impartiality. You're able to siphon off and segregate in your mind when you're doing different things. A little bit like if we've got a think about it, when we've got a limited edition watch out there. We're obviously looking for people to get that on the wrist. But we talk about the other brands that have new releases as well. Some are probably far cheaper, some are more expensive, but, you know, this is a community, it's a hobby. The podcast was started. As much as it's led a lot of people down many different pathways, it's a hobby still. I wake up and I look forward to pulling my phone out, checking my email and seeing what the brands have come up with next. Not even just the brands, the conglomerates and the larger players, but the indies. I love seeing a message coming through from richardstudy Underdogs or maybe the guys at Christopher Ward or as you mentioned, Formex Isotope. It could be a number of different brands and there are a whole load that we continuously talk about on the show. It's not because we've got any allegiances to them, it's just they're the ones that communicate with us. There's a saying that I use when my friends get in touch with me and say, I've not heard from you in a while. Well, you know, does your phone not make outgoing calls? That's something I think about. If you contact us, if you get in touch with us, if you're a brand and you want to start a relationship. I didn't have a clue clue who Formex were five years ago. I had no clue about Araj until about four or five years ago as well, when they got in touch with us. Well before Dave was on the scene with Scottish watches and we built up. I remember they sent us a watch and it was shocking and I ripped it to shreds. And instead of the brand Arage getting pissed off and saying, send us that thing back, we're never going to speak to you again, they got in touch and said, we heard what you said, but we've got these other ones. Do you want to have a look at the rest of the collection? And I thought, well, there's a brand that's actually putting their money where their mouth is. They're willing to have a conversation. And we were upstarts. We'd only been going for about a year or two, maybe a year and a half at that point, so we weren't big players. We weren't Hodinkee. We weren't at the top of our game. But they sent across other watches and I thought, you know what? There is something here. Then we invited them over to Scotland, record some video content before that was the done thing, before the pandemic. And we built a relationship and yeah, they offered Dave a job later on down the line. So these are how connections are formed. So if you're running a brand, maybe a small brand, a big brand doesn't really matter. And you want to speak to us about showcasing the watches, doing a podcast, doing something like that, get in touch, email us. That's how these things start. Fears. There's another great example. Fears were one of the first brands to do a show with us. I remember that clear as day. Nicholas came up to Scotland, to Glasgow. We got an area recorded live instead of doing this online stuff that everybody's doing now. And that's how it works. So, yeah, get in touch with us. Don't feel as if you're siloed and you're not part of the cool gang because everybody's invited. You just have to reach out and we'll look after you as well.
- [25:48]
C
One of the biggest positives from doing various shows besides showcasing our our own stuff is your site decided with some incredible people who are managing other brands, other micro brands. For example, I was. I took my first solo trip down to North Carolina for Intersect, Charlotte and Intersect. If you've never been to one of those shows, it's basically a smaller windup, a lot more intimate. You get a lot more time to see speak. It's not only people who are visiting, but also to the other brand owners, creators, designers. And just being, being in that environment is really, really cool. Like, always ask, like whenever you go to these events, always ask for the backstory in some of these watches because the story is sometimes as impressive as the watch itself. For example, I met another Phil from who owns the Visitor Watch Co. He's producing. If you look at his cases, they all have a lot of weird angles and curves and weird in the best way possible. It looks very unique. He was talking about how he's having to coach people here in the US to properly produce these components. We have a manufacturing industry, but that. That's it. But that's not used to manufacturing refined parts that you'll put on on your watch, like cases, bracelets and stuff and stuff and such. So he was telling me how he's working with different companies to really bring that. Bring some of his cases. No, he's working with some companies to have some of his cases produced here in the US which is super cool. Another one, Michael from Bernhard Watch Company, they're actually local to North Carol, Carolina, and he was just showing me one of. He's actually local from a local from North Carolina. He was a customer before, but he got, you know, he connected with the owner of Bernard. He unfortunately passed away, but he now helps to look after the company along with the wife of the original owner. And he. And after one of the days that we were in Charlotte, it. We were just, you know, all gathered around us, Jose, Marcus, everyone who was. Who was showcasing there. And I just looked at one of his watches and said, oh, that's really nice. It's their starboard model. It's really kind of dressy, kind of casual. Their starboard model. It's almost like a casual take on the Moonphase complication. And, you know, I was just asking him questions about, you know, what took you. Why did you use this design? That design and in the Moonphase disc, you know, usually have the starry background that's actually the sky above the hospital where his son was born. The time it all is really. So, you know, always ask the people who are behind the booth, you know, just not about the watches themselves, but the history, because that's usually something that's really interesting to know.
- [28:59]
A
That's why the podcast works. We don't just talk about facts and figures. We always try delve a little bit deeper there and getting stories from people. And it's not the marketing BS because we don't deal with somebody that's been with the brand for five minutes. We love to speak to Mike France. We love to speak to the guy at the helm, the guy that can tell us the trials, the tribulations, the sleepless nights, the fact that people had their Christmas holidays cut short because there was a problem getting the watch ready to market months in advance of it actually being announced. So now it's fantastic to hear all that. And then if we flip across there to field. Well, actually, before we jump to field, hello, you're talking about manufacturing in America. And that's quite pertinent because I just watched a video today. I was sitting near an airport waiting for a flight to land to go and pick somebody up. My wife and I was just killing time watching different videos. And as I'm sitting there in the car park looking through YouTube to find something, a YouTube channel called Smarter Every Day popped up. And when I've got the time, I watch this guy's Videos. It can be across the board regarding this and the other. But the video that popped out today, literally 12 hours before I watched it, was about manufacturing in America. And this guy had a problem he wanted to solve along with obviously running a YouTube channel. He wanted to create something that was from his home country and he found it so difficult. And this wasn't something that was really extravagant, it was a barbecue cleaner. But he was so pissed off at all the cheap barbecue cleaners that when you scrub away with the metal bristles, they can break off, they can end up in your foot and you can end up up heading to the emergency room to get your intestines opened up to have these metal flakes removed. Pretty big problem. Not one I've dealt with myself. But that sounds really boring when I give you the top line information on it. Watching the video unfold for well over half an hour, it showed you him trying to order parts and get things done within the usa and then things would get delivered. There'd be little hidden bits he made in Costa Rica or he got something that he was hoping was from India and actually came from China through India. All these complications and problems. And it's grassroots manufacturing that is the issue because everything has moved abroad. It's gradually done that at such a pace that even in the UK we don't have the capability of manufacturing watches and cases to any great degree compared to the Far east, compared to Switzerland and other places. So it's really good to hear that there are people trying to do more and more in house on their home turf. Right, let's jump across feeling. Hello, what have you been up to? What have you been buying? What have you been doing?
- [31:25]
B
So yeah, because I'm not in the watch industry per se, like Ms. Or you know, Ricky. So for me it's mainly a hobby thing where you go around, you know, you see watches at events and we get lucky in Singapore because it's a small city and you basically, it's a small city, but there are a lot of collectors here and therefore there is a decently sized market for watches over in Asia. Asia. And therefore you get basically all the brands or most of the brands, you know, in a very small vicinity. And basically it gives us a chance to go, you know, watch hopping or watch boutique hopping or, you know, go to events and you know, as Miz mentioned about the community, I think the upside, besides the friendships that you make, the upside is everybody is into something a little bit different and therefore you get to go to a lot of different events or you get to go to see a lot of different types and styles of watches and you get introduced to the new things all the time. Like the other day, because a friend of mine recently bought or at least pre ordered the Anoma watches. Yeah, they basically do this arrowhead, arrowhead looking watch. When she first told me about it, I looked at the Instagram page. I was like, huh, you know, it looks, I wasn't sure if it was a gimmicky. But then I met, she brought me to meet the founder that, the guy, I think his name is Matthew. I can't remember offhand, but meet him and then understand, you know, the thought process behind the watch. And his whole idea was basically wanting to take design inspirations from anything beyond the world of watches. So for this one, I believe it came from an arrowhead together with. When I met him, the, the downside is that he showed me a piece that he hasn't launched, so I can't talk about it too much, but basically I had a whole mind blown moment because he was explaining to me how they worked the dial to give you some form of optical illusion where it's a single piece, but it looks like it has, it looks like a 3D, you know, a multifaceted 3D effect. And I think I spent half, I spent like a good five, 10 minutes trying to stare at the dial. I look at the angle 2 to see, to see that, to confirm what he said that it was actually a single piece. And I think that that just blew my mind. And he was explaining how he had to, you know, trial and error with that to get the precise triangles. And he was trying to tell us that, how he took those inspirations and conceptualized them into something like that. And that was when I, you know, I basically, I found a watch brand that is not in it just to, you know, make money, not to just be like a Kickstarter brand or anything like that. So I think that's the, that's the. So. So besides that, you know, I've been to multiple events over the past couple of months, got introduced to LV watches recently, which, which I know sounds a bit garish, you know, I may say, but, but you know, you think of LV or Louis Vuitton as this luxury fashion brand and you think of them trying to do watches, there is always that immediate weird sour taste in the mouth or at least that's the immediate impression that people tend to have. But then my friend brought me to go and see the 10 bores and I was pretty blown away. By how amazing they were in person on pictures, I have to say the renders don't do them justice at all. But in person, on the wrist, the design was amazing. The way you can have a. It's 40 millimeters right the case, but it wears slightly smaller because it slants upwards a tad, you know, like a bit like a drum. And that gives a very nice balance of not being too big, big, not being too small, you know, it probably fit Ricky's wrist and mind as well, given that we are probably at different ends of the spectrum, you know, and the bracelet construction. A lot of people, you know, talk about integrated bracelets today. It's all the hype because of, you know, AP and Patek and stuff. But not many brands can do an integrated bracelet well. And I think LV's integrated bracelets are amazing. They're so thin, yet they're so solid. And they're really small. So they wrap the wrist amazingly well. It's really comfortable, especially for someone like me with a smaller wrist. You appreciate these smaller details. And of course they're also doing, you know, higher horology stuff as well. They recently launched a Spin Time collection and that was amazing. You know, with. It's one of those things that you don't actually need and you never think you would want, but when you see it in person, the way the time turns with every single in this on its own axis, that's pretty amazing. I'm also a big fan of how they are, you know, as a whole group. Yeah, really bringing back a number of independents like Daniel Roth, then subscriptions. Watches are amazing. They got Gerald Genta as well. And I think the. The stuff they're doing with that whole La Fabrique du Tem manufacture is really cool. It's a nice way in a sense to show that while. While people might say it's a bit of a marketing thing as well, but it also gives. Allows them to kind of give back to the watch, the whole watch industry. Because by allowing independent brands to either come back from the dead or to support younger independents, if Ms. Ever wants to start his brand in the future, that's an option at least. So I think the whole brand as a whole, it's not just a random, it's not just a fashion brand trying to get a piece of the pie, they have shown that they have really put thought into this whole how they're going to approach horology and they're serious about being an important part of the whole industry. So I think that was something cool that I got to learn over the past few months.
- [36:58]
A
Can't agree more because I got the opportunity with Dave and Simona last year to go to LVMH's manufacturing facility in Geneva. And again just beforehand we were a little bit. We knew about the brand, we knew about the watches, we knew what they were doing, they were high horology. But compared to the likes of Gucci where the clothing brand, that side of thing is very, very expensive, their watches are a letdown. And I don't mind saying that in public and I've said it before, you can walk in and it's almost fashion brand. It's almost like buying a Hugo Boss or an Armani watch where basically Fossil stamped them out. Gucci watches are less than $1,000, less than a thousand pounds, they look a bit shit and it doesn't stand up. If you can afford the watch but you can't afford the shoes or you can't afford the T shirt or whatever it is, it doesn't quite jet. Whereas with Louis Vuitton you would expect the watches to be similar. They're not, not at all. And I don't know if I know you mentioned it was to do with marketing things but they don't need to because Louis Vuitton, lvmh, they've got Zenith, they've got Hublot, they have got lots of funky brands already, they've got Bulgari, so they don't need to around and do their own thing, but they do. And when we were walking around their manufacturing facility, it wasn't the walled garden, it wasn't, as I like to say, going and watch safari or going to the zoo where you're showing the happy smiley people, you know, Santa's El was working away creating all the toys. We were there, we were looking at the CAD files that were loading stuff up in front of us. We were getting to peek behind the curtain and see what the wizard was actually creating. They don't need to do that, but they do and they do it to further things when it probably is financially viable. It probably does help the bottom line. But there are many other things they could do do to bring in more money at less expense for humans and the amount of ingenuity that goes on behind the scenes. So yeah, thumbs up in both hands for the guys there. We're almost at the end of the bloody show. We've got about 15 minutes left. Christ almighty. Okay, so let's get down to brass tacks then. What has impressed you, what has shown up in the last 12 months that you've liked, what's shown up that you're maybe not so keen on.
- [39:03]
B
There are too many things that I like over the last, last, you know, year or so. Lange released the handworks Kunz. I'm going to come back to them again. And it's an amazing piece of watchmaking. It's basically entirely in yellow gold. The dial is crafted in yellow gold and then carved out, you know, all the indices, finishing the, basically the, the minute track, the seconds track, everything it's carved out from or is done through positive relief, that is a technical term, from, from a solid piece of gold, which is, is mind blowing. It's the first watch that I've seen that made me feel gutted that it's something I would never be able to own. Not just because of the price, but also because of, you know, the numbers and exclusivity of it, because of how difficult it is to get. I'm a big fan of trends, of the fact that the whole watch industry seems to be embracing smaller watches a lot more. Even IWC that is predominantly known for slightly larger watches because of their pilot's watch Heritage, they're releasing 35 millimeter Ingenious and smaller 41 millimeter ceramic cases that previously they didn't offer. And I think that's a big deal for someone like me who has a smaller wrist. It opens up the options of watches that I can access. And if I were just to make one more final mention, I'm a big fan of Grand Seiko's SLG W005 and 004, which is basically the reissue of their 45 GS case that they made an exact, exact reissue just upsized by a couple of millimeters, designed a whole new movement, a high beat movement. So it really combines the latest from the brand in terms of mechanical movements, but plays in a very vintage inspired case and design. And I'm a big fan of that because I think for a couple of years Grand Seiko has been moving down, down, if we look at least at the more accessible collection, you know, they've been making, you know, numerous iterations of different dial colors of very similar watches. And I think it perhaps, it perhaps got a bit long in the tooth as well because you, you always, there's always the next one to, to go for. Whereas with this one, it was simple, you know, no, no fancy dial nature inspired dial not, no, no, no gimmicks about it. It was a very pure, very classic, classic Grand Seiko design where the polishing stands out, the the creaminess of the, the simple creaminess on the dial stands out and the movement is, is amazing to look at. So I think that's. And I got to see it in Japan at the Seiko Museum that I brought my, my wife and my in laws. Speaking of stories, as you mentioned earlier, they are not fans of watches but that whole story of how Kintaro Hattori, you know, built the entire brand up through the, through through the years, they were amazed by that. And so when I looked at the watch and said I want to get that, they were sort of like yeah, yeah, you know that makes sense. So eventually I did that. That's how you get people like my wife to support me buying watches.
- [41:57]
A
I love your gaslighting techniques. I'm going to be taking notes here.
- [42:01]
B
That's the last one that I'll just mention quickly but I mean I'm really a big fan of that release and I'm really happy the brand did something like that.
- [42:07]
A
Brilliant. Okay Miz over in the States, what have you seen over the last, well let's just call it the last year or so.
- [42:14]
C
So you know, I definitely agree with Phil when it comes to Dadling and Zone. I personally also love their watches as well. I love how, how dressy they are and how detailed every, every single component is. And that's generally where my tastes lie more on the dressy side of things. Although I am wearing two very sport two sports watches today, so that's a bit ironic. But anyways a watch that really caught my attention this last Watches and Wonders was the. I was just captivated by the effort put into making this specific watch especially more in the know of how watches are made because especially with this last trip I got to be with Andy and Sue from Orage and they were explaining to me all the you know, different processes that go into, into making watches. So, so having that knowledge and seeing something this complex. So this watch is integrated bracelet model made almost entirely of tungsten, tungsten carbide with some tantalum elements. Two very hard materials to work with. The fact that you have to create custom diamond tipped tools to carve everything to machine everything is just very impressive that they chose to do all this work. They chose to do all this work and it's very understated. So you have, if you haven't seen this basically imagine a watch that, as Fusion himself put it, a watch that Zorro would wear because it's all black. The dial is a grandfoult enamel black polished piece. And another feature that I find very amusing is that the numerals are matte and the way that the dial is finished, you can only really tell the time if you tilt it towards you. So a lot of work has gone into making this a very personal watch because someone can just go and peek at your wrist and see what time it is. You have to actually tilt it towards you for the numerals to appear. And I just find that really amusing that a lot of work went into just basically making an anti social watch because no one else can tell the time besides you. And again with the Zorro connection, it's. He's a character that I watched a lot growing up. I wasn't really into like Marvel or, or, or D.C. or any of that type of superhero stuff, but Zoro is all. I just remember waking up very, very early on Saturdays going, going up to, to the living room and watching those, those cartoons. So that those two connections, those, those elements of that pop culture etcher, coupled with the watchmaking skills required to, to make this, to make this watch, the effort that they put into, into manufacturing everything. And that's without even mentioning the caliber, which is also fantastic as, as all effusion calibers are. So yeah, that. Because of that. I would say out of all the watches that came out of Watches and Wonders and even in this, this past year, that's the one I would really, really like to try on.
- [45:24]
A
Well, as you were busy talking about rushing down the stairs to look at the television in the living room, I thought you were going to talk about Paw Patrol, but okay, Zorro, that'll do.
- [45:32]
C
Not that young. I'm not that young.
- [45:34]
A
Well, you know, you know, you tell us you're 20, you still sound the same.
- [45:38]
C
My brother calls me old now since, since I turned 20, so I never.
- [45:42]
B
Even knew that there was a Zorro TV show.
- [45:45]
C
Yeah, I mean, if I remember correctly, this was a car. There are several cartoons. I think the one I most watched. No, the one I watched the most was like a manga one. But also we have those movies with Antonio the Panderas, the guy who played Hannibal Lecter.
- [46:04]
B
Right. And Anthony Hopkins.
- [46:05]
C
Anthony Hopkins, he's the one.
- [46:07]
B
I like how that's the reference you have instead of the, instead of.
- [46:11]
C
Yeah, and you have, and you have those very interesting movies. Movies with. What's his name again? Editing. Hopkins.
- [46:18]
B
Yeah, yeah, and Denny Hopkins.
- [46:19]
C
And you have those movies where anything happens. So yeah, I grew up with those. So I really like that connection.
- [46:25]
A
Well, we don't have time to talk about the failures, the faux pas, the watches that maybe didn't quite hit the mark this year or last year because we're going to end on a high and it's been great having you guys back on the show. Let's not make it 12 months or 24 months till next time you guys appear because you have a lot to say. Not just in written format, not just in posts on social media and Instagram and on our website. But yeah, you've managed to absolutely rule the roost here. Talk about some fantastic watches, some cool things that have happened. Explain a little bit more about the end industry from different points of view. The grey market over in Malaysia, in Singapore, right the way through to working behind the scenes with Isotope, Raj, Formex, etc, Etc Intersect and wind up fairs. So if other people are wanting to join the merry crew, then they can email us infoscottagewatches.co.uk and I will put them in touch with Miz and Filo here and you guys can chat behind the scenes about whatever it is you wish to do. But that is pretty much us, miss. What should people do?
- [47:20]
C
Well, you should check the show notes, see what we've been talking about, but also check our back catalog.
- [47:25]
A
What's in the back catalog?
- [47:26]
C
Well, one of my favorite episodes of the past couple months has been the one with Pietro. He's definitely a role model for everyone who's interested in promoting infant watchmaking anywhere. And he's been just an incredible job and especially because of what he, he went through this past end of year. Yeah, for him to still be doing everything that he does with his team, of course. So that was a very, very cool episode to hear and to learn from.
- [48:00]
A
And Filo, what episodes have stood out for you? Who have we had on that you've liked recently that people could go back and check out?
- [48:06]
B
The one with hin Siddiqui on Dubai Watch Week. That was a fun episode and it's a very useful one because if you're planning to go to the show, it gives you all the information of what you can there, what you can go there and do. And yeah, that was a fun episode to hear as well.
- [48:23]
A
That episode made you reach out and ask me some questions, didn't it?
- [48:26]
B
Yeah, I did. Basically it show made me reach out to Ricky to ask whether he thinks it'd be a good idea to bring my wife there to celebrate her birthday because her birthday falls the day after Dubai watch week ends. And I was just thinking, you know, maybe I could like make a whole trip out of it, go there for three days, celebrate a birthday on the fourth day and then fly back on the fifth. I haven't spoken to her about it yet, but we'll see. We'll see.
- [48:48]
C
I'd say that's a good excuse, Phil.
- [48:50]
A
We're on board with that one. That's it. And you continue that Gaslight, and you're very good at it, and that is us. We're going to Gaslight you into subscribing, leaving us review, if you like, what you heard here. Every week is different. When myself and Dave talk nonsense about the news. New products, new watches that have come out, or perhaps ones that have been revived from the past. They're completely different from our interview shows where we've got a CEO, a founder, a creative person. As I say, we don't like to bring on a marketing person that really doesn't know what. What they're talking about. They've been in the job five minutes and they can't wait to clock out at 5pm that's not what we're all about. We want the proper stories, the grassroots information from people that have been there. They've seen it, they've done it. They can tell you the trials, the tribulations and how they've been triumphant. And that is pretty much the end of the show. So thank you for listening and we'll catch you again soon.
- [49:34]
C
Goodbye.
- [49:35]
B
Bye.
- [49:35]
A
Bye.