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Scottish Watches Podcast #763 : Catching Up With An Old Friend
00:43:28
In this episode, we’re joined by returning guest Harlan from WristReview for a relaxed but detailed catch-up that dives straight into the state of the watch industry. We get into...
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- [00:01]
A
Welcome to the Scottish Watches podcast. We've got a returning guest. It's somebody that's not been on the show for a very long time. But we crossed paths down at the Bristol Watch show just a mere few months back. I was perusing what Bristol had to offer. I'd been invited down graciously thanks to the folks at the Fears Watch company and I bumped into an old buddy, somebody that I'd seen in different places across the planet. Probably the first time I saw him was up in Scotland, maybe that was the second time in Edinburgh. And then maybe I met him down in England, maybe I met him in Dubai, maybe I met him in Geneva. Who knows, it could be anywhere because this guy, he travels the globe as much as Dave and myself do. So it's my pleasure to welcome back to the show in 2026. Harlan, how you doing?
- [00:39]
B
I'm very well, thank you. Thank you. And it's been funny to actually meet up in person and then have this chat after, like a brief hello, like, you know, after a couple of minutes with each other in Geneva or wherever, just like a quick pass in and then I've got to go to this thing or I got to run off. So it's good to be be able to sit down and have a chat.
- [01:01]
A
My memory is not getting any better. I can't really blame Long Covid any longer. That's what started it off. But it's probably an age thing or thinking about so many things every day, every week, every month and every year. But I remember we were in the press room not last year, but the year before with Vacheron Constantin. You were doing pictures. They had just whisked me in to do pictures and we were exchanging multi $100,000 watches back and forward as if we were at some kind of drug dealers poker game.
- [01:29]
B
Like it's nothing. Just as you do. Just as you do.
- [01:34]
A
Would you like the solid one with the platinum and the diamonds or would you like the white gold one? You know, it's just what we do. It's the cross we bear, unfortunately, to bring this show to everybody. Something else we bring every week, twice a week is the show notes. And that's where you'll find all the pictures of the watches that we're going to discuss. The events that we have been to, the things we're looking forward to. You'll find that in your podcast player. Click the link takes you to our website. All the stuff will be in there and you can look through it as you're listening to us or Afterwards. But it has been a while since you were on the show. Lots has happened. And as you were saying. Yeah, no, we meet for a couple of minutes in this country and that country. It feels like where in the world is Cameron Sandiego? Or one of those movies where people are moving across the continents and you see the Indiana map with the little red line in the airplane going between the countries. That's what it feels like. And it's not just you. We were speaking with Andrew Morgan and it was the same thing. He doesn't stay more than maybe six hours away maximum from where we are. We catch up with him 8 hours, 12 hours away. It could be in New York, it could be over in Dubai, it could be anywhere. And it's through watch collecting this hobby and just having fun. Fun with something that should have gone extinct many, many centuries ago. It's been superseded. I like to say we don't talk about the good old days of carburetors. We don't yearn for bringing them back to cars. It's all electrification or previous to that, direct port fuel injection and whatnot. But watches, that's the gift that keeps on giving. And you've been here longer than I have, you've been in the industry longer than I have. Media wise, it's been a whirlwind for us. It must be just the same for you. How are things going? How is 2026 so far for you?
- [03:04]
B
2026 is busy. That's what, that's the best word I can think of. It 2025 was busy. And I'm sure this is exactly the same for you, you know, brands left, right and center. Here's one event, here's another event. We've got like anniversaries. We're up to our ears in anniversaries of everyone celebrating something. And 2026 is starting off already. We've got LVMH Watch Week. I literally just finished writing about Hublot, who've got about 20 zillion watches already and they got another load of novelt and wonders. Zenith. Exactly the same kind of thing. It's just, it's never ending and it's trying to keep up. There's only a few of us now at Wrist Review, so we're having to be more selective of what we look at rather than just covering everything like perhaps we once would. But although I come back to your point about the whole globe trotting, I haven't had yet the chance to go to New York or Dubai. So I'm looking Forward to that. And if anyone's listening and they've got a spare ticket that they just, they just don't know what to do with, just let me know, I'm here, I'm here and I'll do it for you. I can't say I'll do you proud, but I'll do it for you.
- [04:14]
A
And we will give a glowing reference. I read somewhere that if you're doing a CV or a resume or whatever the kids are calling it these days to look for employment, nobody can prove that you weren't the regional director for Toys R Us or Blockbuster.
- [04:28]
B
No, I mean, the age thing may be for Toys R Us and Blockbuster, but. Yeah, no, you're right, you're right. Generally speaking, you're not going to.
- [04:34]
A
Another one I saw in a meme was if you're applying for a job and you have a gap in your resume and the person on the other end is interviewing you and says, can you explain this gap? You say, I can't. I signed an NDA.
- [04:45]
B
That's a new one. I like that. I'm going to take that.
- [04:48]
A
That's a good one. I like that. Yeah. And if pressed on it, you say, if I come and work for you and you made me sign an NDA, I wouldn't tell anyone what I signed either. It's Schrodinger cv.
- [04:57]
B
Oh. You know, I saw something about if you're going for a sales job and they, and I saw one place as if they're going for a. You're going for a sales job. Right. And the interviewer said, they can give you their laptop and say, sell me this lapt. Take the laptop and leave the room. When they call you back saying, can I have my laptop back? Say, yeah, 200 and it's yours. There you are, sold.
- [05:19]
A
Damn. Right. Well, we're already off to a derailment, but we're going to bring it back to Watches. And you mentioned there that you work with a close knit team at Risk Review. That's probably the first thing we should explain for people that don't remember the previous episodes or have never met you before, where it is you work and what it is you do.
- [05:34]
B
I work for Wrist Review. I am the managing editor. I'm one of the, the people that does the writing of the articles. You'll also probably, if you're into Risk Review and you follow us, you'll have interacted with me at some point in the comments. I'm always in the comment section. I can't help it. We've Got a very active section and yeah, so I do writing, I plan things. I will go to watch events and run into Ricky for 30 seconds and I will do pictures, picture editing and I have a full time job. So yeah, there's a lot going on.
- [06:10]
A
So this is an add on.
- [06:11]
B
This is still an add on? Yeah, yeah, this is still an add on.
- [06:15]
A
Bloody hell. And how do you find mixing? Because a lot of people are in that boat. A lot of YouTubers have got full time jobs, Sam at casual watch review, etc. How do you find the balance? Or does it work in your favor that you're so annoyed and pissed off and deranged by the end of the working week that doing something in your hobby with watches that you also get paid for is like the greatest bonus ever?
- [06:35]
B
Well, I'd like to think I'm quite sure, but sometimes I can be really angry. But don't worry, my keyboard hasn't caught fire from my rage typing yet. Maybe one day, but not yet. No. In terms of the balance, it's. It's fine. I mean, I'm lucky to have Jovan, who owns the site, who you met last year. He's very flexible and he understands that I've got other things that I have to do. So it actually works out quite well where we are able to just focus on the things that we like rather than having to cover literally everything that comes out. We're more kind of is dynamic. Is that a bit of a buzzword? I think that's a buzzword, but we choose what we want to do. Blue sky thinking, yeah, yeah, we'll go with that. I like buzzwords. This can be the buzzword episode.
- [07:19]
A
I try my best not to use them.
- [07:20]
B
Fair enough.
- [07:20]
A
I try my best to retaliate and rebel against them. We were the guys that went against NFTs putting everything on the blockchain and printing QR codes on your watches. As much as we love Moser most of the time, but yeah, Wrist Review, it's a website that's been around for a long, long time. It's one I check out on a twice weekly basis at least to see what you gu. You catch things that maybe other places don't get. And this is again what you say. If you do something and you cover the things that appeal to you, you're writing from the heart. I couldn't sit down and write about country music. Not because I dislike it, it's just because I don't know anything about it and it's not in my interest. Whereas if I'M talking about perhaps music that has got a larger faster bpm. Things of the past. Or if it's cars or if it's cameras, if it's watches, then it's in my wheelhouse, it's in my heart and I can speak with passion. People say how do I get into this, how do I get into that? You have to have the passion first. Otherwise job and you will clock out at 5pm but you're doing a great job over there. I do read your stuff. I don't leave any bad comments under pseudonyms using my VPN at all ever. So don't worry about that. It's not me, it's always Dave. I remember once, a number of years ago, maybe one of the other times you were on the show that you got taken across for a press event and it was. Was it Chopin or somebody like that? There was a watch related to some pianist or composer from the past.
- [08:34]
B
Yeah. So I was at the launch for Chopin in Poland. Oh, that was 20 twenties, 18, I think 2018, 2019. We were in Warsaw and there was. I don't remember everyone was there because there was the guys from Chopin because they were starting a company and there was Schwarz, Etienne, the people making the watches essentially for them. And I don't remember. I remember watch on this. I remember him being there, but I don't remember who else was there. It was a. It was a long time ago and it was in like they launched this. In this like underground subway tunnel or something or it looked like a subway tunnel or a cellar of some kind that, you know, they put some curtains on to make it not look like a murder scene. But you know, Warsaw's lovely by the way. This is just this one room I'm describing. Warsaw is very nice. Just got to dig myself out of the hole there.
- [09:31]
A
Dig yourself out of that pit? Yes. But no, that just goes to show how long you've been involved in things and it doesn't matter where it is. You apply the same amount of int. Integrity, journalistic integrity, we'll call it, to everything you do. But let's have a catch up then. So it's been a long time since you were on the show. Give us a recap of the last sort of 12 months. What things have you seen that maybe that other people aren't really talking about? Because we've had guests on the show that have gone down rabbit holes. Andrew Morgan and he gave Omega a right good boot in the balls. He was saying that they don't know what they're Doing. I'm paraphrasing any illegal people listening to this, you know, concentrate on what you do with auction houses. Don't listen to us. He was saying Omega kind of lost the plot a little bit. What are you seeing through your eyes? You've had a good few years under your belt looking at different bits and bobs from the industry. Things have gone up, things have come down the last year. How do you see things moving around?
- [10:24]
B
I think we're seeing. I've thought about this for a little while and the thing I think we're seeing most of is a rise in the horological focus of the big fashion houses. Chanel, Louis Vuitton have come out, out of nowhere. And whether you like their designs or not or whether. Whether they last the test of time with their new mechanical watches remains to be seen. But they have just thrown, obviously, all of Bernard Arnault's money and all of LVMH's money at making ridiculously cool and interesting mechanical watches. Hermes, they've been doing that for years, but again, they're still doing kind of crazy things. I think that. I think it's exciting as well, because you've got. Not that there's anything wrong with the design of watches, but now you've got people who are into haute couture now moving over into haute horlogerie, and I think that that's very exciting. We've got people who know how to make watches and are now employed by these firms, now working with people who get fashionable design and hopefully will continue to do some exciting things. I'm really eager to see Louis Vuitton in and when I'm able to. And Chanel are always fun. Hermes, Van Cleef, I know that they're Van Cleef are kind of a mix of both, but they're more kind of jewellery, I guess, aren't they? So that, to me, that's the biggest thing that's most exciting is again, it's original design and horology coming together.
- [11:57]
A
I agree. We've recently, or I've recently spoken on the show of a Dior watch chronograph in black with a fume red in the center. And I loved it. Absolutely loved it. You know the one I'm talking about?
- [12:07]
B
I don't know the one you're talking about specifically, but I was thinking Dior are actually one of the brands that were, in my mind, just kind of struggling to get into the section. Another one is Ralph Lauren. I don't quite know what they're doing. Yet, but it's not working for me. I think that Dior are on the up and up still. And I think. Aren't Gucci doing things like this now as well? Something like that.
- [12:29]
A
They had a jumper. I think Gucci's a weird one. And I've said before, Gucci are the brand that charge phenomenal amount for luggage, jewelry, bags, all kinds of stuff. And the watches are super cheap. They're budget, they're almost sort of Philip Lane level. But then you've got Dior and Chanel. Chanel, wow. I mean, investing with max over MB&F and then recently with Cross Studios and that was a bit of a blast because we caught up with them in Dubai and had a chat and they are on the up and up. They are fast moving. They're kind of guerrilla marketing at the moment because they don't do lots and lots. But the stuff they do is so intricate. We're hopefully going to be able to bring them onto the show. So I think you're right. And we did a trip a couple of years back there to Louis Vuitton and it was their Fabrique du Temps where they've got all the really high end stuff. And we get taken through, met a fantastic gentleman called Alan, he was our ringmaster. He dragged us around the place, showed us all the spectacles and the sights. We got to see the latest, the greatest. We got to film and photograph everything apart from the bespoke custom pieces that were one of ones for customers. Client confidentiality plays our big role there and we were very careful not to take photos, photos of the wrong things. But the Tambour collection, the carpe diem, all these watches are just masterful. Absolutely fantastic. If anyone wants to see behind the scenes, our video from Geneva watch days in 2024, May as well put the links in the show notes because that's on YouTube, one of our most popular episodes of the year. Because we got to film what happens underneath the dial to make the automatons work, to make everything move and flow and not just once or twice, but to be used as a proper watch. You know, it's not a delicacy, it's not an art piece that you would put in a safe somewhere you can wear it. And it's rugged and it actually tells the time properly. So I fully agree on that one. So those are the kind of winners. Those are the things to keep an eye on. Last year, who did you see maybe faltering a little bit?
- [14:21]
B
You know what I'm really struggling to comprehend at the moment is Blancpain. And I love Blancpain. I think their watches are excellent, but I'm struggling to follow with where they're going.
- [14:34]
A
I'm struggling to follow which year they
- [14:35]
B
were founded in 1735. But they're one of those brands. I think that's. Yeah, they're one of those brands that's gone out of production and then come back at some point. And it's not Vacher and Constantin, who have been going all the time from 1755.
- [14:51]
A
That was a joke because they keep changing their founding date.
- [14:53]
B
Do they? Oh, I missed this. Well, I am slow. Sorry.
- [14:57]
A
Okay, never mind. Karen Harlan, put your finger on the
- [14:59]
B
pulse there, especially because so many brands, like, the biggest success for me for last year was Breguet, and they were. We had the Sousquipchon being the number one watch for gphg, we chose the Experimentale number one as our watch of the year. Last year, they really pulled themselves up when they needed to, because in the months and years before this, 2025, they were really struggling to keep my interest, just because I think that they didn't do what Breguet should, which is innovate. Now Blancpain, I struggle to think of a lot of what they did last year. Even though they have a moving. They have a moving founding date. They could have said, 2025 will be our year. You know, we'll just whatever. And I don't know, I just think Vacheron went nuts. Breguet went nuts. Blancpain, please help me out. I want to love you so much, but, you know, you're very expensive.
- [15:59]
A
They are. And you're right, there's nothing I can remember that they did last year that was of merit. I can't even remember if we talked about anything on the show. We did talk about a couple of Bregues. It was a big year for Vacheron, 270 years young and they were so busy. That was the only year in about five years that we didn't get the opportunity to record with them at Watches and Wonders. They were just totally off the scale. And that watch that they had on display where they actually had to have a watchmaker beside them to explain with an iPad, all the complications that they had incurred incorporated into this beast. It was just phenomenal. And then this year we've got. Well, Last year was 150 years of Audemars Piguet. This year, it's a big year for Ulysse Nardan. They've got a celebration for the Freak and various other Things. I think watch companies love the fact that they can celebrate some anniversary every five years because it's either a fifth or a tenth.
- [16:49]
B
Here's the thing. I don't know if you've noticed this. I've noticed this last year and the year before and possibly the year before that when I've gone to watches and wonders. Nine times out of ten, if you're going for a photo shoot, it's different. But if you're going for one of the things that you just book on the app, just like the 30 minute sessions where you're in the room with a load of other people, they're always celebrating something. Everyone is celebrating something. This year we're celebrating an anniversary of our founding or this year we're celebrating the trees in the woods or we're celebrating some random ass stuff. And it's just like you can't surely. I mean, it's great that you're always here.
- [17:28]
A
We're celebrating the fact that next year we're 150 years old.
- [17:31]
B
Yeah, there you are.
- [17:33]
A
And it's like the eternal DFS sale in the UK for sofas.
- [17:37]
B
I don't know anyone who's not bought a DFS sofa on sale.
- [17:40]
A
Every trespass store in Scotland is having a closing down sale eternally. It just happens and we all get suckered into it. We're all there for it, but it keeps the things moving forward with good momentum. But we've forgotten to do that risk check thing.
- [17:51]
B
I was wondering when you were going to do that again. I don't know why I'm showing the microphone because who cares? I am wearing the chappa Kaiderberg in 40.5 millimeters in blue. This thing has a stellar dial and I've got it for review and I don't want to get rid of it.
- [18:11]
A
So yeah, these things do often get lost in the post when you return them. Yeah, so I've been told. Okay, listen, we returned it by every. It should have arrived. You checked your neighbor's porch?
- [18:22]
B
We loved it somewhere.
- [18:24]
A
Exactly. Here's a photo of someone's shoe.
- [18:27]
B
Actually, I have had watches that were meant to be sent to me go to the wrong addresses. It has happened. I'm not going to name the companies that delivered them, but some companies I just refuse on the basis that they don't know what they're doing and they're just doing anything but what they should be. Anyway, that's enough from me. What about you? What are you wearing?
- [18:46]
A
I know you can't just pass the buck that quickly. Tell us more about the watch. How long have you had it for? What do you think of it? What's the spec?
- [18:53]
B
So I have had this for a couple of months now. Chapek were very nice and set. You can have it for a bit longer than we usually, you know, let people have watches and I, I've not been wearing it all the time because I don't wear dress watches all the time.
- [19:08]
A
You just wear dresses?
- [19:09]
B
Yeah, just wear dresses. Yeah. Obviously I don't want to damage it either. It's got a seven day power reserve which I absolutely love and it's also the day of the week indicator at the same time. So when Chapek came back in 2015 they launched the. I've actually, I'm literally halfway through writing an article about the new as this is being recorded the new chronograph watch that they're going to release or have released.
- [19:37]
A
Well it's time to bounce across to me and I'll do my wrist check. And this is a watch I spotted on Instagram and because it's from Aviate I got in touch with my contact there. It wasn't Vishal, he's far too busy at the start of the year to deal with me but one of his minions came back to me and said yeah, we can send you one out to have a look at. Are you sure you want to review it? It's been out for a few weeks. I went goddamn, I do. And this is absolutely phenomenal. Again usual price point for these gu around about 200, 220 bucks UK.
- [20:05]
B
Nice, nice. For anyone who's listening, I can actually say this Ricky's showing me it does look good.
- [20:11]
A
So we talk about these guys all the time and for good reason. They produce all kinds of watches, all kinds of styles, all kinds of case shapes they are able to manufacture and we're talking down to 100 pieces or less. Sometimes unique designs, bespoke shapes and all the rest of it. This one here I'm wearing today is from the Aviate collection of the Hawker Harrier and it's called the hud. The HUD automatic and the name gives it away if you remember cool vintage video games like Desert Strike OR gunship gunship 2000 from MicroProse. You'd remember the little green graphics on the screen, quite low resolution and they would move around depending what you were doing with your vehicle and your weapon of choice. This here, it looks like one of those Vintable. It's now vintage 80s 90s era fighter pilots and what they would see on their little screens and the best part is it's not just printed on the dashboard. You've got three dimensionality, you've got parallax. If I move this and you'll be able to see it on your screen there, Harlan, you'll see that the first part of it is actually printed on the underside of the sapphire on the front. Then you've got the handset, then you've got the indexes that are not printed. They are massive and they've got polished outer edges. They're sitting proud of the dial. Then you've got a barreled almost a turbine shape to the inner rehot. But that's not just an inner rehaut because this is an internal rotating bezel. Add all that together, you've got a date mechanism at the right hand side at 3 o' clock position which is cut open. So the aperture displays three date numbers and obviously you choose the one in the center and the strap that it comes with is a combination of leather with rubber underneath and it's all blacked out. Again, if you look at the knurling on the side you have got rifling on the two independent crowns, a bit of anodized green in the center to match the colour scheme on the dial, the handset, the printing and on the rubber strap. Did I say that it was 200, 128 pounds UK and it's an automatic Japanese movement inside. I don't know how they do it. I've said this before, I will say again, I do not fathom how these guys manage to produce these watches at this lower cost because this is phenomenal. I've only ever seen one watch with a reminiscent look to it and this one beats it hands down and that one was probably 10 to 15 times the price. Absolutely Phenomenal quality. Don't know if it's limited edition at the moment it is available. So if you check the show notes, click across to the Aviate website website, you can have a look at this, see what you think of it. The one here I've got is in green. There are various different colorways but yeah, this one stands out. To me that's a bit of a vintage retro game. Nerd. So what do you think of this one?
- [22:41]
B
I think it's really cool. I think it's really cool. This is what mechanical watches should be about, even at any price point. It should just be about the fun of it all, shouldn't it? So you can tell they've gone to a lot of detail on the dial And I do like the case back, which you'll currently set well. Oh, it's now flipped around to the front. I do like the case back as well. There's loads of fun little details, I think, and it's just. It's why we're in this, isn't it? It's just fun.
- [23:05]
A
We've been accused at times of being a little bit snobbish, a little bit elitist, because in our collection, I've got a Moser, Dave's got a Moser, I've got a free kex, blah, blah, blah. I get just as much enjoyment out of wearing something that's 200 quid or 300 quid or 400 quid. The Disney watch we got through From AstroWork, the LED watch that's a little bit Hamilton Pulsar. I've been we the balls off this thing out and about everywhere. I don't care. See, if I'm wearing a watch, it looks cool and I get a smile on my face every time I wear it. Doesn't matter the price point. And I've got good watches in the collection that don't even see the light of day because there's such cool things coming through the post box, coming to our PO box, getting delivered here to the studio on a daily, weekly basis. And this is just the latest in a long line of them. So, yeah, I am super happy with this one. Glad the guy sent it across. And yeah, check the show notes, which you should be doing already. And then we're getting ready to rock to go to Watches and Wonders. No, that's probably your biggie of the year.
- [24:02]
B
That is the big one of the year. It's like, it's funny. I was listening to your episode with Barbara today on the train and you guys were talking about the excitement of getting the invites to go to Dubai Watch Week. And I'm sitting and thinking, when's my invite for Watches and Wonders like I've been for the last few years, so hopefully I'll be invited again. When I'm sitting there thinking, come on, come on, come on. But yeah, it's the big one for the year and. And I'm usually there for four or four or five days and it's very tiring, but it's very fun. That's all I need.
- [24:35]
A
It keeps you going. Watches and Wonders for journalists is like going to a casino in Vegas. There's no windows, there are no clocks, which for a watch was kind of weird. They give you free caffeine, got food available, you've got lots of sugar and there are toilets everywhere. And that is to get the maximum benefit out of all the journalists, the media folks that come across. Because it isn't just one or two brands. There are so many brands, there are so many new iterations, model colorways, different dials, different straps, different bracelets, different materials. You've got to try and combine it all, process it all, see as many brands as you can. Because that used to be the biggie of the year. That was the Basel world. Now it's kind of shh. And Basel were crushed together. And historically, maybe 10 years plus ago, that's the only show that really mattered. That's where retailers would go. They would place their orders for the entire year. So they had to think ahead. And all the eggs were placed in that one basket. That's why it's such a figurehead in the calendar for are into watches. And the benefit is they allow the public to come across it. You don't have to have your own blog, work for a YouTube channel or a podcast like ourselves. You can come along in the public days. They may have already announced or released the public tickets, so check the show notes to find out if that's true or untrue or if it's about to happen. And the people that have gone on the public days, they've loved it. They'll not get the same access as the journalists. Because if Rolex have 5,000 people turning up on a Saturday, all wanting to try on a watch, it's never going to happen, happen. Each person would have five seconds of the day. And also for security purposes, scratching the watches, dropping the watches. That's not the kind of show it is. I say it's like going to an auto show, a car show. You go along, you look at the nice Lamborghini, the nice Ferrari, they don't allow you to test drive it in the parking lot.
- [26:13]
B
No, no, no, you're right. And have you seen like, some of the watches? You'll have undoubtedly seen some of the watches. They get battered. They. Some brands I've had watches where, again, I'm not going to name them brands because it's generally no fault of that. These watches get like an endurance test like no other at Watches and Wonders. I've had watches with crowns falling out. I've had watches where just like pushers have just given up and they're scratched. And I'm looking at these things thinking, I've got to try and tidy this up and make this look presentable. When the last 20 guys have just gone like bastard or apparently they've just played hockey with it or that's what it looks like they've done. So it's a real endurance for everyone. And it's interesting that you mentioned, mentioned that we're all batteries in there as journalists because I did wonder what Morpheus was doing there. But I guess I'm not allowed to know the rest.
- [27:05]
A
We power up the Swisswatch industry.
- [27:07]
B
We do, we do. And we are fueled on coffee and alcohol and it's very fun. I always try and have something like every at least one thing an hour. It's usually you do like a half an hour block. If you're booking it yourself, you'll get half hour blocks. So I'll try and have something half an hour, 15 minutes. Half an hour, 15 minutes. And have lunch at some point and have a break. So that's my top tip for surviving Watches and Wonders is the press is give yourself lunch. At least don't push yourself that far. Cause you might be there from, like you said, you might be there from 8 or 9 o' clock till 5. And it's a lot of walking and you gotta walk from one end to the other sometimes. So just be prepared for that.
- [27:46]
A
It's death by a thousand cuts. Because historically Dave told me off literally a few days ago he told me off and he reminded me be careful when booking things because I book and then Dave comes along. So I have to strategize how it's going to work. This, that the other saves two people trying to do the same work of one person and then confusing the matters. And up until last year I was booking back to back to back.
- [28:09]
B
I remember you, I remember you showing me, I think it was the first year where I was going and you were going and you showed me your, you showed me your schedule. It's like, let's meet up. Great. Show me your schedule. Back to back to back to back to back bat. It's like, okay. Okay, good luck.
- [28:26]
A
The problem you've got is the entirety of PAL Expo is probably a mile corner to corner. And when you've got booths set up, you have to go round the roller coaster that they set out. So to get from one end to the other, not just by yourself, not just on foot, but carting camera equipment, lights, microphones, recorders, et cetera. It is like the Krypton factor and I'm aging myself again there. It's like the Krypton factor. Getting from one edge to the the other and turning up on time because they're Supposed to like you to be there early. Doesn't happen, but they like it. So, yeah, definitely cutting down. The other thing we're going to do this time around is we are a watch podcast. We like to cover the news and the news has to be timely. The problem is when you're at Watches and wonders, all the stuff gets released. Day one, heavy hitters. All the things are embargoed. And because we're there, we're not able to edit a podcast, we're not able to do the audio, the video, get stuff out. So we have to then come back, back, record the show, release it, and by that time it could be five days or a week down the road. Then the video follows afterwards. It's always a pain in the ass. The plan is to actually do editing at night because I'm bored of going to the soirees, the parties and going out and getting drunk and the hangovers the next day. Doesn't wash, doesn't work for me. I don't care about it. I'm there because I want to see the watches and I want to be on my A game to bring the content to everybody that listens and watches. So I'm going to do the editing at night, during the day, do what we need to do, do a debrief, edit quickly at night on the laptop and get it out. So it means when we come back, we're not sitting there going, oh my God, we have got 150 new releases to chat about. How are we going to whittle that down on the show? But listen, I am not complaining about watching wonders. It is phenomenal. Anybody that wants to go, that can go, that has the opportunity, that can find an Airbnb, can get an EasyJet flight return for about 80 bucks from the UK, do it. It's fantastic. You can do it in a day. My first Watch event was going to Baselworld in 2017. Three months into the hobby, didn't know any other brands apart from Rolex and Tudor, pretty much. And I boarded a plane at 6am in Edinburgh in Scotland, got to Basel airport, got a shuttle bus that they put on from the airport to the event, got into the event, did the full event, came back to the airport and then returned home. I did the same thing again the next year. SIHH in January. January. Did it all in the one day. Yeah, it was a long day, but it was worth it. And you can do it. It's actually quicker, and I've said it many times, simpler and quicker. From Scotland to Geneva or Basel than as to get to London, because once you get to London, you've got to travel from London to where the F you're going next. So it is phenomenal. Well worth it. And my big story, you were talking about journalists breaking things, scratching things and doing all kinds of obscene gestures and things to watch again. One of the stories from my past is that that infamous SIHH 2018 visit, first year, that they had allowed the public to come on the final two days, all the staff, all the security, all the people in the booths, they knew it was coming, but they weren't expecting it. They'd never done it before. So when I sauntered along on the last day, they kind of looked to me as if, he must be media, he must be a retailer. We've got to give him all the ears and graces that we provide to everybody else. So I get invited in to the Roger the WS stand. I got to sit down at a workbench. They placed a movement in front of me again. Nine months before that, I didn't know anything about anything. And I picked. I looked at the lady sitting next to me who had picked up the movement in the movement holder, looked at it through a loop, put it back down, then she picked it up and looked at the reverse and I thought, monkey see, monkey do. So I picked up my one in front of me, looked at it through a loop, and this was. I don't know, it was a Lamborghini Collab, something mega complicated. Good few hundred grand in the movement. It had a V engine arrangement for the actual, the escapement and all the rest of it. And I looked at it as if I knew what I was looking at. Mmm, this is very. This is very good. And looking through the loop, I turned the thing upside down to look at the opposite side, and it didn't have another side to the movement holder. So the movement fell off, hit the desk and bounced onto the ground in front of me. And I bent down and I picked up and went and placed it back down and I left and nobody gave a F. That was the thing. I thought, I'm going to have to sell my house, my car and my kidneys for the amount of money I have just cost for this thing that I've dropped on the floo. Nobody cared. It must happen all the time. So that is my little SIHH story.
- [32:38]
B
Yeah. No, no, you're right. I think it happens a lot. I think it happens a lot more than anyone would like to let on. But no, you're absolutely right, these things happen. I've dropped watches onto desks. I've dropped my watches not to the floor, just onto the desk. But it's made a loud enough noise that everyone's kind of like, what was that? So it just happens. It happens.
- [33:00]
A
That's my recommendation. If you're going to one of these things, don't pretend like you know what you're doing. If you don't know what you're doing, be super careful with st because I wasn't. And that has followed me around for many a year. I'm looking forward to all the cool stuff that will be happening this year. We've been told a couple of things. Most of it is embargoed, but as you mentioned, LVMH watch week has just finished. We never got an invite to that. You obviously never get an invite to that. Don't know why, because it was in Milan. That wouldn't have taken long to fly us across in Ryanair to see lvmh. All the content we do for you guys, you know, Tsk, tsk. But did anything stand out to you from all the releases you mentioned? Hublot, obviously Tag Heuer decided to play the sort of the hokey Cokey with our CEOs.
- [33:39]
B
I think actually I will stick with Hublot on this because I've got, I've covered them the most so far. I'm becoming more and more impressed by the creativity that they're doing and the kind of things for some of the things that they did last year, even if it was just ceramic colors or that, that funny looking ceramic watch with the dots on the bezel, it was like the first time anyone has made that work or something. Something. It's like, it's like, okay, I don't like all of this.
- [34:07]
A
Dalmatians.
- [34:08]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, it's not always to my taste but I appreciate the creativity and I like where they're going. So I know I'm going to get killed. I know. If I don't. I know Nico Leonard listens to this. He's going to think, God, this guy doesn't know what he's talking about. I think they're on the up enough and I think they're fun. But the Tag Heuers, they're also interesting. I haven't had a chance to go through Zenith yet but I think they've re released one of their videos vintage with vintage watches again because they've done a lot of re releases, haven't they? If you remember over the last few years they've Been kind of sort of funny octagonal shape. Usually like their watches from the 60s a lot. They're just reintroducing Planet Ocean, I guess, in a way. I guess in a way. Not as the, The Planet Ocean is. Isn't as angular, but. Yeah, I can, I can see why. What do you think, actually? Because I haven't actually asked you about the Planet Ocean. I know it's been and gone, but what do you think on that? Because that is the. That's sort of their big. That's their model, isn't it? Apart from the Speedmaster. It's either a Speedmaster or it's probably a Planet Ocean, isn't it?
- [35:12]
A
Again, funny we should come across this topic because Andrew Morgan went to great extents to say how much he disliked Omega at the moment. The Planet Ocean I got to see at the boutique launch in Edinburgh two months ago. Maybe I was not a fan. I loved the ceramic black. No, it was the ceramic blue and orange Planet Ocean, which I don't even know if it was the previous gen or the one before. That was beautiful. Fantastic blue, ceramic orange inlays. I thought it worked great. It was garish, you know, like Hublot, I suppose, but it just stood out and it was such a transformation. Going from silky smooth. Like it's almost like looking at a classic Jaguar or Mercedes from the 50s and then looking at a cyber truck. That was the thing that hit me in the head and it was from the same company, the same brand.
- [35:57]
B
Yeah, I see. I've got. Got the Planet Ocean coming for a photo shoot. It's like. Well, it's coming now. With Maya been and gone by then. You might be able to read the review now, who knows, check out the website. But I, I'm looking forward to actually getting hands on with it. I've got the black one and I think the orange bezel one coming. And it's going to be, it's going to be interesting because the Planet Ocean is my favorite of the, of the range. It always was. I liked the kind of, the modern kind of chunky. The, the, the chronograph was just too big. But I liked the, the chunkiness and the kind of ruggedness that they had. They weren't trying to be dress watches, which I think the Seamaster 300, the regular one kind of is. I think they've got the utility and I like the reference to the classic Jags and Mercs, to the Cybertruck, because you're right, it's like, let's just do something different and who cares who cares if anyone actually likes it? Some people will like it and buy it.
- [36:50]
A
You know, it's not the same at all, but it makes me think of something that happened again before you were born because you're just a young whippersnapper. Back in the 70s, before I was born and the 80s and the 90s, there was a thing with hi Fi's in the home. Remember HiFi? In a home where one year the models would be black, then the next model iteration everything would be silver. And that was so that you looked at it and thought, I'm not current, I don't have the latest. People look at mine and think, that's the last year model. That's kind of what car people do by changing the headlights just ever so slightly Audi every year, the headlights slightly different, slightly different. BMW the same. And it's just to get more pennies out of your pocket. And that's kind of what I thought when I saw the Planet Ocean changeover. It's so that people can say, oh, you've got the latest one. Or it was when the Batman changed from being on the Oyster to the Jubilee, People would look and go, oh, you must have last year's model, it's just as good as it ever was. But the problem that other people have said is when you walk into a boutique for Omega, they've got the old models that haven't been replaced and then they've got the new angular one at the side. It looks like a completely different race.
- [37:54]
B
I think they've still got one. The last time I checked, they had at least two planet oceans from the old collection still on their website, or most of them even next to the new ones. Why? It's kind of an insult to compare them with BMW at the moment, but I get where you're going with that.
- [38:13]
A
We'll see what happens with them. You know, we like to say on this show, unlike everything else, a watch is good as long as it tells the story time is accurate, reliable and doesn't dig into your wrist and cut you. Everything else is aesthetics. In the Omega range, the one that caught my attention most recently, and they did themselves the biggest disservice. Usually we see a render a photograph or a video and we think it looks fantabulous. Then we get the thing on the wrist in a shop in for review and it's, oh, it doesn't quite hit the mark. The latest one that they did and it is like the Apollo 8. Can't remember the designation of it. It's probably a gray Side of the moon. It's actually made of ceramic. Ceramic chrome, it looks like chrome, not polished stainless steel chrome. And a guy turned up to watch me that we went to wearing the thing and I was absolutely blown away under the shittiest light and the shittiest conditions. This thing was fantastic. Quite pricey. I think it was about maybe 11 to 13,000 pounds, including VAT. And I'd bought my Apollo 8 for around about seven back in not even that long ago, 2019. So the price has rocketed up, but the quality is obviously always was there. Omega, they do a good quality product. Perhaps they're a little bit in the mist as into what direction they're taking at the moment, but no, they're going to be here for a while. They know what they're doing and they've obviously got a lot of things happening this year because. Drumroll, please. It's not a new Bond movie. What's the other? Oh, it's the Olympics.
- [39:31]
B
Yay. Here we go again.
- [39:34]
A
Another thing to celebrate every four years.
- [39:36]
B
See, see, not every two years because they got winter and then summer Olympics.
- [39:41]
A
Harlan, Harlan, do you know that there's a Chinese New Year this year? I know, the year of the horse.
- [39:46]
B
Yeah, the year of the horse, unless you're some friends and then it's the fire Horse and, you know, it depends on. I don't know. But every year now it's brilliant. Every year there's a new Zodiac on a watch and admittedly the ones I've seen so far look cool. But it's another thing to celebrate Cool.
- [40:05]
A
And the gang are here to play. Well, before we round out this episode, we're coming to the end of it and this is just a fun. We were spitballing ideas, just having a chat between friends. No agenda, no list, no bullet point, no script. But it's just fun to have people on the show that don't take things too seriously. Most of the guests that we have, most of the people, even if they are suited and booted Swiss and all the rest of it behind the scenes, when they come on our airwaves, they let their hair down, they chill out, they relax because this is a friendly place. Watches is a great hobby and hobbies are there to be enjoyed. It's entertainment and fun. We don't need them, but we love them. Anything that in particular you are looking forward to this year, apart from watches and wonders, apart from the things we already spoken about, any brands you're going to be factory trips worth anything coming down the line at the moment.
- [40:48]
B
I don't know, it's still up in the air. I am looking forward to finding out what it will be. We find that we get a lot of traction after watches and wonders. This is when we get the most kind of engagement from brands because they know who we are now. So I think after that is when we'll find the most out. But whatever happens, I'm looking forward to it. And you're quite right. It's nice to come and just not really have a plan. I was like, because it's been so long since I've been on, I was thinking do I need a plan? Do I need something to talk about? Do I need to do a monologue or something? And it's just, just like no, no, it's gone really quickly and it's just. Yeah, it's just not taken seriously because everything else has to be serious, doesn't it? So watches don't, I guess.
- [41:28]
A
Why so serious?
- [41:29]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. I agree.
- [41:32]
A
Certainly not on this podcast. Well, we're going to leave people with some closing thoughts and those thoughts are going to be what are your top articles, reviews, things that you have penned over 2025 or even into the beginnings of 2026 that you would want to direct people to choose?
- [41:46]
B
Check out all the things that I want to check out. Well, all of our hands on reviews. That's, that's, that's good. Check out our coverage of cpapec. Those guys are really cool. We have been doing reviews on, we've been doing reviews with Hublot. I've been, I will be having Omegas in as I said. Look, I'm looking forward to getting my hands into those. All of our event coverage that we've done, especially over watches and wonders. If you want live photos and you want our hands on impressions, event coverage is where we shine best. So Bristol one watch. So watches and wonders, those would be the things I'd point you to.
- [42:21]
A
Well, there you go. And I'll point you to things that we do. We are on Instagram ottishwatches website scottishwatches.co.uk follow us on YouTube doesn't cost you a penny. It really helps out the algorithm. And if you've got any suggestions for brands, people to speak about, watches to look at, drop us an email infooottishwatches.co.uk and obviously check the show notes for all the links to the ratings and the musings of harlanrisreview.com and that is it. So thank you for joining us and we'll catch you, you again soon.
- [42:48]
B
Thank you,
- [43:13]
A
Sam.