HODINKEE Podcasts

There is already a bevy of alternatives or side venues to the mighty Watches and Wonders, taking place during what's now known as Geneva Watch Week. Maxime Couturier and Lorenzo Maillard expect there's room for one more. They're the guys behind Chronopolis, a new gathering space in downtown Geneva that's promising to give profile to the 20 or so brands participating during what's arguably the most important week of the year for the industry. 

Armed with a hipster watch enthusiast persona, Couturier, Maillard, and their crew of dealers, collectors, and friends, embody what makes the watch scene cool and fun in Geneva. Now they're trying to bring that same attitude to Chronopolis with brands paying for the privilege of being part of their scene. In a discussion ahead of the show, we discuss why there's a need for yet another watch fair and what's the best way to get young people excited about watches. 

But first, Hodinkee Senior Editor Mark Kauzlarich has covered plenty of watch fairs in his time, and he drops in to discuss the current state of industry trade shows and salons. We discuss where they're headed and how they're adapting to the current realities and demands of collectors and enthusiasts. 

Show Notes: 

4:46 Furlan Marri 

4:58 Hazemann & Monnin Wins The Second Edition Of The Louis Vuitton Watch Prize For Independent Creatives (Hodinkee) 

6:35 Time To Watches 

7:10 AHCI 

10:10 Chronopolis Independent Watch Fair 

12:00 Marché de Plainpalais (Ville de Genève) 

14:05 Heist Out (Instagram) 

16:40 Area 51 (Sotheby's and Heist Out Auction) 

19:20 Watches and Wonders 

19:53 ApresDemain Agency 

21:01 Hegid 

24:43 Tom DuCarouge 

32:18 Breda 

38:13 Watches and Culture (FHH)

This week on The Business of Watches, we get to the heart of what makes a mechanical or quartz-powered watch tick. Jean-Claude Eggen is the Chief Executive Officer of La Joux-Perret, a Swiss movement manufacturer that's on the rise as it competes with rivals, including Sellita, as a supplier to brands ranging from mainstream mass market players such as TAG Heuer to upstart micro-brands, including Kollokium. 

Eggen doesn't pull punches when discussing what's driving growth at LJP as he talks prices, movement development, and technology, and how to keep clients coming back. LJP has experienced massive increases in volumes and production under his leadership since 2020. From fewer than 10,000 movements annually less than a decade ago, LJP is now producing about 200,000 watch movements a year. He tells us how they got here and where they might go next, with new products boasting greater precision and smaller movements in both quartz and mechanical. 

But first, a good news initiative about a new non-profit organization in Switzerland that's looking to give young watchmakers the skills and machines they need to carry on the metiers d' art (or specialized skills) that make high-end watchmaking so unique. Baudouin van Es is the young man behind Tad Kozh, and he drops by to tell us what the new program is and where it gets its unusual name.

Van Es has convinced some heavy hitters to help out with Tad Kozh, gathering a who's who of industry artisans, craftspersons, and veteran business executives to oversee and govern the program, with some exciting watch collaborations to come.

Show Notes 

2:30 Tad Kozh 
2:40 Tourbillon Watch (Beaudouin van Es) 
3:05 Brittany region of France (Wikipedia) 
5:26 Metier d'art in watchmaking (The Watch Pages) 
6:50 Tad Kohz New Talent Award 
8:04 Schaublin 70 Lathe in Action (YouTube) 
8:05 Hauser Jig Boring machine (Exapro)  
8:20 Luc Monnet (Europa star) 
9:09 Jean-François Mojon (WorldTempus) 
9:19 Pietro Tomajer (Monochrome) 
10:30 Tad Kozh collaborations 
14:07 Anita Porchet (FHH) 
15:01 Ressence Watches 
17:49 Théo Auffret (Hodinkee) 
20:50 Max Büsser (Talking Watches Hodinkee) 
21:17 Marc André Deschoux 
21:44 Alex Ghotbi (Phillips) 
21:44 Roy Davidoff (Instagram) 
21:57 Guillaume Tetu (The Naked Watchmaker) 
28:20 Jean-Claude Eggen (Dubai Watch Week bio) 
28:57 La Joux-Perret 32:32 ETA (Wikipedia) 
32:45 Sellita 
33:40  LJP G100 
34:10 Business News: Switzerland's COSC Unveils 'Excellence Chronometer' Level Of Certification (Hodinkee) 
40:34 TAG Heuer Introduces The Formula One Solargraph (Hodinkee) 
41:06 Business News: LVMH Buys Minority Stake In Swiss Movement Maker La Joux-Perret From Japan's Citizen Group (Hodinkee) 
42:10 Citizen Group 
43:06 Alpina Alpiner Solarmetre 
44:10 Let The Sun Shine In: There's A New Day Rising for Solar-Powered Watches (Watchonista)

This week on The Business of Watches, a Swiss brand that resonates with much of the Hodinkee community, Doxa. Founded in Le Locle, Switzerland, and now based in Biel/Bienne, it has more than a century of history and is responsible for designing and producing some of the most iconic dive watches ever built. With links to legendary figures, including Jacques Cousteau and author Clive Cussler, Doxa has served as a case study for how to revive, rebuild, and grow a brand by zeroing in on the best parts of its story while keeping prices approachable at a time when the industry trend is tilted very much to premiumization.

Jan Edocs is the executive leading Doxa these days, and in a wide-ranging interview recorded last year, he lays out the brand's plans for measured but steady growth. Once available only online, Doxa is now in retailers across the U.S., Japan, the Middle East, and Australia, with plans to eventually be in more than 300 retail locations.  At a time of cost inflation and tariffs, a significant challenge is keeping prices approachable while telling Doxa's unique story and history to fresh customers with new products. There are plenty of lessons on how to position a brand and company to weather both storms and sunny beach days, where a Doxa might just be the ideal wristwear. 

But first, Hodinkee Deputy Editor Tim Jeffreys drops in for his BoW debut. We talk about Grand Seiko's big move to sign baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani as a global ambassador and what it might mean for the brand. 

Show Notes 

1:30 Tim Jeffreys 

4:46 Shohei Ohtani Joins Grand Seiko As A Global Ambassador 

7:41 Akio Naito and Munehisa Shibasaki On Grand Seiko In America And The Future Of All Things Seiko (Hodinkee) 

10:04 Jan Edocs, CEO of Doxa  

11:40 Doxa History 

12:56 Jenny Watches may be a Brand you've Never Heard of, but it's left a Significant Mark on Dive Watch History (Monochrome) 

14:22 Walca Watches 

16:19 Doxawatches.com 

21:05 The Incredible Calypso: Jacques Cousteau's Crazy Exploration Vessel (Calum YouTube) 

21:50 Introducing The Doxa Sub 300T Clive Cussler Special Edition (Live Pics) (Hodinkee) 

23:30 The Doxa Sub 200 (Hodinkee) 

43:00 CHFxUSD 44:20 Watchmaking in Biel/Bienne (Swiss Tourism) 

47:36 The Doxa SUB 250 Ahmed Seddiqi 75th Anniversary Limited Edition (Monochrome) 

49:00 Introducing Doxa Sub 300 Carbon Seafoam Limited Edition (Hodinkee) 

1:07:45 The Doxa Sub 200T – A Smaller Take On The Classic Doxa Design

This week on The Business of Watches, we're in La Chaux-de-Fonds to talk to the man heading Greubel Forsey, one of the most revered and respected brands in independent watchmaking. The company had been on a recent roll, with Meta CEO and chairman Mark Zuckerberg seen wearing its pricey timepieces and a 'Mechanical Exception' win for its Nano Foudroyante at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie Genève (a watch also in Zuckerberg's collection). Then news broke that Stephen Forsey, one of the brand's founders, was stepping down from the board, and, in a widely-seen social media post, Forsey said he had been "disengaged" from his duties by the board and chose to resign. 

Nydegger tells us some of the backstory to the situation and how the company plans to move forward under stable ownership. Greubel Forsey isn't looking for investors, and should Forsey want to sell his minority stake, Robert Greubel, his fellow co-founder and majority owner, has a right of first refusal on the shares. So where is Greubel Forsey headed? Nydegger says the only thing shrinking will be the size of its timepieces as it continues a push to make its watches more wearable and possibly prices as they are trying to produce an entry-level watch in the lineup priced at around CHF 120,000 or less. They haven't quite got there just yet. 

But first, we're joined by Arthur Touchot, the co-founder of Marteau & Co., to talk about his upstart auction house's plans to cut independent watchmakers in on the sale proceeds. For its sophomore edition, called 'The Echo', Marteau is auctioning off watches from independents, including Simon Brette, a Berneron Mirage Tiger Eye, vintage Daniel Roth, and an Audemars Piguet Starwheel. So will mighty AP be in line for 3% of the hammer price? Tune in to find out.

Show Notes

1:30 Arthur Touchot 

2:40 Marteau & Co. 

4:13 New Swiss Auctioneer Aims To Bring 'Artist's Resale Right' Concept To Independent Watchmaker Sales 

6:21  The Echo catalogue (Marteau & Co.) 

11:40 M.A.D. Gallery Geneva 

12:52 AHCI 

14:11 Audemars Piguet Starwheel (Hodinkee) 

16:08 Greubel Forsey (The Art of Invention) 

19:14 Greubel Forsey Gets New CEO - Michel Nydegger (SJX) 

20:20 Introducing The Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon Technique Black, The First Titanium Watch From Greubel Forsey 

20:40 Guy Takes $600,000 Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30 Degrees Technique Swimming, Resists Heart Attack (Hodinkee) 

24:02 Quadruple Tourbillon The History 

24:50 Interview: Giulio Papi, Director Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi (Hodinkee) 

29:59 Greubel Forsey Watches: A Division of Labor (NYT paywall) 

32:01 Micro-machinist in watchmaking (FHH) 

38:20 These Watches Used To Be A Secret Of The Ultra Rich. Not Anymore. (Bloomberg paywall) 

46:30 Stephen Forsey, Co-Founder Of Greubel Forsey, Steps Down From Company Board (Hodinkee) 

49:02 Michel Nydegger acceptance speech GPHG 2025 Mechanical Exception prize (GPHG Youtube) 

54:40 Mark Zuckerberg Wears $900,000 Watch To Announce End Of Meta Fact Checks (Bloomberg paywall) 

55:30 Greubel Forsey Family

This week on The Business of Watches, we talk to the man who runs the brand that makes the mighty El Primero movement. Benoit de Clerck has been in the CEO chair at Zenith Watches for a couple of years now, and that's coincided with a challenging time for the sector and one of the industry's most storied brands, with more than 160 years of history and still located in its original manufacturing location in Le Locle, Switzerland. 

Under de Clerck's leadership, Zenith is responding to the challenges with a multi-pronged approach. It's throttling production to keep sell-in and sell-out balanced, he says. But it's also stepping up its movement, making production expertise and supplying more calibers to other brands, also under the LVMH watch group umbrella. As for those reports and rumors that Zenith is up for sale? We ask de Clerck straight up if the El Primero maker is on the selling block. Have a listen to hear his forceful and fulsome response. 

But first, former Hodinkee editor Logan Baker drops in to give his take on Zenith, as well as reports that the valuation of Breitling has been reduced by its private equity ownership. Logan also has a few of his unique vintage Zenith watches on hand for us to check out. 

Show Notes 

1:30 Logan Baker (Hodinkee) 

1:40 A Watch Enthusiast's Guide to Geneva (Logan Baker, Phillips) 

2:34 Zenith Manufacture Le Locle 

5:13 Zenith Chronometer Calatrava Circa 1964 

6:50 Square case Zenith Defy with integrated bracelet 

7:34 Zenith Elite Movement 

9:45 Morgan Stanley Swiss Watcher Report 

10:50 Private equity owners slash valuation of Swiss watchmaker Breitling (FT paywall) 

13:15 Zenith Celebrates Its 160th Anniversary With CEO Benoit de Clerck (YouTube, Watch Adviser) 

15:25 Hands-On: Zenith's Resurrected Caliber 135-Powered 'G.F.J.' (Hodinkee) 

15:49 Hands-On: The Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar Lapis Lazuli (Hodinkee) 

17:01 GPHG Chronometry Prize 2025 

18:40 I Spend All Day Researching Vintage Zenith Watches – Here's Why This El Primero Is So Important To Me 

20:03 Introducing: Zenith Defy Chronograph USM (Hands-On And Live Pics) 

26:03 LVMH response to report Zenith brand is up for sale (Hodinkee story on Baume & Mercier sale) 27:30 Tiffany's New Watch Courts The Male Buyer (New York Times) 

32:07 Hublot Big Bang With Zenith Movement (Monochrome) 

37:01 Zenith: The Heart of Watchmaking (YouTube) 

39:05 Zenith A Visit To The Manufacture 

41:02 Zenith GFJ 

42:32 CHF x USD (Yahoo)