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Scottish Watches Podcast #752 : The Latest and Greatest New Watches From Around The World
00:54:20
We start with the Watch Ho & Co x Selten Bohinia limited edition, featuring CNC-engraved mother-of-pearl dials inspired by the Hong Kong flag, heat-treated hands, and a Miyota 9039 automatic...
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- [00:01]
A
Welcome to the Scottish Watches Podcast. We've got an exciting episode for you today. Lots of independent brands because the last episode we put together had all the big brands. We had the Holy Trinity almost. Although we do have some news about JLC later on in this episode of the show. Dave, how are things? You look like you're actually in Scotland. You're not on that special island, you're not in the corridor, you're not in your hannibal led to lair.
- [00:21]
B
I'm not in a prison cell that someone also said looked like the end of a long corridor. Wasn't actually a long corridor, although I can see why they got that. Yes, we have some. I don't think it's news about jlc, but potentially we' with rumour. That'll probably save us later on Rumours. Yes, I am pretty good. I'm at home, it's wet and miserable, which is somewhat boring. But hey ho, we are here and we've got quite a lot of cool products to cover in this episode.
- [00:44]
A
Well, let's crack on and let's start with an independent that you may have heard of. They have released stuff in the past, we've talked about them in the past, they made a big splash on social media and they are back for more. We actually caught up with these folks across the world in different places. Barbara Plumbo's got them in different places as well. This is Watch, Ho and Co, the CO standing for Community, not company. And Seltan, this is a revision, a part two, a follow up to the massive success that came out last year and Dave, you can tell us all about it and then hopefully we can actually get these things because apparently they are winging their way across to Scotland so we can see them in real life. So we're working off photographs and renders and information from the brand to start with.
- [01:23]
B
So, well, what we've got here is a Watch kind of collector, Community, that being Watch, Ho and Co, Co for Community, as Ricky said, and Seltan being the brand, it's all based around the original release, which was the Jouy, I think we'll call it, but this one called, and I'm going to probably massacre this pronunciation, but I think it's Bohenia. But what is a bohynia? It is the flower that you will find on the Hong Kong flag, because this is where the Watch Club is based. Anyway, on with this watch. They did release that original one about a year or so ago and this is the second anniversary. So these two brands have got together again and it's the next chapter in the story of this watch. Let's start with the price point because it's very accessible. US$1,250. It's limited edition, not ridiculously low numbers though. 200 pieces over the two different dial variations that we've got. And there are two pretty distinctive colorways. You've got pink and purple. And as I've mentioned, they are well inspired by the flower that features on Hong Kong's flag. The dials themselves, they are. Well, they're made from natural mother of peril, which is a white mother of peril. But then they've been tinted to achieve this really nice iridescent finish on it. After all of that, the, the surfaces then. Well, it's engraved using a CNC machine. So no nonsense stories of someone sitting hand doing them one by one and taking a multitude of hours. They are very clear and open. It's been done on a CNC machine, which means you'll get a beautifully even pattern. And it's their signature mountain pattern that was first seen on the original edition of the watch. Where there is a bit of artisanal work is you've got the heat treated hands. On the pink dial you've got purple hands and on the purple dial you've got blue hands. And these are proper hand heat treated hands, so to speak. That's a double hands. But yes, they are both hand treated. It's quite a lot of skill involved in this. If you go too far, the color changes the wrong way. If you don't go far enough, you don't get the complete finish. So a nice bit of artisanal watchmaking craft going on a relatively low cost watch. Well, let's get down to the nitty gritty. 39 millimeters. Perfect size in my opinion. Very slim, under 10 millimeters. 9.95 mm to be precise. Lug to lug fairly tight at 45.5 mm. The case, as you would expect, stainless steel 316L. It's powered by a Miyota 9039 with a power reserve of 42 hours and it's got 50 meters of water resistance. Specs, they don't blow the world apart. But let's be honest, it's a not very expensive watch at the end of the day and it's a fairly solid usable movement. It's been used on much more expensive watches than this. Let me put it like that.
- [03:48]
A
Is this the one was in the Mad one?
- [03:51]
B
This is indeed, I think, or an iteration of the one that was in the Mad One. So yes, lots of very desirable watches using this movement as well. So let's not knock it in any way for that. It's a really good looking watch. It's not super expensive. I particularly like the pink tinted dial. I think it's really good. Both colors are warm. I don't think they're masculine or feminine. I think men, women can wear the pink and the purple. I think it's a great looking watch, to be honest with you. Doing nice things. Really looking forward to seeing this in real life, which should hopefully be very soon. Ricky, I know that you really liked the original back a year or so ago if I remember rightly. As did I. I think these ones probably lean more into it. I'm going to guess you're more towards the purple than the pink. Although I be wrong.
- [04:33]
A
You know, I don't actually have any pink watches for no real apparent reason apart from any pink watches that appear for my collection. Appear in someone else's collection in this household. Who'd have thunk it? They both look really good and like you say, they could work on anyone's wrist. The price point's really good. Now it's got a Miota movement and it comes from Hong Kong. But it's the dial that you're paying for. It's the mother of peril. It's the way it's been CNC geochade. So it's obviously as you mentioned, it's not rose turned on an engine for 25 hours per dial. Like somebody said at some atelier recently, it's just perfect. I know what these guys do behind the scenes. I know the packaging that it comes in. I know the strap quality because we've seen them in real life before. This is version two and it reminds me of Earthen which last year they sent across one of their watches and it was a similar idea from a similar neck of the woods. So really looking forward to these ones arriving. I've seen some of the other folks on YouTube and Instagram already posting. CASA posted something up. Sophie posted something up and they really do look fantastic. We're coming up for almost spring nearly maybe so a summer watch in springtime. Well, perhaps over in that neck of the woods it's okay to wear it because it's slightly warmer. But this could be a big hit. This could be a big hit over at Watches and Wonders this year as people are wearing them, getting them on wrist and bringing them over. Limited to 100 pieces per colorway. That's a pretty good deal in my eyes and Looking forward to seeing what those guys do next. But let's turn our attentions to all things motor racing. Formula one. We've already talked about Rolex dipping on that TAG Heuer coming in with LVMH now the proud sponsor of the championship itself. But the manufacturing teams, they have always got some kind of watch partner. We've talked about things recently. When we had the head honcho from Formula E on he was explaining about Bianchi, various other brands that we know about, we talk about Chronoswiss, etc. We're back at the petrol guzzling, the gas guzzling guys. There's some moves and shakes afoot and it looks like Girard Perregaux aren't really proud of place any longer.
- [06:25]
B
Absolutely, that is definitely the case. Breitling are now the official watch partner of Aston Martin, specifically with the Formula one team, but with the brand more generally as well. And they' and Navitimer probably the watch you would expect them to release as the first, well, I guess co branded watch. But it's got a couple of newness things up its sleeve as well. It's a Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team Edition. Now there is a proper mouthful of a name. So for the 2026 season this is the new official watch partnership. For the last five years that role was definitely taken by Girard Perregaux and they lent pretty heavily into it, releasing quite a number of watches that both myself and Ricky very much liked. Not always the same watch, to be honest with you, but across different models. In the Girard Perregaux range they always did a very good collaborative watch. And the use of that, well, classic green color that you'll see from Aston Martin being heavily used. And it's heavily used again here. I'm not going to repeat the name of the watch. We'll just go with Navitimer because we'll be here for about five hours if I have to repeat the name every time. But there is a bit of a historic connection between Breitling and Formula One more generally. Back in the 60s, a couple of the famous drivers, Graham Hill and Jim Clark, they both wore Navitimers on the track using the kind of calculator features to use it for timing. For the first time ever, it's a titanium case on a Navitimer. I'm not sure whether this is the first time it's titanium for the Navitimer or the first time it's titanium for the Navitimer. Within the Breitling family, of course, there's that other brand, the German one, that can also use that whole Navitimer thing. Don't know whether they've ever done a titanium one, but ever Breitling navitimer first titanium one, 43mm. It's the big boy. It means it's very readable, shall we say, when it comes to the dial, when you're driving your Formula One car. Not that they'll be looking at their watch when they're doing that anyway. The dial, that's relatively high performance as well. Carbon fibre, as you would expect for Formula One collaboration, but it's been treated so you get little flecks of the green colourway coming through there. You've got a yellow chronograph hand. Both those colours definitely leaning heavily into the whole Aston Martin thing. As expected. It's a B01 calibre, so it's CosC chronometer certified. You've got 70 hours of power reserve and you've got a branded aston Martin Formula One rotor on there. Price not insane. £8,900. Definitely towards the upper end of what you're paying for Navitimers, but not completely insane. You've got an embossed leather strap, it's got a kind of safety harness texture on the top side and you've got a lining done in the colours of Aston Martin. As I mentioned, it's 43 mil, which just means it's a bit of a chonky boy at just under 14 millimeters. That water resistance, though, that's a chronograph thing on water resistance, 30 meters. I think even the Speedmaster manages to get 20 meters more on it than this one. Cool looking watch, though, from what I've seen in all the pictures. Interesting collab, I'm sure, over the period of this year. Well, Breitling, they're not shy about doing collaborative watches either. We know that Girard Perregaux did plenty of collaborations. I'm sure that Breitling will bring quite a few out. I think this will be quite nice in titanium, though. Not the biggest. Weird. Navitimers used to love them. Kind of gone off them. Ricky, where do you stand on these things?
- [09:30]
A
Carefully. So I don't crack the sapphires. I don't like it. We talked recently about collaborative watches, limited editions, and we pooh poohed the idea of lots of brands just constantly hoarding themselves out and doing this kind of thing. And then we talked About a Pan Am Cola by Christopher Ward. We could drag over the coals for that a little bit, but that was actually decent. I mean, there was three or four different watches. They did the best version of that. So I stand behind talking about it in the show last week. This one, I mean, it has got a carbon fiber dial. They're making a bit of a song and dance about it, but who cares, because carbon fiber is not the latest and greatest tech. It's been around for donkeys years, decades and decades. It's super cheap. People think it's really expensive. It ain't go on ebay. You can buy carbon fiber this, that and carbon fibre spoilers, genuine carbon fibre, for like a couple of hundred bucks. It is not. And especially if it's cut as a sliver for a dial, it's not that crazy. The mother of pearl in the previous watch probably cost more. It just looks like an avitimer. Even when you flip it over to the back, the only thing that stands out is the rotor because it's customized, decorated, looks like Aston Martin's logo. But many people. I've done things in the past. I'm trying to think there. So if we look at Breitling, they did Breitling for Bentley, which didn't really set the world on fire a number of years ago, before George Kern got involved in things. But when Aston Martin were collaborating with Gerard Perregaux, everything they did was cool. They incorporated the mesh kind of diamond styling to the dial. They brought in the green across the ceramic. Everything was just a touch above. I think this one's just a little bit of a mess. It's almost like, quick, we need to do something because the next season's about to start and we need to have our logo on there somewhere. What do you think?
- [11:00]
B
I kind of get where you're coming from. I would say there's a lot of tropes going on here. Titanium, carbon fibre, kind of trying to lean into the. Let's use materials in our watch that would be used on a race car and. Yeah, fair enough. I kind of get it. But also at the same time, why not just do something different? Yes, they're used in race cars, but why not use some innovative materials on watches and then you get more of a synergy. Anyway. Yeah, not my favorite. I've kind of gone off Navitimers. I used to like them. I used to like watches that were all a bit complicated looking, but I don't know. Yeah, not the greatest hit. And I think it doesn't Help when you've got to follow. Hot on the heels of what Girard Perregaux have been doing with the brand, as you mentioned, because they've. Well, most of them were hits, in my opinion, not misses. This is a start when I could have done more, in my opinion.
- [11:47]
A
Yeah. And with Aston Martin doing a kind of collab deal we talked about recently with Timex, private labeling, a lot of cheap end stuff, who knows where this one's going to go. Don't think it's the right move for those guys, but the right move for you is to check the show notes. So if you're listening at home, check your podcast player takes you to our website. All the pictures, tech spec, links to the products, the information, the events, all that good stuff will be there for you. And you talked about titanium, you talked about carbon fibre, space age technologies, race tech. Well, the next watch we're going to talk about, it incorporates a little bit of titanium, a little bit of platinum.
- [12:18]
B
And this is from Hermes. This being the slim de Hermes, not the fat Hermes. It's not. It's definitely skinny and we'll get to see why it's skinny. But yes, a titanium version and a platinum version, the platinum one will probably not be particularly light. That said, and it is, to be more specific, the slim de Hermes is. I think we pronounce this squaletti. I think that's how we pronounce it. S, Q, U, E L E, T, T, E. Anyone who speaks French properly, please do let us know. And it's squaletti lune. I know what lune means. That means moon. Probably a clue as to what's in this watch. Back in 2015 is when the Slim de Hermes was initially released and it was a time only version in steel and in titanium. I actually have the titanium one and it's definitely within the top 10 watches I own. That I just think is a great looking, really well wearing watch. It was powered by the micro rotor movement and well, that movement was done by Vausher manufacturer, the kind of technical partner of Hermes watches. Since then there's been several complicated versions that have kind of come into the collection. There's been a perpetual calendar, there's been a GMT and then back in 2021 it was time for that initial squaletti lune to come into the model as well. But there's two new models, the platinum model with a blue dial and the textured titanium model with a kind of tonally matched grey dial on it. They maintain ess, all the same dimensions as you would expect from this family, 39.5 in diameter, only 8.8 millimeters in thickness or thinness would be more accurate. I think. If you get the titanium one comes in a grey alligator strap, the platinum one on a blue alligator strap. And what's so big about it? Well, you've got a lot of open working going on here as well. You've also got the moon phase complication and they do it in a bit of an unusual way where you almost get two moons above each other. Of course, their technical manufacturing partner is Voshy manufacturer Hermes, own a fairly substantial stake in that business. They also make movements for, well, a few of the bigger, more expensive brands. Parmigiani of course, because they're intimately involved, but you've also got Richard Mille in there as well. So yes, you're an esteemed company when it comes to who they're making movements from. So that micro rotor architecture of the time only version is the basis of the movement, but you've got lots of skeletonizing going on with it as well, both on the dial and in the movement. 48 hours of power reserve price wise on them. A bit unusual, both price on request. We're kind of being guessed the titanium one might be around the €20,000 mark, which means the platinum of course is going to be, well, considerably more expensive. These are fairly unusual models within the Hermes range. They don't make huge volumes of any of their models. But if you like what you're looking at, check out the show notes for better pictures. See what you think of it then. Well, maybe this is a watch for you. And if this isn't the one for you, I thoroughly recommend going and looking at the time only version. It's much cheaper. If I remember rightly, it's in and around the 4 or 5,000 Euro mark at this point in time for the titanium one. Very nice wearable watch.
- [15:07]
A
I like the blue one but don't like the price that it's probably going to be. It's going to be expensive. And when you're talking about the time only version, is that skeletonised in the same way? Does that come in anodised colours as well?
- [15:18]
B
So the titanium one is not skeletonised, but it does have those very iconic Hermes numerals on it. And it's a grey dial, almost a semi sector dial. Look to it as well. It's got little orange pops in it, which of course is one of the trademark colours of Hermes. You've got the case, you've got the display case back with the Hermes patterned movement on there. I just think it's a very classic dial. No, it's not skeletonised, but you very much get the same feel of the watch.
- [15:42]
A
I quite like them. They're quite nice. They look like a lot of other things that are out there to me. They don't have a distinct Hermes DNA. Yes. The fonts that are very small around the outside, but they remind me of resins, they remind me of pollen, various other things. Yeah. And the watch itself, maybe it's got a bit of the nebula from Arnold and Son in there. It's definitely got some arming strokes from even some Araj mixed into the. The fold. But we'll just have to see what the prices are like and we'll have to see what Hermes are up to shortly because we'll be seeing them in probably a month and a half's time.
- [16:13]
B
Yes, indeed, we will definitely be seeing them because the next story we want to talk about is Watches and Wonders, that show that Ricky alludes to. And for 2026, they're going to be, well, expanding what they do as part of the show. Obviously, the main show is up in PAL Expo at the, well, Convention center, but they do a bit of a citywide program and they're expanding that out up at the main salon. There's 11 new brands that are joining it, with one of the big headliners, of course, being Audemars Piguet joining it. But in the city program that's designed to bring watchmaking, watchmaking culture, the culture around watches, into kind of a deeper public understanding around central Geneva throughout the week that the show is on. They've got a partnership with the Montreux Jazz Festival. You've got a watchmaking village that will be there as well and you can buy your tickets. I believe the tickets for most of the events went on sale in and around February 10th. Watchesandwonders.com if you want to look what tickets are available for all the different events that take place in and around the city, they'll also have events in the evening. So after you've been at the show all day, you get home, get something to eat, you can go and amuse yourself in the evening. Both of us are looking forward to it. We've got our calendars planned out. We've been a bit more sensible about things this year. Correct, Ricky?
- [17:23]
A
If you say so. We like to think so. We got everything organized pretty quick. Smart. We're becoming dab hands at taking the jigsaw pieces, put them together, making sure that if A brand has a space to see us at this point that it's not conflicting with something else. So many different people to see over the period and we're not there for the full week. We only get access on a certain amount of days because there are so many journalists or so many media folks, influencers, YouTubers, TikTokers, everybody and anybody wants to come to this. This is the premiere show of the year and spaces are limited because to get booked in with all these brands we have to be carted in, wheeled in quickly, listen, take some notes, take some photos, take some videos and then we're off to the next one. But it is fabulous, it is really good. And even the people that we've spoken to, listeners, viewers to the show who have gone along in the public days, they have really enjoyed it. Obviously do not expect the same level of interaction because with thousands and thousands of people it's not going to be possible. But it is a great day if people are thinking of coming across, want to grab a ticket, etc. And the mantra I always roll out is treated it like a car show. Treat it like the Detroit Motor show, like Sema, like those kinds of things. You don't get to test drive the cars, you get to look at them. And if you keep that in mind, if you're happy with that or if you've got some spare time, don't just go to PAL Expo. That's the place obviously where all the new stuff's going to be. But there's going to be bits and bobs, there's going to be things all around Geneva. There will be, as was mentioned last year by the CEO of Rolex, the pirate shows, the little add ons where you'll have the likes of Formex, you'll have the likes of Fierce. They won't be at PAL Expo because it's pricey spaces, limited, limited, but they will be in and around. So once you've done your little bit in there, you can also head into the city, have fun, check out some cool stuff and if you're even bored after that you can go and check out some boutiques. Next up we're going to chat about Orient Star, a brand we have mentioned on the show a number of times before and they are celebrating their 75th anniversary with, would you guess it, limited edition watches. But we are taking the piss a little bit. They are a fantastic brand. They are in the same ecosystem as Seiko, Grand Seiko, Credor, King Seiko, all the Seiko's. They do stuff that you wouldn't expect to receive high quality items at such a low cost. Even the dial, the stuff that they put under the sapphire is incredible. They've got capped pinions, they've got heat treated hands and the price point is not way out there. So you're getting a lot of Grand Seiko styling and perhaps engineering talent for a lot less cash just because the name on the dial is not the one you would expect. So these ones here, Dave, what do you think?
- [19:51]
B
It's their 75th anniversary. They're no spring chicken. They are, well, 75 years old. Funny enough, 75 years old equals the 75th anniversary. And they've got a whole range of limited editions edition watches that will be dropping throughout this year. There are a few new things they've never done. They've got meteorite dials. They've also revived a iconic dive watch from their past as well. A lot of them are based around the M34 model. We've got the F8 date meteorite dial. There's only going to be 255 pieces of that one as well. It's the first time that Orient have ever incorporated a meteor dial into any watch. They've got the F8 full skeleton that was limited to 430 pieces around the world. That one's got a black and gray gradient dial with matte finish and a fully open work design that's showing off the newly finished movement underneath. You've also got small seconds. There's going to be around 500 of those. That's got a kind of sandblasted pattern effect that looks like metal particles. Really nice deep structure to that one as well. Probably one of the most sought after is going to be their diving heritage. They're bringing back the M42 Diver 1964 first edition. There's going to be 660 pieces of this worldwide as well. And it really is reviving one of their most sought after releases that really got a bit of its popular popularity growing amongst its original enthusiasts. So, yes, exciting to see what they've got coming. Great brand, always excellent value for money, I have to say. If you like that Japanese aesthetic that's obviously pushed by the greater Seiko family, I'm sure you'll find a model or two in here that may fit your budget. If things like Grand Seiko are a bit rich for your tastes, don't be.
- [21:24]
A
Put off with the fact that you don't know the name, you haven't seen the name, you haven't heard the name, or it doesn't appear on wrests or celebrities. You're really getting a lot of value here. And it's probably the only watch in the world with a power reserve that I don't mind because it sits at 12:00 clock position and looks like a little windscreen wiper. So it's a win in my book. Even the aperture for the day window, it's got a little surround. So, yeah, very good quality. And there is lots to choose from here. These aren't just a rehash of the previous model, because we've talked about the previous model, the skeletonized version, completely different looking, the colors, the dive one, not seen that before. Obviously it's very, very old, the original. And the meteorite dial, that is something that it kinda came out in and then it went away. Obviously Dave at his work at Raj, they've got something that's pretty cool with Meteorite. And speaking of things that don't cost that much, it's time to do the wrist check. And I seem to be the guy that does all the dollar dazzlers, not Jody, me, because I'm Scottish and I do the podcast. He does the video stuff. And I'm going to start things off because Dave likes to come second, as he always tells us. And I'm wearing a watch that we talked about maybe last week because I knew it was going to be arriving soon. And it is a collaboration between the folks at Nobel and Atari. Yes, Atari, the guys that did things like the Jaguar, the 2600, the VCS, the Atari ST, the Falcon. Lots and lots of games, computer systems and video consoles of the past. A little bit like we mentioned with Pan Am, perhaps nowadays, well, they might just be a marketing arm. They're just a brand to be put on things like cool sweatshirts, T shirts, and it turns out, a pretty funky little watch. And we've covered a lot of the Nubeo releases in the past. When it comes to video games and stuff, they have done Space Invaders, collabs. They've done a lot with Capcom. They've done, I think it was 1942, 1943, the games. And then time around they are emulating the look of that original, the Woody 2600, the one that's got the wood grain at the bottom because it came out in the late 70s and that was all the rage. When people do collab watches, especially when it moves into this kind of territory, they can be quite hit or miss. But the guys at Nobel, when they do it, they actually put a lot of thought, time, energy and effort into what they're doing and looking at the design here. They have taken the shape of that console. They've managed to put it it onto the watch head itself. They've got a faceted. It's not a sapphire crystal, it is mineral glass. But they've managed to cut it in a fantastic way so that no matter where it is, the light will come through and amplify those angles and striations on the dial. It's got a striated dial, a little bit like a Nautilus. And again, that is to emulate the look and feel of the console. But they go the extra mile as well as having the logo in the right place. If you look at the 9 o' clock position and the 3 o' clock position, you've actually got the selector switches. Yeah, that is how hardcore these guys go flip the watch over to the back. You have got a customized rotor with the Atari logo on it, emblazoned in a deep red. You've got a rubber strap top and bottom with the Navao logo. And this one is limited. I think it's 100 pieces in lots of different colorways. I have got the original one here with a white strap, but who knows what other colors are still available. I actually had to go to the official atari.com website to find some of these still around. So, yeah, one to check out. Absolutely fantastic. The box that comes in really decent qual 8. Best of all in the UK, 249 pounds. That is insane because inside you've got Japanese automatic movement with three hands, using obviously the Seiko Industries TMI NH35, which you'll have found in a ton of other watches that kind of look all the same. They all look a bit like a sub. They all look a bit like a such and such. This one here, it is completely unique and it's not made of plastic. So really, really cool. What do you think of this one, Dave?
- [25:02]
B
Do you know that's a great looking watch and for that price, I don't think you can argue at all as far as collabs go. And yes, I know we did go on a bit about collabs and all that stuff on the last episode, but this is, I think, quite subtly done. I think it leans really nicely into what Atari is as a brand and how they kind of represent themselves. It's a great looking watch. You really can't knock it. It's in the pocket money category. I would like to say, not to diminish that a few hundred pounds is still a lot of money for A watch for many people. But in the greater world of watches this is definitely within the much more affordable category. Cool looking watch watch, cool logo. Blast me back to my childhood as many people who are Maybe in their 40s and over will remember Atari. Well, it was much sought after in the same way as PlayStations are sought after in today's day and age.
- [25:48]
A
And we did talk recently about a collaborative again, a collaborative watch and it was limited edition to talk about the history, the anniversary, I think it was 30 years of the PlayStation, the PS1 or the PSX that was significantly more cash than this one I believe. And there was a waiting list. They had to do a Kickstarter, things like that. Not to diminish them at all but this is available just now. Low price point. Nubeo, part of the Spinnaker Enterprise obviously Vishal at the head of that. They have done tons and tons. Not just as I mentioned with Capcom and Space Invaders and such like they've done NASA collabs, they've done Star Trek, they have done a lot. And the fact that they're continuing to push out new models, new iterations with lots of cool new designs and as I said they could just make something that looks like a subarner and put an Atari logo on the dial. Lots of brands have done that in the past. But they go the extra mile and they don't bump the price up because for this, this quality I'd expected this to be about 400, 500 bucks. So for 249 it's an absolute win running through the spec. Although don't be scared. 42 mil. But it's a weird case shape. I'll have to look in the show notes to see what we're talking about here. It's a little bit slab sided. So 70s inspired. We've talked about a lot of things. We've talked about the new Planet Ocean, we've talked about some of the Zenith defies. This is even more angular so you will want to check that out. Thickness 16 mil. Made of stainless steel 50 meters water resistant with an anti reflective coated mineral glass. 26 mil rubber strap with customised hardware on the back. Can't wait to wear this to my next video game convention. Right Dave, what you got on the wrist precursor?
- [27:18]
B
David works for a watch brand and David's actually wearing something that we launched yesterday because I've had it in and about my person for quite a number of weeks now.
- [27:27]
A
Or like in Pulp Fiction. Yes.
- [27:29]
B
But haven't been able to kind of go out in public. With it because, well, it wasn't released yet. And what is it I'm wearing? Well, I am wearing our new Molokini. And yes, I said Molokini, not Mankini, as someone very funnily decided to put into our live chat when we did a works live chat a couple of days ago. But this is the all new molokini. This is our 38 millimeter. Well, all singing, dancing, walks, watch. It's a GMT, it's a flyer GMT. It's got a day night indicator just there at 9 o' clock you've got the power reserve just at 10 o', clock, you've got the big date down at 6 o'. Clock. Then we're running on our K2 micro rotor. This movement is unfortunately not in the production color. This is in a green colourway, something that we've been testing for another model in the range, the revolution 3. It will come with the gray finish on the movement. 200 meters of water resistance on this 72 hours of power reserve. It's slim under 10 millimeters, I think around about 9.9 from memory. And you've got that unidirectional bezel on there with a kind of relief style of bezel engraving. So I think this is cool. This is in the purple dial. It comes in a couple of different variations. The purple is by far and away my favorite. It also comes in a sand colorway and it also is in a blue colorway. Why Molokini? It's an island over towards Hawaii and it's a. Well, it's a bit of a curved island, it's a bit of an old volcano that sunk into the sea. And that's where it gets its idea from because of the shape of the power reserve, it comes on a bracelet with our 10 millimeter adjustable clasp. And additional to that you get a. I think that word you're not allowed to use anymore. Something about fabric strap you need to call it. Or as we're calling an otan strap, autan being the French way that they say NATO, which might or might not be the thing that you're not allowed to call those fabric straps. After a few people got themselves into, well, a little bit of bother. Yes, that's still ongoing. Someone still patent trolling that to death. But this is the all new Molocchini. Check out the show notes because I'm sure Miziel will put in a couple of different pictures of the other colors that are available.
- [29:34]
A
Also for our audio listeners, I'm going to do a very Bad descriptive overlay for you. So the back of it is what you've seen before. Many Arage watches have got this movement. That's the first time I'm seeing it. I'm doing this live. Dave hasn't even sent me a press release on this thing yet. So it's got the micro rotor in the back which we've seen, I believe in supersede and various other things. This one here, obviously the color will change. So if you look in the show notes and you see a screen capture, don't worry, it will be a different color. Is it going to be platinum or is it going to be.
- [30:02]
B
The micro rotor on it is going to be a gold plated tungsten micro rotor. There's also going to be the upgrade option of course, if someone does want platinum, although that's not needed technically on the front.
- [30:13]
A
As Dave mentioned, the bezel is in relief. It's quite a thin little bezel on it and maybe it's yacht master styling. If you want to know what in relief means then you've got the biggest, the boldest numerals going all the way around. There are little pips of lume that I can see just coming out from the minute track itself. You've got a deep metallic styling on this camera for the dial and yeah, it's all coming together. It reminds me of railway watches for some reason. I don't know why I'm getting that for Vibe.
- [30:42]
B
I'm not sure why you're getting that vibe to be honest with you. I would say it's a, well, all terrain watch. It's happy in the water, it's happy on land. It's got 200 meters of water resistance. So of course you can go diving, you can go water sports if you want. That's of course if you like water sports.
- [30:56]
A
We all love some water sports, Dave.
- [30:58]
B
Absolutely. But you can also as equally use it on the land if you don't like getting your little toes wet either. So yeah, a bit like supersede, albeit not with an integrated bracelet. A slightly different shape of case with regular lugs. You can of course put that onto rubber straps, fabric straps or indeed any strap of your choosing.
- [31:15]
A
Did you mention the price?
- [31:16]
B
Price point wise is going to be 6,490 Swiss francs, which brings it in alignment with the pricing of the supersede gmt which of course from a technical perspective in regards to the features of the watch is very similar aesthetically and size wise, a very different proposition.
- [31:32]
A
How many watches have you guys got.
- [31:34]
B
In the Current range lots would be the answer, actually. Not as many as certain brands who have definitely got way too many. We've of course got the Superseede family, the new Molocchini family, which are the watches that have biggest water resistance in what we offer at 200 meters. We have the Lensman, the kind of photography inspired range of watches that we've got going through the range. We also then have the Omniums. That's the kind of slightly dressier, more classically styled watches. You then get, of course the Tourbillon 2, which is the successor of the Tourbillon 1. That watch that you've got Ricky. And then of course what we do is we go into things like the Autarc range where we've got the Micro Rotor TourBillon and the GMT version of that as well. So yes, quite a few watches within our core range. We've got the Revolution 3. That's not available yet. It's available to order but deliveries for it commence from this summer. That's the one, of course, with the new microrig technology.
- [32:25]
A
Yeah, lots to look at. And if you guys don't know the history of Mirage, then you need to go and do a little bit digging. Mizzy. I will link in the show notes about it. It is a weird offshoot. You would not expect the stuff they do when you think they're going to zig the zigzag. It's incredible to see the developments over the past few years. Even before Dave joined the company, which is probably. Is this your third anniversary?
- [32:46]
B
I think we're in year three. Year three and a bit. Can't remember exactly. It's been so fast because it's been fun. Let's go with that. But yes, it's been.
- [32:54]
A
It was the end of January, I believe, three years ago.
- [32:58]
B
I think that's probably pretty accurate. It was January, February, circa three years ago. Yep.
- [33:02]
A
Yeah. Bloody. And the leaps and bounds from Superseed, the Tourbillon stuff, the Lensman, all that jazz, tons and tons of cool stuff. And I'm pretty sure there is going to be a lot more when the Microrig stuff hits the market. But you mentioned there Swiss made watch, in house movement, micro rotor, power reserve, day, night indicator, all kinds of stuff. And it's around about 6k euros there or thereabouts. She said, well, why don't we talk about a G shock that's about 8,000 bucks.
- [33:30]
B
Yes, let's do that. And you know, before we start, yes, this is a G shock. That is definitely not what you would expect price point from G Shock, but of course it is one of the MRGs and generally speaking when you hear G Shock and then you, you hear it followed up by MrG, you instantly think what the F that would be. Also probably most folks reaction when you do a bit of digging into it. There's a lot going on with them still. It is definitely towards the niche end of the collectibles when it comes to watches and definitely when it comes to G shock. This model we're going to talk about is the MRG B 2000kt.
- [34:03]
A
You sure this isn't the LOL edition?
- [34:05]
B
It does fill me full of intrigue the fact they're making 800 of these because, well, it must be within their realms of reality that they think they're going to sell 800 of them anyway. What have we got going on here? Of course it's a titanium case and there's lots of, well, traditional Japanese handcraft going on with regards to it. We've got a hand engraved by a master of Japanese metalsmithing and it's all about the phoenix in flight. Now the bezel on this watch is where a lot of the attention to detail is. It's drawing inspiration from the tsuba, the iron handguard that you find on Japanese swords that's seen as both protect, protective and very much a piece of art. You've got a weird dark blue greeny color and it's a DLC coating that's applied to the titanium and then it undergoes a very deep layer hardening process for durability. And one thing I can say for sure is the materials technology that G Shock use in their cases is definitely at the upper ends of the technologically premium prowess with what they do. It's been handcrafted by apparently third generation metalsmiths and they've actually given the name, in the case of this watch, it's Kobayashi Mysow.
- [35:14]
A
Is that not a manoeuvre in Star Trek?
- [35:18]
B
Not being a Trekkie, couldn't possibly say. But you're a Trekkie, so maybe it is. We'll probably leave that one there. Just out of caution and safety anyway. Yes, because we are talking about sword makers. Probably not a good idea to mess with those guys anyway. Yes, the bezel, it's got a phoenix. The dial ring's got a kind of color graduation on it as well that's meant to echo the phoenix. What's interesting here is the four bezel screws. They're set with an emerald stone being traditionally associated with wisdom and Clarity. Not entirely sure how your clarity and wisdom is by spending 8,000 on this watch, but that's a very different question. It's a big one as well, 54.7 millimeters. It's 16.9 millimeters in height. It is a titanium case and it comes on a. And I'm waiting for the joke before I even say it. It comes with a dura soft rubber strap. I'll just leave that there for you, Ricky. I'm sure you're fast enough to come up with a joke based around that.
- [36:14]
A
I'm too busy looking up Star Trek references. You can carry on.
- [36:17]
B
Yes, $8,000. Is it cool? Yes, it is actually really cool, to be honest with you. Is it a digital watch at 8,000 bucks? Yes, it absolutely is. Do I have an MRG that didn't cost quite this much but it wasn't that far away? Yes. Am I an idiot? Absolutely. Ricky's now showing me a little screen take of. Yes, it's a fictional spacecraft from a training exercise in Star Trek. So actually he wasn't too far off the mark. Rick. Ricky, your Trekkiness abounds you. Is he a geek? Yes, he is absolutely a geek. You know, Ricky would like to think he's a man of the world, but he's got a soft spot for the old Star Trek and he was not far off the mark. We've got ourselves out of the jail of saying things that probably would get us in trouble. There's even visual proof if you're watching it on YouTube, it'll be in front of your eyes. If not, check out the show notes for clarification that we weren't overstepping boundaries.
- [37:15]
A
No. And the name is slightly different but quite similar. So you check out the show notes and that. It's a good looking watch. It really is a good looking watch. And if you look at the parts of it, I suppose if somebody looked at a Richard Mille and they didn't know anything about watches and they saw it besides one of those Orient Star skeletons, they wouldn't think the price difference would be $100,000 or $500,000 versus a thousand dollars. So with that this one I can see where the energy goes in and I am being a little playful because as we said a million times before, doesn't matter at the moment. Could be an eta, it could be a Sellita, it could be a Myota, the Miota that powers the MAD one mb and F, the original one that I had, I think that was about €4,000 there or thereabouts It's a Miota inside it. So this being a lot more cash than you would expect with not a movement but a module inside. Well it's the case, it's the design, it's the dial, it's the finishing, it's all that stuff put together and Dave's actually pulled it his out and I mean his watch.
- [38:11]
B
Yes. I've only pulled my watch out. Well you can't see what's actually on my lower half so. Well you never know. I'll leave that to your imagination. This is the special edition I've got for a few years ago and this has got this special Japanese artisanal craft hammered bezel on mine. I think mine wasn't far away. Price point to be brutally honest with you. It's still running away quite happily. I think this might be in and around 7 years old or something of that ilk. Very cool little watch. I wear it a lot. Super bomb proof from a point of view of it gets worn regularly. It's not one of my look after it carefully watches and there is nary a mark on it. So yeah if you like MRGs, if you like G shock, if you don't find the price objectionable then well it could be another one of those things that gets chalked up as an irrational watch purchase and it could be seen.
- [38:58]
A
As stealth wealth if you're worried about having your hands chopped off in London or other cities across the planet. Eh well if somebody looks and sees an MRG on the rest, chances are nefarious folks won't know how much it costs. You'll get away with it. But time to tell you and catch you up on what we've been up to. I have been babysitting the wife. She's been off work for a week recovering from things. Not much else has been happening really. That has taken up all of my time. Caught up with some ancient movies. Training Day, which is a Denzel Washington film, I introduced her to that and it's one of those movies if you've not seen it, if you've not seen it in a while, I'll remind you it's Edge of the Seat start to finish. No time to go to the toilet, no time to go and get yourself more sleep snacks. Make sure you've got a full confectionery, popcorn and soft drinks. Brilliant movie right to the very end. A lot of the stuff and it was ad libbed I found out when I went through IMDb afterwards. So yeah, 10 out of 10 on that one on YouTube. I watched Matt Armstrong fighting with Bugatti and their CEO about taking apart one of their supercars, hypercars and managing to do it after being told only two places and two people on the entire planet have got the wherewithal to be able to do it. He managed it with, with his dad, his friends and a wheelie bin. Yeah, very odd. I watched Hoovy from Hoovie's Garage. He was talking about the cost of buying crazy cars. He almost bankrupted himself. That was on YouTube. And it is almost the year anniversary of buying my own car. So I'm going to actually talk about it on its year anniversary in the next show. You're just going to have to tune in for that one. Dave, what you've been up to?
- [40:24]
B
Well, maybe we can both talk about it because I can't believe that my new car is almost half a year old as well. Well, well, what have I been up to? Well, maybe as you saw from my wrist check, it was the launch of our all new Molokini. So that's taken up a considerable amount of my time just getting everything organized along with the team who have put together lots of great assets. So that's been going on. We've also got another event coming up in Berlin because talking of movies, Ricky, you like to watch a movie? Well, we have another one in the offing that's in final post production at the moment that's going to be all about the subject of, well, the watch that you have from us, the Tourbillon one. So it's a movie all about the genesis, the idea and the development of our Tourbillon movement. So that's coming up in the next few weeks. Well, what else have I been up to? Well, I got a delivery from Kickstarter. I keep backing things in Kickstarter. What I quite like about it is I forget all about them. There's been the one or two in many years of playing on Kickstarter that I've never got anything from them. But hey, that's part of the risk you take. But what it means is months later, sometimes even years later, something you forgot you backed and paid for a long time ago just appears when the postman knocks on the door. The case of this one, not that long ago, but at the back end of last year, I saw this funky little phone. Now this seemed like a bit of a high risk manoeuvre for me, but it wasn't too expensive. And well, in the show we've also talked about the good old days when Nokia did crazy cool phones. When everything was all a bit more mad than it is today. And it's none of this. Well, it's an iPhone, it's a piece of glassware. It doesn't really matter if it's an iPhone, a Samsung, a Google, whatever it is, they're all kind of basically the same. A slab of glass that does its thing. Is this still a slab of glass? Well, yes, it is, but is the form factor definitely a bit mad? For sure. This is a brand called Ikko I K O and I've done a few things before. They've had some successful Kickstarters which gave me a bit of hope. But yes, it's a funky little thing that cost very little money. And what else did I do? Well, I bought a new pair of Nikes, their new Mind Shoe shoes. They're cool, they're weird and frankly, it's a lot of bullshit. Partly shoes that have got little things that jab up into the base of your foot, give you a kind of massage and engage your mind. Well, they don't do any of that, but they look cool and they're very comfortable. So I managed to pick up a pair of those when I was in London a few days ago. Ricky is now looking like he's got a Motorola StarTAC. I think that's what it is. It is indeed. It's one the of the not very, very original ones, but I actually managed to find my original StarTac. Oh, this isn't a StarTac. This is a microtac classic he's got. Ah. I amazingly have an original StarTac that weirdly powers on. Of course it's only, well, I don't even know if it's 2G, it's probably only 1G in terms of its service, so nothing works in it anymore. And yes, but it's cool and it's a nice little prop to have. Ah, phones. I wish they would just go back to the days when we brought out cool phones, but hey, I, I think we're long past that now.
- [43:19]
A
Funnily enough, I'm subscribed on YouTube to everybody that exists apparently, but no, the BBC archive. And today they had a featurette from Tomorrow's World, which was a TV show, a staple piece of viewing in the UK from I think the 50s, 60s all the way through to the early 2000s. And this was a step back in time to when WAP came out. Wap and not the wet ass thingy that people talk about these days. It was the first Internet on your phone, not smartphones, phones. It wasn't 1G, it was 2G GSM PCN. And it shows you this amazing new technology where you could get email in your hand, but when you were replying or creating emails, you had to do that, pressing the buttons multiple times to get the letters to come up. It's insane how far we've moved in 20 plus years.
- [44:05]
B
Yeah, for sure. It has to be said, they did look really cool. Usability of some of those older phones, probably a little more challenging, let's say that much. But I like the power we get with new phones. I just really miss that design language and quirkiness that came with some of those old ph. And this was a little blast of the past. Android, it has to be said. Not for me. I know there's lots of folk love Android out there, but no, I'm definitely more an iPhone person because, well, it's very simple with big buttons and it works and it's quite powerful and it does everything that I need it to do. Anyway, that's what I've been up to. We've got lots of other news to cover in this show before we get to the end of it.
- [44:41]
A
We do. And we'll quickly touch on a little bit of industry news because we like to balance in events, new releases, talk of the town and what's happening in the used market, because a lot of people buy used. They buy stuff in auctions, they go to eBay, Chrono 24, places like that. Or they're looking to maybe offload things so they can get some cash back in or perhaps get another watch that will get more wrist time and pass the existing ones on to folks that will give those watches more wrist time. So the secondary market, $17 billion apparently.
- [45:10]
B
Indeed, the secondary watch market, well, they've hit sales of around US$17 billion in 20, 25.7 billion of that came from Rolex. Probably not much of a surprise. So effectively we've got something like 16.7 billion of measurable sales within the secondary market. There, of course, are other sales that go on the trades between two people individually and the areas that are less regulated and less measurable. So it's probably a higher number. No, not probably, it's definitely a higher number than that. Even with those official numbers, we're looking at a 36% increase year on year, year. The secondary market is becoming more and more sophisticated, more people are getting involved and everything else, it's outperforming the primary market. What do we mean by primary market? What we mean is new watch sales that barely grew Last year, if anything, some brands really did shrink. Retail sales of new watches were estimated to have been around US$50 billion and now looks like the actual sales of pre owned watches is about half the size of the new watch market, which is quite marked indeed. I think we also mentioned a previous episode that we think within the next 10 years it's entirely possible that sales of pre owned watches may equal or possibly indeed outstrip watch sales that are of new models.
- [46:28]
A
And quick interjection to say if you want to get in touch with us, never DM us on Instagram, always drop us an email. That email address is infocottishwatches.co.uk, we've got a few sitting in reserve. We're about to bring them onto the show, but we'd like to collect a few of them together. So if you've got any thoughts, queries, suggestions, comments, positive, negative feedback, all is welcome. You could suggest a brand, a model to talk about, maybe a new guest that we can bring on to the show or something to cover that maybe we've forgotten about or we want to bring back. But something we want to bring back is Rich from Studio Underdog. No, he's not appearing on this episode of the show, but he did a cool little thing out in the wilderness.
- [47:04]
B
Yes, indeed he has done something very cool. He's well known for his, well, slightly left field marketing exploits which use usually get a bit of a smile on your face and a little giggle. That has to be said, it's only five years since the brand kind of emerged and they have gone well from nothing to quite spectacularly up there within the realms of the market in those five years. All based around a bunch of watches that are fresh, they're fun and they're relatively inexpensive. During lockdown is when he got things going and everything kicked off with a Kickstarter campaign with that smash hit that was the 01 series that's still very much a core part of the range. He followed up with the O2 field style serious watches and now is producing circa 14,000 watches a year. He's been involved with a workshop in the UK that started putting his watches together a year or so ago. But things have got even more advanced with Studio Underdog acquiring that workshop and bringing it all in house and renaming it Underdog Manufacture. So what he did was, well, he took his head of assembly up a cold hill in Japan, January, put a watch desk and got them to build a watch. It's all a bit mad. People thought maybe it was AI. People thought Maybe that didn't really happen, but it did. And I think the poor guy had to build a watch with very cold fingers. He can successfully now say that all of his watches are fully assembled in the United Kingdom and he's also opening up as of May this year, May 2026. The doghouse. It's a physical home of underdog manufacturer and visitors can go on along and there'll be lots of things they can get involved with. Along with this they've got a new fruit based limited edition O1 series watch. It's called the Guava. It's a lime green textured fume dial. You've got a pink tachymeter and you've got tonal pinks. On the 30 minute sub dial, you've got the tiny little hour markers, they're guava seeds. Lots of things that you will have seen before, but of course not in the guava flavor. The other thing about this as well is you can only get one by visit, visiting exclusively the Doghouse, either to see the watches in the range or to get involved with many of the fun exploits that are going to be going on in the Doghouse. Great to see Rich moving forward doing what he does best, which is, well, bringing fun and hilarity to the world of watchmaking whilst at the same time bringing really desirable products that people want to buy. 14,000 watches a year is not a number to be sniffed at and I've.
- [49:28]
A
Got some information about another British brand that are doing something similar, but I think it's embargoed so I'm going to shut the hell up now. I'm going to let Dave tell you about potential rumours regarding jlc.
- [49:37]
B
This is a rumor of a rumour, let's make it super safe for ourselves. But Richemont, a brand who did offload one of their brands not that long ago. We reported on that on a recent show. Apparently there are also rumors that they are considering a sale of Jaeger LeCoultre JLC to Jerome Lambert. It's rumoured that he's leading a consortium offering 1 billion Swiss francs to buy the brand.
- [50:01]
A
1 billion.
- [50:02]
B
Whether that's true or not, who really knows? But it looks like possibly a management buyout might be, well, let's not say on the cards, but being proposed a bit of a consortium. He is the current CEO of the brand. This of course would be, if it proved to be true. The second brand that Richemont have sold this year, Bomercier being the first who were sold to the Italian jewellery company Damiani in January, somebody said their name.
- [50:26]
A
Was Bomb Mercy and I thought, well, only the weekend.
- [50:29]
B
Bon Mercier. Bon Mercier, yeah, Bon Mercier. It's another one that we. I mean, it probably was sore. Don't know whether they cried, that's not up to me. But yes, yes, but back to the serious stuff, the hard numbers, which is usually why it ends up sore as JLC's turnover was estimated by Morgan Stanley to be in and around 524 million in 2024. So a billion is a fairly significant uplift on the turnover of that brand. Well, within the group, there's definitely not great numbers. The specialist watchmakers have fallen around 13% within group, wealthed jewellery orientated brands have risen by around 8%. He, as the head of the brand, is one of the most experienced executives within Richemont's quiver of executives. Be interesting to see how this all pans out. Whether it's true or not, to me, I think JLC might be one of the, well, diamonds in the rough. Never sure whether the brand could do more than it's doing, whether it's been held back being in the group or whether maybe the group is giving it some protections that it might not otherwise have. Who knows? It is all rumours and speculation. I'm sure that, well, within the test of time, no pun intended, we will find out the full story.
- [51:41]
A
Indeed we will. And it's time to give you the full story on our back catalogue. Funnily enough, the first thing we're going to mention is Previous Edition with Adrian Barker from Bark and Jack. He was on telling us about his first ever wristwatch, as in one he produced, not one he bought or wore. And it's taken a very long time for him to get his finger out because I think we're up to number 12, something like that, with many irons in the fire. So stay tuned for our limited edition, the next one getting released fairly soon he was talking about this, that and the other. We brought up JLC because way back at the beginning of the podcast 2019, we went on a joint venture across to check out their manufacturer. It was a great outing. This was pre Pandemic, no Covid, nothing like that. And we had a jolly old time finding out about the history of the watchmaker's watchmaker. We then discussed on the show a bit, little bit about, well, have they lost their way? Have they not been looked after as much? Maybe they didn't scream as loud as the other children within the group and that's why they've not done a lot we couldn't even remember anything in the last couple of years that stood out and we were harking back to the good old days of the Ambox, the Ambox 2 and things like that. Prior to that we had Jeff Dodds on the show. He is the CEO of Formula E. Dave, who else have we had?
- [52:49]
B
We had Andrew Morgan on the show. It's been two years since he's been out on its own. We've also had lots of feedback about LVMH watching week. Sarah and Barbara, they've both had, well, their first of many, hopefully outings in 2026 and of course there has been lots of really good coverage from the back end of 2025. Especially lots of content all around Dubai Watch week and many of the people that were at the show giving us little nuggets of their information, which made up a couple of episodes with different brand leaders telling us their tales outside that huge background catalogue. Over 750 episodes probably don't listen to the very early ones, but anything from about, well, let's say episode 20 plus onwards is probably still palatable.
- [53:32]
A
I'd say around about 40 or 50 because that's when Archie Luxury came on and we caught our stride. That's us at the end of an episode. Thank you for listening and we'll catch you again soon.
- [53:40]
B
Take care. Sa.