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Scottish Watches Podcast #781 : The Royal Plop – The AP Aftermath Plus New Watches from Moser, Breitling, Meistersinger and More
00:51:09
This week on the Scottish Watches podcast, we dive into the chaos surrounding the latest Swatch x Audemars Piguet Royal Pop release, after witnessing the queues, crowd madness, and reseller...
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- [00:01]
A
Welcome to the Scottish Watches podcast. What a week it has been. Ah, Dave, Dave, Dave. Did you manage to get one of the royal flops?
- [00:08]
B
No, and I must be honest, I made. Well, how much effort did I make? Zero percent of zero effort is how much attempt I made to actually get one because, well, a, it's not massively floating my floppy boat, but also I kind of second guessed what was going to happen and thought, I can't be done with that. So that's kind of where I'm at in that whole scenario.
- [00:29]
A
Kind of. I was going to say same, but I did make the pilgrimage into Glasgow for no other reason than to see what everybody else was up to. And it was pandemonium. Myself, Simona decided to head down maybe 6am we'd heard people all over the UK and the rest of the world had been queuing for days more than they had done for previous iterations, the Blompole 50 Fathoms and obviously the original Moonswatch Mania. So we went down and let's just say 99% of the people amassed in Glasgow at Buchanan Galleries looked as if they were not watch enthusiasts. They looked as if they were the most far removed removed from watch enthusiasts that you could possibly think of.
- [01:07]
B
Well, let's just say that, well, whilst you described it as the royal flop, I think most of the people in the queue might be leaning more towards flip rather than flop.
- [01:17]
A
Oh, Dave, well done. That's why we hired you. You're good at this game. Yeah, listen, let's recap everything. Let's just rewind things back a bit because there's been a lot of questions posed. There's been a lot of tub thumping around the Internet with people battering the soapbox, saying, yes, this was a problem, this was done wrong. That was done wr me personally thinking about it, who knows nothing. My only qualms with Swatch Group are they advertised this to everybody. Millions of people across the world, if not potentially billions of people across the world. And then they had limited stocks of, I heard between 30 and 50 per boutique that was opening and they knew fine well, they were advertising to far more people than that. So that's my negative in the Swatch front. That does not mean that because they did that the great unwashed can turn into savages and start fighting each other and stabbing each other and threatening each other. That is completely different. That isn't Swatch. That's say I decided to advertise. I was selling my car for one buck and people decided to come to my house to buy that car, because I'm advertising it doesn't mean everyone should start stabbing each other and having fights in the street.
- [02:20]
B
Yeah, I think it's fair to say that of the majority of stores, I think there was over 100 stores globally that there was some kind of offering. And as you say, the numbers are not official, but it seems to be that in the 30s to 50s seems to be the number that each store had, which when you kind of add it up over all the stores, it's not a huge number. I think Swatch could easily have made a few more if they wanted to, but that's a different story. But yeah, I think there's certain countries that seem to have had issues and others didn't. European countries, uk, the United States seemed to be very problematic. I think India had an issue where it was more the volume of people, but there didn't seem to be any outright violence. Dubai, I think, again was more volume of people and they just kind of said, nope, we're not having this. But it appears because there's been some press coverage and I know that various folk from this watch group have had their Tuppensworth now said and they are all kind of saying, well, look, we managed it as best we could. I don't think that's necessarily true. I think those instances all happened previously with the launch, especially of the Moonswatch. It's not exactly a new thing of that's how people are going to behave that is badly. And I don't think they necessarily did enough to contain what that might look like. Also, on the basis that a lot of these Swatch stores were in shopping centres, there's no mean meaningful way to have some form of crowd control because they're outside. Then suddenly the shopping centre opens and you've got this pandemonium rush of people charging through the shopping centre to get to the store. Yeah, I think they've got some blame to be held about how they dealt with some of the crowds. I think Apple did it well. The first years that they had these queues for Apple iPhones, it was a bit pandemonium and they very quickly learned and suddenly the queue control was intense and then they got rid of it altogether and they went with some more online type basis. Lots to be lear. But I think, to be fair, the broader story is it's been successful. From what I understand, every one of them that's put out into market probably has found a home. I think in certain markets a lot of them have found their home. Maybe not at the homes they should be at. But that's a very different way of putting it. And I think that give it a few weeks, give it a couple of months. If you really want one of these, you'll be able to walk into a store, not necessarily super easy and get one, but I think you will get one if you really want one. Give it a couple of months and suddenly all the heat will have gone out of it and you'll be able to get your hands on one.
- [04:34]
A
I don't think anybody really wants one because everyone I've spoken to, everyone that's been chatting behind the scenes, it's not something they want. The people that wanted it were wanting it for the reason of being first keeping up with the Joneses showing off. And the ones that really wanted it were the ones that wanted to sell it to make a profit. Nothing wrong with making a profit, but it just, it's not functional unless you suddenly then get a 3D printed carriage to put it in to turn it into a wristwatch. There are many stages and steps to take it, to turn it into something that very few people will care about in three weeks time. And by the time everybody gets one of these things, it will be like the moonswatch, it will be like the blompon one that they did. No one is really going to care. And I think looking at it broad spectrum, because I do check the news and I have googled for it to see what everyone's saying many days down the road, no one has got a good thing to say about it. The news outlets that were covering it, most of them have no one saying, well done, Swatch. No one's saying, well done ap. No one's saying, oh, wristwatches are back. Remember wristwatches, they're a thing. It hasn't injected positivity in any way, shape or form into the collecting community or industry, which I think is what they hoped it would do.
- [05:40]
B
Well, they do say that all news is good news. And to be fair, there's no reporting at all of the many stores where I'm sure it went off quite calmly and people went in, got their watches and left at the end of the day. The little strap thing, it's like a bag charm. You can't even wear it around your neck. You know, you could literally.
- [05:58]
A
This is the watch equivalent of a laboboo charm for somebody's bag.
- [06:02]
B
Yeah, I think there's a little bit of that. I've seen a few folk guys hanging them off their kind of rear view mirrors in the car. That will not be happening with me, because frankly, bad idea. But no, you know, I don't really know what to say about it. Just a bit sad. The bad behavior really to be expected sadly as well. But that's just the way it is. I think the reality is this, if you really decide you want one of these, after a few weeks or months have passed, you'll probably be able to get one. Probably in two months from now, you'll have forgotten all about it and have moved on to something completely different. Therefore, well, time will tell and it's
- [06:36]
A
now time to tell you to check the show notes, click the link in your podcast player takes you to our website. If you're watching this on YouTube, the link will be in the description at the top. All the information, all the tech spec, the links, the pics of all the watches and industry news and bits and pieces that we're going to correct the record on that'll all be there in a chronological order. So you can play along at home or after the fact, when you're finished doing whatever it is you're doing that's very important, you can go back, look through it, check out those things, relive those for fond memories. And we had some fond memories recently talking with Nicholas at Moser. He came to meet us in Englandshire, we sat down, we had a chat with him on the record. Usually he shies into the background. It's Edouard, maybe it's Bertrand or it's somebody, it's Claire. You know, it could be anybody from Moser. I think that's the first time we got Nicholas on camera, on microphone and that episode will be coming out soon. That's our Booker Live edition, which was phenomenal, really pleased with the way that turned out and we didn't say any bad words. But the guys at Moser, they've got some really cool stuff happening all the time. The latest iteration of the streamliner has got a dial that is one of Dave's favorite colours. It's slightly different from the watch Dave already has. I don't know if he likes this one better, but we're about to find out.
- [07:38]
B
Well, indeed, this is the watch that we've both had our hands on with because Nicholas was indeed wearing one whilst we recorded with him. But we didn't talk about that watch because we were there to talk about all the releases from Watches and Wonders. And this is something that's only going to be available in Moser boutiques. What are we talking about? It's a new iteration of the streamliner, Small seconds, this one being the lime green enamel boutique edition. Now a little bit of history. Streamliner 2020 is when it came out and it was initially a fairly complex, expensive watch. Of course it was the introduction of this integrated bracelet style watch that kind of redefined a new category for the brand. Fast forward to 2023. That's when the streamliner small seconds in the blue dial first kind of saw the light of day and this refined everything it brought into a smaller case that being 39 millimeter. The original was 42.5. Roughly it broug the new micro rotor calibre into this movement. Previously they'd been well, normal automatics or chronographs etc. And what have we got now? Well, the case remains unchanged. Stainless steel, same sizes, that being 39 millimeters, 10.9 millimeters tall and 120 meters of water resistance. It's all about the dial though. So this dial is in a very bright lime green. Think the kind of green that Ricky's got on his T shirt this episode. If you watch this on YouTube, it'll punch you in the face. Lime green. And it's a Fumei Grand Fu enamel dial on it. You of course got the little sub seconds display down at 6 o'. Clock. It's also logoless. This is something that they do quite often. When a WADO first comes out, you've got the white Moser logo. Then it goes to the kind of disappearing transparent logo. Then sometimes it completely disappears. The calibre, it's the in House HMC 500. As I mentioned, it's an automatic, albeit with a platinum micro rotor, 74 hours of power reserve. The slightly sadder thing is it's only available via Moser boutiques. The good news is though, there's quite a few of them. You've got a few around the world. Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Manolo Park, Seoul, New Delhi, Singapore, Chengdao, Chicago. Lots of options out there and the price is not, well, excessively higher than you would be expecting for this model. It's 33,400 Swiss francs including taxis. If you like green, you're probably going to like this. If you don't like green, maybe this is not the one for you personally.
- [09:55]
A
If you.
- [09:56]
B
It looks amazing. I am a big fan. I like oranges, I like these brighter colors and dials and it's something that, well, the brand Moser do very well. They can take colors that are maybe something that you might suggest otherwise, might not be at home on a high end luxury watch and kind of make it work really well. Ricky, you've seen this in hand as well as have others within the Scottish watches team and I think the praise has been universal. But let's just double check. Did you actually like it?
- [10:20]
A
I loved it and I don't really care for green. I think I can't count one hand. Well, I probably could count one hand the amount of green watches. I've got an Aorus Aquis, there's a kind of turquoise Raymond Vale freelancer pop edition. Then I can't actually think of much else, perhaps my Accutron, but that's more of a printed circuit board that's there for the green. This was amazing. It looked good in the renders, the pictures, PDFs. Seeing it in hand, it just follows suit of the rest of the stuff that Moser have been doing. Is it my favorite? No, still going to go with that red one that we saw with the black anthracite as they call it, that we saw. Watches wonders, still stands out, the pump watches. Everything kind of moves around and one of the things I want to comment on there is when they launched the streamliner in 2020, they won the integrated steel sports model watch game completely unanimously. Because up until this day, whenever I'm wearing a watch could be the Czupek, it could be this, it could be that. Good, my Moser. The Moser is the one that always gets people coming over and asking about the bracelet, how it melds itself completely into the watch head. It is space age technology, it's just so good. And the glass polishing, when you look at it and the way it reflects light, there's nothing else I can think that's like it. Are you the same when you wear yours? Is it the watch that people ask about the most?
- [11:33]
B
I think it's probably one of the watches that's the most distinctive. It kind of is a bit of an eye catcher. Many, of course, luxury watches do catch the eye, whether it's the gold or whether it's a Rolex or whatever, people do tend to notice these things. But it's one that I think it piques fox interest because they look at it and they go, that looks like a lovely watch. But they're not quite sure quite often what it is. So they will maybe then engage in a conversation. Whereas if it's something more obvious, an Omega, a Rolex maybe, people go kind of knowing, yes, that's nice but don't say very much. Whereas I think with the Streamliner it is one that more often than not, if people are open to a bit of dialogue. They'll maybe inquire as to what the watch that one is wearing is, or they'll go, well, that's one of those Mosers. It's a streamliner and they are quite unusual, as goes by one of the logos of the brand. So not so many people see them in the real wild world. So maybe it's one of the only opportunities that might actually get to see one. So they maybe come up and say, may I have a look? It is definitely a conversation starter, which is one of the fun things with watches like to be said. And it doesn't always need to be an expensive watch. Remember, it can be an inexpensive watch. Plenty of them are also conversation starters. Quite often. Things like the Sega design watch we talked about in one of the previous episodes, that's a watch as well that's caught the eye of people and they've come up and asked what it is.
- [12:47]
A
That watch can have you turning in your grave almost. But we'll get on to that in a second, Dave.
- [12:51]
B
We will.
- [12:52]
A
No, the streamliner, it's got the best bracelet, I think, hands down. I played with all the bracelets and it's funny because a watch came out in late 2019 that was alleged to set the world on fire. It was going to take over the integrated stainless steel sports watch category and that was the Odysseus from Ehling and Zona. And everyone was waiting for this. I remember people were selling their collections, they were buying all kinds of stuff at ads to get their name down to get one of these watches and you never hear about them again. And then a few months later, Moser dropped the streamliner. Done mic drop. But anyway, speaking of mic drops, we got an email from a listener, Dave, didn't we? Because things like that happen and it's a good reminder to say if you're listening to the show and you want to get in touch with anything, maybe you want to correct perhaps a faux pas on Dave Sharp's part. Email us infoocottishwatches.co.uk. so do you want to read this next email out for us, Dave, before
- [13:43]
B
we start a I've got the answer already. I've been thinking about it for a bit of a moment and also I think it was a dual faux pas because I don't think either of us actually qu dawned on what was going on.
- [13:52]
A
But anyway, no, it did. It did. I'll answer that one. I'll defend myself shortly. Dave.
- [13:56]
B
Right, we'll defend ourselves and fight. Okay. Mr. Jordan has been quite an admirer of Sega design and has frequently worn one of its Edge timepieces. That's a quote had subject Eddie Jordan is dead. Never expected to send in an email with that as a subject line. Love your podcast. Long term listener. In the latest episode you guys were speaking about Eddie Jordan as if he was still alive in the present tense. I was driving at the time and I was pretty certain he'd passed last year, but I couldn't check. I just have. I thought I'd let you know. Not sure why. And that's from Kevin, what I'm going to say, which is going to end the conversation. Legends never die.
- [14:35]
A
I know why Dave got it wrong and I highlighted in the show notes I sent him ahead of time the word had he had skipped over that one. He hadn't quite developed in his cortex. And as much as he tried to drag me under the bus wheels along with him there, while he was telling this story about Eddie Jordan liking his watches current present tense, something in the back of my head was saying, I don't think this is quite correct, but Dave is speaking with such conviction that I'm going to let him carry on and everything will be fine. And then it just carried on the rest of the show happened and all the rest of it. But it reminds me of the very early days of Scottish watches when we did an episode about the passing of Roger Moore half a decade after he died.
- [15:12]
B
Yes, but I'm just going to stick with Legends never die. And he was. But yes, sadly he did pass away back in 2025 and I do know that we're talking about it. Kind of remember reading that, but funnily enough it just completely bypassed me. He was a character for sure. But anyway, we should move on to a different watch to chat about now.
- [15:30]
A
Yeah, and this is a brand that we talk about sometimes. It is supplied across the world in the uk. June Fort and Sun are a stockist of it and it's through the blue company, Monica Co. Down there. Occasionally they'll release a watch that stands out and we'll talk about it in the show. And the other watches they produce, they're just standard watches that everybody loves, they buy, but they don't really raise their head too much up this time around. Meistersinger, the one handed watch company, that's what they're known for. They've really done well.
- [15:57]
B
What are we talking about? Well, we're talking about the all new Meistersinger suscription Panthero Jumping hour Guilloche.
- [16:04]
A
Is that the guy at Thundercats Yep,
- [16:05]
B
that's what I'm saying. Lots to be breaking down here. So we'll get to the word suscription, which is not soupscription, as I've heard some people describe it as. That's something different. That's when you like soup a lot and you subscribe to get it delivered regularly. This is subscription, which is French. What is that all about? Well, it's the idea dating back to the 18th century when watchmakers only produce watches after a client had committed to that piece and placed the order. It's a system that obviously requires the intention of the person wanting to buy the watch and, of course, a lot of patience because you need to wait for it. I think what's commonly called these days is pre order, where people will accept orders for things before they're made as a way of maybe helping to finance the project, which is essentially what it was used for back in the day. So they're going to lean into this. So Meisersinger will take orders for this Panthero jumping hour for a limited period. Once that window closes, production will begin. Let's talk about the watch, though. The Pantero is a more recent addition to the range. The case that's used is as what you would expect from that model. It's a 40.5 millimeter diameter, along with a slim bezel, which means you've got the maximum space dedicated to the dial. Its brushed and polished surfaces are on there, and that kind of makes that contrast. But it doesn't have any form of distraction because it's all about that artisanal dial that's on there. Water resistance, 50 meters. So let's talk about the dial. It's a, as they quote, genuine hand guilloche dial. It's light gray in color on this one. And what is guillochade? Well, it is a machine, but it's a manually operated machine where both the pressure applied and the technique to use the machine must be of the utmost in order to get the best out of it. So it's not like a CNC machine,
- [17:45]
A
where it's just like a big Spirograph in many ways.
- [17:48]
B
That would be a very good description. But unlike, say, a CNC machine where you program it and it will, you know, make sure that the applied depth and cutting forces, et cetera, are all universal, this one, it does take a lot of user skill, and we have been lucky enough in certain manufacturers to be able to see how this actually operates in the real world. In fact, I think it is, in fact, Chronoswiss very commonly have one, along with the operator on their stand at watches and wonders. So what does it give you? It does definitely give you, I guess, a constant sense of motion. It constantly will interact with the light because you've got all these different surfaces and levels going on there as well. You've got an off centered blue minute ring. It kind of runs through 12 o' clock and it's in the upper half of the dial that's got obviously all your minutes on it. The hours are displayed with a circular aperture at 12 o' clock where you've got that jumping hour. The clues in the name of the watch and then one of the signatures. You've got a little rotating sun wheel, that's the seconds and that sits just under where the centre of the dial is time, telling why it's of course, via that jumping hour. And then you've got the minutes track on that upper area of the dial. Calibre wise, it's an MSGH01. It's got a Sellita SW300 as a base, but you've got the proprietary jumping hour module on there that's been developed by Dubois de Pras. 47 hours of power reserve comes fitted on a blue leather strap that's embossed. The price is actually quite reasonable for what you're getting here. €7,990, including the VAT. I think you have to like this aesthetic. You have to like that more artisanal look. But if that is your vibe, this watch might very well vibe with you. I think it's pretty cool. Personally, I do like this brand. A lot of their watches are very plain and quite neutral in many ways, I would say. Ricky, what do you think?
- [19:37]
A
I love this and I don't know why, but I do. Everything about it is fantastic. The fact it's a jumper is maybe 12 months too late to the party, but a lot of people are continuing that on into 2026 and beyond. The price point is not crazy. You mentioned Chronoswiss earlier. That was one of the first things I thought of because it plays into their design language a little bit. But the dial, it just jumps out. There is something about it that just appeals to me and I can't try and articulate in words how it looks. It's almost like if you were drinking electricity, this is what it would look like.
- [20:12]
B
I know where you're coming from. There's a weird something about it. It looks like it's kind of got static around it. It if. Maybe that's what you're trying to get at. It looks like if you touch it, it might hurt a little bit or it might give you a little zing. It feels alive in some ways and that's probably well down to the dial and the way light interacts with it and it kind of. It looks like it's not sitting still. It's a thing to me. If you stare at it long enough, it almost is one of those things that you think it's moving even though it's not because you can't quite focus on it.
- [20:41]
A
It's like an optical illusion on the wrist. That's. That's what I'm trying to get to here. And the price point again, I'm looking at Chronos with. And Chronoswiss is a different animal because it's custom movements. It's all kinds of stuff going on. But moving things down and Chronoswiss aren't crazy expensive. That was something we highlighted. You know, it's the teams they're in. This is just further down the scale slightly price wise, using modules and whatnot. I really like it and I didn't expect Meister Singer to do something like this. This is definitely in the Louis Arard styling, the Chronoswiss styling, things of that ilk. But yeah, it's amazing what you can get value for money wise these days. And this is a huge win. So, yeah, definitely, if you like this one, go and grab it.
- [21:20]
B
I think it will be popular. I think they'll probably make a few more than they're expecting to make. It's a great looking watch and it shows you that the Germans can do some quite funky and cool and different things without being overly German. That sounds strange, but some watches to me definitely look German. This one just looks like its own thing. Great looking watch. Check out the show notes because that's where you'll see pictures of it that will do it much more justice than our verbal description of said watch. Watch. Which will also count for the watch that we're about to talk about next also.
- [21:48]
A
Or verbal diarrhea is what Dave really means there. And next up is to tell you, check us out on YouTube. If you're not subscribed there, then you're missing half the story. We put at least one episode out a week. Well, we do that when Gav is not on holiday. But when Gav is on holiday, sometimes it falls on me. Or now that Simona is working on the team, she is going crazy with the media stuff. So we're not going to have just one video a week. We're going to have our clips, we're going to have reels, we're going to have shorts and potentially two episodes a week just to keep her busy and out of my hair. Not that I have much left. So to find us, check the show notes or jump on to YouTube and just search for Scottish watches and subscribe there. Tick the notification thingy, the bell icon, whatever it is they do these days. As much as it's a pain in the ass to find good content on there because they just seem to throw random stuff in your feed. But moving on from there, we talked about a cool watch from Meistersinger, a brand that occasionally pop their head up as I mentioned, and another brand that we talk about when they do something that raises the bar. And the thing is, the bar is already raised with these folks because we see them at least once per year and we deal with them on a regular basis. What they've done this time around, again, again, it's a price point I would have expected. Blown out the water. And it's the folks at Perla, they are known for their turbine watches, not the one handed watches that was the last folks these guys do. It's like a rotor on the front that sometimes actually helps wind the watch. Most of the time it's decorative, but it means when you've got the watch on the wrist and you tilt slightly, the front starts to go crazy. And what did they do this time? They decided to take it to the casino.
- [23:10]
B
They did. And what we have here is the Perli Turbine Casino Roulette. Now let's get things straight, right? This is no super complication at the end of the day is a three hander watch. That being hours, minutes and center seconds in the turbine range Ricky mentioned. There's been lots of versions of it, but this one here has a roulette wheel. Where normally you'd see this propeller style turbine which occasionally winds a watch but more often is for decoration and it's a bit of a fidget spinner. Now this one, the turbine is made from sandblasted stainless steel and it's been shaped like a miniature French roulette. We of course you get that signature, alternating red and black numbers that go from 0 to 36 around the track. You've got the green at 0 at 12 o' clock and you've got a small red arrow that acts well like the roulette pointer. Now the wheel will spin round and the arrow of course will land on a different number which gives you almost like you've got a little game of roulette on your wrist. So it's definitely leaning into the fidget spinner side of things. On most of turbine models, the spinning part moves very quickly to the point where it's spinning so quick you can see the dial underneath. A bit like when you look at a car, wheels spinning at high speed and you can see the brake calipers. But in this one it does rotate at a slower pace. Case wise on this, it's a 41 millimeter grade 2 titanium case. It's got brushed and polished finishes on there as well. And it's mounted to a five link titanium bracelet. Water resistance at 100 meters. There's an extra black rubber strap in the box and it has an automatic caliber. It's the P331MH that's developed by Soprod. And it's convenient because that's Perley's sister company. 42 hours of power reserve comes with both certificate and a Chrono Fable certification. Price point. There's only 100 of these being made and it's something a bit unusual. So the price point of €5,250 does come as a bit of a pleasant surprise. Yes, it's a little bit gimmicky maybe is the word we could use because it's got a function on it that does nothing other than amuse1. And I think it's quite cool. If you're into gambling, if you're into casinos, if that's your vibe and you like that lifestyle, this very much could be the watch for you.
- [25:14]
A
5k is not bad, not bad at all for this because looking at it, I thought that's going to be north of 10 because it's really nice Swiss. It's got a cool complication and it's just for fun. And if you were to look at a Jacob and co, it would be astronomical. Do you like that how I did that segue? An astronomical jump in price point for something. Again, that's a little bit cool. I think this is huge. I think these two last watches and this seems to be a bit of an independence. Apart from one brand we'll talk about later, but that's kind of independent as well. This is an independence episode because there's lots of stuff we're talking about from brands that you don't generally find on the high street parallel. Don't know where you actually can buy them. I know there's a few places in the uk. Miz will put details in the show notes and Internationally. And it's one of our good friends, Stephen Lee, at Remontoire 60, that deals with them within the UK. We've had Hugo, the CEO of the company, on a couple of years ago telling us the history of Perla and the associated brand. So it's probably time that we drag him back on the show to talk about all the new stuff. Now it's time for the wrist checks and I'm going to go first and Dave's going to be confused because I'm going to talk about an Arage watch. So, yeah, today I thought I would try and gazump Dave because he's probably going to pull an Arage watch out from somewhere, some orifice of his. But this is one of the originals. This is the first tourbillon that they put together way, way back in the day. I think it was 2019, they started speaking about it. Maybe 2020, things got underway. There were some problems. Originally they were going to use a La Joux Paris movement, and there was some changes at the top at Le Joux Pare, and that didn't. So they had to quickly pivot and design, create, test and implement their own movement, their own tourbillon, which is not an easy thing to do. And this came to fruition 2021. I managed to grab a hold of this just before we went to our first ever Dubai watch week, and I had to borrow, which quickly turned into ownership of the movement that's in this watch. Back then, it was Landon that was dealing with all the bits and pieces to do with marketing and lazing with the press, which involved us. And he donated his movement from his test piece so I could actually wear the watch across to dub. It got standing ovations, not really got sitting ovations from the people that were there, all the journalists. I remember Waco coming over specifically to say, is that the Arage? Is that the tourbillon everyone's talking about? And it was. So I went. I was going to go crazy, but I didn't go crazy. I decided that I would go for a more muted look on the front. The only bits of blue to tie in with Scotland was the handset. So if I take it off the wrist and we peer through the back, you can see it's very, very blue there. It has got a fantastic arrangement. I call it the Blue Waffle, because that's kind of what it looks like to me. And definitely don't AI Google that because it will not work out in your favor. This has been implemented in a number of watches. It's been updated numerous times. And although this was a limited edition, it was a bit like we talked about with the Meistersinger. You put your name down, you put some money down, you get the watch. They don't do it again. They have done newer versions of it. So, Dave, do you want to run us through all the details on this because you actually know more about it than I do.
- [28:07]
B
Well, as you mentioned, this is the original Tourbillon from hirage. The Tourbillon won the very first watch that featured a Tourbillon. And not just any old Tourbillon, the fully in house Tourbillon from Arage. Originally, there was conversations had with other movement manufacturers about, well, could we work with you? Could we maybe do something? Could we do something Tourbillon with you? None of them panned out into anything, so we did it ourselves as a company. There was lots of different variations. Ricky mentioned he went for the simpler one, that being the silver on the front and the blue in the back. But you could have lots of different colour combinations depending on what took your fancy. It is a. A 41 millimeter bezel on this watch with a 39 millimeter main case body. But it does mean you open up the front of it so you can see the whole watch. 120 hours of power reserve cost certification as well. And it's a manual wind titanium flying Tourbillon. There's lots of information about it on the show. Notes, check them out because Maziel will put a few links to some stuff if you want to go and look at some videos on YouTube and some other informations about it so that we can make sure we get plenty of other news in this podcast.
- [29:12]
A
There's a little hidden Easter egg with this watch as well that I forgot about until I read the back of it. This is edition T101. So of all the limited editions that came out the subscriptions, I asked for that specific number because that's the terminator number, the T101 model. So, yeah, this is a fantastic watch that's been upgraded ever since. And it also got an upgrade because it never used to come on a bracelet. And then Mirage decided to make a bracelet for a newer model and allowed you to retrofit it to the previous edition. And it looks like it came with it. It is absolutely fantastic. And we had a chat on the show recently about different grades of stainless steel. And this one here is 904L and it looks fabulous. One of the main points that I like to show to people is it's not Just the look when you look straight down at the watch, it's when you tilt it slightly and the edges of that grid come alive. They are mirror polished. So there is always something that is going to glint in your eye when you're in a room and light hits it. No matter the angle angle, it is just polished to perfection. Great little watch. And the new additions, how have they been going?
- [30:12]
B
Yeah, so well. We've just recently released the Tourbillon 3 and that's the first model that we've done that has what would be described potentially as a fully skeletonized look similar to that tourbillon one. It albeit is in a smaller case size of 38.5 millimeters. That was released a few months ago and well, yep, it's going very well. Three colorways in it. Not as many color options as we did on that original one. We learned a few lessons. When you offer lots of choices, it is a bit of a challenge when it comes to production, shall we say? So we have limited to three popular.
- [30:43]
A
Is that Swiss for ball ache?
- [30:45]
B
You could say Bol ach would be an accurate way to describe it. Yes. Lots of SKUs equals lots of potential for challenges. Let's leave it at that. But that original one is still very sought after. We regularly get emails in from people asking can I buy a Tourbillon one? And the answer, as you mentioned earlier, is affirm. Unfortunately you cannot. But there are many other Tourbillon models now in a range including Micro rotor automatic Tourbillon. So people wanting something maybe not hand wound. There's those options within the offering alongside the manual wine calibre which continues in a few different watches, Tourbillon 2 and Tourbillon 3 along with the Lensman 1 series.
- [31:22]
A
Magic. Right Dave, what have you got on the wrist?
- [31:25]
B
Well, Dave has made a quick and concerted effort to reverse roll because yes, he was going to show you her orange but seeing as you're being me and I'm being you, I'm going to pull something out. And we also talked about it being an independent orientated episode. So I have something independent and it just so happens something that I haven't worn for a while. Bit like you and your Tourbillon one. You've dragged it out of the safety deposit location. I've gone and found something out again that I've not worn for a while. That is my Arnold and son and that is again a hand wound watch. So we're on the same page with that. This one again is a 90 hour power reserve, slightly less, but this has got the moon phase indicator. You can see that on the back there, just when I'm pointing my finger, which makes it much simpler to set the moon phase on there. And you've got that huge moonphase on the front. We've also been talking about Guilloche and this one, of course, has a very distinctive wave pattern. Guilloche main dial in a very deep. And I'll say it in my best Scottish purple or in English purple dial this one. Yeah, I love it. It's a cool watch. 41.5 or 40.5 millimeters, actually, I think just under 41 millimeters. It's relatively small, slim, very easy to wind. It's very satisfying to wind this one. It's got a lovely winding action on it. And you've got the little push button just up there. You can see above the crown that lets you set the moon phase, which is accurate to something like one day. And something. Something thousand years. Can't really remember. Don't even usually set it. I tend to just have the moon phase bang front and center because, well, look, it's pretty. And you know, who really cares what the moon phase is doing? Well, that is, unless it's whale roof time. But it's not werewolf time as far as I'm concerned. Well, it's just off film in there, so we should be safe. So that is what I am, well, not wearing, but have beside me because I've quickly changed what I was meant to be wearing just to satisfy the needs of the listeners of this show.
- [33:16]
A
Good choice, Steve. Good choice. Arnold and Son. Another good. Well, I don't even know. Arnold and son aren't independent because they're run by citizen group, Dave.
- [33:24]
B
Well, they're part of citizen group, but they operate as a, well, independent arm, shall we say. And they were, of course, one of the big independent brands. But you're right, yes, they are part of one of the bigger groups now. Bit of a strange one, that group. They all kind of seem. Seem to do their own thing in their own way, but they're all. I think they've. I think it's a bit like saying they've got a parent and they're adults and they've been let out into the world to do their own thing. But anyway, yeah, they've got a big brother son, a bit like us. Yeah, probably. That sounds reasonable. Let's go with that anyway.
- [33:52]
A
Let's go with that and let's find out what we've been doing when we've been out adulting in the World, we'll start with you.
- [33:57]
B
Like you, we went on our trips. It wasn't a holly bag, but it was to record a live show at Bukhara because they were having a week long event highlighting everything thing there is to know about what was happening within watchmaking, especially post watch wonders, bringing many of those releases to the wider audience. People who couldn't get over to Switzerland, people who wouldn't have an opportunity to go and see them in their homeland, they got to see them in London at their main flagship boutique. That was well, an excellent trip and you will be hearing the results of that and seeing the results of that in probably around one week's time from listening to this episode. That was good fun. Apart from the Hailstones, which was interesting. But anyway, Ricky's got more to talk about that later in his. Outside of that, what have I been up to? Not a whole lot. Trying to take a couple of days of rest and relaxation because I've been doing a lot of travelling recently and it was beginning to catch up with me. I caught up in my sleep. That's a good thing. And I am preparing because I am off to New York, New York for work next week for a couple of days. Literally a couple of days. So that is going to be fun. I am flying from Glasgow direct to New York on a seventh. That is putting a bit of trepidation in my heart because that's a plane normally would be skipping between say Glasgow and London. Yeah, that's like a little putt putt, two engine small thingy bob plane. But apparently the US United Airlines are now flying from Glasgow to New York daily in a little 737. They're also flying there from Edinburgh. Not convinced. I want to be halfway over the Atlantic on a 737 but hey, that's what I'm flying on. So I've not got much choice. I watched some stuff on the Interwebs. Can't remember.
- [35:38]
A
Or it was Human Centipede.
- [35:40]
B
Trying to think what it's called. Oh, I know, it was called something about Dynamite. House of Dynamite, that thing that is all a bit too real. I've watched it before, couldn't really remember if I enjoyed it, so I watched it again and yeah, well, it was quite a good film. Annoyed me again when it got to the end and you don't actually really know what happened. Anyway, if you've not seen it, I would say it's worth a watch. Outside of that, Ricky, not a lot. Tell us about you.
- [36:02]
A
Your tonal intonations did not Turn that into a question at the end. Okay, well I'm going to jump into what I've been up to and yes, me and Dave we went to put Booker to do our live recording and thanks to everybody that got in touch to say they wanted to come along. It was a bit tricky because we tried to tell everybody that this started at 3:34pm on a Wednesday afternoon in the city centre of London, but people didn't quite catch the memo on that one. And when we reiterated this to the people that got in touch, they said, oh, oh, it's not after work, it's not an evening thing. Oh, we can't make it. So we did have a full house but a lot of people were disappointed they couldn't come along because it was during working hours. So I'm sure for the next, next one we'll move it slightly. But yeah, we launched the event with the folks at Buchera and apart from one small technical hitch that we immediately fixed, the benefit of having Simona working for us now and actually listening to the audio live, she spotted that one of the microphones was not working correctly, something we wouldn't have figured out ourselves until we got home. So we had three guests and we're not going to ruin it for you, but it was great fun, lots of audience participation, lots of questions fielded from the seats in front of us and everybody brought their A game. In fact the spokesperson for Bucharer was probably the best of of the bunch and that was a complete out of left field move because they hadn't been media trained as far as we're aware and it was a last minute decision to bring them on board to chat and they were phenomenal. So it's an episode, you want to listen to lots of behind the scenes information not just in Watches and wonder not just in Booker, but different brands and how things have developed at Watches and Wonders over the years. A great one to check out and rolling on from that. I want to apologize to the people that were there that tried to come across and speak to myself as I was packing up afterwards because we, we finished the recording at 5 and I needed to be out of there to the airport, through Russia, in London to get on a plane to get back home for around about 9pm So I was packing stuff up as people were trying to get a hold of me. Apologies for that. Next time I will not be as quick. And it was off for now because by the time we left we got to Heathrow, our plane was delayed not just slightly but by a Long shot. And tons and tons of flights were cancelled due to the terrible weather at Heathrow Air itself. There were videos afterwards of the car parks that Heathrow underwater, as in the cars were almost floating, there was 2 foot of water, 1 foot of water, all kinds of stuff going on. There was crazy hailstones the likes of which I have not seen in a long, long time. And I'm in Scotland and we got delayed. I think it was 3am by the time we got home, 3am and we left Bucharest at around about 20 past 5 in the afternoon. So that was a bit of a jaunt getting home, but well worth it. Podcast edited up excellent. The video looks great, so be sure to check that one out. Other than that, what else I've been up to just watching some TV and some movies. Went to see Devil Wears Prada 2, thought it was decent, thought it was really good. Having been involved in publishing magazines back in the mid-2000s when the first one came out and now everything been digital online, Instagram and influencers. I quite liked it. A lot of people said it was very samey samey, but that was a good movie. Went to see the Michael Jackson movie. Same again. Really cool movie. Obviously slightly diluted from the trailer truth, but don't let that get in the way of a good story. It was a good film, enjoyed watching it. And it finished off just around about the time you probably want it to finish off before things went a little bit crazy and on television. The Roast of Kevin Hart I was a big fan of the Comedy Central roasts of everybody. And I've got to be careful with names because if I mention certain names it turns out you get Shadow banned for episodes. So I'm going to mention perhaps a current president of the United States, perhaps David Hasselhoff. All these kinds of guys Rob Blow. The cutting remarks from the people in the dais when they come up to roast the person were insane. I didn't think we'd ever get back to that again, but it turns out Netflix allowed it to happen again. Some of the jokes were absolutely outlandish. Some of the jokes Kevin Hart made at the end about the Rock and his more slender frame and perhaps him recovering from a disease that was quite in the News in the 1980s. Yeah, it was hard hitting, very punchy if you like that kind of stuff. And if you listen to this, probably do one to go and check out. And then I finished up it off at the weekend a few days after getting back from London, filming a musical gig in Glasgow. I do it every Year for one of my friends, he runs a band called ttf and they were performing in front of thousands of people outdoors. So I went along, did a bit of video work and that was it. So that is what we've been up to, what I've been up to, what Dave's been up to, what we've been up to collectively. What's next?
- [40:21]
B
Well, Breitling, they've been launching a new
- [40:24]
A
model, but a lot of them, yeah, we like Breitling. They've been good to us. They've been up and down in the news. They have tried some things, things have worked, some things haven't, and then they've reverted. We noticed this quite a bit last year when we went to different presentations and one of the brands that still do proper presentations and expect the journalists to sit on embargoes for months, as in nearly half a year, which is pretty cool. But the problem we've got there is we forget about it because it is so far down the line. We had a great presentation. I think it was Geneva watch days. We get invited to go around and check things out when we're over in Dubai. We got to see what they were doing with Universal, Geneve and all the other brands that they're starting to bring together. But this time around, they've decided to inject a little bit of Ozempic in the things.
- [41:06]
B
We've got a lot to cover here, so I'm going to try and do it succinctly. This is to talk all about the launch of the new Chronomat collection. So essentially, as Ricky alluded to, they're slimmer, they've got an integrated bracelet that's been tweaked quite a lot. And this is their all purpose sports watch. It was originally developed for pilots, but it kind of, again, I think, lost its way over the years. And a lot of people really viewed it as a bit of a smaller option to the event. But 2026 is here and they've decided to increase the gap between these two collections by giving the chronomap a range of tweaks and changes, making it a bit more refined, a bit more edgy, that is not including all the different strap and bracelet options. Around 15 new models in this collection. So we've got the new sizing for the time and date only. Chrono matte model. It's 40 millimeters now, a little bit smaller, definitely thinner at 10.99 millimeters. The lug has been completely or l have been completely redesigned. They're now Hidden underneath the case, they are still lugs, they're still there. But you've got the steel rolodo bracelet. Or for some of them, you've got an inspired rubber strap that gives the same effect. There's four different models available within that range. The standard version comes with the automatic B31 movement in the standard 40 millimeter. You've got steel cases either in white, blue or green with a sun ray finished dial that comes in at around £5,250. Or there's a fourth, more luxurious edition that's got an ice blue dial and a platinum bezel on the steel case that comes in the bracelet at 7450 or on a strap for a little less at 6950. It's got the calibre B31. It's COSC certified. 70 hours of power reserve. Now chronograph models. We've got, of course, the B01 movement in there. It's 42 millimeters. You've got the same upgrades to the lugs hiding under the case. You've got much slimmer watch coming down from over 15 millimeters to 13.7 millimeter. That chronograph movement. 70 hours of power reserve. Also cost certified. You've got a panda dial, a blue, a green colorways in the full steel. You've got a gray dial on a bi metallic steel and gold option. You've got a brown dial on full gold. And you've got an ice blue platinum on a steel BI metal platinum steel version on there. Then the smaller size, the 36 millimeter. That one you've got a reduction in thickness down from over 10 millimeter to under 10 millimeters. At just over 9.6, you've got the Breitling calibre 10. That's a rebranded Sellita movement. But it has got cost certification. You've only got that 42 hours of power reserve that belies its original roots. The steel edition. You've got the blue dial that's the most accessible at under 5,000. You've also got a mother of pearl option at about 5,500. And mother of Peril with lab grown diamonds at just under 8,000. There's a couple of bi metal options. Steel and gold with mother of peril at just under 1010. Or you've got steel and gold with lab grown diamonds at just under 11. So lots and lots of options. It's nice to see they've actually slimmed things down a little bit because many of their watches are definitely on the chonkier side. So if someone's after something that's a bit sporty but is maybe wearable with more formal wear, this potentially could be an option because there are plenty of options there. Ricky, have you had a look at any of them? Does it do anything for you or is it another watch that you go, yeah, cool, but move on.
- [44:33]
A
Yeah, cool, let's move on, Dave.
- [44:35]
B
There we go. That was succinct and short.
- [44:37]
A
Okay, okay, okay, I'll throw in my 2 pence. I like what Breitling are doing. I like that they can change things up, they can move things around and if it ain't working, they change it. They're not married to the past. And that's something that George Kern has done since he has been at the helm for many, many years. And I mentioned there has been news of this and the other recently. Things haven't been going quite to plan in certain areas. Areas. But they're pushing forward. They're doing great stuff. And when it comes to watches, everything is opinion based as long as it tells the time is accurate, doesn't fall apart, doesn't let water in and doesn't draw blood from the wrist. It's a watch. It's if you like it, you buy it. If you don't like it, you move on to something else. And we're going to finish off this episode with some bad news. And it is concerning a guest that was on the show a number of years ago and it was a gentleman at the head of Louis Monet. And this was a brand that had heard of and didn't know much about. And we got introduced through Pietro at the limited edition and he says, you need to speak to this gentleman because the brand that he is at the helm of just now, they've actually found out some things about horology that most people didn't know about. And they've had them checked, vetted and certified. They actually ended up with some Guinness World Records.
- [45:49]
B
This is sadly about the passing of Jean Marie Schaller. Who is he, may you ask? He was the owner and creative force behind the brand Louis Monet. He passed away peacefully on May 16th at the very young age of only 66. He spent a lot of time reviving the brand, Louis Monet, and it deserves a lot of respect for what he did. He's brought back one of the most important and historical names within watchmaking, spending many years championing their place, especially with regards to the chronograph. They're a brand that had lots of history from back in the day that was, was, well forgotten. The Quartz crisis and lots of other things that went on pushed much of this history into the annals of, well, history. But he spent a lot of time making sure that the world was well aware of what this brand had done historically. And, well, he didn't just bring the brand back by doing what they did in the past. They brought lots of color and injection of fun within to the brand. We've seen the brand on many occasions over the last, well, five, six, seven years. And I've always enjoyed some of the things they've done. Not necessarily something that we've always, always thought, I want to have that, but we've again, always enjoyed it for something that, well, should exist because it can exist. Ricky, we've seen a few of these. Remember the box sets we saw a few years ago?
- [47:04]
A
You took the words out my mouth. That was what I was thinking of. It wasn't this year at Watches and Wonders. I believe it was either last year or the year before. They did a collection and it was called around the World in eight Days. And they had timepieces inside where each of the dials were completely different, as if somebody from a different company had created each individual one. And then we caught the brand last year in Dubai, Dubai Watch Week. And we got to see the new iterations, we got to meet more of the team. And the thing with Jean Marie was he was always the life and soul. Whenever he was around, you knew he was there because you would see him from the corner of your eye. Your peripheral vision would light up because he was the most outrageously, colorfully dressed person in the room, if not the entire arena. And many times at Palace Expo over the past couple of years at Watches and Wonders, we have seen him coming from a mile away. If people think I'm wearing DayGlo colors today, you ain't got nothing on what he did. And he did it with panache and style. It was. He was always a gentleman as well. Because we were introduced a number of years ago when we weren't in the position we are just now. We weren't as well known, but he had the time for us, just like he had the time for everybody that came up to chat about watches. It didn't have to be his brand. It could be the history of the chronograph, which obviously he championed. To have the record set correct, it is just a real shame. And as Dave says, they're taken far too young. So our thoughts are with not just his family and his friends, but his colleagues. The people that we know at the brand that we've spoken with over the years. So we just wanted to add that information at the end of this podcast. And you've come to the end of the show. So if you want to go through our back catalog, we have got a ton in there. Every week we do two episodes. Generally just an interview show at the start of the week to start things off and then we round up the news on Thursday for you with all the latest releases. So, Dave, if people want to take a jaunt through memory lane, what should they be looking for?
- [48:52]
B
So more recent ones you should be checking out. Duckworth is back back on talking all about what they've been up to. He tends to make an appearance every, well, six to 12 months and it brings us an update on everything that's going on with Duckworth presstex as the brand Joshua Flagg. We've also of course had the infamous Mike Franz from Christopher Ward on telling us all about the makeover of one of the more popular models in the range, Pietro from the limited edition. He was giving us all of his thoughts and views from Watches and Wonders and of course all of our extensive coverage from that big show, watches and wonders 2026. There's at least two solid shows of content, if not some more content also on YouTube.
- [49:33]
A
And if you've made it this far, we would really appreciate if perhaps you could do us the favour of leaving us a review on your podcast player platform. That's a bit of a tongue twister, that one. Yeah, if you're on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or whichever platform it is, if you could leave us the maxim amount of stars, generally five and a little review. It could be a sentence or paragraph. Let us know what you think about the show. It really does help get new people involved in our little ecosystem here at Scottish Watches Towers. And the more people listen, the more access we get, the more brands take us seriously and we can go on factory tours, bring that behind the scenes information to you as we've done with many different people from the likes of jlc back in 2019 all the way through to our latest endeavors with the guys at Montblanc Minerva. So hopefully many more things to come throughout the year. We have got lots of irons on the fire, lots of plans and we obviously want to hear from you in a more personal way. So drop us an email infooottishwatches.co.uk that is a wrap. Thanks for listening and we'll catch you again soon.
- [50:28]
B
Take care,
- [50:45]
A
Sam.