
Before all the excitement of Scotland making its way back to the World Cup, we are here to talk about a lineup of new releases ranging from the artisanal to...
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A
Welcome to the Scottish Watches Podcast. We have got tons of cool new releases this week to talk about some really crazy stuff from the independents, a few from people you've heard of in the past. Speaking of people from the past, Dave's here. How are you doing, Dave?
B
Smooth, I'll give you that. That was actually pretty smooth. Well, yeah, you're definitely not from the future, so I don't know what that makes you. Piggy in the middle. Anyway, yes, David is good. We've had a fairly productive last seven days since we put the last show with yourself and myself out. Lots of events happening and stuff. But we can talk about that later in the show because we, as you mention, have some very cool watches to talk about. I like this time of year. It's where weird things suddenly drop out of nothing that you aren't expecting and they kind of perk up your week. That's if you're into watches, of course.
A
This is very true. And the weather has been fantastic around here, although it's been sunny and then it started to rain. In Scotland, we're going to be doing something, not us personally, but the country as a whole, perhaps in the next few days as we record this because what do they say? No Scotland, no party.
B
Something about kickball. Don't know. What's that sport called? I mean, the Americans definitely don't know what it's called because they think football is something complet different. But yeah, be interesting to see. It's one of the few times that I actually kind of follow football or soccer for our American friends when the national team actually play a game and qualify. And that pre game, whatever that was, that was going on a few days ago. Four now, was it? That was pretty impressive, to be honest with you. Not that I watched it. I just saw the score and thought, that'll do well.
A
Looking forward to seeing our national squad who hadn't managed to get into the World cup for a number of years. Quite a number of years. Quite a number of decades. Looking forward to seeing them snatching defeat from the claws of victory. But that is in the future. Next couple of days we're going to talk about the present and this is going to be the Lightning Fire round.
B
Yep, he's in one of those moods, everybody. But yes, actually that was a fairly good lead in. We're going to talk about an interesting collaborative watch that is a collaboration that's come out of something that they're already collaborating on. So what are we talking about? This is the brand Ming collaborating with Shapiro and they've teamed up together and produced the 37.06 Lightning, which is where Ricky got that rather amazing intro from. So back in 2020, three brands, then Ming, Fleming and Shapiro all got together and launched what they called the Alternative Horological Alliance. I'm going to call it the Aha from now on because it's much easier to say. And they did this with a product called the Universal Tantalum Bracelet. But we've been waiting for a little while to see what they would get up to. And in the intervening years, which is only a couple of years to be fair, a couple of other brands have joined that being fierce. The Great Nicholas has joined up and also Masenna Lab. They're also part of this kind of collaboration or collection of brands now. So what's happened? Well, we mentioned this 37.06 lightning work has come out. The dial work is done by Shapiro's team and it's definitely leaning into Ming's signature design language. The dial itself is made from grade two titanium. It's been hand guilloched in Los Angeles through traditional engine turning on a rose engine lathe. And they call this pattern Lightning Gyoshi, hence the name of the dial or the watch. This is not a pattern that's been used on a wristwatch before by Shapiro either. Then the dials are shipped over to Kuala Lumpur where Ming Tian himself hand colors each dial using heat staining with a butane torch. It's quite painstaking in terms of time and delicacy of touch, shall we say. And apparently only roughly 1 in the 3 dials actually works out the way they want it to. I would say as much as this is a very traditional dial, it's still got a very Ming vibe about it. They are known for their kind of unusual and punchy dials. The rest of the watch is definitely Ming. The flared lugs, you've got an engraved crystal that's been filled with high ceramide luminous indices. The hands have got Super Luminova X1 in them. The case is 38 mil by 10.9 millimeters in thickness. Pretty tight lug to lug at 44.5. The case is made out of 316L stainless steel, 100 meters of water resistance. It's a manually wound Sellita for Ming. They've collaborated on a lot of work with Sellita to bring their own take on calibers. They're calling this one the SW210M1. It's got skeletonised rhodium plated bridges, it's got some anthracite coating runs at 4 hertz, 42 hours of power reserve. And the watch itself is not a limited edition, but it is a limited production, probably by virtue of the fact that the dials are pretty difficult to make and have a high fail rate. Now, the price point. I'm in two minds about this one. We're going to see what Ricky's thoughts on it are. It's 6,250 Swiss francs, which in one hand seems a little expensive when I see Sellita. But then I also think it's a customized calibre. The dial's got a lot of work in it, but it's also not as expensive as quite a number of other Ming watches are. And there's been a lot of debate over the last few weeks when certain other brands have released watches about what is value. I've kind of sat and thought about this. So, Ricky, before I say what I think about the value, my ultimate thoughts. What do you think of the watch and maybe your thoughts on whether you think this is value or not?
A
This is the time in the show where I have to predict what Dave's going to say and he might change his mind and flip if I say the wrong things. We'll figure this one out as we go along. I love the look of the watch. I think timepieces in this day and age, they're all about esthetics. We don't need them. We've got clocks and watches and everything around us. We've got mobile phones, computers, laptops in the corner. I can look from where I'm sitting just now in the studio, all the one clock, time in the corner of the computer, wristwatch, another clock over there, and multiple other ways of telling exactly what point of the day it is. The dial on this is fantastic. That's why it's here, that's why it's the lead watch, because it stands out, it draws you in. You look at it and then you look again and then you look deeper and further at it. That's the first point. Then on the back end, you look at the movement and it looks amazing. The way it's been cut, the way it's been displayed, everything about it is fantastic. The case technology that Ming are using at the moment, the stuff they've devised over the last number of years and brought to market again, looks amazing. So you add all that together. If you like it, you buy it. If the price point sits within your budget, you go and get it. If not, you look at something else. There are many Richard Milles that I quite like the look of being aerospace, been Formula one technology. There are many LMS from MB and F that I like, look of, can't afford, would love to own. So I move to something else that I can afford at this moment in time, maybe save up the pennies, maybe look at something in the future. The wristwatch I'm wearing today for my wrist check is Saba Grande and it has got a lot of cool tech in it that stands out. People look at it and go, what the hell is that thing? That's what this is all about. And because this is a collaboration between two of the alternative horology folks, Ming and Shapiro. If you look at the Shapiro end, their watches are not inexpensive. We have seen a number of them and we've never went, oh, that is, that's dear. Oh, I wouldn't spend that amount of money because it's the cost of the device. You don't look at Ferrari, you don't look at an electric Ferrari at 600,000 USD and think, oh, that's that, that's really good value for money, that if you like it, you buy it. If not, you move on to something else. And a little bit like the people that are poopooing the new Ferrari. And I don't like the look of it, I would never buy one. I'm not into electric stuff like Dave here just yet. It doesn't affect me. I don't feel as if I have to bump my gums online. And I know what Dave's talking about. And when we talk about what we've been up to in Glasgow this week, we will maybe inform slightly more about the thought processes behind various people and what they said about watches. And again we come back to the whole staying in your lane, the bullshit that Christopher Ward had to go through when they launched, oh, the belcanto, the 12, the 12x and then the local. Oh my God, Christopher Ward are charging what, five grand for a watch? That's terrible. Who do they think they are? Well, you know, if you can afford it, you buy it. If not, you look elsewhere. And with this one, if I had the spare pennies, I would buy this one.
B
So you would buy it. Well, I'm not changing my mind. And I came to the conclusion that I think actually this, in the world we're living in now, is actually reasonably solid value for money. I got past what most folk are going to throw up, that movement, but Ming are definitely operating, I would say, in the 5 to 15,000 Swiss franc category. Now, that's predominantly where they're at. Yes, they have a few ultra premium pieces and they occasionally have the odd piece that's a little less, but that's broadly where they are. And I think, as you said, for something that's got a pretty cool dial, it's got a lot of handwork to it.
A
We know you like about handwork.
B
Hand work is hand work. It depends how lonely you are. But yes, I think this is decent value for money, to be honest with you. And I think it puts into context other things we've been talking about and I'm sure will continue to be a topic of division when brands move up. And I think Mingya is a perfect example. When they first launched, they were in and around 1000, 1500, 2000. That's where they operated. And slowly but surely over the years, and it's not that many years, let's be straight, not so many years. They've built up their price points to be significantly higher than where they were initially. And this has made me reflect a lot on what has been said about a release from Formix where a lot of folks said, stay in your lane, you can't produce a watch at that price.
A
Ah, wait, we'll talk about that when we get to what we've been up to, Dave.
B
We will, we'll get to that. But this is what got me thinking a bit laterally about this one. So anyway, great looking watch if you like it. It's very ming, but it's got something that's a little bit different. Yeah, punchy. I like it. Like the colorway, think it's cool. They'll all be a little bit different because of that hand coloring done on the dial. So they're not piece uniques but they are all just a little bit different. A bit like when you get a bit of meteorite as a dial. So they're the same. Same but a little bit different. So anyway, all good on that watch. We should move on and say show notes are your friends and why are they your friends, Ricky?
A
Because that's where you will find all the latest spelling mistakes from Meziel and information sometimes on the new watches that we're going to.
B
Glad you said that because that's exactly what I was hoping you would say.
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Gav, you can put in the speak and spell thing from last week because that was quite amusing. Yeah, Mez is doing a great job sometimes of getting CEOs surnames correct. Sometimes you'll just have to follow along at home if you don't Know what we're talking about there? Hi, Raf. And that is where all the pictures, the tech spec, the links will be in chronological order. Click the link in podcast player or click the link at the top in YouTube in the description takes you to our website. And you can follow along at home as you're listening or after the fact, if you're doing something that requires both hands, Dave, both hands. I know you like the manual work with the hands. If you're busy, you can come back after the fact, relive those memories of the next 50 minutes or thereabouts. And what are we going to talk about next?
B
What are we talking about next? Well, this is an interesting watch that we're going to talk about.
A
Well, speaking of hands, are we going to talk about barrel hands? You missed a segue, Dave.
B
Well, I was talking more about the fact that it's a monolith because it's so large. But anyway, I was getting to that. You decided to interject. And what we're talking about, it's the barrel hand monolith. This is a watch that has been six years apparently in the development. And I can see why. The more you look into this watch, it is absolutely hard into the category of tool watches. No two ways about it. Not dressy, not pretty, although I think it looks quite cool. It's definitely a tool watch. And they are claiming it's the new generation of tool watches that are explicitly being built for the modern space age. Now, watches, of course, have played an important role in the history of human spaceflight. I'm laughing because there's one brand in particular. I quite like it. They may or may not have made plenty of money over the years using this narrative, but there's very few that have actually been designed and engineered to specifically meet the ISO aerospace standards and NASA's material guidance and the EVA IVA testing protocols, etc, etc. The monolith is a watch that does that. Now, of course, we jibe a little bit about Omega Speedmaster. It was the one that ultimately did earn that coveted flight qualified status, and it was on the wrist of every crewed flight from the Apollo program from 68 through 72. But I think it's also important to note that that watch was selected by NASA's Procurement and Contracts division, but it wasn't actually designed and built with those tests in mind. It just happened to perform well when put to test. Now, this watch is also under open source design and the brand is actively seeking EVA operations teams, engineers, current or former astronauts, to kind of help to further validate and test their platform. Now let's talk about the watch itself. It's a weird shape. It's 38 by 45 by 11.8. It's definitely an unusual design. It's got large recesses, it's got lots of angular surfaces. And the case itself is 3D printed from Scalmaloy. Now this is a modified aluminium or aluminum alloy that was specifically designed for 3D printing. It is used in aerospace applications. It's got extremely high tensile strength, great thermal stability and corrosion resistance. It can also exceed titanium's yield strength while it comes in at nearly half the weight, apparently 31 grams for the watch head. That's, to be fair, very light. The case also uses air core insulation that protects against extreme temperature and pressure variations. And they've got what they're calling the engine mount shock absorption system, which has a theoretical capability to withstand 3000g, which is quite high. The movement. They're calling it the engine leaning into the space thing. They're calling it the M1 engine. It's based on a Sellita SW301B. It's been regulated to plus minus 5 seconds. Fairly tight window of accuracy. And that's per day, over six positions. Now they've got monolithic Aerolite X2 ceramic loom structure. Now, this has been designed specifically with EVA in mind. And that means it's capable of withstanding temperatures that range from -120 Celsius to positive 120 Celsius. I think if you're not in protective environments, you're going to not enjoy either of those. This is sitting within a welded structure of brass plates. There's no paints, there's no adhesives that are used at all. And surprise, surprise, a collaborator in this dial has been none other than the Black Badger, James Thomson, the man that's well known for his work within loom. The case back and the strap bars are secured with Torx screws. Now that's interesting because that means they're all compatible with existing International Space Station tool sets. The Sapphire is a lab grade seaplane with a magnesium fluoride coating. That's to reduce glare. It's got an 8 millimeter airlock crown which is designed to be operated with gloves. It can be wound and also set underwater. Not that there's a lot of water in space that will found you. Anyway. The custom hook strap has a dedicated EVA and IVA modes. It's got a closed engraved case back. And the case back has got something that's very interesting. It's a holographic memory disk module. It's got three gigabytes, it's a nanofiche, and it's got what they're calling a cultural payload that should last a thousand years or more. It includes, to name a few, 286 UNESCO translations. It's got curated global artworks, it's got visual sound artifacts by Richard D. James, it's got children's painting by Rock, and it's got the original French edition of Le Petit Prince. The disc was produced using Stamper technology. It's created by a mix of text engraving and images onto a thin nickel based film. And it is a well known method for archiving and preserving information. I think it's a pretty cool way to put things onto this space watch. Price point $9,750. A lot, but not a lot when you consider what's going on with this watch. And they're going to maintain apparently the open source nature of the project that will help with long term growth. Now, I have talked for a long time now. I think this watch is super cool. I was expecting a significantly higher price point. I think it just everything about this is a cool project. I've been following it for a little while and I hope to see it go further. Ricky, it's now your turn to talk because I need a rest.
A
Okay. Right, so what did I think about this? Well, first of all, let's wind the clock back or the watch back a number of years. Because Barrow Hand was a name that appeared maybe right about the start of the podcast. And the reason for that is, if my memory serves me correctly, he had created 3D, printed or formulated almost an Orwork esque clone, not in a bad sense, but in the way that he wanted to reverse engineer how things were put together and try and build his own thing. And I believe it took him a number of years to get to a position where he had a prototype, he had something that was fantastic. And where some people in the Swiss watch industry may have seen that as a massive negative, from what I can recollect, the folks at our work actually gave him praise, said, this is a great idea. There'll be links in the show notes in case. This was a vivid kind of fever dream thing that I had. But that's my recollection of stuff. And he didn't rush anything out to market. He took his time, he produced stuff, he refined stuff. And what we find today is a culmination of all these things. This has not been pushed out quickly. And again, let's rewind A few minutes ago where we said, if you like the look of something and you like the price, you buy it. If you don't like the look of something or you don't like the price, you don't buy. You have to have those ducks in a row, two of them, and with this one on the front of it. You look at the watch and you think, that's an okay looking watch. Looks a bit strange, looks like a clasp or a seatbelt or something like that you would find inside a vehicle. And then you look at the price and you immediately think, oh, that's a bit expensive. But because you've not looked, you've not read, you've not discussed what is actually behind the sapphire. And then you explain about the technology there, Dave. You talk about the materials that are used, the fabrication process, the extremes that this thing can operate within the extreme lightness of it. And suddenly it starts to make more and more sense. And this is something I think we're going to be beating the drum on from now forward as people don't seem to notice that everything in the world has gone up. Here in the uk, if we go into our local stores and shops, things that cost maybe 10 bucks a year ago are now 15 or 20. Nothing has changed. I mean, inflation rates are nothing like that, apparently. But cost of living has gone up and most products, the price of new cars compared to five years ago, compared to 10 years ago, things have just dramatically gone up, up, up and up. And when you've got something like this, that underneath, there are many changes compared to a normal wristwatch. That's where you have to look. And again, it's a talking point. If you can afford it, if you've got the money sitting there, you're wanting something that's a bit unique, that you don't find common or garden like the Ming. It's not something you'll see walking down the street, it's not something you'll see in an airport or most things, but it'll attract attention for the right reason. And again, watches are talking points, they're conversation starters. And with this one, I think you'd be able to talk for days.
B
I think this is just a watch that is absolutely a talking point and it's got lots of innovative, we'll use that word, innovative materials and ways of doing things.
A
Is that like innovative?
B
Innovative. Innovative. It's one of those words that you can say two ways and you use both of them or you're upset by one of them slightly. Advertisements and advertisements. Anyway, we are Divest. Well, it's definitely not liquid laboratory.
A
Laboratory.
B
I mean, we. Yeah, they're okay. Aluminum and aluminium. One's right, one's wrong.
A
And where do you get the Marine Corps from a word that is spelled C O R P S?
B
The corpse.
A
You mean, does that know where they leave in the battlefield?
B
I think if you say, would you like to join the Marine Corps? They probably wouldn't get a lot of folk wanting to sign up. It's not got good sign longevity of life options in it, by the way it sounds. Anyway, we get completely and utterly pulled off course. Yes, I agree. Cool watch. Lots of innovation. Lots of interesting things going on. Anyway, moving along.
A
Yes, moving along. We should be moving you along from audio into video because our YouTube channel has been growing a steady rate for a number of years. We mentioned last week, after nearly almost exactly to the week, three years since we launched the podcast in a video format along with the audio format. It's taken a while, but we finally got past the hundred thousand subscriber mark. If we'd launched maybe at the same time as the audio podcast, back when this was just a hobby and we just spent a few hours a week on it, then we might have grown a bit quicker, that first mover advantage thing there. But we finally did crawl across the finish line there. And we want to say a massive thank you to everybody that not just listens in audio, but watches in video, or the people that do both, because you do get a slight variation between the two. And there have been many people who've gotten touched to say, well, I listen to the audio and I don't remember this thing in the video. Is it a different version? Everything that appears in one appears in the other. The jokes might be slightly different, depending if they're visual gags or not, but the content is pretty much the same. But sometimes you miss something if you're listening, sometimes you miss something if you're watching. So we do recommend you do both to stay up to date. And you can obviously follow us, subscribe like and comment. That would be appreciated. And the next thing would be appreciated is giving your full attention to Bumblebee. And we're not talking about Transformers and
B
Megan Fox, unfortunately, or the actual real Bumblebees.
A
This is the only Bumblebee that matters. Do you agree, Ricky?
B
Telling us that he's a geek without actually telling us he's a geek.
A
That's cool. Look, it's made of not watch components, but looks like motorcycle components.
B
Evidence, my lord. This is Geek101. The watch that we're going to talk about has many resemblances colour wise to what Ricky's just shown. Tudor have debuted the new Black Bay Chrono 39 Bumblebee.
A
They've not debuted.
B
Oh man, it's going to be one of these ones. Yes. Carrying on. For a number of years, Tudor have been expanding the range of what we would call colourful, potentially summer ready watches. Apparently it's an official sub collection called daring watches. 24 they had the Chrono Pink. 25 they had the Chrono Blue Flamingo. They've also had the Chrono Carbon 26 they've had the Black Bay 54 Lagoon Blue. Most of these with visually striking dials. Now in the case of this one we've got a. There's no two ways about it. Bright yellow, ultra bright yellow, hit you in the face yellow. It's as yellow as you get in terms of the dial and it's a bi compacts arrangement with the sub dials in black. Now the existing Black Bay Chrono collection to my knowledge is entirely all 41 millimeter cases that are all around 14.5 mm thick. But this one is an all new 39 millimeter case. It also reduces the height to 13.1 millimeters. That is a fairly significant pull down in size. The calibre is MT5813. Now that is the same movement that's used in the larger 41 millimeter model. It's an automatic winding calibre, 70 hours of power reserve. It's COSC certified but it's got an all new bracelet. The5Link I think it was on the larger model doesn't fit. And they've got a new three link steel bracelet. Snowflake hands have also been tweaked a little bit for legibility. And you've got some new knurling on the chronograph pushers that's been updated to give apparently an improved grip. It's £5270 in the UK. If you like yellow you're going to love this and I know that for example there was a bright yellow dialed Speedmaster. I think it was a Schumacher. That is an older model but is much loved and people go a bit mad for it when one comes up in good condition. This one I think it's reasonable money again for what you're getting. Tudor doing what Tudor do best. Really strong value watches with high specs, good looks, extremely well made. If you don't like yellow and you don't like bright colours, this ain't going to be for you. If you're into summery punchy watches, this very much could be for you. I personally am a fan, wouldn't be an only watch, but if you like having watch collections like probably most of the people listening, this could definitely be one for the collection. As long as I said you like yellow now, Ricky, are you going to get one of these to match that lovely little statue?
A
No, probably not. I've got one Tudor and that is all I need at the moment. I like the fact they're changing the colours but that seems to be all they're doing. So instead of releasing a range at one point in time at watching Wonders or thereafter, they're dribbling out the releases to get the headlines. Nothing wrong with that, but they're really not innovating too much. Everything's a little bit samey samey. So if you like the Formula one stuff, if you like the white, the blue, the different colors they've had over the past few years and the pastel shade you mentioned you have got some variants to play with. But this might put people into the thought process of well, yellow isn't my color. I'll wait until see what they bring out next and then the next thing comes out and they don't like it as much and they try and go back the way and these are all sold out and then they look in the secondary market. So I think I'd prefer if Tudor just released like they do one time a year at Watches and Wonders at PAL Expo. Everything in the one go color wise, instead of iterating just the color iterating, the watch, the design, the model, the movement, that's cool. Do that at any point but if it's just going to be a color variation, try and do them all at one time. Just my thoughts. I could be wrong, but I'm not going to be wrong about emailing in because we've had a few folks emailing. We were recording the show last week and an email dropped literally as we were about to get ready to head into Glasgow and well Dave, you can read it out and tell us all about it.
B
So the email starts. Okay, first of all, I just discovered your pod and YouTube channel. Really good work. I appreciate the humour and also all the work you put into the images on the site and in the videos. Excellent work and thank you for doing it. I'm in Edinburgh brackets over from the USA for a few more days this week and wondered if you have any suggestions for anything watch related I should see. I wandered into Vacheron to see my first 1921 in the metal into Lanes to see what they had in pre owned and the Swatch door to see my first Omega swatches. Is there any place good and reliable in Edinburgh for interesting pre owned? I was thinking about heading over to Annerdain but I'm not sure if I'll make it to Glasgow this trip and I haven't checked with them to see if they do studio visits. Anything else this week in the area you think I shouldn't miss? Thanks again for the pod. All the best, Paul. Okay, Ricky. He's visited a couple of the obvious places. Anywhere else that you've got up your little sleeve there that you can suggest he goes to?
A
Well, you're not quite as well catered for in Capital city as you're in Glasgow and that is not because myself and Dave are Glasgow boys. We kind of like everywhere in Scotland equally almost sometimes. But in Edinburgh you don't have quite as many things congregated in the one area in Princes Street, George street between the two you've got Chisholm Hunter which has got a decent pre owned section. You mentioned Vacheron which is right beside it. Across the road you've got Panerai, IWC and swat, they are clustered together. But then if you go to the top of the hill or halfway up the hill you've got George street in the corner, you've got Lanes across the road from that you've got Hamilton Inches which did or still does Patek and Rolex, I believe they've got CPO in there. And then you've got Hublot across the road again with the guys at Rocks moving down into the St. James's quarter. You've got the Omega Boutique just round the corner because it moved out of St. James's Quarter. And then inside I believe you still got Breitling. So there is a little congregation but they are more like High street brand Vacheron, iwc, Panerai, maybe not so much but still. Whereas in Glasgow you've got Buchanan street, their Gael Arcade, there is so much more there. And when this email came in as we were recording last week, I actually quickly messaged back and said, well listen, we've actually got a big event happening in Glasgow tonight. If you can make it across tonight we can possibly squeeze you in. But since it was coming up for rush hour, the event was happening just after rush hour. And to get across the country, even though it's a small country, it wasn't going to be feasible but it would have Been fantastic if we'd managed to bring a listener from America, from Edinburgh across to Glasgow for our big formex stroke Raj stroke James Porter night. But it was great to hear from him. And again, drop us an email infooottishwatches.co.uk and we will get back to you, Pinky promise.
B
And what I'd say is possible if you get a trip planned to Scotland, if you can remember, drop us a big email before you get here and we can probably give you a little list of things that you should see and maybe you can then plan in a few trips. If you're going to Edinburgh, a day trip to Glasgow if you're into your watches, is definitely worth it. You might mentioned about Anordain there. Yes, they do arrange trips around their new location. You do have to of course contact them and make sure that it can be fitted in. So something that needs to be done. I would suggest at least a week or two before you want to arrive. Anyway, onwards and upwards to the next watch. And this is something that is a little well expected stroke unexpected from TAG Heuer.
A
Okay then. So Monaco seems to be a watch that has had an injection of colour and technology within the last couple of years. They did some really retro, Synthwave inspired models a number of years ago. I've seen them in real life, limited edition, punchy price point, but really good quality. And again the colors stood out. Really liked it. Haven't pulled the trigger on a square watch from them just yet. I own one TAG that I bought secondhand last year on Black Friday. Sales were about 300 bucks. And then we got to see the iterative designs moving forward. Their 3D technology, 3D printing with titanium over in Dubai watch week. And then again we saw a change with the lever system within the actual mechanisms in the TAG Heuer Monaco's this year at Watches and Wonders. We got a bit of a masterclass from the technicians there. This time around it's more decorative. I think it's very much playing into what we're discussing at the moment. Motorsport, Formula One, things like that. LVMH taking centre stage with the sponsorship taken away from Rolex, obviously. And this watch, I don't think it's for me, but I like the kind of idea. It's like walking into an art gallery or a museum and looking at something that's a concept art and thinking, right, I see where they're going with it, but I wouldn't have it in my house.
B
Interesting take and I think you're not far off the mark with that Now TAG Heuer, arguably one of the biggest high street, mainstream big brands out there, but of course they've also got some tie ins with LVMH and they operate additionally at the very high end, at the more kind of artisanal end, especially with the movements and watches that come out of La Fabrique du Top. So I would say with TAG Heuer over the last 6, 912 months they've brought out many chronograph related iterative upgrades. It's also been a lot of watches in the Monaco family. Over 2026 we've seen updated versions of the core Monaco collection with an in house chronograph movement. We've seen updated titanium cases, we've seen tweaked dial designs. And for the grand prix de Monaco 2026, TAG have unveiled this new limited edition to mark the occasion. The interesting point here is it's not a chronograph. Usually the chronographs are related to sport. This is a time only jump hour watch and it's utilizing the spin time movement as we mentioned from Le Fabrique du Temps. So this is the speed 12, it's 40 millimeters in diameter. It's a brushed case, it's made of grade 5 titanium. The crown is on the right, that is the normal place rather than the left, which is fairly standard on Monaco chronographs. It features a sapphire crystal on both the front and the back and it takes up nearly the entire front and back which you've almost got a skeletonized frame of the case. And the watch is see through of course, apart from the architecture of the movement that you can stare at trapped between those two sapphire crystals. The design inspiration, fairly clear I think. 12 cylinder petrol combustion engine. The color palette in this watch is very minimalist. It's black and silver components with a subtle hint of red accents around a black opaline minute track. Very minimalist. Looks great in my opinion and I like just that little touch of red that lifts it up. The spin time movement. You've got these rotating jump hour indicators. They're shaped like engine pistons and they flip round to expose the number and then when it gets the next hour it goes to a zero or not a zero to a blank. Effectively just the piston itself. So you can always read the minutes by the minute hand and you can tell the hour by whichever number is visible. I think it looks, looks pretty cool. It's a th84,00 movement. Of course it was developed in combination with that sister, La Fabic du Tome Limited Edition. We've mentioned 50 pieces. Availability begins in December 2026. Price point, not for the faint hearted. US$87,000. I'm with you Ricky. I like that it exists. I think the movement's cool. It wouldn't be a watch for me.
A
Yeah, I think we'll both let someone else take this one home and pop it on the wrist. It's not exactly for us. We do like the Monaco. We were impressed with the tech, we were impressed with the 3D printed additive technologies. Got to be careful with the wordage that they showed us last year and they are doing really cool things. Even before that, maybe Geneva watch days. Last year we got a behind the scenes look at their carbon, their ceramic technologies. Got to speak to some of the boffins there. And then the bothins over in Dubai were phenomenal. So yeah, that is an episode Dubai watch week. Maybe the first of the second show that we did last November, December time Mizi. I will link that one in the show notes because the video clips that we got, the walk around that we got and the actual experience speaking to the folks that generate and create that stuff, the anti magnetism components are in there. The way they displayed stuff and showed us the difference by having a high power magnet in front of a movement and showing the thing stopping the thing speeding up, it was. It just connected the dots in your mind. So that's a great video to go back and have a look at. And the next thing we're going to look at is the wrist check because Dave likes to come second, I like to come first and I've got a watch here that's been sitting waiting for us to talk about it because so many cool releases have come in that have been in a timely manner that I think by the time you see this, this potentially you'll not be able to get this watch on the primary market unless you find it locally. Because this is from the folks over at Nobel, obviously part of the wider Spinnaker group. We talk about them all the time because they release so many iterations and unlike Tudor, it's not just a color change, it is a technology change, it is a display change. They do things I have never seen before. Doesn't mean they don't exist, it just means they've not been caught in my periphery vision. And this time around they've got a really cool watch. Again, talking or work, talking MB&F talking, those kinds of things. But it's not that kind of money. We're talking thousand pounds for something that again, if you Wear it. People are going to go what the hell is that on the wrist? So what are we talking about today? Well, when it comes to Nabeo, you don't have to think too hard that it's going to be something a little bit space age, something that stands proud from the rest and it will be a conversation starter. No matter where it is you wear it or what time it is you wear it. Difficult to read in the way that an MB&F stroke, MAD galleries, MAD1, MAD1s, etc. Are a little bit tricky. But once you've been wearing it for a couple of hours and you glance down, it actually becomes a lot easier to piece things together. Looking at the watch straight on again, show notes on your friend. If you're watching on YouTube, you're exactly in the right place because you'll see what we're talking about here. There are two little arrows emanating from the center point, not a center pinion because the way this watch displays time is on a rolling system. It's a bit like the old clocks that you used to find where the time would roll around to show you the next hour and minute. So in the center here, two little arrows point left and right and they are showcasing the hour and the minute on the left and right flanks. You've got the crown on the right hand side as you would expect, and then a dummy crown for symmetry on the left. This watch is a little bit crazy looking because it stands proud of the wrist and it contours fantastic. Well, considering the size of it, this is available in many different colors and I should probably tell you the name of it. This is the Nobel Continum Automatic. The one I've got is in red and black called the Dynamic Balance. And when this was available, and I believe it is sold out on their website, but they do have lots of people across the planet that sell these things and might have it in stock. It was sitting around about the 900 pound mark, although discounts are generally available if you look and hunt around. This will be available obviously on ebay and the secondary market. Market and Dave, I'm going to get your thoughts on it before I flip it on round.
B
So are my thoughts. Well, I love it actually. I like the fact that people create craziness at remarkably low prices for what you're getting. I wouldn't want to be the person servicing this watch, I have to say, but it's funky and it's cool and it gives the vibes of lots of the very high end artisanal Watches, your MB and fs, your MAD ones, obviously much more accessible prices than MB and F and all those types of things. But at everyday prices, that's maybe a way I will describe it. Cool looking watch. It will definitely get a conversation going. When you're wearing that watch, I think it's really funky and cool how these
A
guys manage to take something that is supposed to be sedate and boring and turn it into again artwear on the wrist. We just talked about that tag at a crazy price point. I think this one actually looks better. It stands out. I don't know, it's steampunk. It looks like some kind of Morse code machine, perhaps something from back in the day. Telegraphs and all the rest of it mixed with brand new anodized color schemes. Even on the crown itself, you've got a bit of color in there with the logo. I think for the money. This is fantastic. Only negatives I would say is it's a bit bulbous, it's a bit tall, but it does contour fantastically well to the wrist thanks to those lugs. And quickly running through the tech spec on it, you have on the front an open worked movement. Underneath this rotating. Would we call this a barrel? I don't know what we call this. And size wise we're talking 43.5mm case thickness of 21 and a lug to lug of 50. You've got a screw down crown and because of the shape they've only managed to give you 50 meters of water resistance. But hey, that's like a Speedmaster which costs a lot more money. So you don't have to worry about that too much. Yeah, this is fantastic. The colorways that are available, blues, gold. This one here, I believe you've got an orange. So yeah, links will be in the show notes. Right. Dave, you've seen this. What have you got now?
B
Thank you for asking, Ricky. Well, David, as usual, is not actually wearing the watch because the camera he uses to show what he is not wearing is on the opposite side to the wrist that David Ware's watch is on. But I pulled out another watch from the archives, David's archives. And this is something from Bvlgari. I've got my Bvlgari Bvlggery Bulgari. I think that's what it's called anyway. It's this classic reinterpretation of a 1980s special. It's got the rubber bezel, this is the chronograph version. It uses an ETA move movement, it's got a Titanium case back and it's an aluminium or aluminum. Yes, we're back on that subject. Case on there, you've got an interesting articulated strap which has got those little aluminium links between them as well, and the aluminium buckle on there. I think this watch is genuinely one of my favorites. I don't know what it is about it, it just kind of harks back to my childhood. It's a design language that really was of the 1980s, never really fully came back into fashion. But at the same time it's a bit like listening Madonna now, she was cool but not cool and she's still kind of cool but not cool. And I think the same can be said for this watch. So that's the wrist checks. So we should probably talk about what we've been up to, because one of the things we've been up to was a big event that we were both kind of up to at the same time.
A
Yes, Dave, you are correct. We were invited along to see the folks at James Port and Son. They have got a fantastic emporium in Glasgow, Argyle Arcade, multiple different shops in there. They do everything from wedding rings, Gagent rings, necklaces, blah, blah, blah, blah. And they've got a watch boutique for all the independent brands that we talk about in the show, or most of them, including the likes of Raj and Formex. And this was Raf coming across to Scotland to launch their latest model, which we've talked about at length. We did a full show with them all about it and we got to introduce this to a receptive audience. And I don't know why we did it, because all the watches they currently had available had gone. Although some of the boutiques again, again throughout the world, a few of them had some watches in reserve in stock from the initial allocation of 100. But we had a pretty decent shindig.
B
Yes, indeed, it was a great event. It was a follow up to the event that had taken place the week before in New York, where Formex did the global launch of their all new Aria model and they had the European UK launch with James Porter and Son, who are one of their premium retailers in Glasgow. And they had found an excellent venue that is, I believe, a fairly new refreshed venue venue. We've used it before, albeit under a different name and it's undergone a bit of a transformation. Excellent venue, very well attended. I think we were pushing close to a hundred people, if not just over that came to the event. We had a bit of a Q and A. Ricky was the quiz master, so to speak, with Raphael and myself asking about the watch and the movement and the whole project that was put together for that. And then we got to, well, mingle with a huge number of people that were at the event and it was great fun. I have to, to see.
A
We made some comments because we had the benefit of hindsight. We had seen what people had talked about, we'd seen the online comments of folks going, why are you charging so much money for this watch? Who do you think you are? You are Formex. So one of the initial points I made was you need to take the name off the dial and round the back, take the name off the movement. Don't think about Raj, don't think about Formex. Look at the tech spec. Compare this to the likes of watches from other people we talk about. So you have got a titanium, almost a mono car, extremely thin watch, 6.9 mil including the movement and the sapphire. You have got a scalloped dial, you have got a fantastic bracelet with all the technology that Formex Stroke Dexhel put into what they do. Technology that is used across the globe by the biggest watch brands ever. Then you've got a movement on the back that has got everything that the K2 offers. The latest iteration of the K2 with this new system that removes backlash by changing the wheels. It's like a dual mass flash flywheel in the back of a watch. Micro rotor anti magnetic silicon technology. All that lumped together in a watch that is around about 7K. And I said, forget the name. Look at an equivalent streamliner. Look at an equivalent Czapek antarctique with its micro rotor. Same kind of technology. I would say the Arage is perhaps more advanced. Dave might pitch in on this one and then look at the price point. So I think in the UK it was about 5 or 6k including all the stuff that we have to pay here. And an Antarctica is about 25 grand, 2425 grand streamliner, perhaps, perhaps slightly less there or thereabouts. Look at the differences in the price, look at the differences in the technology. And forget the logo on the dial. When I said that, people in the audience started to nod their heads a little bit and nobody said anything about the price point once those points were raised. Yep.
B
To answer a few questions, I would agree I am slightly biased, I have to say. Hands up. I work for Hiraj. But yes, I believe the K2 is one of, if not the most advanced modern micro rotor calibre on the market. Certainly when it comes to things like the silicon technology, the Ligatec technology, The architecture, right.
A
Ligatec. That is something that we didn't talk about in the show before because you weren't about. So tell us what this is.
B
Okay. Ligatec. Liga is a German not word. It's short for a few things. Li is for litho formung. Then you've got the G which is galvo Fermong. And then you've got the A which is apart Abermaung. And what that is is lithography using UV light to etch things. Then you've got the galvanizing process, the building up of layers. And then you've got the Aberma, which is a mould. This is a very advanced technology. It's not designed initially for use in watches or making watch components. It was a much more high brow scientific endeavor, shall we say. We'll not get into that. But it has over time been developed and it's now used in some ways to make watch components, especially wheels. It is an additive process. Again, it's not the same as 3D printing, but it is building things up as opposed to taking away materials to leave you with something. What it allows for is very, very precise structured components, especially with things like wheels. And instead of having a round metal disc that you would machine away material and then you would cut the teeth by again removing materials. This you use the UV on a resin with a mask to etch a mould. Then you build up layers of the metal that you want to use to build a fully usable component that comes out at the end. In the case of what we are using it for, and I have to say for clarity, a couple of other brands use it. We saw back a few months ago that that Hublot are using it in some of their chronographs to create a much better feeling action at the chronograph button. But where we use it is to stop the backlash when you're making adjustments to the time. You all know that way you pull the crown out, you set it exactly, tick, tick, tick, push the crown in and oh, the hand moves a fraction and it's very frustrating if you're into your precision setting of time. Also when you're maybe jumping a GMT hand and you jump the hand and you, you just see a slight quiver in the other hands as they move. It gets rid of those types of nefarious activities. Not anything that really affects the watch in any meaningful way, but it leads to a better engagement with your watch when you're actually utilizing it. And we have spent many years really honing the shape of the teeth and the flexibility of these teeth because what it allows for is flexible teeth. Normally you have to have a little bit of play between the teeth to make sure that the movement's efficient, there's not too much friction, etc. Etc. This allows for. For a much tighter integration of the teeth with each other without many of the negative downsides. That's very high level. Not getting into too much detail, but if you're interested, I'd suggest jump on the Internet, stick in Liga watch wheels and you'll find many articles talking all about it. Great technology and we've got it in our watches now. And of course with Formex releasing this watch, their calibre has also got this technology integrated into it. So they are, along with us, only a few weeks behind us, the first non Arage brand to have this technology in a K2 movement. And they're also the first brand in the world to use the K2 movement outside of Arage themselves as well. So lots of firsts for this watch and certainly for the movement.
A
That was a great explanation and it filled in some of the gaps because I obviously heard you on the night talking about it, but you're reducing what you said because you had to play to the audience in front of you and not everybody was attracted. True mechanism geek, they were watch geeks. But some people are there because they like the look of the watch, they like Formex or they were customers of James Porter. They came to see Scottish watches live in the house. We've been doing a lot of live stuff recently. We put out the Glasgow Watch show edition. We had Bucharer. We've been asked to go across the water to somewhere to do another live show. We're going to see if that's going to happen or not. Yeah. So yeah, I'm enjoying doing the live stuff as much as we do things in the studio and with the nicer weather, transporting ourselves around the places. Yeah, it's turning out good. So if you want us to perhaps come to your watch event, your watch show, a live thing, get in touch. Infocottishwatches.co.uk. we seem to know what we're doing a little bit and other stuff we've been up to. Well, things I've been up to. The wife is on holiday with her cousin for a week. So yeah, I'm having parties non stop in the house ahead of the World cup. So if anyone's in Glasgow, they want to pop across, drop me in. I'm kidding on, I'm kidding on. She will listen to this and I will get into trouble for that. But she is away, which means I have been doing a little bit of dicking around with the cars. I've been doing a little bit of dicking around with this, that and the other. But prior to that, just after the Formex event, we actually headed into Glasgow. We caught up with a couple of watch buddies who were available at short notice and we went rodeo bull riding. And when I say we, I mean she did and I watched because my coccyx still isn't great after a motorcycle accident. Don't want to do anything that will put that into harm's way. Also introduced her to Mario Kart in Bulgaria. Apparently Mario Kart was not a big thing, so I kicked her arse on that multiple times. Kicked her arse in Street Fighter. Yes. I had a mini Super Nintendo. And the reason for that coming out of the storage will become apparent next week, hopefully when she's back and we produce a little video. So yeah, stay tuned for that. Try to think what else. I ordered some new stuff or some old stuff. Got myself a vintage lens. It's a Helios 44, 2.58mil F2. This is a Soviet era replica of a Zeiss lens that people have been using more and more in Hollywood to give a really strange ethereal look to things. I thought for 100 bucks, fully serviced and restored, stored, let's give it a bash. So that's arrived. Still have to play around with it. And I caught a video on YouTube that has been around for forever. I've seen this advertised before, maybe watched a couple of clips here, there and everywhere, but never really paid attention to it. And it's between two ferns. It's that Zach guy from the Hangover. He does it. Not the Zach guy from Time and Time. That's another gentleman. Looks similar though. Similar kind of beard. And this was one episode with Ben Stiller and it has got humor you probably wouldn't get away with Today day, but every interaction between the two of them was phenomenal. So that will be linked in the show notes. You may have seen it before, you may have missed this one. It is hilarious. If you like our kind of humor, you will love this. And the last thing to say is again, live. We are going to be working with the folks at ebay who are doing more and more live auctions. It's almost like QVC or a telethon or something like that where people can get involved, they can get hyped up and they can interact with sellers on the platform. So we're going to get involved in Watch Weddings these I believe it's going to be 24 June. Don't know the time just yet, but it'll be UK Times because we're traveling down south. So stay tuned for information on that. We'll obviously talk about it in the podcast beforehand, we'll publicize it in the website, Instagram, etc. Etc. And we might have some behind the scenes as well as things are going. So one to check out in the future. Dave, apart from the Formex event, what you been up to?
B
Not a lot to be honest. I've been trying to relax a little bit, a little bit of gardening here and there, got the car cleaned up a little bit. But I am off on my travels again. I am off down to London for the Hands On Horology event. So if any of you are in London or going to that event On Saturday the 13th I believe of June, pop along, say hello at the booth. I will be there with a couple of my colleagues. That's a pretty cool event. It's a one day event and it's up there as one of the two good shows, shall we say, that are happening within the UK on a bigger format. There are lots of up and coming shows, shouldn't forget to mention Hamish of course, and his shows that are really growing in stature as well. Glasgow, Southampton and Manchester. But Hands On Horology really, in the second year they kicked off in a big style so I'll be there. Outside of that, not a whole lot I have to say, but we should probably get maybe see if we can squeeze another watch in before we round this show out.
A
Good thinking. And we're going to go across to our friends at Micro Milspec and Black Badger. They have been in Kurtz before, I think it was maybe a year ago they announced something. There was a comic book, there was a character, there was even a theme of song that we included in the podcast that was fantastic. And they have not been sitting still. They have been busy behind the scenes and we've caught up with the folks at Micro Mill Spec at different events and Geneva watch days last year. Dave sees them around the globe. We're obviously talking behind the scenes with the folks that are in charge there and they're just doing great things. Really, really cool stuff. Not crazy price points, good designs, unique designs. And Black Badger is just a crazy mother at the best of times. So Dave, tell us what they've been up to.
B
Indeed. They've got together again and they've released A watch and I think it's been called the Adventurers Broken. Now this is a watch that's based on the Micro Mil Spec dual timer. In 2025 they teamed up with James Thompson and they released the Micro Mil Spec Milgraph Sabotage edition. Now there's an animated setting known as the Time Universe. There's a space pirate called Black Badger. He's the main character. But for the second collaboration the two parties have developed a new story set in the same universe. Now on this watch there's lots going on. The hour hand is frank fractured. The GMT hand is damaged. The date window has been blasted wide open. Now the story was created before the physical watch was the Micro Mil Spec dual timer. It's got a bezel that's closer to the milgraph. It's 42 millimeters by 12 point millimeters in height. It's got a micro blasted stainless steel case. It's got water resistant to 200 meters. And a difference from the regular dual timer is the presence of this 60 minute dialogue bezel. So that means that the 24 hour scale lives. And it's an orange chapter ring inside the dial comes in an orange rubber strap with a micro blasted steel buckle. Or you can get a matching micro blasted stainless steel bracelet. Runs on a Sellita SW332, 56 hours of power reserve. It's a collar style GMT movement. The watch was only available through a 24 hour sales window though, which was at the very end of May which means of course that, well, it's vanished into the ether. Albeit anyone that ordered it during that window will get one. It was just shy of US$2,000 on the rubber strap, just over $2,000 on the bracelet. These are really cool looking doing what both brands do well. Super technical durable watches with well a nod and a tick to fun and hilarity. Cool looking watch. Really like it, love what Micro Mil Spec do and well, whenever James is in involved, well things happen because as we talked earlier he's been involved in a couple of watches that we've talked about on today's episode.
A
So the reason for talking about this watch isn't because James is a pal. He's been on the show, God for probably half a decade. I remember he came on with George Bamford way back when it was superconductor technology, it was Zenith were involved in it and he had managed to get a hold of this material. We don't know how, we didn't ask too many questions and he just keeps doing cool things. His rings appear on the fingers of many cool folks across the planet. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a big fan, a purchaser. Robert Downey Jr. Ironman himself wears his products, so he knows what he's doing and he's got tie ins. It was him that set up a podcast back in the day with Frank Steffinson, the designer behind various different Ferraris, the new Mini, the X5 and McLaren's. He's connected across the globe to different folks and he's connected us to different people, which has been massively beneficial. So we have to pay it back, not just because we like the guy and he's done stuff for us, but because the watches are fantastic, the technology, it's great and the design philosophy is outstanding. This time around, it's almost in the wheelhouse of the likes of Second Second. You look at the dial and you look away and then your brain goes, hey, something's not quite right. Go back and look at that again and as you say, you look at the distressed look of the hand, the index markers on the chapter ring and there's just something not quite right. And then you look further and you realize what's been going on here. So I'm looking forward to catching up with the Black Badger in real life, perhaps over at Geneva Watch Days. And that isn't too far away. That's the next big event that we'll be going. I think it's around about August, September time. We are just hitting the midpoint of June at the moment, so not too long. And as we have done over the years, the past couple of years, we've met up with different folks across there. We spent some time with Ben, one of the listeners, and then last year it was Niven and his wife that came along. So if you're coming across to Geneva and perhaps you want to tag along to some of the events that we're going to, some of the meetings, and to see some really cool timepieces that perhaps the public won't get to see at that moment in time. Drop us an email infooottitchwatches.co UK prices for flights and hotels is pretty economical at the moment, before the big rush. And because this isn't a huge event at PAL Expo, because it's spread across the city, you'll actually find really good deals on booking.com places like that. And we always end up in the same place because it's just about two streets away from Boravage and all the associated events and venues that are there. It's a great week almost. It's a kind of weekend, but we stay for an entire week, we come across beforehand, we get set up, we enjoy life a bit, little, little bit. Then we do the event, then we calm down afterwards. Sometimes we get invited along to look at an atelier, a factory somewhere. It was Louis Vuitton one year, it was the folks at FP Journe. It is just fantastic. And you don't have that elevated price point happen to pay entry because there is no cost. Everything is in a hotel room. You get an appointment, you get a meeting, you go and see stuff, you go into the main marquee tent. It is just great. Miziel will link some videos and some podcast episodes in the show Notes for you to check out. And Dave, if people are going through the back catalog, well, should to check out.
B
Well, we've got a show all about Glasgow. What show? We recorded that live. Definitely worth a listen. Of course, everything that we've done with Formex, well worth hearing all about what that project was all about. We've talked a bit about it today, but there's lots more to be heard. There was also our other live recording we did with Bucherer. We had Norkain on, we had Nicholas from Moseron and of course Ging, who is one of the senior people within the Office organisation that is Buchera. They did a great event bringing all the novelties from watches and wonders to the UK for people who couldn't get across to Switzerland to see them. Duckworth, we've got Mike France, we've got Pietro and many, many more episodes to listen to. In fact, not far off, 800 of them in the back catalogue. So always sometimes worth just having a scroll through, see if anything takes your fancy. And if you have listened to it, albeit a long time ago, might be worth a re listen or you maybe haven't listened to to it ever. Therefore take that opportunity to listen to it.
A
And because you've come to the very end, it means you've kind of liked what we said so far. So we'd really appreciate it if you left us a review and a rating on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or If you're watching YouTube, like Subscribe, leave a comment, let us know what you like best in this episode and what things you want us to talk about in future because we do get a lot of interaction with people in the comments, which is fabulous. We love that kind of stuff. And then when we meet up across the world, Dave obviously does a lot more travel than I do because he works for Mirage and he's at all these different events. But it is so cool to catch up with true watch enthusiasts, the people that listen and watch the show, because this is a great hobby. There is no negativity within it. It's not like snobbery within cars. It's not like the music industry. It's not even like sports. This is something that's completely unique and absolutely love it. So that is us at the end of a show. Thank you for listening and we'll catch you again soon.
B
Take.
Scottish Watches Podcast #787: The Mid-Year Update!
Date: June 11, 2026
This episode delivers a robust mid-year update on the watch industry, spotlighting notable new releases—from avant-garde independents to big-name brands like Tudor and TAG Heuer. Hosts Ricky and Dave blend in-depth horology insights with their signature Scottish wit, discussing innovation, value, and the ever-changing watch community landscape. Listeners also get a behind-the-scenes look at the Glasgow watch scene and listener Q&A.
This episode showcases why Scottish Watches remains a top destination for both die-hard horology geeks and casual watch fans. The hosts deftly blend technical education, market commentary, and irreverent humor while highlighting the dynamism of watch culture in 2026. Topics cover everything from elite collaborations and cutting-edge tool watches to affordable oddities and lively community stories—making this a can’t-miss installment for anyone passionate about watches.