Time To Watches: Formex

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Real Time Show – "Time To Watches: Formex"

Release Date: June 5, 2025

Hosts: Rob Nudds & Alon Ben Joseph

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of The Real Time Show, hosts Rob Nudds and Alon Ben Joseph delve into the dynamic world of watchmaking with a special focus on Formex, one of the most exciting brands emerging in recent years. The episode provides listeners with an in-depth look at Formex's presence at the Time to Watches fair, their innovative products, and the challenges they face in the industry.

Interview with Raphael from Formex

Rob Nuts kicks off the conversation by welcoming Raphael, affectionately known as Raf, to the show. The discussion begins with Raf sharing his experiences at the Time to Watches fair.

[00:31] Raphael: "The show has been great for us... we've been trying to hold three different meetings simultaneously on little standing tables next to our booth."

Raf elaborates on Formex's strategic location in the annex next to the villa at Palexpo, highlighting the benefits of increased foot traffic and the opportunity to engage directly with a diverse clientele, including end customers, business partners, and press representatives.

Rob Nuts praises the relocation from the previous hedge, noting the enhanced accessibility for international guests:

[02:19] Rob Nuts: "The caliber internationally of guests that you're able to access when you are a minute's walk from Palexpo is noticeable."

Raf concurs, emphasizing the logistical advantages and the positive reception they've received since relocating.

Navigating Industry Challenges: Trade Tariffs

The conversation shifts to a pressing issue affecting the watch industry—potential tariffs imposed by the U.S. on European, particularly Swiss, exports. Rob Nuts raises concerns about how these tariffs could impact Formex's business model.

[05:45] Rob Nuts: "The margins that Trump is discussing imposing on... Swiss exports is absolutely brutal."

Raf addresses the situation with a strategic outlook:

[06:42] Raphael: "One of them is certainly just going to bed and hopefully he changes his mind... we might have to set up a warehouse there."

He outlines Formex's contingency plans, including reducing customization services and accelerating shipments to the U.S. to mitigate the impact of the tariffs. Raf emphasizes the importance of maintaining customer satisfaction without passing the additional costs onto them.

Innovative Product Launches

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to showcasing Formex's latest innovations. Raf introduces their first full ceramic watch, unveiled during a recent event in Manhattan.

[09:01] Raphael: "We've launched our first full ceramic watch... it's extremely scratch resistant but also extremely hard to manufacture."

Raf delves into the complexities of manufacturing ceramic watches, discussing the challenges of shrinkage during the heating process and the precision required in CNC grinding to achieve flawless finishes. He proudly shares the rigorous testing Formex conducts to ensure durability and resistance to breakage.

Company Background and Expertise

Raf provides listeners with a comprehensive background of Formex, highlighting the company's rich heritage in manufacturing composite materials over 35 years. He traces the company's roots back to his father's expertise in the watch industry and the evolution of their family business, Texel, into a key player in dial manufacturing and case production.

[12:35] Raphael: "My father immigrated to Switzerland... He was always a tinkerer and an inventor."

This deep-seated experience underpins Formex's commitment to quality and innovation in watchmaking.

Future Plans and Developments

Looking ahead, Raf shares exciting prospects for Formex, including new dial variations and advancements in their movement technology.

[15:09] Raphael: "We're putting a lot of effort into developing... we're going to start a project with a movement manufacturer... something in the works for our 25th anniversary."

He hints at the potential launch of a completely new movement around October, celebrating the brand's milestones with groundbreaking products.

Audience and Community Feedback

Towards the end of the episode, hosts and guests discuss the broader impact of Formex in the watch community. Sam and an Unknown Speaker provide testimonials, praising Formex's precision, build quality, and innovative use of materials like ceramic.

[19:26] Unknown Speaker: "Their position in the industry is extremely unusual. The machining is superb... it's a great product. Beautifully conceived, superbly executed."

They commend Formex for offering high-quality watches at competitive price points, making luxury accessible to a wider audience.

Conclusion

Rob and Raphael wrap up the episode on a positive note, reflecting on the success of the fair and expressing optimism for Formex's future endeavors.

[17:20] Raphael: "Thank you very much."

The hosts encourage listeners to stay tuned for more updates and express eagerness to feature Formex in future episodes for deeper insights.

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Notable Quotes:

• Raphael on Trade Tariffs: "[06:42] ...we might have to set up a warehouse there."
• Rob Nuts on Product Quality: "[17:34] ...they produce a better quality product than Formex at that price point."
• Unknown Speaker on Precision: "[19:26] ...machining is superb... it's a great product."

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Key Takeaways

1. Strategic Relocation: Formex's move to the annex at Palexpo has significantly increased their visibility and access to a diverse clientele.
2. Innovative Manufacturing: The launch of Formex's first full ceramic watch showcases their expertise and commitment to quality, despite the manufacturing challenges.
3. Industry Challenges: Potential U.S. tariffs pose a threat, but Formex is proactively developing strategies to mitigate their impact.
4. Rich Heritage: Formex leverages decades of family-run expertise in composite materials and watchmaking to drive innovation.
5. Future Endeavors: Plans for new dial variations and movement technology highlight Formex's dedication to growth and excellence.
6. Community Recognition: Formex is highly regarded in the watch community for delivering high-quality, precisely engineered products at accessible prices.

Final Thoughts

This episode of The Real Time Show offers a comprehensive look into Formex's operations, challenges, and future plans. Raphael's insights provide valuable perspectives on navigating the competitive watch industry, while the hosts and guests underscore the brand's exceptional craftsmanship and innovative spirit. Whether you're a watch enthusiast or industry professional, this episode delivers a wealth of information and inspiration.

Transcript

[Sam]

Foreign.

[Rob Nuts]

Hello watch fans and welcome to another edition of the Real Time show with me, your friendly neighborhood watchmaker, Rob Nuts. Today I am joined by Raphael, also known as Raf. Rafa and Ralph.

[Raphael]

Lol.

[Rob Nuts]

I've done you there. Don't call him Ralph. That was a joke. We had off here from Formex, one of the most exciting brands to hit the scene in the last few years. Tell us Raf, how have you found time to watch us thus far?

[Raphael]

Hey Rob and everybody listening, thanks for having me in this lovely toasty little igloo outside of Time to watch us. Yeah, it's. The show has been great for us. We're, we're in the annex, it's the little bunker looking building right next to the villa. So I really love the layout in there. There's a of lot, little bit more space I would say, than in the villa. So it's more of an open plan design and the traffic has been great. We've obviously worked very hard to get media and business meetings in beforehand, but it turns out nobody's able to keep their scheduling so it's all a bit of a blur. So we're trying to hold three different meetings simultaneously on little standing tables next to our booth. But yeah, it's been great. The proximity to the show, to Palexpo, are we allowed to mention Palexpo? We are allowed to mention, yeah. So the proximity is really good. You do get a lot of walk ins, you know, final customers, end customers, business customers, a lot of press that we didn't actually schedule swang by and wanted to see our creations. So yeah, really good show so far.

[Rob Nuts]

So impressed. And you're obviously a fan of the relocation from the previous hedge.

[Raphael]

Yeah, yeah, we, we never actually participated until now. Mainly because of the relocation also.

[Rob Nuts]

Right, okay. It is something everyone's commented on like how it's not that every guest isn't welcome, but the caliber internationally of guests that you're able to access when you are a minute's walk from Plexpo is noticeable. You know, you get all the big journalists who, who previously just had no time to get down to head Chenev.

[Raphael]

Because you know, you can't be logistically impossible.

[Rob Nuts]

Yes, it's a nightmare, especially in traffic, you know, you just can't make it work. But here, I mean when you figure out the way. Because the first time I came here from Plexpo I got lost. I went through the car park and it took me five minutes and I was like, oh, it wasn't a minute like they said on the flyer. But now you realize there's just a staircase, basically. It is brilliant. So I hope that we're able to secure it again next year and I hope that the glass igloo is back. Although, as you intimated, it's so warm in here now. We've renamed it the Glass Puddle. Everyone is melting.

[Raphael]

It gets moist.

[Unknown]

So what were your.

[Rob Nuts]

That's the first time moist has been.

[Unknown]

Said on the podcast all week.

[Raphael]

You're welcome.

[Rob Nuts]

Possibly the last recording we're gonna do and easily the best.

[Unknown]

We saved it all till.

[Rob Nuts]

Till the end. So you've had a great fair, you've enjoyed meeting all these people, you've been on your feet 8:30 till 8 every day.

[Raphael]

Do we need to talk about the opening hours? Yeah, yeah, it's been intense.

[Rob Nuts]

8:30 might be a touch too early, I think. There aren't many journalists I know that get out of bed that time.

[Raphael]

Oh, you'd be surprised though.

[Rob Nuts]

Okay, well, I guess there's so much to see. There's 77 brands showing here and we've had most of them pass through the doors of the Igloo, of course, and all of them had slightly different goals, although most people would say they, they are here for everything they can get. But for you, Raf, what was the main focus? Was it meeting retailers, journalists or end customers?

[Raphael]

All of the above with a big focus on opening new doors. We've historically, since our relaunch in 2018, where we kind of were forced to choose direct to consumer route because nobody wanted to talk to us. Back then, brand was relatively unknown. It was more known in the early noughties, which were the golden years for Formics and generally for larger sized watches. And yeah, it kind of died down after the 2008 financial crisis and it's been really quiet around the brand from then until we relaunched it on Kickstarter. And we've been steadily building, creating new products, putting a lot of attention to and features, materials as well. And obviously a lot of our time and investment went into creating special dials as well. And so now we found that the retailers that work with us, since we have a little bit more space for a retail margin still not the classic margin, but a lot of retailers actually started rethinking it and working with smaller brands like our friends fears etc. And yeah, the focus was to open new doors because we've noticed that the ones we did open, you know, very traditional retailers, but doing a really modern job like our friends at James Porter and Son in Glasgow we recently started working with. They really do a good job at showcasing newer, smaller, independent brands like us, but also at creating and fostering a real community around their stores. And we've created a lot of interest with our new releases. But for many people, you know, spending two grand or three or four grand even on an online purchase on a watch you haven't ever handled before is still a big stretch. And so, yeah, creating the opportunity for people to walk past your watches and actually trying them on is a big focus for Osny here this year.

[Rob Nuts]

Obviously, while this fair is going on, there's rumblings coming out of America that tariffs are about to be imposed on.

[Raphael]

Next topic, please.

[Rob Nuts]

Let's, let's, if you don't mind, I don't, I don't speculate slightly as to what the potential pathways through this situation may be for you in light of that desire to open doors because the, the margins that Trump is discussing imposing on European and especially Swiss exports is absolutely brutal and kind of it's akin especially for the Swiss to a retail margin that you would obviously normally give to a retailer for them to carry your stock.

[Raphael]

Exactly.

[Rob Nuts]

If it holds fast, which is a big if because we don't know what's going to happen obviously in the next few days. It is a developing situation. If that does come to pass, have you thought of any ways that you could navigate it?

[Raphael]

Yes, we obviously, every free minute we had with Marcus, which were about three per day, we talked about this. I believe it. Yeah. And brainstorm a little bit. I'm not going to reveal too much about our strategies on how to mitigate it. One of them is certainly just going to bed and hopefully he changes his mind, which, you know, has been done. It seems like if, you know, the Swiss government tells him he was right and that we're changing something and he can say he won, he will probably do something to at least lower them, but I hope abolish them with us because, you know, Switzerland has been a very good trade partner to them and calculating, you know, punitive tariffs based on the trade deficit with a country is not a, you know, it's not a very smart thing to do, I would say. But yeah, yeah, we certainly sell a lot direct to consumer as well to, to the United States. So we might have to, you know, set up a warehouse there. We do actually stock our watches as watch heads only because we have so many different strap bracelet options so that whenever somebody orders every day our, our team pre the orders and puts the correct bracelet and sizes them. So we might have to reduce that level of service a Little bit. So we can get the watches ready and ship them out to the States. We're certainly making our biggest shipment so far to the states on Monday, hoping we'll get there on Tuesday before the tariffs hit. And yeah, there are strategies being discussed. We certainly don't want to raise the price by 31 or 32, or is it 30? We don't know exactly. But yeah, we're not going to want to make the customer pay for that because even though they love our products, I don't think they're just going to swallow, you know, that tariff. But that's, that's what it basically does. You know, it's punishes your own population.

[Rob Nuts]

It's a real shame. And hopefully the situation is resolved agreeably as soon as possible. That was very diplomatic, wasn't it? Okay, good. Moving on. Talking about products, specifically, what have you launched or revealed or shown at this fair?

[Raphael]

So we've launched very recently over in New York. We had a really, really cool event in Manhattan to launch our first full ceramic watch. So we decided to go on the essence. We went for a 41 millimeter case, but the watch being all black and our essences being extremely comfortable and ergonomic, which is one of our big focuses, it wears a bit smaller. So I would say it wears about like a 40 mil watch. And obviously comes with a lot of difficulty in manufacturing ceramic material that is very hard. Harder than all the metals. 200 Vickers, more or less. Which means that the end product is extremely scratch resistant, but it's also extremely hard to manufacture. So you start from a injected ceramic composite and then you have to factor in that when it's getting centered in the oven at about 1200, 1300 degrees centigrade, it will shrink by anywhere from 20 to 30%. And requiring the precisions. Yeah, like jumping in a cold lake.

[Rob Nuts]

It's quite a big percentage. Right.

[Raphael]

Of shrinkage. Yeah. And, and so you have to factor that in. And you know, knowing that we need to. Knowing that we need to be at manufacturing precisions of, you know, three hundredths of a millimeter in certain cases or even less, you have to do a lot of removing of excess material to reach those tolerances. And that has to be done by CNC grinding wheels. And we're talking about diamond grinding wheels because, you know, stone grinding wheel or anything else wouldn't be hard enough, certainly not metal. And also using CNC bits that are made from tungsten carbide, which is the only thing hard enough to really machine ceramic. And then speaking about finishing, you Know when you make a ceramic watch that is all matte, it's a bit more, more simple to manufacture when you put. We basically took the finishing of our steel essence model. So a mix between brushed with small polished bevels and if you want to do that on ceramic you also have to use diamond grinding wheel. So you can't. It all has to be done in CNC as well. So it's so much more complicated to finish that. And yeah, I'm extremely happy with the end result. So we've got a almost unscratchable watch. We've added enough material where you want to add it because ceramic is not flexible, it doesn't bend, it's brittle. But thanks to the fact that our family business has been manufacturing ceramic for the better part of 35 years, our development and manufacturing team have a lot of experience and know how to prevent breakage even if you handle them rough. So we have an in house laboratory now. So we did traction and torsion testing on the bracelets, we did impact testing, drop testing and so far we weren't really able to break one.

[Rob Nuts]

Talk to us about that background that you have in the manufacturing of other things that are not watches.

[Raphael]

Yeah, so my father immigrated to Switzerland when he was 14 and then he did an apprenticeship in the watch industry already went on to work at Rador for quite some time. And then he got hired in a business that designs and manufactured dials mostly in Malaysia for Swiss watch brands. And that went really well and they made him a partner and a couple of years later they sold the business and one of the partners, Rolf Schneider, a really good friend of my dad, went on to purchase Ulyss Northern with, with that money and my dad decided to found his own business called Texel where they, you know, he was always a tinkerer and an inventor. So he drew and came up with a lot of deploying clasp systems. That was his, his real, real baby. And then went on to manufacture metal bracelets and even ventured out into manufacturing cases. So and he, he was really already at an early stage specialized in composite materials, ceramics, carbon fiber. Yeah. And that developed pretty nicely working for many brands. And then dial manufacturer got added to the family business now run by my uncle. And that's where we make all the formix dials as well. So I grew up in the family business in product development. Well, I mean even at a very early stage they let me polish pieces or assemble simple things when I was like 6, 10 years old during high school holiday. So I always took an interest and was fascinating by creating things. And at one stage while working at Dexo, one of the founders of Formex came up to us and asked us if we wanted to take over the business and relaunch it. And that's what we did. And so now I can be creative on all parts of the watch and it's something we do with a lot of passion.

[Rob Nuts]

So were you responsible for the design?

[Raphael]

Yes. We have to finish. We do have designers so we share the product development with decel. So I have mainly two people working with me on the design with a lot of their own inputs. But we then always do it as a collaborative thing.

[Rob Nuts]

Incredible. And what can we look, that's weird.

[Raphael]

Listen to.

[Rob Nuts]

What can we hope to what's going on with our voice and what can we expect to see in the coming months or years from Formax?

[Raphael]

Definitely a lot of more dial variations. We're really putting a lot of effort into developing. For instance, last year in summer we launched a space gold essence, which is a world's first. It's a meteorite dial that has been plated with a real layer of 18 karat rose gold. We figured out that it's meteorites. Even though it's a stone, it's mostly made of ferrous materials. So this actually conducts electricity which allows plating to happen with the added benefit of not hiding the marvelous pattern a meteorite has. So yeah, we put a lot of development in dial variations. We don't want to pump pump out new models all the time, especially new model lines. We have a pretty broad model line already and we work on different variations. Maybe some new sizes. In much loved models we have out there are going to come maybe some new stone dials. And we also are putting more focus on the movement. So we're going to move to not move, but we're going to start a project with a movement manufacturer we haven't worked before with before. And yeah, there's definitely also something in the works of a complete new movement that might or might not be launched around October for our 25th anniversary.

[Rob Nuts]

Oh my word. What exciting news.

[Raphael]

Lots of stuff cooking.

[Rob Nuts]

Lots of stuff cooking. Okay, Raf, let's leave it there. That was absolutely illuminating. Really enjoyed it. And I'm sure you'll be glad that your time in the glass puddle has come to an end.

[Raphael]

Yeah, it's actually starting to get pretty warm in here.

[Rob Nuts]

Well, look, get outside, get some fresh air, get back to the desk for another four hours, scene hours, and have a wonderful end to a brilliant fair.

[Raphael]

Thank you very much.

[Unknown]

So alon, there's not many brands in the industry as far as I can see that produce a better quality product than Formex at that price point. What's your take on the watches and the brand itself?

[Sam]

I didn't sit in on the interview but I was lucky enough, and I emphasize I'm lucky to meet Raphael at his stand. They were a bit tucked away in the dependence. It was a side building because time to watch is so popular and the Villa Saracen wasn't big enough that they actually put some cool brands in a building next door next to the food trucks and had time to spend with Rafael because I have been meaning to meet him quite some time. He's a good friend of our mutual friend Cornelius Huber of Circular. So heard a lot about the person. Obviously I've been following foremost for quite some time. I don't always think that watches are my cup of tea and I didn't always know that it's a family owned, family run business for several generations. Rafael is second or third generation and they are a key industry player for producing for other brands. Now Formax is isn't a side hustle, it isn't a side project. It's a serious brand and they make serious watches for a very good price. And this year they actually got a lot of press coverage because they have a patent on making adjustable clasps on full ceramic bracelets and the actual clasp is made of ceramic. So I was very eager to see that besides meeting Rafael. So the conclusion is I'm going to listen to the interview. But in my side meeting, besides the interview in the glass igloo, I was very impressed both by the team and Rafael and the products. Very cool.

[Unknown]

Yeah, honestly, they just blow you away with the precision. The machining is superb. Function of everything, every pusher, every crown, every bezel, click, every click on that clasp is just exquisite to say the least. Honestly, I don't like the ceramic one. Never liked ceramic that much to be honest. And that's, that's the anti rob watch. It's like a, you know, skeleton dial ceramic case bracelet. Technologically extremely impressive. But you know what I'd say about these watches because you say you're not sure if they're really for you. Once you get them on your wrist, everything makes sense. Like I thought, oh, the reef, you know, like the diver version. When I first saw it I was like, oh, this is a watch trying a bit too hard here. You know, it's sort of chucking the kitchen sink at it. Oh, it thinks it's a super cool diver. Oh, yeah. How good can it possibly be? Ahem. Well, it shot me up because it is incredible. Like the build quality. I can't say enough about it. The precision, the use of ceramic inlay on the bezel, the case shape as well. It just is. It's a bit of a. Bit of heaven. Bit of class. I mean, I like it, obviously, you know, I'm a Laventure fan. I'm a Nautilus fan. I like these little ears on the case. I think it's super cute and I think that the execution can make up for many, many things. But in real life, it doesn't need to make up for anything. It's just. It's a great product. Beautifully conceived, superbly executed. Can't say enough about it. And they're like two grand. So, yeah, if this is something that piques your interest, don't hesitate. I would say, you know, pull the trigger straight away. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the material quality of any of these watches. And we need to get them on the show for a full. And we need to get them on the show for a full hour long interview because there's a lot to discuss. And like you said, you know, their position in the industry is extremely unusual. They do supply a lot of brands with a lot of stuff and they are experts in that field. So picking Raphael's brains on that side of things would be very valuable content, I think, and something that I hope that our audience would be interested in. So let us know if you'd like us to get them on the show and if you've got any questions for them, as I'm sure you may have, then just drop them into the mailbag and we'll address them in good time.

[Sam]

Sam.