Lonely Wrist: All Things Watches & Horology

Rolex waitlists, microbrand value, and what “great design” actually looks like when you live with a watch every day. That’s where this conversation goes with Scott Lancaster, the founder of Emerton Scott, an independent brand that started years ago, detoured through branding and marketing work, and came roaring back with a clear mission: build watches that punch above their weight and celebrate th...

He fell in love with Ikepod in 1990s Paris. Years later, he didn’t just buy a watch, he bought the brand. Christian-Louis Col joins us to tell the unfiltered story of reviving Ikepod after bankruptcy: what you actually get when you acquire a “dead” Swiss watch brand, what’s missing when there are no archives, and why rebuilding trust means more than a new logo and a press release.  We get into the...

A watch can be a flex, a tool, or a tiny machine that marks time, but that’s not why it stays with us. Perry Dash joins me to get under the surface of modern watch culture and enthusiast life, where a piece of steel can turn into a memory, a personal ritual, and a signal of who you are. We talk about the path that starts with aesthetics and quickly becomes storytelling: who made the thing, what it...

A great watch doesn’t just tell time, it tells on you. The choices you make, the memories you keep, and the people you want close. I sit down with Dreis, co-founder of  Arsène Lippens, to talk about how an independent Swiss watch brand can feel like family, not just a product drop. Our conversation starts with a chance meeting at Chronopolis during Watches and Wonders and quickly turns into the de...

A watch can be steel and sapphire, sure, but it can also be a receipt for a life moment. Sitting down with Leon, better known as WristtimePapi, turns into a wide-ranging story about how watch collecting really works when you strip away the flex. We talk Wind Up Watch Fair overwhelm, why it’s hard to buy anything when everything is “good,” and how the pieces that stick aren’t always the ones with t...

A watch that can be read instantly at 3 a.m. is either a gimmick or a quiet form of freedom. Barry Cohen has spent decades proving it can be the second one, first as the co-founder of Luminox and now as the force behind ProTek and the vintage-leaning Santo line. We talk about how self-powered illumination went from military-only utility to a consumer expectation, and what that shift reveals about...

A watch can be “tough” on paper and still fail the moment it needs a quick repair, a secure crown, or a bezel you can actually grip with gloves. That’s why my conversation with Theodore from Micro Milspec goes deeper than specs and into the real decisions behind building a modern military tool watch.  We talk about how Micro Milspec started in Oslo with founders Henrik and Martin, how the Milgraph...

A minute repeater that sells out before anyone sees the movement should make every watch nerd stop scrolling. From our first studio recording in Las Vegas, we sit down with Belal Shaher, the founder of Grandeur, to hear how an independent watch brand pulls off bold complications, alternative materials, and factory-direct pricing without losing the plot on quality. We get into Belal’s path from col...

A designer’s origin story can smell like acetone, sound like ticking, and feel like a country waking up to its own potential. That’s where we go with Zviad Tsikolia—a friend, an industrial designer, and the creative force turning Georgian identity into watches, jewelry, eyewear and more. He walks us from a Soviet-era workshop stacked with model planes to a modern boutique in Tbilisi, explaining wh...

The watch world loves a good story. We love a good material even more. James “Black Badger” Thompson drops by to unpack how real experimentation beats borrowed heritage, and why joy—yes, actual fun—belongs on the wrist. From a tongue-in-cheek “Saturday morning hero” collab to blasting an AI theme song at Geneva, he shows how play fuels rigor when you’re willing to push past the safe zone. James wa...

What if the best watch conversations aren’t really about watches? We sit down with Chris and Iman from A Tale of Two Wristies and follow the thread from wrist checks to real life—friendship, mental health, boundaries with screens, and the small rituals that make a hobby sustainable. Along the way, we get hands-on with an Omega Seamaster 300 Heritage, Tudor Black Bay in steel, gold, and bronze, and...

A watch can feel brand new with the right strap, and James Rose knows exactly why. As the founder of Watch Innovation Straps, James walks us through the hard-won lessons of building a strap brand that collectors actually trust—from dialing in materials that feel great to solving the fitment puzzles that make integrated-lug watches sing. We get candid about the early missteps with FKM and lint-lovi...

A stretched Jubilee bracelet. Scratches that read like chapters. That’s where Lucy’s journey began—borrowing a humble Datejust that revealed how watches carry lives, not just time. From that spark grew Watchbox Diaries and a mission: make watch culture warmer, clearer, and far more welcoming to women and first-time enthusiasts. We trade spec-sheet chest beating for honest experience—how a watch fi...

What if buying a watch felt less like chasing hype and more like discovering your taste—one smart step at a time? We sit down with Watch Gang CEO Chad Tsagris to unpack how a bold subscription model, a curated “Wheel,” and five-figure mystery drops turned collecting into an experience that’s equal parts education and adrenaline. Chad shares how he went from vintage dealer and early vendor to acqui...

A forgotten factory. Old machines humming. A movement that comes back to life after being frozen in Antarctic ice. That’s the energy behind our conversation with David Henderson-Stewart, the lawyer-turned-restorer who picked up Raketa when it was on the floor and made it tick again. We talk about why he refused the easy route—outsourcing movements, buying CNC, copying Swiss design—and instead doub...

How do you preserve a 40-year legacy while innovating for the future? When Coralie Charriol unexpectedly stepped into the CEO role following her father's passing, she faced exactly this challenge with the iconic Swiss luxury brand he'd built from scratch. Philippe Charriol was a visionary who left Cartier after 15 years to launch his own brand in 1983. His revolutionary approach focused...

Meet the guardian of horological history at one of Switzerland's most storied watchmaking houses. As Head of Heritage for Zenith, Laurence Bodenmann oversees a treasure trove that would make any watch enthusiast weak at the knees—more than 1.3 kilometers of archives and a collection exceeding 5,000 timepieces that document the brand's 160-year journey. Drawing from her background in anth...

What happens when a frustrated vintage watch collector stumbles upon a forgotten brand with a fascinating cinematic history? Angus McFadden joins us to share how he breathed new life into Alsta, the Swiss-made American watch brand that adorned Richard Dreyfuss's wrist in Jaws and Johnny Depp's in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. McFadden's journey began in 2014 when his frustration w...

A century-old American watch brand doesn’t just survive on luck; it survives on purpose. We sit down with Joe Wein, the third‑generation CEO of Hampden Watch, to explore how a family business threaded its way from Chicago’s catalog era to today’s Swiss‑powered precision—without losing what matters most: the stories people carry on their wrists. Joe opens the vault on a lineage that includes Clinto...

What if your watch could do more than just tell time? What if it could help protect the very places that inspire its design? Trip Henderson's journey from Navy service to tech entrepreneur to disaster relief leader ultimately led him to create Lōcī (pronounced "low-kai"), a watch brand with environmental conservation at its core. His experiences at sea—standing on a ship deck in the...

What does it take to resurrect legendary watch brands from the past? Tom van Wijlick, the visionary behind CDMLEC, joins us to share his remarkable journey from IT entrepreneur to guardian of horological heritage through his revival of Lebois & Co and Airain watches. Tom reveals how a side hustle trading timepieces evolved into a passion for preserving watchmaking history. His story begins wit...

What happens when watch enthusiasm meets a passion for service? The Anti-Watch Watch Club (AWWC) is redefining what a watch community can accomplish by focusing on those who protect us every day. Cody Fite, Head of Business Development at AWWC and 20-year Army veteran, takes us inside this unique nonprofit founded by veterans and first responders who initially connected through their shared love o...

What happens when two Australian watch enthusiasts decide to challenge the status quo of luxury timepieces? Andrew Herman, co-founder of Panzera Watches, reveals the remarkable journey of building a global watch brand that's sold 300,000 watches across 100 countries without traditional retail channels. Founded in 2009 with partner Roger Cooper, Panzera emerged from a simple frustration: quali...

What transforms a casual watch observer into a passionate enthusiast with a collection of over 35 timepieces? For Anna of Chrono Girl Life, it began with simple curiosity about her partner's hobby and evolved into a rich journey of discovery, creation, and community. In this revealing conversation, Anna shares how her initial skepticism about watches gave way to genuine fascination as she beg...

Two passionate watch content creators pull back the curtain on what really happens behind the scenes in the watch industry, revealing truths that most enthusiasts never hear about. Blake and Skyler Santana engage in a refreshingly candid conversation about the ethical tightrope walk of working with watch brands while maintaining authenticity. "I'm not worried about growth as much as bein...