HODINKEE Podcasts

This week on The Business of Watches, we 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 Kollokium.  Eggen doesn't pull punches when discussing what's driving growth at LJP as he talks prices, movement development, and technology, and how to keep clients coming back. LJP has experienced massive increases in volumes and production under his leadership since 2020. From fewer than 10,000 movements annually less than a decade ago, LJP is now producing about 200,000 watch movements a year. He tells us how they got here and where they might go next, with new products boasting greater precision and smaller movements in both quartz and mechanical.  But first, a good news initiative about a new non-profit organization in Switzerland that's looking to give young watchmakers the skills and machines they need to carry on the metiers d' art (or specialized skills) that make high-end watchmaking so unique. Baudouin van Es is the young man behind Tad Kozh, and he drops by to tell us what the new program is and where it gets its unusual name. Van Es has convinced some heavy hitters to help out with Tad Kozh, gathering a who's who of industry artisans, craftspersons, and veteran business executives to oversee and govern the program, with some exciting watch collaborations to come. Show Notes  2:30 Tad Kozh 2:40 Tourbillon Watch (Beaudouin van Es) 3:05 Brittany region of France (Wikipedia) 5:26 Metier d'art in watchmaking (The Watch Pages) 6:50 Tad Kohz New Talent Award 8:04 Schaublin 70 Lathe in Action (YouTube) 8:05 Hauser Jig Boring machine (Exapro)  8:20 Luc Monnet (Europa star) 9:09 Jean-François Mojon (WorldTempus) 9:19 Pietro Tomajer (Monochrome) 10:30 Tad Kozh collaborations 14:07 Anita Porchet (FHH) 15:01 Ressence Watches 17:49 Théo Auffret (Hodinkee) 20:50 Max Büsser (Talking Watches Hodinkee) 21:17 Marc André Deschoux 21:44 Alex Ghotbi (Phillips) 21:44 Roy Davidoff (Instagram) 21:57 Guillaume Tetu (The Naked Watchmaker) 28:20 Jean-Claude Eggen (Dubai Watch Week bio) 28:57 La Joux-Perret 32:32 ETA (Wikipedia) 32:45 Sellita 33:40  LJP G100 34:10 Business News: Switzerland's COSC Unveils 'Excellence Chronometer' Level Of Certification (Hodinkee) 40:34 TAG Heuer Introduces The Formula One Solargraph (Hodinkee) 41:06 Business News: LVMH Buys Minority Stake In Swiss Movement Maker La Joux-Perret From Japan's Citizen Group (Hodinkee) 42:10 Citizen Group 43:06 Alpina Alpiner Solarmetre 44:10 Let The Sun Shine In: There's A New Day Rising for Solar-Powered Watches (Watchonista)

Jan Edocs, CEO of Doxa and leader of Volca private‑label manufacturing, guides the brand’s revival and retail expansion. He discusses controlled online distribution, measured global rollout into 200–350 stores, staying true to Doxa’s dive-watch DNA, pricing discipline amid tariffs and currency shifts, and using data-driven marketing and selective retailer collaborations to grow sustainably.

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 watch also in Zuckerberg's collection). Then news broke that Stephen Forsey, one of the brand's founders, was stepping down from the board, and, in a widely-seen social media post, Forsey said he had been "disengaged" from his duties by the board and chose to resign.  Nydegger tells us some of the backstory to the situation and how the company plans to move forward under stable ownership. Greubel Forsey isn't looking for investors, and should Forsey want to sell his minority stake, Robert Greubel, his fellow co-founder and majority owner, has a right of first refusal on the shares. So where is Greubel Forsey headed? Nydegger says the only thing shrinking will be the size of its timepieces as it continues a push to make its watches more wearable and possibly prices as they are trying to produce an entry-level watch in the lineup priced at around CHF 120,000 or less. They haven't quite got there just yet.  But first, we're joined by Arthur Touchot, the co-founder of Marteau & Co., to talk about his upstart auction house's plans to cut independent watchmakers in on the sale proceeds. For its sophomore edition, called 'The Echo', Marteau is auctioning off watches from independents, including Simon Brette, a Berneron Mirage Tiger Eye, vintage Daniel Roth, and an Audemars Piguet Starwheel. So will mighty AP be in line for 3% of the hammer price? Tune in to find out. Show Notes 1:30 Arthur Touchot  2:40 Marteau & Co.  4:13 New Swiss Auctioneer Aims To Bring 'Artist's Resale Right' Concept To Independent Watchmaker Sales  6:21  The Echo catalogue (Marteau & Co.)  11:40 M.A.D. Gallery Geneva  12:52 AHCI  14:11 Audemars Piguet Starwheel (Hodinkee)  16:08 Greubel Forsey (The Art of Invention)  19:14 Greubel Forsey Gets New CEO - Michel Nydegger (SJX)  20:20 Introducing The Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon Technique Black, The First Titanium Watch From Greubel Forsey  20:40 Guy Takes $600,000 Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30 Degrees Technique Swimming, Resists Heart Attack (Hodinkee)  24:02 Quadruple Tourbillon The History  24:50 Interview: Giulio Papi, Director Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi (Hodinkee)  29:59 Greubel Forsey Watches: A Division of Labor (NYT paywall)  32:01 Micro-machinist in watchmaking (FHH)  38:20 These Watches Used To Be A Secret Of The Ultra Rich. Not Anymore. (Bloomberg paywall)  46:30 Stephen Forsey, Co-Founder Of Greubel Forsey, Steps Down From Company Board (Hodinkee)  49:02 Michel Nydegger acceptance speech GPHG 2025 Mechanical Exception prize (GPHG Youtube)  54:40 Mark Zuckerberg Wears $900,000 Watch To Announce End Of Meta Fact Checks (Bloomberg paywall)  55:30 Greubel Forsey Family 

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 location in Le Locle, Switzerland.  Under de Clerck's leadership, Zenith is responding to the challenges with a multi-pronged approach. It's throttling production to keep sell-in and sell-out balanced, he says. But it's also stepping up its movement, making production expertise and supplying more calibers to other brands, also under the LVMH watch group umbrella. As for those reports and rumors that Zenith is up for sale? We ask de Clerck straight up if the El Primero maker is on the selling block. Have a listen to hear his forceful and fulsome response.  But first, former Hodinkee editor Logan Baker drops in to give his take on Zenith, as well as reports that the valuation of Breitling has been reduced by its private equity ownership. Logan also has a few of his unique vintage Zenith watches on hand for us to check out.  Show Notes  1:30 Logan Baker (Hodinkee)  1:40 A Watch Enthusiast's Guide to Geneva (Logan Baker, Phillips)  2:34 Zenith Manufacture Le Locle  5:13 Zenith Chronometer Calatrava Circa 1964  6:50 Square case Zenith Defy with integrated bracelet  7:34 Zenith Elite Movement  9:45 Morgan Stanley Swiss Watcher Report  10:50 Private equity owners slash valuation of Swiss watchmaker Breitling (FT paywall)  13:15 Zenith Celebrates Its 160th Anniversary With CEO Benoit de Clerck (YouTube, Watch Adviser)  15:25 Hands-On: Zenith's Resurrected Caliber 135-Powered 'G.F.J.' (Hodinkee)  15:49 Hands-On: The Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar Lapis Lazuli (Hodinkee)  17:01 GPHG Chronometry Prize 2025  18:40 I Spend All Day Researching Vintage Zenith Watches – Here's Why This El Primero Is So Important To Me  20:03 Introducing: Zenith Defy Chronograph USM (Hands-On And Live Pics)  26:03 LVMH response to report Zenith brand is up for sale (Hodinkee story on Baume & Mercier sale) 27:30 Tiffany's New Watch Courts The Male Buyer (New York Times)  32:07 Hublot Big Bang With Zenith Movement (Monochrome)  37:01 Zenith: The Heart of Watchmaking (YouTube)  39:05 Zenith A Visit To The Manufacture  41:02 Zenith GFJ  42:32 CHF x USD (Yahoo)

Oliver Müller, veteran consultant who compiles Morgan Stanley’s Swiss Watcher estimates, explains how he builds the industry’s headline numbers. Ben Clymer, Hodinkee founder and influential industry commentator, shares market color from Geneva. They discuss brand concentration, methodology behind retail-value estimates, polarization of sales toward a few names, private-brand resilience, and shifts in ASPs and precious-metal demand.

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 started another brand - using his middle name instead of his family name - and that became Gerald Charles. It was sold to the Ziviani family in Italy in 2003, as Genta remained employed at the company as chief designer until his death in 2011. The brand continued producing mostly one-off, bespoke pieces on a small scale for wealthy clients until 2019, when Federico Ziviani, then in his early 20s, took over as Chief Executive Officer and pushed the Gerald Charles brand to a new phase. That would see it draw on designs from Genta's era with the company, most specifically the 'Maestro' case, and sell watches to consumers, first online and then through retailers. Production has climbed from about 200 watches a year to more than 1,500, and prices have climbed as well, to an average of about CHF 27,000, Ziviani tells us in an interview recorded at the company's operations in Geneva, where it has an atelier and a small museum that traces the history of the brand and its production. Ziviani is enthusiastic and passionate about the family-owned company that is now sold in about 100 retail stores globally. And he makes the case for why he thinks Gerald Charles watches deserve their hefty price tag. But first, we jump into some of the recent business headlines in the watch world. Rolex has consolidated its position as the dominant Swiss brand for watches priced above CHF 3,000 francs with more than 60% market share by sales, according to Swiss bank Vontobel. The bank also ranks the top brands by estimated sales, and we consider the list. And the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, or COSC, is launching a new higher-tier standard to test the accuracy and precision of Swiss watches. We discuss what that might mean for the Swiss industry, brands, and customers. Show Notes 1:40 Rolex Trimmed Production In 2025 According To Swiss Bank Vontobel 7:06 Gold price (Yahoo) 7:30 Switzerland's COSC Unveils 'Excellence Chronometer' Level Of Certification 14:20 Gerald Charles 15:00 Gerald Genta (Wikipedia)  15:49 Gerald Genta Gefica Safari (Europa Star) 17:11 Audemars Piguet Italia (Bloomberg) 18:20 Giampaolo Ziviani and Gerald Genta (Instagram) 26:20 Gerald Charles website 27:30 Ticino, Switzerland (Wikipedia) 38:30 Gerald Charles Ambassadors 42:15 Swiss Made or Swiss Charade? (ScrewDownCrown) 45:00 Gerald Genta (LVMH) 46:30 Gerald Charles History48:00 USD x Swiss Franc (Yahoo) 

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 clocks to governments and military organizations is still the bulk of Marathon's business these days. Wein says 80% of the watches they sell, by volume, are for these kinds of clients. For a company based in Toronto that makes its watches in Switzerland, that comes with a special list of challenges, particularly in the current geopolitical landscape, where conflicts are heightening, and more trade barriers are being erected. Marathon notably supplied the U.S. military with field watches during the Gulf War way back in the early 1990s, and even today, Wein says the company always has to be ready for a potential war and a potential big order from a military looking to outfit its soldiers with a watch able to withstand the rigors of modern armed conflict. But first, we're joined by another Canadian from the wide world of watches. Hodinkee Editor-in-Chief, James Stacey, drops in to talk about a recent trip to Japan and the launch of the Louis Vuitton X De Bethune LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project, a very exclusive travel watch that, if you're in the right price bracket, comes with a Sympathique clock that serves as a docking station to wind and set the watch. Show Notes: 2:04 Introducing The Louis Vuitton X De Bethune LVDB-03 Louis Varius Project (Hodinkee) 5:16 Denis Flageollet 6:40 F.P. Journe Reveals Why He Paid More Than $6 Million For A Breguet Clock He Designed 9:30 Hands-On: The DB25 Starry Varius (Hodinkee) 11:01 Exclusive: Hermes heir takes aim at LVMH's Arnault in missing shares civil lawsuit, court document shows (Reuters) 13:02 Travels With A Marathon Watch In Search Of Adventure (Cole Pennington, Hodinkee) 13:40 The Marathon Navigator – Now With A Steel Case! (Hodinkee) 14:30 Marathon X Jeep 18:00 Marathon Our Story (Marathon) 26:00 Comparison of Marathon Navigator Steel vs. Plastic (You're Terrific YouTube) 30:02 Doxa 34:15 Marathon Limited Edition ADANAC Stainless Steel Navigator Pilot's Automatic 40:05 Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Following a Nuclear Detonation (U.S. Dept. Health and Human Services) 42:16 IntroducingThe Marathon Navigator 'Blue Yonder' Limited Edition (Hodinkee) 48:11 NATO Stock Numbers (Wikipedia) 1:02:30 Robertson Screw (Wikipedia) 1:10:12 Marathon Clocks (Amazon) 

On this week's episode of The Business of Watches, 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 its commitment to remaining in the approachable-priced segment of the watch market. Guenoun highlights the brand's rich history, its model lines, and its strategy for retail, distribution, and pricing. Recorded before the sale of Baume & Mercier was announced officially, we asked him if the brand was up for sale, and his answer is worth tuning in for. The conversation gives the listener a sense of where Guenoun and his team expect the brand to be and achieve under new leadership for a deal that's still short on details, but is expected to close this summer and take Baume & Mercier under a new corporate umbrella with a company that is based in Italy rather than in Switzerland like Richemont.But first, we're joined by a very special guest for his take on the latest business headlines in the watch world. Adrian Barker is the man behind Bark & Jack - the popular and influential YouTube channel and accessories shop selling straps, coffee mugs, and other products.  It's a big moment for Adrian as he's just about to launch his first watch collaboration - a dive watch with U.K. brand Christopher Ward. Adrian gives us the lowdown on what he learned from the collaboration process with the watchmaker and what he's doing with the design to make this very much an expression of his own personal taste and philosophy on what makes a proper watch. We also talk about Patek Philippe's recent decision to roll back prices in the U.S. in response to lower tariff rates, while implementing another price increase in other markets. Show Notes 0:57 Adrian Barker and Bark & Jack 1:34 Visit Glasgow 2:23 Christopher Ward 3:11 ETA SA 5:00 The story of Christopher Ward and CEO Mike France 9:20 Who Makes Christopher Ward Watches (Bark & Jack) 12:08 Bark & Jack products 14:05 Patek Philippe 17:37 Richemont Sells Baume & Mercier 20:04 Damiani Group 22:55 Michael Guenoun (World Tempus) 23:30 History of Baume & Mercier 25:25 Riviera collection (Monochrome) 26:51 Clifton Baumatic 28:00 Baumatic movement (Caliber Corner) 38:30 TimeVallee 45:30 As China Retreats And The U.S. Wobbles, Is India The Next Great Hope For The Luxury Watch Market? 49:20 Richemont maisons 53:55 Who wants to buy Baume & Mercier and why?55:04 Watches and Wonders 2026  

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 Norqain's unique strategy of recruiting former and current professional athletes as not only brand representatives, but also investors and executives. The big news is Norqain's deal to be the official luxury timepiece of the National Hockey League, an agreement guided by former NHLer and Norqain co-founder Mark Streit with some help from superstar and company investor Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. We also discuss the surprise success of Norqain's 'Enjoy Life' Freedom 60 chronograph that struck a chord with consumers with its ice cream-themed colors and endorsement by Mark Wahlberg to become the brand's top-selling watch. Despite that success, and perhaps in a bid to play the scarcity card, Norqain now says it plans to discontinue the model, at least for now. But first, we're joined by TanTan Wang, who is back from Colorado, and some quality time with Oris's new Big Crown Pointer Date 'Bullseye.' We also talk about the recent headlines in the watch world, including the proposed sale of Richemont's Baume & Mercier to Italy's Damiani Group, as well as Omega's very commercial 300M diver, which it is launching for the Milano Cortina Winter Games. Show Notes 1:57 Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Bullseye 3:15 TanTan's essay and the fight against watch snobbery 3:47 Richemont Sells Baume & Mercier 5:43 Omega Releases A White Ceramic Seamaster 300M For Milano Cortina 2026 9:40 Norqain 10:22 Mark Streit 11:10 Norqain Scores Multi-Year Sponsorship Deal With NHL Aimed At Vaulting Swiss Brands To The Big Leagues 12:03 Sidney Crosby Partners With Watch Company Founded By Former NHLers (ESPN) 18:00 Talking Watches With Jean-Claude Biver 19:55 Norqain Wild One 20:25 BIWI SA 26:00 Hands-On with the Norqain Wild One (Fratello) 30:40 Hands-On With the Norqain Freedom 60 40mm Enjoy Life (Fratello) 35:55 Norqain Independence Skeleton Chrono 42mm 37:31 Swiss watch export statistics 39:44 Swiss watch industry employment 45:00 Stan Wawrinka 51:30 Norqain world and values 

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 to building and selling watch brands. But first, Hodinkee Magazine's editorial director Malaika Crawford drops in to give her take on Louis Vuitton's latest novelties and La Fabrique du Temps with a behind-the-scenes look at the atelier and its skilled artisans and craftspersons. Plus–what is Rolex telling us with its latest group of Hollywood testimonees? Show Notes 1:35 LVMH Watch Week 2026 2:15 La Fabrique du Temps8:30 New Rolex Testimonees in 2025 11:00 Louis Erard 11:20 Kollokium 12:00 Grenchen, Switzerland13:26 HEC Lausanne16:00 Nick Hayek Sr. 18:19 Jaquet Droz (Hodinkee) 22:50 Jaquet Droz website 27:30 Romain Jerome  36:20 Louis Erard (Hodinkee) 45:20 Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein 54:00 MB&F 58:10 Swatch AI Dada 59:45 Kollokium (Hodinkee) 1:02:00 Kollokium short film 1:07:10 Tupperware 1:13:07 Louis Erard Regulator