HODINKEE Podcasts

This week on The Business of Watches , we're in Wetzlar, Germany, home of the legendary camera and lens maker, Leica. Of course, Leica isn't just an optics company. Since 2015, it's been on a new mission to create watches as well, a project initiated by Leica's controlling shareholder, Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, who is not only passionate about cameras and photography, but also timepieces.  The person...

Roy Davidoff has spent a life keeping up with the time. Born into a family of jewelers and a youth spent in Geneva, followed by a move to Miami, watches have been a constant throughout his professional career.  A return to Switzerland saw stints at brands including Bovet and Jacob & Co., before becoming a dealer of vintage and pre-owned with his brother and the launch of their business  - Roy & Sa...

This week on The Business of Watches, we take your questions on the business of timekeeping. We're joined by a swath of the Hodinkee team, including Editor-in-Chief James Stacey, Senior Editor Mark Kauzlarich, and Hodinkee Editor TanTan Wang.  We're answering your questions and marking 30 episodes of BoW. You submitted some excellent questions, including how changes in 3D printing technology will...

This week on The Business of Watches , a brand we don't talk about a lot on this channel - Jacob & Co. Complicated, audacious, and expensive, Jacob & Co. watches hold a unique position in the industry. The brand enjoyed a strong 2025, growing sales and volumes, according to estimates by Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult, bucking the industry trend.  And the brand recently got some high-profile exposu...

This week on The Business of Watches, we're talking to the man behind one of the more successful new watch brands in recent years, Studio Underd0g. Richard Benc is just 33, and since 2020, he's built his irreverent, approachable-priced, design-driven brand to a significant size, producing about 14,000 watches last year.   And he's done it all, not from Switzerland or Hong Kong, but from the U.K. B...

This week on The Business of Watches, we're in La Chaux-de-Fonds to speak to Pascal Béchu, who heads not one, but two Swiss watchmaking brands, Angelus and Arnold & Son.  They're both specialized, low-production, high-horology watchmakers, with very different back stories. While Angelus is a historic Swiss brand known for its repeaters, chronographs, and long power reserve movements, Arnold & Son...

This week on The Business of Watches, we're talking to the head of what's now the largest U.K.-based watch brand, Christopher Ward. Under the direction of Chief Executive Officer Mike France, the Swiss-made, approachable-priced watchmaker has enjoyed outsized growth in recent years, due in part to popular and surprising releases like its Bel Canto chiming watch and its commitment to keeping prices...

This week on The Business of Watches, we sit down with Akio Naito, the President of Seiko Watch Corporation. Seiko's Credor brand, the ultra-premium offering showcasing artisanal creations, unique craftsmanship, and design, made its Watches and Wonders debut this year. We talk about Credor's positioning within the Seiko group and its expansion into international markets. The biggest challenge for...

This week on The Business of Watches , we're in Hölstein, Switzerland, near Basel, at the peach-rose colored headquarters of Oris to talk to Rolf Studer, the brand's Chief Executive Officer. One of the 50 largest Swiss brands by sales, Oris is a true independent, making mechanical watches at fair prices, conveying the brand's unique spirit.  Its history dates back to 1904, with boom times in the 1...

It's the final podcast of the fair, and Tim Jeffreys is joined by Andy Hoffman and Jamie Weiss. The discussion kicks off with the official launch of Hodinkee Australia, exploring the region's unique, outdoorsy collecting culture, and moves on to some new watches, including Norqain’s whimsical "Sprinkles" chronograph and Ulysse Nardin’s technically mind-blowing Super Freak. The team also chats abou...

We’re three days into the show, and Tim is joined by Tantan and Andy to chat about some interesting evening events and the latest releases from JLC, Moser, Lange, and more. Thanks to Bugari for their support of this episode of Hodinkee Podcast. For more, visit Bulgari.com

To cap off an exciting day 2 at Watches and Wonders, Ben, Malaika, and James chat about the latest releases from Vacheron Constantin, IWC, Grand Seiko, Oris, Lange, and a few additional models from Rolex. From old-school throwbacks to the dual timers and divers we’ve been begging for, it’s a broad mix of great watches announced this week in Geneva. Thanks to Bugari for their support of this episod...

It's the first day of the fair in Geneva, and James is joined by Ben and Tim to chat over the brand new releases from Rolex – including the new enamel-dialed 126502 Daytona – as well as Patek's offering for the 50th anniversary of the Nautilus, some curiosities, and line extensions from Tudor as the brand celebrates 100 years, and all that glitters (and is Privé) from Cartier. Also, as a special t...

This week on The Business of Watches , we're in Geneva marking 50 years of Raymond Weil and an in-depth conversation with Chief Executive Officer, Elie Bernheim. At a time when much of the market is premiumizing and moving upscale, Raymond Weil is leaning in to its value-driven, Swiss-made heritage, producing approachable-priced timepieces that celebrate half a century of watchmaking and design. B...

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...

This week on The Business of Watches, w e 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...

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 h...

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 wa...

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 lo...

This week on The Business of Watches , we go behind the scenes with the man who compiles and crunches the numbers for the Morgan Stanley Swiss Watcher report, the most influential and widely read annual financial league table on the industry. Oliver Müller has been around the sector for some three decades, beginning his career at Omega before executive roles at a series of brands, including Lauren...

What's in a name? More specifically, what is a name worth? Gerald Genta, likely the most famous watch designer in history and responsible for conjuring iconic models from the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Patek Philippe Nautilus, the IWC Ingenieur, and the Universal Geneve Polerouter, among others, sold his eponymous watch brand and name to what is now Bulgari and LVMH in the early 2000s. Then he...

This week on The Business of Watches, we head to La Chaux-de-Fonds and sit down with a CEO that running a very different business than most watch brands. Mitchell Wein is the scion of a family that's been in the watch business for more than a century, and the Marathon brand launched back in 1939, supplying timing instruments for the Allied Forces in World War II.  Selling watches, stopwatches, and...

On this week's episode of The Business of Watch es, a brand that's very much in the news. We're in Meyrin, just outside of Geneva, to talk to the head of Baume & Mercier, the near-200 year old brand that's just been sold by Richemont to Italy's Damiani Group. Michael Guenoun speaks passionately and with conviction about the pressures the brand faces due to the strong Swiss franc, rising costs, and...

On this week's episode of The Business of Watches , we head to Nidau, Switzerland, where we sit down with Ben Küffer, the young Chief Executive Officer of family-owned watch brand Norqain. It's a frank discussion of the challenges of starting a brand and creating a signature watch–the Norqain Wild One–at a time when the industry is crowded with competitors, and it's tough to stand out. We focus on...

On this week's episode of The Business of Watches, we wrangled some time with someone who was born into the world of the Swiss watch industry but who has taken an outsider's path to business success. Manuel Emch is the managing director of Louis Erard and also one-third of the radical upstart micro-brand Kollokium. We sat down last year, and Emch outlined his circuitous route and unique approach t...