Openwork: Inside the Watch Industry

Copyright: © Copyright 2018-2024. All rights reserved. ”Collective,” ”Collective Horology,” ”Collective Shop,” ”Openwork” and the Collective and Openwork logos are trademarks of Collective Horology LLC.

Latest Episodes:

Listener Survey Results – What You Told Us about the Current State and Future of the Watch Industry – Episode 19 Sep 09, 2024

Show notes

Earlier this summer, we asked you – our listeners – to participate in a short survey in order to hear your perspective on the current state and future of the watch industry. The responses poured in, and on today's episode, we delve into what you shared. A massive thanks to those who responded. Your responses were incredibly thoughtful, helpful, and surprising.

Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology, Openwork goes inside the watch industry.

You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email podcast@collectivehorology.com.

Geneva Watch Days: Stakes Are High – How the Event and Watch Industry Are Evolving – Episode 18 Aug 30, 2024

Show notes

Live from Geneva Watch Days, we discuss how the show has evolved from a collector focus to a major industry event, along with the consequences of those changes. And we cover some of the week's high drama, including how and why we were kicked out of the Beau Rivage hotel. Things are getting real here in Geneva – stakes are high.

Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology, Openwork goes inside the watch industry.

You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email podcast@collectivehorology.com.

No Bottom in Sight: State of the Pre-owned Watch Market – Hamza Masood (Watch Charts) – Episode 17 Aug 19, 2024

Show notes

We take a deep dive into the current state of the secondary (pre-owned) watch market with our friend Hamza Masood of WatchCharts – the world's most comprehensive, transparent and trusted source of watch market data. It’s a service we at Collective subscribe to for its valuable insight not just into the pre-owned watch market but what that data can tell us about the watch industry at large. And that’s exactly what we discuss with Hamza – what exactly is going on in the pre-owned watch market and more importantly what does it tell us about the industry at large, and of course, the implications for collectors.

Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology, Openwork goes inside the watch industry.

You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email podcast@collectivehorology.com.

Epic Battle: Mono vs. Multi-brand Retail – Current State and Future of Watch Retail – Episode 16 Aug 05, 2024

Show notes

We look at the shifting landscape of watch retail – specifically the rise of single-brand boutiques, the trade-offs of those changes, and what the future looks like.

Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology, Openwork goes inside the watch industry.

You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email podcast@collectivehorology.com.

Hodinkee Shutters Retail Business (Special Episode) – What It Means for Hodinkee and the Watch Industry – Episode 15 Jul 25, 2024

Show notes

On this special episode of Openwork, we discuss Hodinkee’s recent announcement that they’re shutting down their retail business – with the exception of limited editions – to refocus on editorial. This is big news that touched off an immediate and widespread response within the watch community. It also has significant implications for the watch industry at large, reshaping Hodinkee’s role within it and more broadly putting magnifying glass on the turbulent landscape of both watch media and retail.

Links:

Announcement from Ben Clymer (founder of Hodinkee): https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/a-note-on-the-future-of-hodinkee
Wall Street Journal "They Built a $100 Million Watch Empire. Then the Market Tanked." https://www.wsj.com/style/fashion/hodinkee-luxury-watches-ben-clymer-b4078322
Ben Clymer's réponse to Wall Street Journal: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaminclymer_they-built-a-100-million-watch-empire-then-activity-7199372365619707904-H6CB/

Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology, Openwork goes inside the watch industry.

You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email podcast@collectivehorology.com.

Is the Watch Industry Dying? – Tony Traina (Hodinkee) – Episode 14 Jul 15, 2024

Show notes

Our conversation with Tony Traina of Hodinkee takes a look at the current health of and sentiment toward the watch industry. We look at how brands, retailers and watch media contribute to the current state of the industry, and what they can do to improve things.

Links:

Rescapement
Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry – monthly export data
Watches of Switzerland – quarterly earnings and annual report (FY ending April 2024)
Morgan Stanley 2023 Swiss Watch Industry Report – Revolution Magazine analysis

We’d also like to hear from you on those topics. In particular, we’ve created a short survey at collectivehorology.com/survey to get your thoughts on watch collecting – what you’re into, what needs to change, and how you see the future. And to thank you for completing the survey, we’re offering a very special gift. More details at collectivehorology.com/survey. Thank you for making the time.

Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology, Openwork goes inside the watch industry.

You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email podcast@collectivehorology.com.

Navigating the Swiss Watch Industry as an Outsider – Aren Bazerkanian (Founder, Havid Nagan) – Episode 13 Jul 01, 2024

Show notes

This episode is a very frank and unfiltered conversation with Aren Bazerkanian, founder of Havid Nagan – the upstart independent brand that took the watch world by storm in 2022 with its debut watch the HN00.

We recorded this conversation in January of this year at a time when Aren was navigating challenges with Swiss watch production. In particular, one of his key suppliers experienced a leadership change and increased costs, rendering the economics of his second project the HN01 Lucine unsustainable. As a result, Aren did what many start up businesses have done time and time again – pivot. In particular, he refunded all customers who placed pre-order deposits, while he identified new suppliers and productions partners, and not to mention developed an all new watch. Aren documents this in greater detail and transparency at his site havidnagan.com.

As Aren navigated this uncertainty, Asher and I debated whether to air this episode at all. However, now that Aren has set Havid Ngan on fresh footing, we all agree – including Aren – this conversation sheds greater lights on and insight into the realities his business had to navigate and the principles he used to do so.

Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology, Openwork goes inside the watch industry.

You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email podcast@collectivehorology.com.

How We Make Collaborative Watches – Behind the New Armin Strom Gravity Equal Force P.03 Night Ops Edition – Episode 12 Jun 18, 2024

Show notes

Probably the question we’re asked most is how we design and develop our collaborative watches – how we identify brands, how the creative process works, and how we make decisions along the way on everything from design to finishing. So on this episode, we’re going behind the scenes on the making of our latest collaboration: The Armin Strom Gravity Equal Force P.03 Night Ops.

Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology, Openwork goes inside the watch industry.

You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email podcast@collectivehorology.com.

From Enthusiasts to Insiders – Lessons from Going Inside the Watch Industry – Episode 11 Jun 03, 2024

Show notes

We share our biggest lessons from going inside the watch industry. We both made the transition from watch enthusiasts to industry insiders. We’ve had the opportunity to retail watches, design them, meet many industry luminaries, and even serve as GPHG academy members – and we’ve learned a ton along the way. We often get asked what that journey has been like, and what advice we’d give others who are looking to do the same or are just curious.

Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology, Openwork goes inside the watch industry.

You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email podcast@collectivehorology.com.

When Founders Leave their Brands – Roman (Host of Independent Thinking) – Episode 10 May 20, 2024

Show notes

We discuss what happens when a founder leaves their brand. From Daniel Roth to Speake-Marin, there are examples of this all over the industry, with some interesting – if varied – results.

We're joined by one of our oldest friends and an authority on independent watchmaking Roman (@timesromanau), host of the Independent Thinking podcast on Fifth Wrist Radio.

Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, co-founders of Collective Horology, Openwork goes inside the watch industry.

You can find us online at collectivehorology.com. To get in touch with suggestions, feedback or questions, email podcast@collectivehorology.com.

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