Looking Forward to Windup
Windup Watch Fair starts in a few hours in New York City. Here's what I'm looking forward to and how I intend to spend my three days there.
I’m sitting at my gate as I start writing this, watching passengers deplane from the airplane that’ll take me to Newark. It’s a red-eye (which I kinda hate) but it gets me to NY in time to settle into my hotel, then go find some decent pizza.
Why New York? Because Windup, of course!
The New York edition of Windup is one I have managed to make it to every year for the last three. This year the venue is different and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for good light. I think Windup is missing an opportunity here: set up a shooting station for photographers with platform-neutral strobes and charge a fee. Even better, set up a closed conference room for those who want to record podcasts or video interviews. With so many outstanding watch companies in attendance, opportunities for making content abound.
This year’s NYC Windup has the most brands in attendance I’ve seen in any Windup so far. I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces but I’m also looking forward to meeting with the people behind brands I haven’t yet spoken to.
The familiar faces
So, who am I looking forward to seeing and meeting with? Let’s start with the familiar faces.
Christopher Ward
Patrick, Will, Mike, and the rest of the crew from CW are going to be there and I will, once again, try and bribe someone to get my Twelve X early. I will fail, but maybe not?
This year I’m hoping Jorg Bader Sr. is around for a bit of a chat. I enjoyed catching up with him when I visited the CW atelier in Biel this past August and would love to do so again. Ditto for Jorg Jr.
Will Brackfield will cost me more money, most likely. Again. I do have my eye on that Trident GMT. What a beauty!
Mostly I want to see that Twelve X again and see what other things CW are cooking.
Formex
Formex’s atelier (also in Biel) was the other one I visited while in Switzerland. Newsletters for both visits are pending and I’ll be sending them out after the Windup wrap ups are done. I’m looking forward to catching up with Markus and Raphael and seeing the new Stratos UTC. Like my Reef GMT, it’s a solid block of a watch with tool vibes from here till next year. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a production piece.
Formex is also one of the more interesting brands for me; their association with Dexel and that company’s manufacturing prowess making it one of the most vertically integrated indie/microbrand I am aware of in its class. I’m excited to see what else they bring to the market.
Lorier
Husband and wife Lorenzo and Lauren are NY-based, so this is a no-brainer for them to attend. I also have a bone to pick with them; they keep costing me WAY too much money. I just picked up the special-edition Astra they released with Worn and Wound and, well, enough already folks.
Still, they are one of my favorite brands. Their aesthetic is so uniquely theirs, you can spot a Lorier from across the room. This time, I have questions about hesalite crystals - which they are absolute wizards with.
Farer
A monopusher GMT Chronograph? Makes me want to throw my poor worn-out credit card at the screen. James from Farer is a great chat; we spent a solid 20 minutes, I think, when I saw him last at Intersection Los Angeles.
I want to dive deeper into Farer; they really are one of the most underrated brands out there. Their movement decorations are some of the best I’ve seen in this space and I absolutely love their cushion case series. I own the Stanhope III and it’s one that constantly gets attention and questions.
This time they have what looks like a pointer date piece coming out on the day before the show and I cannot wait to see it in person if they have it at Windup.
Fears
The British brands are strong and Fears is just knocking it out of the park lately. I picked up my Redcliff recently and got one of the first exhibition casebacks in the US (sorry for the all the whinging, all!). There’s a used Topper/Fears collab I really want that is in one of the groups I’m in but dangit, the Redcliff sucked all the air out of my watch budget for this year.
Still, I plan on going over and photographing the always dapper Nicholas Bowman-Scargill and peppering him with questions about the Garrick collab, his work with Topper, and more.
Studio Underd0g
Hate them (I don’t) or love them (I do), the one thing you can’t do is ignore them. I have SO many questions for Richard, SU’s founder and owner. Like “How dare you make yet another piece I want?” and “why did you make a collab with Moser that I can’t ever afford?” and “Can I please have one anyway?”
The new (to me) faces
These brands aren’t new to anyone (or me) and with at least two of them, I’ve already conversed with their owners. I’ve never met them face-to-face, and that’s the beauty of Windup. I finally get to meet...
Traska
Jon Mack was one of the first people to send me a watch to review for the newsletter. The Traska Freediver was so good, I ended up buying one. Not only that, I think I now own one of each model Traska makes and am looking forward to meeting Jon in person.
Trafford
I love my Season One Crossroads in the Mockingbird colorway. Nathan and I have chatted over IG DMs and he’s definitely getting my hard-earned dollars with the upcoming Touring GMT. I’m looking forward to picking his brains a bit too.
Maen
I’ve met some of the folks from Maen in passing, but plan on spending some time at their table and chatting with them as well. I own two of Maen’s pieces: the Manhattan 37 and the Hudson GMT, so it’s kind of apt that I’ll be looking for them in New York.
Garrick
Garrick is one of those watchmakers that I have known about for a very short while. I first became aware of them through their collaboration with Fears and then started perusing their offerings. This British company hand-makes a small number of watches every year and their S6 is one that I’m super interested in. At $8300 for the frosted dial/exhibition caseback version, it’s out of my current price range, but someday soon, I hope it won’t be. I’m eager to meet with them and get to know this brand.
Delugs
Delugs have been all over my Instagram feed and that’s not surprising. They make some truly remarkable straps and I expect to be a few dollars poorer after hitting their table. That bracelet removing tool they make looks very interesting, but it’s their CTS (cut to size) strap with the deployant clasp I’m super interested in.
So much more to come...
I started writing this at the airport in San Francisco and am finishing it in my hotel in Manhattan. I can just see the building housing Center415, where the show is as the sun comes up over this amazing city I love so much. I’m going to get my gear set up, make a quick trip over to the Peak Design store to replace my lost Capture Clip and then hightail over to the hall.
I’ll be posting stories on Instagram, so feel free to follow me there at @indiesandmicros for ongoing stuff.
It’s 0520 US Pacific Time, 0820 US Eastern Time. Signing off...
PS: I’m trying out a new signoff tagline. Don’t hate me.