Watches and Politics

Dr. Brendan Cunningham joins us to unpack the economic, cultural, and marketing engines that drive the global watch industry. Topics include: • How luxury watch brands create desire • The political economy of watchmaking • Why marketing shapes value more than scarcity • The rise of global watch culture • How the watch industry mirrors geopolitical shifts This is a masterclass in understanding how...

In this episode, Edi Shipoli sits down with Eric Wind , one of the most respected voices in the vintage watch world. We explore: • How collectors shape taste and market value • Political provenance • The hidden stories behind iconic vintage pieces • How watch culture influences global status symbols • The future of the vintage market Eric offers an insider view that few ever get to hear — candid,...

Welcome to Season 2 of Watches & Politics — a brand-new interview series where the world’s leading experts reveal how watches intersect with power, culture, economics, history, and global politics. This season features deep conversations with: Eric Wind — Vintage watch authority and founder of Wind VintageBrendan Cunningham — Economist, historian, luxury marketing specialist James Schaaf — Col...

In this closing episode of Watches & Politics , we step back from the history, the geopolitics, and the power struggles to reflect on what this journey has revealed. From cathedral bells to Cold War chronometers, from presidential wristwatches to Instagram collectors, timekeeping has never been neutral. Watches are stories of politics, diplomacy, conflict, and culture—miniature archives of pow...

Watches aren’t relics of the past—they’re still political, right now. In Episode 10, we explore 10 ways horology intersects with power, money, and influence in today’s world : from sanctions and gray-market luxury, to blockchain authentication, to watch industry lobbying, celebrity diplomacy, and the politics of prestige at auctions. This is a fast-moving tour through the living, breathing politic...

Time isn’t just measured—it’s controlled . In Episode 9, we trace how time zones, daylight saving, and atomic clocks have been shaped by politics, empire, and power plays. From the 1884 International Meridian Conference to China’s single time zone, from colonial “railway time” to the Cold War race for atomic precision—we uncover how controlling the clock has always meant controlling people. This i...

n Episode 8, we step into the world of the collector—not just as a hobbyist, but as a political actor . We explore how the buying, selling, and showcasing of high-end watches creates networks of power, influence, and cultural capital. From heads of state whose collections signal national pride, to billionaires shaping auction markets, to elite gatherings where watches double as diplomatic tools—we...

In Episode 7, we explore the return of the past—not just in design, but in ideology. The neo-vintage watch revival is everywhere: from reissued icons to auction-fueled hype, nostalgic aesthetics now dominate the modern wrist. But what does this backward glance say about the present? We examine how scarcity, exclusivity, and cultural longing have made vintage watches political symbols—of stability,...

In Episode 6, we explore the modern face of watches in a rapidly changing world—where globalization, geopolitics, digital disruption , and sustainability all reshape the industry. From Swiss brands navigating the rise of China and the Gulf to smartwatches challenging the mechanical legacy, this episode unpacks the politics behind today’s watch world. We explore outsourcing , greenwashing , ethical...

Watches don’t just tell time—they tell stories. In Episode 5 of Watches and Politics , we explore how watches have long been used as instruments of diplomacy, status, and soft power. From heads of state gifting horological masterpieces to allies and adversaries, to monarchs commissioning custom watches as symbols of authority, we uncover the hidden language behind horological gifting. We explore s...

The 1970s brought the watch world to its knees. In this episode, we explore how quartz technology—born from Cold War labs and Japanese innovation—shook the Swiss watch industry to its core. But it wasn’t just a tech revolution; it was a political and economic reckoning. We unpack the global fallout, Switzerland’s strategic response, and how this “crisis” reshaped not only watches, but also the glo...

In this gripping episode, we trace the evolution of the wristwatch from battlefield necessity to cultural staple. From World War I trenches to Cold War espionage, watches became tools of survival, symbols of rank, and drivers of innovation. We explore how global conflict shaped the design, function, and meaning of watches—and how wartime pressures gave rise to some of horology’s most enduring lege...

In Episode 2 of Watches and Politics, we explore how the Industrial Revolution transformed not only how watches were made—but who could wear them. From handcrafted luxuries to mass-produced tools of personal discipline, watches became democratized and central to the modern age. We trace how Switzerland and America pioneered different paths to global watch dominance, how marketing shaped consumer d...

Long before watches graced our wrists, mechanical timekeeping was a force of political, spiritual, and social transformation. In this premiere episode, we trace the origins of the first public clocks in medieval Europe—often funded by monarchs and the Church, not just to tell time, but to impose order. We explore how time was harnessed as a tool of discipline, from cathedral bells to city towers,...

“Watches and Politics” is a limited-series podcast that explores the powerful intersection between horology and history, where timekeeping meets statecraft, diplomacy, war, and culture. Across ten meticulously researched episodes, political scientist and horology enthusiast Edi Shipoli guides listeners on a journey that reveals how watches have silently shaped, and been shaped by, the most pivotal...