Chronopolis Radio: Studio Underd0g

Summary

The Real Time Show | Chronopolis Radio: Studio Underd0g

Host(s): Rob Nudds & Alon Ben Joseph
Guest: Richard Benc (Founder, Studio Underd0g)
Date: April 18, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the remarkable rise and recent developments of Studio Underd0g, a playful yet acclaimed independent British watch brand founded by Richard Benc. The discussion takes place on the eve of Chronopolis—a new, curated Geneva watch event—and covers the brand’s fifth anniversary, transformation through in-house manufacturing, and fresh community-focused initiatives. The show maintains its informal, engaging tone, mixing industry insights with candid banter.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Studio Underd0g’s Five-Year Journey

• Origins & Growth
  • Richard reminisces about starting in his small London flat, growing from a solo venture to a 26-person team.
  • Noted the first interactions with host Rob Nudds and the impact of quirky, now-iconic models like the “Watermelon” chronograph.
    • “Five years ago it was me in my living room… and as of today… we’re a team of 26, which is crazy.” (03:39)
• Community Focus
  • The brand leans heavily into direct-to-consumer engagement, emphasizing personal connections at events over traditional retail distribution.

The Doghouse: Studio Underd0g’s New Chapter

• What is the 'Doghouse'?
  • Studio Underd0g has acquired its longtime assembly partner, Horologium, bringing final assembly in-house to ensure quality control and transparency.
    • “We got some paperwork over the line that effectively allowed Studio Underdog to acquire Horologium, meaning we brought that assembly process in-house.” (04:16)
• Opening Up to Enthusiasts
  • Plans are underway to let fans visit, tour, and even assemble their own Studio Underd0g watches, starting later in the year.
  • “We're actually hoping to welcome people...to get hands on and hopefully assemble their own Studio Underdog Watch.” (05:17)

British Watchmakers Day & Marketing Stunts

• Engaging Activities
  • At the event, Studio Underd0g hosted hands-on watch assembly experiences for the public.
  • Their lead watchmaker, Sam, became an “unlikely celebrity,” signing autographs after a creative marketing campaign involved hauling his bench to the top of a frosty English hill.
  • “It was a bit of a celebrity on that day. I think I saw him… signing some autographs.” (00:50)
• Insight into Watchmaking
  • Many attendees, some caffeinated, discovered firsthand the difficulty of hand-setting—a highlight that generated appreciation for the craft.

Studio Underd0g’s Role at Chronopolis & Events Strategy

• Geneva Presence Without Watches and Wonders
  • Richard emphasizes the importance of engaging with the global watch community in Geneva, even without exhibiting at the mainstream Watches & Wonders.
    • “To have a presence I always feel is super important… and this year with Chronopolis reaching out… we really jumped at the opportunity.” (07:01)
• Chronopolis as Home for Independents
  • Hopes for Chronopolis to become an annual anchor and possibly expand to other cities, though organizers are focused on perfecting the Geneva debut (08:54).
• On-Site Experience
  • The booth will have an “English countryside” flavor (rain and all), echoing recent campaigns and offering hands-on engagement and exclusive access to watches (10:04, 12:02).
  • “We’re bringing a little bit of taste of the English countryside to Geneva.” (10:13)

Sales and Retail Philosophy

• In-Person Exclusives
  • At events, collectors can bypass the usual online ‘drop’ model and gain priority access to limited releases.
  • “If people are going to that little extra effort to come and see us in person, we’ve decided that it’s best that we can bypass the drop model there….” (12:02)
• Direct-to-Consumer Focus
  • Aside from select retail partners (e.g., Time & Tide), Studio Underd0g will remain primarily DTC. The Doghouse location opens up regular in-person interactions (13:19).

Future Collections and Innovation

• Series Roadmap
  • No major unveilings planned during Chronopolis, but hints at new models.
  • Ongoing expansion: The 04 series focuses on mechanical innovation—a “next-level” step for the brand, emphasizing technical as well as visual creativity.
  • “The O4 series is, I guess, a bit more innovation from a mechanical standpoint… something that has been in the work for a long time and I’m quite excited to introduce it.” (15:22)
• Authenticity and Challenges
  • Richard openly acknowledges risks and development hurdles, underscoring the brand’s commitment to transparency and engagement.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “For a man who spends most of his days hunched over a bench… Sam… was a bit of a celebrity on that day. I think I saw him sort of signing some autographs… So, yeah, living the dream.” – Richard, on their head of assembly’s popularity (00:50)
• “We're a team of 26, which is crazy. But yeah, it's been a fun journey and I still feel like we're right at the start.” – Richard, on company growth (03:39)
• “We got some paperwork over the line that effectively allowed Studio Underdog to acquire Horologium, meaning we brought that assembly process in-house.” – Richard, on the Doghouse milestone (04:16)
• “To have a presence I always feel is super important. The whole industry is in Geneva, you know, for that week.” – Richard, on why Chronopolis matters (07:01)
• “If people are going to that little extra effort to come and see us in person, we've decided that it's best that we can bypass the drop model there and prioritize those customers.” – Richard, on in-person access (12:02)
• “I feel like the O4 series is an opportunity for us to take that to the next level.” – Richard, on the upcoming collection (15:22)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:50 – Community connections and British Watchmakers Day activities
• 02:59 – 5th anniversary, growth, and origins
• 04:16 – Acquiring Horologium and the birth of the Doghouse
• 05:17 – Plans for consumer engagement and the “Doghouse” opening
• 07:01 – Participation in Chronopolis and Geneva’s significance
• 10:13 – What to expect at their Chronopolis booth
• 12:02 – In-person sales and drop model discussion
• 13:19 – Direct-to-consumer vs retailer strategies
• 15:22 – O4 series announcement and hints about future innovation

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Conclusion

This episode highlights Studio Underd0g’s blend of playfulness, community spirit, and serious horological ambition. Through candid reflection and open discussion, Richard Benc gives listeners an authentic look at the challenges and excitement of building a passionate, independent watch brand in 2026—one focused on creativity, transparency, and direct relationships with enthusiasts.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Hello, watch fans, and welcome back to Chronopolis Radio, hosted by the Real Time show with me, Rob Nutts and of course, Alan Ben Joseph. Today we are joined by one of our most frequent guests, Richard Bentz, Rhymes With Fence, founder and leader of Studio Underdog, a brand I'm sure by now everyone is well aware of. But you keep changing tack and confusing us and surprising us with new releases, things we never saw coming, and most recently, an incredible marketing campaign that required you to drag an entire watchmaker's bench up a hill in freezing cold England. Richard, welcome back to the studio.

[A]

Thanks for having me.

[B]

It's a great pleasure, it really is. And it was a great pleasure to see you very briefly in London the other day for British Watchmakers Day and your own Studio Underdog event at the Curve Club. How was that evening for you?

[A]

It was a lot of fun. It was, yeah, the calm before the storm, really a great opportunity to connect with the community before what was a very busy British Watchmaker's Day. And I think, as you mentioned, Sam, our head of assembly, who we lugged up a hill, he seemed to be the star of the show. And for a man who spends most of his days hunched over a bench in sort of isolation, to some extent, he was. It was a bit of a celebrity on that day. I think I saw him sort of signing some autographs at one point. So, yeah, living the dream.

[B]

I think he handled that with aplomb, to be honest. And he was under great pressure and extreme scrutiny on British Watchmakers Day itself, because this year, to entertain the masses, you set up a couple of watchmaking ventures in Lindley hall and had people attempt to set hands themselves under the guidance of your able watchmakers. It seems like a great success. Have you found any new talent rolling around London?

[A]

Yeah, the skill set was. Was, I guess, quite diverse, really. I think it very much depended on how many coffees someone had had that morning. So I think the success rate heavily depended on whether people had visited the Bark and Jack coffee stand prior to getting hands on. But people seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. And I think the most important thing was people realised just how difficult that part of the process is and just how skilled these technicians are. Um, and that was just one small part of the process. So I think it's got people excited to see what was effectively a. A little taster for, for what the, the doghouse experience will entail when we do come to. To open our doors, which I'm sure we'll get onto.

[B]

So let's talk about the doghouse, because for our listeners this is, it might be news, they might have read about it, they might have heard about it through the grapevine, but this is a massive step for a still, I guess, almost exactly five year old brand. Now, on the day of this recording, it's very close, isn't it, to your anniversary?

[A]

It is, yeah. The anniversary was just a week or so ago, so the team and I went out for tacos on, I believe it fell on a Tuesday, so it had to be done. So we are, I can now say, over five years old, which is, which is super exciting and my God, that time has absolutely flown by.

[B]

You know, I remember the first email that you sent me on the cusp of you starting the company and launching the first campaign with those three mod. And of course the iconic watermelon that's sort of come to be almost a brand ambassador for you. It feels like you've been around forever, but I guess for you it also feels like just a blink of an eye since it's all started.

[A]

Oh, gosh, yeah, absolutely. I think there's been so many, I guess, levels and different stepping stones that the business has, has gone through really. Five years ago it was me in my living room, in the corner of my living room, even in my small little flat in London. And as of today, because of the acquisition and the doghouse that's now essentially a part of the brand, we're a team of 26, which is crazy. But yeah, it's been a fun journey and I still feel like we're right at the start really.

[B]

So what is the doghouse?

[A]

So the doghouse is, well, it's effectively the home of Studio Underdog in terms of, I guess what is considered part of the manufacturing process. So since pretty much year one, we decided to assemble all our watches in the UK basically to give us an added level of control and oversight that was done by a third party company that really scaled in line with the growth of Studio Underdog. And it got to the point where towards the end of last year, Horology, who was the company that was assembling our watches? About 90% of their revenue was being generated through Studio Underdog, through assembling over a thousand watches per month towards the end of last year. So in December we, after, yeah, after a few months of negotiating, we got some paperwork over the line that effectively allowed Studio Underdog to acquire Horologium, meaning we brought that assembly process in house. So where I was talking about having an added level of control, but that has now Multiplied even more so since then. And what this means is this. We now have a base where we can open our doors, welcome people in to see what we're doing, the work that we're doing here in the uk. And we're actually hoping to welcome people in towards the end of March through throughout the summer to get hands on and hopefully assemble their own Studio Underdog Watch. Which is exactly why we were doing that taster session during British Watchmakers.

[C]

Richard on this show for Chronopolis Radio, we've been talking a lot about happy hour and drinks. Nobody mentioned foods, but everybody's asking us, is Studio Underdog bringing pizzas or any other physical food and not only on dials?

[A]

Good question. We tend to try and do that. So it's a good idea. Do you know what? I've not got round to speaking to the guys at Chronopolis, but certainly during one of their the evening that they're hosting the party, I'll see if maybe some watermelon canapes or slices of pizza should be added. So good thinking.

[C]

I've had the privilege and honor to actually run into you often since I'm in London. You're a real watch nerd. I see you at many gatherings. You actually don't eat and drink that much. You're really focused on Watches, so I love to see that. Why did Studio Underdog join Chronopolis?

[A]

So Watches and Wonders is always such a buzz for the industry and I've always wanted to be in Geneva for that week. I think it's going to be a long time. If ever you see Studio Underdog at Watches and Wonders, it's not really in our interest. But to be there, to have a presence is always so exciting. I say that from a personal standpoint often. I've been to Watches and Wonders. I've been to Baselworlds in years gone by, well before I started Studio Underdog. So to have a presence I always feel is super important. The whole industry is in Geneva, you know, for that week. And for the last few years, I've been really trying to find a home for Studio Underdog. We've been present in a few different locations over the last few years. We last year were at the Beau Rivage and this year with Chronopolis reaching out and hosting their first event there in Geneva, we really jumped at the opportunity. It's got an amazing assortment of brands that are so in line with our brand values and it's run by a group of people that have got a lot of industry experience. And know what they're doing. So it's great to have an event that we know will hit the ground running and great to sort of feel like we found a home in Geneva during the week.

[B]

Right now, this event is obviously based in Geneva and it's going to be a massive and I think, very welcome element to Geneva watch week this year and hopefully for many years in the future. But what you've created, this cohort of 20 brands, especially with the whole Chronopolis branding and the power of apparated man behind the event as well, feels to me like something that you could take on the road. Is there any thought that Chronopolis might expand into new territories in the future and it become a rolling event in

[A]

its own right, potentially? I mean, whilst I say that, you know, I fully expect them to hit the ground running, I'm sure they want to walk before they run and I feel like they want to get this one under their belt before they start planning what that could look like in the future. But as I said, it's such a great selection of brands. It's smaller and more intimate than some of the larger, I guess, micro brand or independent fairs that you have globally. Especially when you look at the ones in the U.S. for example, I think the wind up in New York is up to over 150 brands. So certainly 20 brands is a lot more intimate. So we'll see what the growth opportunity there brings. I think in the last couple of years, there's been so many events popping up. I was saying just before we started recording this year, we're being a bit more strategic in terms of where we're kind of positioning ourselves. And when we do show up at an event, we want to have a bit more of a larger impact, really.

[B]

What can people expect to see at the studio underdog booth when they visit Chronopolis this year?

[A]

So this year a big part of our messaging is the opening of the doghouse. So we are rolling off that campaign that we mentioned at the start of this recording, where we lugged Sam, our watchmaker, up to the English countryside. We were hoping for a nice sunny day, but of course it was in true British style. We filmed it in January. I don't know what I was expecting. It was slightly rainy, quite overcast and gray. But ultimately that made for an even more British campaign. So we're bringing a little bit of taste of the English countryside to Geneva. So that's what you can expect to see from us in our stand. And it's a great opportunity to allow customers to get hands on as a direct consumer brand. For the most part we have a couple of select retail partners but most of our customer base that interact with us are discovering us online, engaging online, which is amazing. But to get hands on with watches to build kind of more, I guess a personal relationship with the people that attend Chronopolis is always going to be so important. So of course we jumped at the opportunity to have a presence whilst we don't have a novelty as such launching during the week. I'm sure there's so many brands and so much buzz during the week that I'm sure that won't be missed too much. We're really spreading this message about the doghouse and the future of the and hopefully we'll have a few samples of projects that are in development for later in the year to show a few people under the table, as it were.

[C]

I'm a big fan of what you do. I currently own only one studio Underdog watch which is the collab with fears simply because I snooze and therefore I lose the drops. Will we collectors be able to buy access to the underdog watches at Chronopolis?

[A]

Yeah, one of the things that we plan to do throughout this year is to make products available during events. If people are going to that little extra effort to come and see us in person, we've decided that it's best that we can bypass the drop model there and prioritize those customers to some extent. So yes, we will have products. I will have to speak to my operations team as to whether that product will physically be there or whether it will be a sort of, you know, a delivery in the days prior. Mostly due to the boring reasons of bringing products into, you know, into Switzerland, et cetera. So we want to make sure we keep those taxes down for everyone. So we'll see. But certainly we always plan to open up availability when we have a physical presence.

[C]

That automatically begs the follow up question. This fair was originally for retailers. Today obviously it's almost one third media, one third wholesale retail and then one third consumers. What is the strategy for Studio on the Dog to expand its retail footprint?

[A]

There isn't a huge amount of strategy to be honest, in terms of we're really focusing on the direct consumer model we have. With the opening of the doghouse we have a physical presence in the UK, relatively easily accessible. A 20 minute train from, from. From London where people will be able to come and visit us. So that's really exciting. We do work with, with time and tide who kind of, I guess specialize in these, you know, indies and micro. So it's great to have a home there as well. But we are focusing on just continuing to build on a great foundation that we have where we get to have a direct relationship with our customers. That's why events are so um, that's one of the reasons why I was saying no matter how big the brand's got, I don't think we'd, we'd ever be stepping up to have a place in watches and wonders because so much of the business that is done during that week is through retail. Of course we want to be there a to connect with our customer base and also it's a great opportunity to catch industry people press. A lot of the conversations that I've had throughout that week. I always make sure to go to the Plexpo for a day or two and just catch up with other brand owners. And that's where some of the, even the collaborations that we did, you know, a year or two ago were really cemented. For example, last year had a meeting with Moser there and the year prior. So it does just feel like a central hub and it's great for us to have a bit more of a home for the brand in Chronopolis as well.

[B]

So, last question. Looking ahead to the future from a model perspective. You said there's no novelties this year, but in recent times you have diversified the collection by adding the Series two and the Series three. Will we see a Series four or five in the next year or two? Or is that something that's a longer term plan?

[A]

Fingers crossed. The 04 series is well into development. The plan is to launch it towards the end of this year. So I'll certainly, once we catch up in person, I'll give you a little bit more of an in depth update. There's only so much that I can share for now, but I will give you some tidbits. I guess where the O1 series was I guess innovation through design and through use of color. The O2 series was innovation through use of material primarily on the dial. The Sapphire, the Lume. The O3 series was kind of taking it a step up in terms of working with Sellita for a Swiss movement. The O4 series is I guess a bit more innovation from a mechanical standpoint. So something that has been in the work for a long time and I'm quite excited to introduce it to the market because we're a brand that over the last five years has taken lots of steps to really lock down a sense of credibility and respect from the enthusiast community, and I think we've done an excellent job at that. I feel like the O4 series is an opportunity for us to take that to the next level. As you can imagine, with mechanical innovation, there's a lot of challenges and it's new territory for us. So whilst I'm saying towards the end of the year now, if I'm radio silent come December, you'll know that I've hit some hurdles which are to be expected to some extent. But for now, now we're powering forward and progress is looking good.

[B]

I must say, you've navigated all these new territories that you've broached over the last five years and a few days extremely, extremely well. And I'm sure that you will bring this series, this 04 series, to life with just as much vigor as you have the previous three. I can't wait to see it. I can't wait to learn more about it. I can't wait to see you in person. And I'm sure everybody that's listened to Chronopoulos radio, if they haven't already been to your booth, which would understandably be one of the first points of call, I'm sure they'll be there soon. Rich, thanks again for your time and have a wonderful fair.

[A]

Thanks, gents. It's been a pleasure. Sam.