HODINKEE Podcasts

This week on The Business of Watches, an in-depth discussion with Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fears Watches. Nicholas has packed a lot into his 39 years. For the last decade he's been helming the brand originally founded by his great-great-great grandfather, Edwin Fears, in Bristol, England way back in 1846.
Incredibly, Bowman-Scargill wasn't even aware of the Fears brand and family connection when he decided to train as a watchmaker at Rolex in the U.K. That move into watches followed an ill-timed foray into investment banking on the eve of the Global Financial Crisis, in 2008.
By the time Bowman-Scargill restarted the brand in 2016, it had been dormant for nearly four decades. Its revival has been an exercise in business challenges that have often been met by practicing the art of project management, a skill set that he and his fellow Brits are uniquely adept at, he says. Fears has now grown to about 15 people and returned to its roots in Bristol. From flirting with bankruptcy to implementing a dress code for employees and overseeing the design and production of a perpetual calendar model, Bowman-Scargill relays the dramatic tale of how the company has survived and thrived in the crowded and competitive arena of mid-tier priced timepieces.
It's a heck of a story that offers heaps of insight for any watch enthusiast, collector or small business owner. From what he learned and has applied at Fears from his time at Rolex, to what's in the envelope that's only to be opened should he meet an unexpected demise, what kind of investors he's accepted to the family business, and how to bring that non-watch enthusiast customer to the brand, Bowman-Scargill serves up plenty of candor, wisdom and experience in this wide-ranging discussion.
Show Notes:
0:48 New York Watch Week (Hodinkee)
1:19 Bristol England (VisitBristol.co.uk)
1:35 Edwin Fear (BBC News)
3:48 List of Fears managing directors (Fears website)
5:08 The Succession Planning Gap: Real Stats on Why Family Businesses Struggle to Prepare (Kreischer Miller)
7:32 Corporate Governance (OECD)
9:36 Carp Fisher magazines (The Carp Society)
10:03 Master of the Universe - Investment Bankers (Prime Video)
10:19 The Men Who Destroyed Deutsche Bank (Der Spiegel)
10:47 The watches that bankers blow their first bonuses on (efinancialcareers.com)
12:45 Francis Bourgeois (YouTube)
14:02 Rolex Service Centres in London
17:11 Moritz Grossmann history and founding of the German School of Watchmaking (company website)
18:35 Fears Watch Company Limited (Companies House)
20:07 The First Fears Watch - The Redcliff Date from 2016
23:26 Fears Brunswick White 38
27:30 Établissage (FHH)
30:15 Mighty Mercedes Benz Models of the 1980s (Hagerty UK)
31:36 Inside Swiss Watch Manufacturing At the EPHJ (Swiss 101 Hodinkee)
35:25 The Power of Dress (Psychology Today)
42:35 Becoming a Civilian (Jason Heaton SWIMPRUF)
42:53 Meet the Fears Garrick (Worn & Wound)
48:02 British Watch & Clock Makers Alliance
48:25 What Really Happened to the Costa Cruises' Costa Concordia (Cruise Critic)
49:50 What is a Project Manager? (Project Manager YouTube)
55:20 What is cash flow and how do you manage it? (British Business Bank)
58:20 Chargeback Fraud: How It Works, Common Types & How To Prevent It (Unit21.ai)
58:46 Being Fearless: The First Ten Years of Rebuilding a Watch Company by Chris Hall with Foreward by Mike France (Waterstones)

Is there room for another watch show? Is there demand? Is Las Vegas the ideal place to bring thousands of watch collectors together for a weekend of horological themed fun, discussion and entertainment?
The folks behind The Escapement are saying an emphatic yes to all of the above. They're putting on a new watch event in Las Vegas in 2027 running February 5-7 and they believe collectors and enthusiasts are primed for a fresh, in-depth and upgraded take on the watch meetup.
Texas-based Neeshu Hajra is an enthusiastic watch collector who has decades of experience in the events business. Now located in the Middle East, Faheem Khan spent most of his career in the energy industry in London and now writes and curates the popular watch, philosophy and psychology driven Substack blog ScrewDownCrown. He's also the irreverent voice behind @kingflum on Instagram. Together, they're planning and organizing The Escapement with help from a few other big names in the industry that we dive into during the episode.

We discuss what makes meetups work and why they had to pull plans to hold the inaugural edition of the event in Abu Dhabi and move to a more conventional location in Vegas where they hope to attract some 5,000 general admission ticket buyers and 750 VIP ticket clients.
There's been some skepticism from industry naysayers as to the need and potential of the event. WatchPro's editor said the original gathering planned for Abu Dhabi gave him "Fyre Festival vibes," recalling the island music and entertainment party promoted by social media influencers that was the subject of dueling documentaries on Netflix and Hulu detailing its troubled outcome.
During a wide-ranging interview, Hajra and Khan tell us how they're staging and financing this first show and why they believe the event, with industry notables including Rexhep Rexhepi and Eric Ku slated to speak and with brands attending ranging from Atelier Wen to Biver to Daniel Roth to Greubel Forsey to Lang & Heyne and Ming, will tell brand stories in a fresh new way, making the event a success with further editions for years to come.

Show Notes:
1:23 Nishu Hajra and The Trade Group (Exhibtor Online)
1:32 Comic-Con International
2:45 Screw Down Crown / kingflum / Substack
7:38 Middle East Forces The Escapement To Cancel Abu Dhabi Event And Move To Las Vegas (Hodinkee)
13:59 What's Happening in Abu Dhabi (Time Out)
14:10 Etihad Arena Abu Dhabi
16:30 Photo Report Dubai Watch Week (Hodinkee)
18:58 A Visit With @NYCWatchGuy (Swiss Watch Gang YouTube)
22:42 T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas (website) 24:05 FHH (website) 30:02 Watch Anish (Instagram) 32:55 Wynn Las Vegas
33:42 An example of an F.P.Journe Clock previously sold at auction (Loupe This)
34:54 Phillips Watches
35:44 Andrew Schulz (Official Website)
36:49 Rubis Awards (website)
37:05 Top Gamer and AI Techs Mike Capps and Ben Horesh Helm Everywatch (Forbes)
43:08 Horologer Ming Executives Ming Thein And Praneeth Rajsingh Talk Design, Manufacturing, Pricing, And More (Hodinkee)
46:02 HSNY Watchmaker Classes

This week on The Business of Watches, a boutique brand and its CEO from a country that has much of the watch industry abuzz. Nirupesh Joshi is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bangalore Watch Company, based in Bengaluru (previously known as Bangalore), India.
The company was founded in 2018 and has slowly established itself as a purveyor of premium watchmaking with models that don't rely on classic tropes about the country to tell their story. Former tech industry executives Joshi and his wife, Mercy Amalraj, are building a brand that aims to express the modern spirit of India, as the country becomes an increasingly significant economic and cultural player on the world stage.
There's a rich history of watchmaking in India, marked by brands including HMT and Titan, that have produced watches at large volumes to serve India's fast-growing population of over 1 billion people. But BWC is seeking a different client, one that's more seasoned in watches, and is seeking a brand that innovates and competes with other marques from around the world to tell its own unique stories.
BWC has grown to about 15 staff members, including watchmakers repatriated from other brands, opened a boutique in its home city, and produces around 2,000 watches per year, assembled in India, using components made both in-country and from suppliers around the world. The company recently raised capital from investors, and Joshi tells us how BWC plans to bring its watches to a wider, global audience. Customers outside of India already account for about 60% of sales, and the plan is to grow that segment further with modern, high-quality watches that express the dynamism of India and its young population.
Show Notes:
1:05 Bangalore Watch Company (website)

1:47 As China Retreats And The U.S. Wobbles, Is India The Next Great Hope For The Luxury Watch Market? (Hodinkee)

3:11 As India Gets Richer Its Biggest Watchmaker Titan Crafts The Nation's Most Ambitious Watch Yet (Hodinkee)

3:39 Hindustan Machine Tools - About Us

5:12 Tata Group
6:35 BWC Apogee 'Visitor'

6:51 BWC Cover Drive 'The Outfield'

7:45 The Role of Hong Kong In The Global Watch Market (Hong Kong's Finest Watches)

15:40 India rule the cricketing world, but is their dominance good for the sport? (New York Times / The Athletic)

16:08 Why does India want to be a space power? (London School of Economics)

17:17 BWC Peninsula Carbon

18:18 Delhi AQI (Instagram)

22:00 Warby Parker

23:02 High-Net-Worth Individual (HNI) – Meaning, Types, and More (DBS Bank)

24:59 Horologer Ming Executives Ming Thein And Praneeth Rajsingh Talk Design, Manufacturing, Pricing, And More (Hodinkee)
25:02 Introducing: The Fears Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour 'Ultimus' (Hodinkee)

26:24 Bangalore Watch Company opens flagship boutique in its hometown (Europa Star)

29:28 The Business of Watches Podcast: Czapek & Cie. CEO And Co-Founder Xavier de Roquemaurel

30:31 Furlan Marri

33:25 On Paper / On Wrist The Delhi Watch Co. DWC Terra (The Grey Nato)

36:26 BWC Forty Seven

38:50 India Single Malt Whisky: Complete Guide 2026 (The Daily Whisky)

Formex holds a unique place in the Swiss watch industry. The brand was born in the early 2000s with a proprietary case suspension system and designs that expressed the origins of its name 'forme extrême' (extreme shapes in French). But the recession spurred by the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 dealt a near fatal blow to the brand and it entered a period of relative dormancy.
Then in 2016, Formex was taken over by a group backed by one of its suppliers, Dexel, a Swiss component maker specializing in bracelets, clasps and cases as well as dials at its subsidiary Cadranor.
Raphael Granito, now in his mid-thirties, is part of the family business behind Dexel and led the take over and revival of the Formex marque. He has steered the brand's development ever since and a decade later, Formex is leveraging its manufacturing savoir-faire and research and development skills from Dexel to produce innovative and approachable-priced Swiss Made watches. The brand evolution culminated recently with the Aria, a high-end integrated bracelet titanium sport watch with an, ultra-thin, micro-rotor manufacture movement designed by Horage, priced below CHF 6,000. That's a significant step up compared to the CHF 1,800 average price point for its watches.

Granito outlines how the brand has grown and connected with more customers, operating mainly outside the traditional retail structure. Still a family business, he hired his best friend from university to lead marketing and sales efforts. Formex has distinguished itself offering upscale finishing and components, including cases, bracelets innovative clasps and stone dials that include meteorite options. It's approach to design and engineering innovation, that Granito calls 'designeering,' has certainly struck a chord with a watch enthusiasts, particularly in the U.S., now the Swiss brand's largest market.

Show Notes
1:05 Raphael Granito (Instagram)

1:58 Formex (company website)

2:05 The Inner Workings of Formex's Case Suspension System (WatchGecko)

2:56 The Great Recession and its Aftermath (Federal Reserve History)

3:57 The Secret Sauce Behind the Value Proposition of Formex Watches (Timefiles)

4:08 Dexel (website)

4:12 Cadranor (website)

5:16 Formex Essence
5:37
Interview with Markus Wälchli, marketing director of Formex (The Watch Society YouTube)

12:17 Hands-OnFurlan Marri Disco Diamonds Onyx – A New Affordable Entry Into Subtle Gemsetting (Hodinkee)

13:52 How to Determine Product Pricing — The Complete Formula for Small-Batch Manufacturers (Stocksmith.io)

19:26 The Aria Manufacture Chronometer From Formex (Hodinkee)

25:25 Intersect, By the Brands, For the Enthusiasts

This week on The Business of Watches, we sit down with the business leader who has headed the reborn Czapek & Cie. brand for more than a decade now. Xavier de Roquemaurel didn't come from the watch industry when he co-founded Czapek with fellow entrepreneur Harry Guhl with help from watchmaker Sébastien Follonier in 2015.
He's had to learn the industry on the job and while Czapek burst on the scene by winning the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) Public Prize in its debut year in 2016, the company and de Roquemaurel have faced plenty of challenges along the way. From the novel financing and shareholder model they created to fund the startup, to reckoning with a massive surge of back orders for their popular Antarctique integrated bracelet sports watch model during the boom times of the post-pandemic era, as well as serious health and medical ordeals. Reconsidering all the tests he and the company have faced, de Roquemaurel says he now believes that "adversity gets the best out of you."

Today, Czapek has just opened a new boutique on the historic Quai des Bergues in Geneva on the same banks of the Rhone river where François Czapek himself had his first atelier in the 1800s. In a wide ranging interview, the Czapek CEO traces both the path of the reborn brand and how it has found inspiration in the legacy of the watchmaker that opened what is believed to be the first watch boutique on Place de Vendome in Paris while producing timepieces for Napoleon III and the French Imperial court. Stay tuned to the end for a preview of what complication the brand might take on next.

Show Notes:

1:05 Czapek Quai des Bergues Collection

1:58 Deconstructing the story of François Czapek (The Naked Watchmaker)

4:20 L'Oreal steals French stock market crown from LVMH (Reuters)

5:05 Agustin Almodovar Reflects on His Career as Brother Pedro's Producer (Variety)

7:01 Czapek Promenade Transparencies "Aqua Blue" (Hodinkee)

7:31 The Fratello x Czapek Promenade Transparencies "Viridan Green" (Hodinkee)

8:43 Watch Time New York

9:22 Czapek Documentary - An Unexpected Renaissance (YouTube)

10:07 Rolex, The Making Of A Status Symbol With Author Pierre-Yves Donzé (Hodinkee)

12:01 Battle of Warsaw 1831 (Wikipedia)

13:48 The Story of the Founding of Patek Philippe (Company website)

18:20 Czapek & Cie (Wikipedia)
23:09 Understanding Crowdfunding (Financial Conduct Authority)

24:50 Prospectus definition (Cornell Law)https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/prospectus
35:54 Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Dissection (UCLA Health) - we Googled it

39:57 Zegna

41:16 FINMA

42:13 Right of first refusal - definition (Harvard Law)

42:20 Tag along and drag along rights definition (Investopedia)

46:19 Czapek Deep Dive (SDC weekly 104)

49:25 Rolex Certified Pre-Owned

52:27 Inhotec SA

54:11 Czapek Watches (website)