The Grey NATO – 302 – Live With Friends From The Toronto Timepiece Show
Published on Thu, 03 Oct 2024 06:00:00 -0400
Synopsis
This episode of The Grey Nato podcast was recorded live at the Toronto Timepiece Show. The hosts James and Jason interview several guests involved in the watch industry and watch community. They discuss the significance of having a major watch show in Canada, the state of the watch industry post-pandemic, and the importance of bringing watch enthusiasts together. Guests include Jason Hutton (organizer of the show), Vijay Geronimo (North American president of Oris), Jason Gallup (watchmaker), Kenneth Lamb (founder of Arkin Watch Company), Rico (former podcast host), and Mike Pearson (of Christopher Ward). The episode highlights the growing Canadian watch community and enthusiasm for more accessible watch events that bring brands and enthusiasts together.
Links
Transcript
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| James Stacey | I wanted to say a quick hello to everybody who came. I really appreciate it, of course, and a huge shout out to Jason Hutton, who's sitting in the front here, for putting on the Toronto Timepiece Show and, of course, all the brands. We have a fun, sort of different format for the episode today, but keeping in that, this is also the first live taping we've ever done in Toronto. I wanted to bring in a special guest of mine, my mother, Betty Ann Stacey, to intro the show. |
| Betty Ann Stacey | Hello and welcome to another episode of The Grey Nato, a loose discussion of travel, adventure, diving, driving, gear, and most certainly watches. This is episode 302, recorded live at the Toronto Timepiece Show, and it's proudly brought to you by the always-growing TGN supporter crew. We thank you all so much for your continued support, and if you'd like to support the show, please visit thegreynato.com for more details. |
| James Stacey | Thank you so much, Ma. You can see where I get my broadcasting skills. That was one try. One take. I couldn't be more proud. Thank you so much, mom. That was great. Well, look, this is going to be kind of like a TGN and friends episode. We're going to call up a bunch of people. And if you're a frequent listener to the show, some of these folks you'll know, some of them you won't, but we're going to kick it off with the guy who made today possible, Jason Hutton. Please come to the stage. Check it out. Hi, my friend. Full house in here. This is awesome. Yeah, we're pumped. This is great. From Jason and I, just to start off really quick, just a big thank you. We started talking about doing this over a year ago. And as I think I said on just a recent episode, I didn't necessarily believe this could be done. And I definitely didn't believe it could be done to this level. Thank you. |
| Jason Hutton | It's really nice. It's been a long journey. There's been a tremendous amount of people, local community, who've been super supportive. Jason and James, of course, are a big part of that. Every time there's a mention of the Toronto Timepiece Show on their podcast, I would see my traffic go flying up and a whole bunch of people register for tickets. So, you know, they're connected to a great crowd. And when I created the show initially about a year and a half ago, when I started it, I really wanted to create an atmosphere which was just very welcoming and all comers in the watch community. Everybody likes different things. And I really wanted everyone who had any interest in watches to feel very comfortable to come to the show. And that's really been my big driving force. And you know, James was super helpful at the beginning, not only with some introductions, but really just giving me ideas about how to create a really meaningful show. So thank you both of you. |
| Jason Heaton | Thank you. And I'm just curious, like, what was the, what was the kind of the kernel of the idea? Where did that come from? What was your inspiration? Had you attended wind up or some of these other shows and thought we can do this here? |
| Jason Hutton | Uh, if, sorry, I'm just thinking here to answer this diplomatically. Um, the, yeah, I've been to just us and everybody listening. So, uh, yeah, I've been to a number of shows and the shows are great. And, you know, I've done a lot of events in my past career and as a brand owner as well, I've attended these shows and I've seen, you know, what works really well and what doesn't, uh, certainly we had nothing like it in Canada. And my primary driver was, I just wanted to bring this to the community. And I thought, you know, uh, you know, right in mind or not, I don't know. I decided to go and do it. I remember a little over a year ago when I came here to the Courtyard Marriott and I was talking with the event planner and I'd looked through about maybe 20 different facilities and I found this one was kind of the best balance of what I wanted. And I went and I said, oh, you know what, let's rent it. So I put the deposit down on my credit card, which was sizable enough. At that time, I had spoken to folks like James and other members of the community. I hadn't actually spoken to a single brand. So I was like, I'm going to make this happen. And I went home and I think on the way home, I started panicking a little bit and I was like, Oh crap, what have I done? And I literally sat myself in front of the computer for about six or seven hours and started hammering out emails and reaching out to people and just saying, okay, I gotta make this happen. And I was relentless. I just didn't stop. Uh, other folks helped me with intros and it just started to build momentum over time. And then we had different folks come on board. The first brand that came on board was local brand lock and King, uh, Ryan Moran, great guy. He didn't even look at the price. He just said, I'm going to support you. I want to be the first one. And then Circula from Germany came on board and some others. And Christopher Ward was one of the larger brands that came on board pretty early. And I think when Christopher Ward came on board, that's when the show kind of felt real because I was like, wow, a brand like Christopher Ward, they're willing to come to Toronto. They're going to trust and put their faith in me and the community here is going to be a great show. And, uh, yeah, that was the start of it. It's just been a nonstop ride ever since. And it's been amazing. It's been amazing. |
| Jason Heaton | I'm curious, like, um, it seems like there's a really robust, Watch enthusiast community in Canada that I've seen some good Red Bar groups and local meetups and things and we have a good audience in Canada, of course. Certain reasons, I'm sure. One of your own. But I'm curious, like, why do you think a show like this hasn't happened in Canada before this? |
| Jason Hutton | It probably has to do with a number of factors. One, I think you have to be a little crazy to kind of take it on and say, I'm going to do this on my own. Um, but I think the other part too, is when you are putting something together, you really have to have that passion and that drive to make it happen. My goal with the show has always been, I didn't want to like go broke basically, but I wanted to make sure the first year was an absolute, hopefully knock it out of the park experience for attendees and for brands. I feel like we've done that probably in the first year so far, we've still got tomorrow to go, but couldn't ask for a better brand mix. The audience has been amazing. Uh, it's been really heartwarming for me cause I've been thrilled to show people recognize my face from the reels and other things I've been involved with. And they're like, Jason, I want to come up and thank you for what you've done. And it's an amazing, amazing feeling. So that's great. |
| Jason Heaton | Congratulations. |
| James Stacey | It's a huge lift. Yeah. And I think like certainly from my perspective, just very proud. that this is in Toronto, that it's in Canada, that it's very grassroots, like watches can be all on their own, a barrier to entry. And there's nothing of that going on here. And I think that's kind of what we were all hoping for was just a really good place to hang out and see watches. |
| Jason Hutton | And that's very intentional. And, you know, that's what I want to create the experience for everyone. I think it's been incredible and the community has been incredibly supportive. Um, I couldn't have done this without everyone helping out, providing introductions, being supportive during the show. I mean, it's been absolutely amazing with the Instagram accounts and social media has been, I'm being tagged and story shared and collaboration requests. And I can't even keep on top of it. It's like hundreds and hundreds of notifications and I haven't really experienced that before. So it's been, I promise I'll catch up eventually, but it's probably not going to be for a few days yet. So, uh, been absolutely amazing. And like I say, it's just been such a pleasure and seeing people laughing and having a great time and brands connecting with the community here. which is really so important. And I think it's important to help grow the community here and just, you know, have the opportunity to handle the watches and just, uh, and I love it. I love it. |
| James Stacey | I don't want to keep you too long. You're a busy guy. This is a very busy day for you. So I appreciate you carving out a few minutes for us here, but let's end on, on a future, a forward looking note. We've got Vancouver coming up. |
| Jason Hutton | Absolutely. So that's happening April 25th and 27th, 2025. It's a great city guys. Yeah. My hometown originally. So A great venue called the Pipe Shop. It's a 7,500 square foot former shipbuilding factory that's been renovated into a big event space and a beautiful area right on the waterfront. Come out if you want a little vacation and go and attend a great watch show. A lot of the brands that are here have already committed to Vancouver. I'm sure we'll fill it up. It's going to be a tremendous venue. And we've actually already booked another venue, even larger venue for next year with the Toronto show. So September 19th to 21st. 2025. So my horizon is like a year and a few months ahead for the various shows. So, uh, yes, I'm crazy, but this is what you need to do to plan it properly. So, yeah. |
| James Stacey | And Jason, thank you so much for coming up here. Thank you so much for putting on this show and for chatting with us for a few minutes. This is great. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. |
| Unknown | Congratulations. |
| James Stacey | All right. We've got a lot of other buddies in the crowd. So next up we've got, A very long time supporter of the show, a really good friend, somebody who I respect immensely and I know Jason does as well, Vijay Geronimo, North American president for Oris. Come on up here. Vijay, you were on the show, I recall, two years ago? You're a veteran. Yeah, yes. We did this in Chicago. We did. And I didn't want to miss an opportunity. Thank you very much for finding a few minutes because the Oris booth has been slammed all day. So I know Mark and the team and Josh are having to, you know, fight people back. But thanks for coming up here. Thanks for chatting with us. You know, Oris has had an incredible run in the last couple of years, and I definitely want to touch on Oris. But I'd love, from your perspective, someone who's been in the industry for a very long time and operate at a very high level. And Oris really touches multiple stratas of watch enthusiasm. Really big shows, Airstream, tours, Red Bar involvement. What do you think of a show like this for a city like Toronto? |
| Vijay Geronimo | Yeah, I think it's very much long overdue. I think it's great that we've put it together. You've been able to put it together here. Um, there's always been a big community of watch enthusiasts in Canada, especially Toronto as well. Um, obviously we've done a lot of things for a long time with the red bar groups locally, um, throughout the different cities, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver over time, certainly. So it's great to be here. And, um, when I first heard about it, I was interested in, in coming on board and, and definitely And to be honest about it, I heard about it relatively late. So, um, and then when I heard about Mike, we definitely need to do that because it was definitely something that, uh, we wanted to do and be part of. And certainly as a brand that's really tries to be very close to the watch community, certainly wanted to be part of an inaugural event and be part of doing something like that. |
| Jason Heaton | So yeah, I think it is a good fit for Oris and you probably agree. Um, what is it about Oris that sort of, cuts through that, those multiple levels that, that seems to appeal to folks that come to a show like this, which is more casual and down to earth. |
| Vijay Geronimo | I mean, I think we try to be approachable as a brand and just be people, you know, there's a lot of, um, for lack of a better word, pretension that goes on in our industry, I think. And I think, I think to be able to operate, we try to operate, you know, obviously we were luxury brand independent, been around for 120 years. So we're certainly, have the pedigree to exist in the watches and wonders world and be part of that, but also really be close to the watch enthusiast community and try to do things that are approachable, right? Some shows people come to and things are behind glass and it's like, I can't touch them and do that in a, in an environment like this is certainly welcoming and people are really happy to do it. And it's really nice to be again in Toronto and Canada doing this because you know, a lot of people think about Canada, Canada is not the United States. Like we all know that, right? So it's hard to, and some people don't think about it that way. And I think if you understand that, then you know that it's a different place and you have to also be involved in it in a different way or try to be, you know, involved in |
| James Stacey | They're next to some very high profile, very fancy, very cool brands. Nothing wrong with doing one thing one way or something another way. But even the way that you guys went ahead and made the booth speaks to the fact that you wanted it to be as open as possible. There's no roof. It's probably the only one that has any airspace in that entire place. And you can go in there and get an incredible coffee and you can see a bunch of watches. And I've always thought that while you make a product that fits in with the rest of the industry, of course, dive watches, pilot watches, the rest of it, that the sort of ethos of how you guys choose what you focus on kind of speaks a lot to your ability to connect to actual people who buy watches. |
| Vijay Geronimo | Yeah. And I think that's just something that's part of the culture of what we do. I mean, obviously you guys know Rolf, you know Ulrich, our executive chairman. So like that attitude just pervades all the way down and we're able to be ourselves. We're able to do things, be approachable, try to do things that make sense. Yeah. And in Geneva, we have a big booth that's more like a cafe than it is a trade show booth where many of them are just like closed rooms of people. And we try to have a very open and inviting area. And that's, you know, what we like to, how we like to be. |
| Jason Heaton | So as you're talking, I have this idea in my mind that Horace is like the Canada of watch brands, very friendly and approachable, you know, |
| James Stacey | Well, I know you were, much like I mentioned it when you, when you came up to the stage, I know you're quite busy and we, we said we lock in for five or six minutes and I know I'm running the clock on that. Give me, give us a minute on, on what you're excited about for Oris in the future. Yeah. I know you probably can't be super specific. There's something really great coming up. |
| Vijay Geronimo | There's a lot of product coming, you know, obviously we're on a planning horizon, much like you are planning horizon two years out beyond product wise. So there's a lot of good, I think things coming in the next few months coming out in Geneva. a bunch of different things as a brand, just trying to continue the product focus that we have. Obviously, you know, we've launched our own movement, Caliber 400, a few years ago, and that's been something that we've been kind of focusing on and doing a bit. Really trying to make watches that people want and make people watches that people, you know, listening to consumer feedback. That's certainly something we always try to do. and work into those things. So I think you know that more than anybody. Absolutely. We make watches based on feedback from people. Always, of course. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. I'm really excited about what you guys have, like even just in the next little while. It's really good. I'm sorry I can't say anything more, but you'll like it. And thank you so much for coming up and chatting for a few minutes. Thank you for having me. It's good to have you on the stage again. All right, let's see, who do we want next? One of the other Jasons in my life, I have many Jasons. Mr. Gallup, come on up. This is Jason Gallup, owner, proprietor of Roald Dorf & Co. in Vancouver, an extremely dear friend, the man who rebuilt my family's heirloom watch. I could go on for a long time. He's also been on the show like two or three times. This might be three for you. It's you and Cole Pennington and Lauren Ballesta. |
| Jason Heaton | It's like greatest hits for TGN here. All these old guests coming up. Absolutely. |
| Jason Gallup | Thanks for coming on. Thank you very much. You know, when you said that this might actually happen, I didn't believe you. And now it's even scarier than I ever thought. At least when, when you're doing a podcast, we're, we're just, yeah, just hanging out. But now there's them. Just pretend they're not there. |
| James Stacey | Pretend they're not there for five minutes. |
| Jason Heaton | Imagine them all in their underwear. Is that what they say to do? |
| James Stacey | So it's a similar question, because we're following a theme here. You are a Woestep train watchmaker, the second generation. Your father started a store in Vancouver. You essentially exist on all corners of the fascination. You know the technical side. You operate a retail space. You also do as much as you can to train people about watchmaking. Anytime I have a question, especially one where I get an answer that I don't believe, he's my fact checker. He's always a text message away. You've been nothing but helpful. You're an avid diver, a Land Rover owner, and a Wrangler owner. Everything fits. It's surprising that I didn't end up with two Jasons on this show. |
| Unknown | That's a lot of boxes. So what do you think? |
| Jason Gallup | We've got a watch show in Toronto and you've got one coming to Vancouver Yeah, I think I think seeing this Happen here is absolutely incredible Yeah, it really is. It reminded me how far Vancouver is away from Toronto. That's another thing But that now there's one coming to Vancouver, which is brilliant This is really strong. This is really, really strong. And, uh, having the brand, seeing all the brands that are out there, that is absolutely incredible. I know I'm reiterating what other people have already just said, but it says, this is great. We can't just let the Americans, uh, have, have all of this, right. Because we can do it too. Yeah, but they've got their thing, you know, so we got to have ours and we're going to, we're going to do it with, with Swiss, shall I? Yeah. I'm curious, from your perspective, living way out west. |
| Jason Heaton | What do you see as a big difference between the markets or the kind of the watch culture, if any, between Vancouver and Toronto? |
| Jason Gallup | I think it's just the culture in general. There certainly is a big difference between East and West or more Central and West. It's hard to quantify and to describe. You kind of have to be there because it's part of a feeling more than anything else. I don't think there's anything less with regard to uh, the need for information and the love of watches and how people, uh, you know, just, just swarm around those, those things. We have smaller, um, uh, clubs or groups, uh, in Vancouver as well. It's not just red bar. There's some other emerging ones that are absolutely fantastic. But, um, yeah, Vancouver is just Vancouver. It does it, it it's in its own, in its own way. It might be the sea air, the mountain air, you know, all of that, that, that comes into it. But, uh, yeah, different. |
| Jason Heaton | And the accent is quite strong in Vancouver. |
| Jason Gallup | It sounds like, yeah, it comes up when I'm around my wife. Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | So, so we're going to do some diving out in Vancouver in April. Yeah. |
| Jason Gallup | I think we were talking about a couple of, uh, uh, sunken, um, uh, Canadian frigates that we could visit. So there's, there's some, uh, treasure down there, but, uh, yeah, that, that, that's the thing. It, I have to say with all of this, you tick ticked off those boxes, but there's particular things like diving that, that sits so well with watches and we're, you know, we're really into that. And when you actually get to use a watch for its intended purpose, it's amazing. You know, you actually see it underwater as opposed to just up in air. And I love that. And then the photography side of it too. Oh yeah, for sure. It's just brilliant. And I must be mad for having you know, a retail store and, and a workshop and everything else. |
| James Stacey | Speaking of the workshop, I'm curious for the Vancouver show in your mind, and I know I'm putting you right on the spot here, but in your mind, if you're imagining some sort of education into watchmaking or, or a solution or, or, you know, a way of kind of exalting the watchmaking training side of it, is that something you think has a home in a, in a show like this? Absolutely. |
| Jason Gallup | Yeah. I don't think there can be, you can't, you can't go wrong with something like that because We've tried and tested it in the store, right? So when people come in, the first thing they see are benches and people working on watches. So you've got watches in all kinds of state of disassembly or reassembly, and it wows people. And even for young kids that come in with their parents or whatever to actually see that, the kids love it. Bring them right up to the bench and they're right up on top. Kids do not have any fear when it comes down to small things. It truly is amazing. You can give them tweezers and there may be some small screwdrivers that'll just go, great, like this. Adults tend to have a lot of fear with regard to that stuff. Like, what if I lose it or whatever? Well, whatever. It doesn't matter. But seeing kids do that, it's brilliant. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. Well, that's great, man. And I really appreciate the one that you came all the way out here essentially to hang out, have some Swiss Cholet. Yeah. And I was thrilled that you said you'd come on the show for a few minutes. So thank you so much for coming on and saying hi. |
| Jason Heaton | It's a treat to see you, man. Always will be. Thank you. Great. |
| Jason Gallup | Thanks. |
| Jason Heaton | All right. Well, we have another Another chap here with a funny accent who's visiting, happens to be sitting next to Jason there, our good friend, Kenneth Lamb, owner and founder of Arkin Watch Company out of the UK, who made the long journey over and surprised us yesterday when he showed up. So, Ken, come on up. |
| James Stacey | Let's put this on real quick. Oh yeah, there it is. It's beautiful. I feel like it's uniform. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, there it is. |
| James Stacey | Ken, thank you so much. A truly delightful surprise. I'm seldom like jaw dropped. And when I went to say hi to Rico and you're sitting next to him, I was like, what? He came all the way. It's great. So nice to see you, man. Thanks for having me, man. Yeah. For those of you who don't know, Arkin is an incredibly awesome design forward producer of sport watches. I have an Alterum, which I really like. The company's only been around and running for a couple of years at this point. But you've made a real connection in our Slack and with the TGN crew world. And I'm curious to get your perspective. You're not showing at this show, but I think you're starting to feel out the world of the watch community beyond what's on available on the internet. And how does this sit for you? How does, how do you think this feels for a young brand? |
| Kenneth Lamb | First, I just want to say like, thanks. Like obviously that's really kind words. Um, it means a lot and I love spending time on the TGN Slack. It's just best corner of the internet. It's just a part, it's a party, man. Like you just, you can just dive anything in and there's like a million answers for everything. It's, it's wicked. The thing with the show is Like, I want to be here as a consumer, right? That's the difficult part, right? Like, I want to be here. I want to walk up to the other brand stands and see what's going on. And I want to be able to kind of walk around and chat to people and all that sort of stuff. But being here and seeing obviously the scale, the infrastructure, everything's been set up and is so organized. That's, you know, a testament to Jason and people like Rico and other people that have played a big part in, you know, yourself setting things up and figuring things out. It's, it's no small feat, right? Like I did, we did our first ever show in the UK at the start of the year and it was daunting. Right. And like everybody, nobody really knew how it was going to go. Right. You've got all these people that are going to turn up and it could, one thing could just tank it. Right. But seeing obviously all come together and everyone's, you know, everyone's really enthusiastic and they want to try on all the watches and there's nothing that really beats just a complete stranger coming up to you and be like, Can I try on your watch? What is that? Like, what's that? Can I try on your watch? And outside of the room, you're like, no, like, like get away from me. Right. But like in the room, you're like, yeah, you take it off and you, and you go, yeah, have it. Take, take it. |
| James Stacey | Right. Hand it to him before you know, you've got your back turned. |
| Kenneth Lamb | And sometimes you just hand it and then you're still in the middle of a conversation with somebody else. It's my watch. Yeah. Um, so like that environment kind of just says how unique it is. And like, there's nothing that beats that. Like, and, and I think that's, That's the driving forces to like why I like being in this space and why I like kind of engaging with the community. And, and that's why it's going to be hard to, to be stuck behind a table at some point. Cause like that, the fun is the fun is out here. Right. |
| Jason Heaton | So I think, you know, um, when we were talking to Jason and when we've talked privately before the show, we thought like, why would anyone take on organizing a show like this? And I think the same about starting a small watch brand. When I look at all the brands out here, small, big, medium sized, I think what a huge lift that is too. start a brand from scratch. And you've done that. And, and that thrill of that you just talked about with somebody coming up to you and admiring your watch or wanting to, you know, try it on or whatever. I mean, we get a little bit of that with the folks we've met in the past, you know, day here about people's coming up and saying, we love your podcast. It's, it's very humbling. It's, it's very, um, it's, it's quite an experience. Like talk a little bit about what it was like to start a brand. I mean, it must just be so daunting. Like what was the, what was it like at the beginning? |
| Kenneth Lamb | Honestly, I think I had, I just, I had the blinkers on, Right. Like I wasn't really thinking about everything that could go wrong. I was just kind of like, yeah, the next thing. Oh, let's do that. And I was just like chasing a rabbit down a hole. Right. But then when you kind of step back. you kind of look back at where you've come from and you're like, Oh, we did. There's quite a lot of things that just happened that if I was looking, it's like climbing up a mountain and then you look back at the drop. As long as I'm not looking back, it's fine. Right? Cause if you're looking back, you're like, Oh God, nowhere to go. But this could go, this could go horribly wrong. Right? Like the risk is so bad, but it's the, it's the fun and it's the excitement and kind of always making new things. That's like driving me to just keep climbing up the, up the mountain. Um, but again, like, it's, it's the support of people that are, you know, in this room and out there that, that are also cheering you on, they're the ones at the top, like for sure, telling you to keep your eyes on them and that kind of helps you kind of move forward. And, and yeah, so it's, it's, it's, that's great. |
| James Stacey | Also, you know, the other thing that stands out as I've, you know, I've been obsessed with micro brand watches essentially as long, roughly as long as micro brand watches have been a thing. I came into the hobby with not a big wallet and very big eyes. And you can experience a lot of varied watchmaking in the microbrand space. You can and you still can. Whether we want to call it microbrand or boutique, it's up to you. But what I like about it as you meet people in the microbrand space, you meet guys who run a company. And I think of you, I think of Jason Lim at Hallios. I think of Steve at previously Benares and now Raven. These are guys who obviously like their watch. And if you found them on the street, you'd have a and I'll tear them on, but can appreciate anything else. It doesn't have to be your brand. And I'm curious with your eye for detail, which is incredible and your sense of style and design. And now the knowledge that you have after making two watches and either a really simple process, when you do a lap out there, anything stand out in your mind is like, Oh, that's quite impressive. There's a lot in that room. Yeah. |
| Kenneth Lamb | There's a lot. Um, yeah, I, I, uh, I save weekends for like watches that aren't mine. Right. Like it's like, like you have a, you have a nice car to drive on the weekends. Right. So on the weekends I'll put something on that's not an Arken and then just, you know, that's the thing. But the thing that really connects me to the brands oftentimes is like the ideology of the person who's behind them. Right. Like, yeah, yeah. Cause like, that's really, you can kind of see that coming through in the design and that's what really gets me. Um, and like seeing like the, the, I was in here with the chat earlier, with Ares and he's obviously got a very unique background and he's got a very unique perspective and approach to like making watches that's so far from the traditional like artisanal approach of watchmaking and that in itself is quite appealing and I like that side of things um because it's just one guy who like wants to make the thing he wants to make and whether it's him or it's Jonathan Ferrer at Broome, which is the first time I've met him. And he's like the nicest dude. Yeah. He's like the nicest. Everyone's, everyone before I even met him, everyone's like, yeah, Jonathan Ferrer is the nicest guy on watches. And in my head I was like, okay, let's, let me, and then I met him. He is the, he is the nicest guy. |
| Betty Ann Stacey | Yeah. He is the nicest guy. Yeah. |
| Kenneth Lamb | Like he made, like, I was talking to him, asking him about his watches and like within five seconds he'd already switched it to me and made me feel special. So like, It was. Yeah. And it's those guys that, that, that, that kind of stand out for me and why I like wearing brands, other brands other than my own. So. |
| Jason Heaton | Well, I think to piggyback on your point, I think that the difference between a show like this and something like watches and wonders as well as the, the community spirit and kind of collaboration that you see, like you can go chat with, or even get feedback or tips from Aries or the folks at Elliot Brown or whoever, and, or, you know, trade stories with Jonathan or whoever, and There's just this community spirit here where everybody's sort of, the rising tide lifts all boats. And I really get that sense out here. And I think whether it's a Christopher Ward or an Aorus, that is very prevalent among the smaller brands. Certainly. |
| Kenneth Lamb | Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I mean, even the ones that are, you know, kind of like growing at faster rates, for example, like say Christopher Ward, for example, right. Um, the guys at Christopher Ward, they're, they're cut from the same cloth. Do you know what I mean? Like, whether you're talking to Mike Pearson, who's, who's played in the, you know, he's played in the big leagues with some of the big brands. And then he comes down and he's like, he's still the same guy. And he's still, he's still communicating watches to you in a way that like you can relate to and you can digest and, and then that makes you want to connect with the brand then. And, uh, yeah, they've, they've always got the advice. He sort of was like, you know, come down to the, come down to the showroom or come down to the workshop. And, and that's like, that's where, you know, we, it That's where the fun happens. So yeah. |
| James Stacey | So the most important question of our chat today, what did you think of a quarter chicken white with fries? Okay. |
| Kenneth Lamb | So just so just to be clear, right? I had quarter chicken. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. |
| Kenneth Lamb | That's a gentleman's move. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and, uh, I was very glad that they didn't just give me drumsticks. They gave me the thigh quality move, um, right out the gate. It was a quality move. Um, chicken and chips back home. I was talking to, I was talking to Jason Gallop. Yeah. Chicken chips, a staple loved it. Great. The sauce, You're going to love it or you hate it. It's not bad, right? Like, let me just, let me just throw that out. It's not bad. It's weird though. But it's, it's so unique. It has no definition. No, I can't. It like leaves me speechless. Right. |
| Jason Heaton | You called it a dipping soup. |
| Kenneth Lamb | Yeah. So it's not a sauce. It's not a gravy. It's like a, like a thick dipping soup and it works for me. Yeah. Cause like, especially if you've got, I think, do you know where I think I might have made the mistake is that I think if I went white, it would have worked better with the dipping soup because there's more white guy in that case. |
| James Stacey | I love a chicken thigh. |
| Kenneth Lamb | There's more, there's more seasoning in the thigh, which I think was clashing with the dipping soup, whereas the, the, the white meat would have, would have complimented it better. |
| James Stacey | And then that's my, that's my final take on a deep pleasure of mine to be able to take you to switch. |
| Kenneth Lamb | I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the, I enjoyed the, uh, the journey for it. It was like an adventure, like going to, you know, like Harold and Kumar going over. Like we went on this adventure to Swiss chalet and it was like, we're going to get there. Um, yeah, it was good fun. |
| James Stacey | All right. Kenneth, thank, thank you so much for coming up and chit chatting with us and for coming all this way. Check out his watches. All right, so we've got one or two left, but we're going to jump over to another voice from the Canadian side of the watch media, our buddy Rico of previously Rico's Watches podcast. |
| Rico | How are you man? How you doing? Good, man. This is fun. This is like the best crossover since Deadpool and Wolverine. |
| James Stacey | We're having a good time. I think we're going to gross at least that in the box. |
| Rico | I think you got like a Jackman thing going on. You can pull it off. |
| James Stacey | Sure. Are we good? Are we good? Man, it's an absolute treat to have you here. You know, we obviously have been on each other's radars for quite some time and you did Rico's Watches podcast for like three years it went for? |
| Rico | Yeah, I did it for about three years. I wrapped it up last September and had a kid. Do you miss it some days? Not as much as I love my kids. That's fair. I mean, yeah, of course. Yeah, no, it's, it was a lot of fun. It was, it was a great experience. You know, it is doing it by yourself, like a full-time job on top of a full-time job. Right. So, I mean, you guys are doing a ton of work as well. You guys know exactly what it's like with the podcasting thing and I'm okay to not be doing it anymore. |
| Jason Heaton | So you had some involvement with the show. We attended your chat with Aries and, um, you know, I think, uh, as a kind of a voice of Canadian watch enthusiasm, as you are, uh, you know, what's your take on the show? I mean, just to kind of first impressions of the first day and what you've seen. |
| Rico | Yeah, I mean, like, I think this was very necessary. I think it needed to happen. I think Jason did a fantastic job. I think that we sort of already touched on as well, too, that we can't just let the Americans have all the fun. And I think we're seeing the value in something like this happening in on the Canadian side of the border now, because there's so many opportunities that come from these trade shows and connections that are made and kind of regardless of what your brand is, what your niche is, kind of, you know, if you're the great NATO, or if you're just a smaller group like myself, like the sketchy boys watch club or something like that, there's such varied, um, content here. And you're able to just grow the business and grow the connections that you have and, and build out kind of what the Canadian, the Canadian watch market is. Right. I mean, it's sort of one of these more mysterious things. It's a much smaller population here than it is on the American side or even on the European side. Right. But being able to kind of build it out and give it an identity, I think that that's that's incredibly important. And, you know, I mean, I'm from Edmonton. It's like, might as well just be like the walking dead of watches out there. It's a horological, let's be honest, right? It's Calgary is going to be where you're going to have like actual watches and then Vancouver and, and, and Toronto or where, where it's at. Right. So I think being able to come out here and see like a much more, uh, interesting, engaged, open audience, um, all the companies that came out, I mean, the European guys that came out here, I was talking to one guy flew 23 hours to be here. Right. Like, That's insane. I was, I came from Edmonton. It was four. Right. And that was like 40 minutes for me to go. Wow. Yeah. Okay. Well by car. Yeah, probably subway. Yeah, exactly. No, it's, it's really cool. I mean, it means a lot that this is a thing and I am very happy to hear that we're already having Vancouver. We're going to have Toronto again next year. Like this is going to continue to develop and I couldn't ask for a better thing for the community. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. I couldn't, I don't, couldn't say any better than that. I, you know, much like I asked Ken, you're an absolute watch nerd. You know, a ton of brands, both small all the way up to the big ones. When you were doing a lap, was there anything you were really excited to see or anything that kind of surprised you? |
| Rico | What I was going through there, especially on like the industry night on Friday, right? Like it was kind of like I was joking around. It's like the old Rose Gallery from the podcast, right? It was super cool to kind of bump into everybody, even like see everyone in person. Everyone's so much taller than I remember them sitting at my desk, watching, talking to them on zoom. Right. So it's like, that's pretty cool. I mean, being able to handle like brands from like the more obscure markets as well, to like micro mil spec, for example, from Norway. Right. Like being able to actually see that in person handle that chronograph is very impressive, super cool watch. Right. And then again, like small company, a lot of people don't, didn't know about them, but to see what they're doing. And from that part of the world, right. It's just something that you just don't get to see a lot, being able to, help out Matt and help him with the Aries booth and marathon. Like, you know, despite them being a Canadian company, I've never had, I never held one until this. Right. Yeah. |
| James Stacey | I mean, they, they, they had mentioned that and you know, we had them on, we had Mitchell on the show a couple of weeks ago and in one of the site, one of the times that we were chatting, he was saying that it's one of the biggest things, the value for them. It's weird because they are like a very early online brand. They went to online sales. uh, very quickly. And also it will not it quickly, but just at a time when online sales are so kind of early. And that's because the brand didn't have a like public facing side of it. And it's kind of a fascinating thing to see them here three deep with, you know, cool t-shirts and man that the, the new diver. |
| Rico | Oh, right. That's real cool. Absolutely. Absolutely. And kind of going back to your first question a little bit as well, too. I think what's so special about this as well is obviously Canada is a huge country. It's, super spread out. We have the most square kilometers per person in the world, right? For our population, right? So like, if you're coming from a place like Edmonton, where maybe there's only a million people, but it's not, there's not a big watch culture there, or you're coming from like a small, uh, you know, town and like PEI or something like that, you don't get the opportunity to see a lot of these watches, right? You know, if you're from Toronto, if you're from Vancouver, yeah, there's probably an 80 somewhere you can go visit and you can handle handle things, but you don't get to do that in a lot of parts of this country. So I think it just, again, speaks to the value of, doing that here because you're giving people an opportunity to travel somewhere that, yeah, maybe you've got to hop on a plane or something like that, but you're not going to New York. You're not going to Chicago or San Francisco. You're, you're still staying within your country and you're, you're going to go visit and get a new experience. You wouldn't necessarily be able to have if you're, you know, living in some other part of the country, that's very, very sparsely populated. Yeah. |
| James Stacey | And then with Vancouver on the horizon, you've been to this to the first Toronto one. What's one, will we see you in Vancouver? Hope so. Yeah, me too. I'm pumped. And two, uh, What brand would you love to see in Vancouver that's not here? Let's, let's push them a little closer to the edge besides Arkham. |
| Rico | Well, yeah. Right. I mean, that was kind of like my, my default answer. She already took that away from me. I think Ken doesn't want to do booth. You might have to do the jacket. That's fair enough. You know, I think it'd be cool to see more of the UK tactical brands come out. Like I think like getting like, Even like some of the more heritage ones like CWC, something like that, like Elliot Brown. So cool. Elliot Brown's awesome. Like, you know, it's really cool to kind of put a name to the faces or face to the name of the people I've been talking to and working with on things and stuff. I was thinking Vertex should definitely be. Vertex would be cool. Yeah. Get Dawn out here. That'd be super fun. Right. So getting, getting some people like that out here, it'd be really cool. Um, but the UK, especially cause it's going to be rainy. Right. Well, absolutely. They're used to it. Right. So it's just, you know, it's just a really long trip to have the exact same weather. Um, the, uh, when it comes to maybe some of the more mainstream brands as well, too, it would be really cool. Like the, like the bigger, you know, get the tutors and you know, the Omegas and things like that. And especially cause there's such a large 80 presence in Vancouver. It'd be cool to kind of get like some of the eighties to come out and maybe set those up and do that on those companies behalf. And then you can, uh, we got a chance to experience some of those brands as well, too. And I think like, again, This is the first year. And I have a thing where when I'm training people or I'm doing training on the street for my job, um, you know, I say like, you'll never be as bad as the first time you do something. Right. This was awesome. So it can only get more better from here. Right. And the, the recognition, the presence, people are going to see everything that happened in the last two days with the amount of people that have come here and the crowd and the engagement that's been had. And like, who doesn't want to be a part of this next year? Right. |
| Unknown | I agree. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Yeah. Well, before we let you go, I just wanted, I just wanted to ask, you know, for, for those that maybe miss the, the Rico's watches podcast, um, and aren't, don't know where to find you these days. What, what are you up to in terms of the watch watch space? |
| Rico | Yeah, no, thanks for asking. So after I wrapped up the podcast, I, um, kind of continued on with the direction of the podcast went for the last like 18 months, the podcast I was doing, um, focusing very heavily on like I ended up starting a group called the Sketchy Boys Watch Club. It's our logo. You can find us online on Instagram, we've got a website, got all that stuff. And basically it's a watch enthusiast club that focuses on the law enforcement, military, paramilitary kind of side of things. tactical watches, tool watches, that sort of stuff. It's welcome to everybody, obviously, but, um, that's kind of the oriented way of the content that we procure. And, uh, it's been going really well. Like, like it's already outgrown, at least through all the socials and things like that. It's already like pretty much bigger than Rico's was in less than a year or just over a year. |
| James Stacey | So it's amazing, man. Congrats. |
| Rico | Yeah. Thanks man. |
| James Stacey | It's a great follow. I highly recommend it. And thank you so much for coming up and chatting with us. |
| Rico | Fellas is awesome. Thank you. |
| James Stacey | All right, as we continue the tour of buddies, friends, moms on the show, we're going to bring up the guy that introduced Jason and I a long, long time ago and has been, there's no word other than cheerleader. He's the man, I would say, you can fight me if you think I'm wrong. He's the reason Braymont's known on this side of the world to begin with. He's now with Christopher Ward and he's doing exactly the same thing for a brand that's doing really great watches with really transparent pricing. I highly recommend you check them out. Let's bring them up. Mike Pearson, come on up, buddy. |
| Mike Pearson | How are you doing? You're all right. Thank you. Very emotional. Hey, everybody. This is great. Can I say, while I'm back there, this is the longest I've sat down in about seven weeks. So thank you for letting me do this. feet up. Come on. Horizontal is not good for me. |
| James Stacey | I also, yeah, if I lay down, that's where that's calling it. We're going to get to a Q&A in just a couple of minutes. We'll keep Mike up here for the Q&A because he's got an incredible wealth of information about this industry. And it comes from an entirely different side of the world than what Jason and I could answer as far as questions. But I also encourage you, if said previous five minute guest is still in the room, ask a question for them and we'll get the mic to them. Mike. Yes. Thank you for helping us make TGN. You know, almost a decade ago. |
| Mike Pearson | It was nothing, literally. I met you both individually and just was having one of those moments of, you know, you should really meet, you should meet Jason, you should meet James. And it was no other intention of that good people should know good people. And I think we've all benefited from that one moment. But You deserve to know each other. And I think we all gain a lot of knowledge by you being in the industry and you cut through a lot of the bad stuff that's there. It's just true when money's involved, sometimes it can take away some of the softness or the niceties of this industry. And I say this again, I was at the back, I was like, every time I listen to you, I'm walking my dogs and I relax at the end. I don't know what you guys all do. You're at the gym or you're driving in your car. You're nodding away there. I walk my dogs. I don't think about watches, but I listen to my friends talking about watches. but it's not about the watches, it's the things around it that matter. So thank you. Thank you. |
| Jason Heaton | I think it's, it's, it's so fitting that you're the one that introduced us because I think it is such a testament to you and kind of your skill. I think that is your primary skill isn't, I mean, you're very knowledgeable about watches, but I think you're all about bringing people together and we've seen that with, um, what you've done with, even at the very grassroots level with the local community get togethers, the red bars, just even not the red bars, just the, the small enthusiast groups. And, um, what's your take on Toronto? I mean, you've been all over. |
| James Stacey | I mean, if you've been here before, the first time we met was a watch show in our watch hangout in Toronto. Was that the first? Liberty Village. Oh, that was Liberty Village pub. Was that what it was called? Yeah. It was something like that. I don't think it's still, I don't know if it's still named that, but, uh, no idea that was, it was like a Braymont open house night, 2010. |
| Mike Pearson | I met some guys yesterday who did that and he brought me a lot of Kit Kats. He brought me a coffee crisp as well as you did Rhonda. So that's, I've had some Canadian stuff, but he brought me everything British and he loves shouting spotted dick around. Sorry. Hey, this is a family show. Sorry, sorry, mom. Sorry, mom. But it's a dessert, bleep it out. But more than anything, he remembered that first night as well. And there's some really great characters here. My personal journey in Canada has always been quite cool, actually. But it's always been, as we've said, kind of left alone by some of the brands. But it's really important. There's not a ton of people here. But you could have one person or 1000 people it's going to make a difference to any brand, no matter the size. So for Jason and anybody to come along and do this show, put it together, have you guys here, all the brands, it's what needs to happen. And I'm so, so glad that we are. And actually this, this show was signed up before I even joined Christopher Ward, but it was a thing I would have done for sure. |
| James Stacey | And do you think that a show like this aligns nicely with Christopher Ward? Or is there a higher profile that that suits? |
| Mike Pearson | No, I mean, yesterday, two days ago, I was in Montreal, we were in a an Irish pub at the top. And it was good. It was a great pub, right? It wasn't clean. |
| James Stacey | But you already said it was a pub. |
| Mike Pearson | But when you throw down a tablecloth, and you've got some cool lights, the watches of the star, We had 70 people there. We had some okay food, but it didn't matter. It's okay. But it was about the beer and we had some great chats. And I've found that, especially this year with Christopher Ward, when I joined, I said to Mike France, I said, do not worry about my energy levels. They're disgusting. And you will be thinking I need a break and I'm going to be burnt out. It's not what I do. I just feel like when I've got a project, whichever it is, whichever brand I've been with, which has been a couple now, but over a long time, this brand needs to be seen and felt. It's really big. It's bigger than what I thought it was in terms of a brand, but the potential is untapped and we fly under the tree line and it can't just be about Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. You need to go to Raleigh, North Carolina. You have to go to Minnesota, Detroit, and you have to come to Toronto. I mean, half the population of this country is in this part of the world. So go to Toronto. And we got ran at today. And, um, you know, there was 300 people outside the door as I was walking past. Oh God, I wasn't ready for it, but it's perfect. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. Couldn't be, couldn't edit another cup of coffee. |
| Mike Pearson | Oh yeah. Big time. |
| Jason Heaton | I mean, people must see you. on Instagram, like you're like all over the world, like every day you're in a different place. And I'm curious, like, what is your secret for maintaining your level of energy and just staying healthy? I mean, I'm serious. I mean, I think it's a, it's a serious question because you never seem to fade. |
| Mike Pearson | Health wise. I'm very cognizant of when to, when to stop. I like a beer. We all like a gin and tonic and I live in Texas. So there's bourbon there, but nothing, nothing good happens after nine 30 ever in this industry. And I mean that, You can have some great chats, but the next morning you are awful. |
| James Stacey | That's a sentence that says he's been to a couple of Baselworld. |
| Mike Pearson | That's different level. That's also the stodgy pretzels and really bad sausages. But if, if you can go and have that first drink with everybody, that's all you need. And the next morning, I mean, we start here at 10, you've got a few hours to have a walk, go and see the city. Um, I joined something a year ago called F45, which is 45 minutes, which is, I'm a sweaty mess, but I get everything out. And my wife's a big believer in slowing me down because I've got all this energy. So she's brilliant. But I also know that I'm a person that needs to be walked, fed and have my tummy rub every now and then. So I am the dog of the family. But just know your moments. I really do believe, you know, yes, days off and weeks off are massively important, but the hours I take are probably more important than anything. And that's my time. Um, I had a drive from Montreal down here and if I didn't have anybody in the car, it would have been perfect for recharge. Uh, but I had Adam craniotis and he didn't stop talking for six hours. So if you're watching, I hate you. I love you. I hate you. |
| James Stacey | But sometimes if you're on a drive and the other person just wants to ramble and you can just kind of fade out, just pay attention to, you know, keep it, keeping it on the road. |
| Mike Pearson | Well, I tried to put some music on, but he's also got awful tasty music, which I found as well. So Love him. Love him. Not his music. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. I wish he was able to stay a little bit longer. I, as soon as I saw that they were doing a red bar thing, I texted him, but he said he was doing some family stuff this weekend, which is obviously the best excuse. |
| Mike Pearson | Family first. And that's probably a big thing as well. My two young girls, I've got to be, I've got to be a dad. I've got to be a husband. And I will say, it. Social media, as much as I post, I'm not there all the time. You've got to be safe, so you post the stories three days later. So the more people see, yes, but I'm also hiding a lot of the time as well. |
| Jason Heaton | What are people liking today at the booth? I mean, you've got the new diver. |
| Mike Pearson | A little everything. The massive amount of appreciation that we came and I'm like, no, thank you for coming. But it's been 20 years in the making for Christopher Ward. I've been here a lot. but Christopher Ward have never done anything in Canada. But that's just because it was a small brand. Belcanto happened and life changed. The house was on fire, so they had to, you know, add rocket boosters and know how to deal with it. And Christopher Ward have done brilliantly with that. But what Mike Frantz and Peter Ellis have done is then go to the next step, create a supply chain, and then it's teamwork. Get the right team in place. And I'm very thankful that they wanted me to do that too. But yeah, every watch has been good because they've never seen them. |
| James Stacey | So. That's great. Look, I want to keep you up here for some Q&A. Okay. I'm sure we've got some questions. If anybody has a question, please raise your hand and a microphone will be brought over to you. Just so that makes it on the recording because this is the episode for Thursday. So I appreciate you. |
| Unknown | Hi, guys. I'm Mark. I write for Watermount. I just want to say thank you for coming to Toronto. And I've got a personal story about TGN. Years ago, my mother was ill. And every night I used to have to go to the hospital to visit her. And it was a long drive. And I used to listen to the TGN on the podcast. Now, I don't wear bloodstone boots. I don't wear nano puffs. I don't care about any of that. But I cared about the relationship that you guys have online and on the podcast. And that kept me sane, kept me entertained. And I still listen to you guys all the time. And I was listening to you guys on the way in here by train, coming from Montreal. And at one point, I was talking to Brent, and Jason passed by. And I heard my podcast walk right by me. |
| Unknown | So just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you so much you oh Here's a few hands all right here we go Thanks James, I'm Ken from Melbourne, Australia First I want to say thank you for the community you've created with the TGN Slack. It's incredible how wide it spans. How many cities it covers? It feels like everywhere I go in the world now, I've got a community and friends to meet up with. And all these meetups have been springing up in all these places around the world. I've been to one in Philly, one in New York. We have a regular catch up in Melbourne. Shout out to the Melbourne crew. And now one in Toronto. So I want to ask you, you've talked about the TGN Summit for a long time now. Any plans in the works? |
| James Stacey | I would love to do something. I think at this point, it probably should be Minneapolis. Uh, you know, people can get in there and it's in the Midwest, which, you know, has always worked for us. The attendance for the stuff that we do for wind up Chicago is always a really high. And some, some people listening travel halfway across the world to come hang out for a, for a nice, very hot weekend in, uh, in Chicago. I would love to do something. that kind of mixed what we're doing now, but with a few experiences. And I think that's also like with some local knowledge, something we could put together. I think it's possible. I think, you know, we're pretty open on the show about what we're good at and what we're not good at. And we might need like a logistics partner. I've leaned extensively on my wife. If we had to start, you know, putting together a whole event, but I would absolutely love to. And now that I think we're Did you say you're from Melbourne, Australia? Yes. I hope you're here for other reasons. Did you come just for this? You can lie. You can say yes. Yes, I absolutely came to Toronto just for this. Wow. What a man. What a gentleman. Thanks. |
| Jason Heaton | Thank you so much. One more? |
| Unknown | Hi. First, thanks for being a hub for creating this awesome community. Of course. Yeah. Tangential question to this gentleman, TGN, Tobu Mori dive. When is that happening? |
| James Stacey | Oh, that is, uh, let's call it next summer. I think it's a little, a little late. I, you know, I want, I want Sarah to be able to come along. She's in a, in a wetsuit. |
| Unknown | I don't know. 7 million December in Georgian Bay is pretty exhilarating. |
| James Stacey | The first dive's okay. It's the second one that you're, you're never, you're never warm again. No. Yeah. I would absolutely love that. I mean, that part of the world is just so special. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. It's awesome. Yeah. TGN Summit. Can you help us organize that? No, don't answer now. You can, you can talk later. It's not a no. |
| James Stacey | Great question though, yeah. Thank you. Anyone else have a question? We've got probably like five more minutes, so please. We can run the clock a bit. There's nobody after us. |
| Unknown | Charles, I came in from Michigan. You know, we've seen a lot of changes over in the watch industry over the last five or 10 years. It kind of went up and went crazy and it's gone back to maybe where it was before the pandemic. How has that affected brands like Christopher Ward and where do you see it going from here? Is it plateaued or what is your vision for the future? |
| Mike Pearson | pandemic did a ton of things. Number one, obviously, but more than anything, we knew that we could trust buying apples on Amazon. So everything after that was free range, right? So the digital world is very different. The digital market and how we speak, how we listen, how we promote, how we write, everything's different. How the retailers who are brick and mortar, which I still believe, even though I work for a very much only online brand, are important. still a bit too close to what was to know what we're going to be. But I do know that we're in a mix of digital, analog, as we all are in, especially in a TGN world. But how we sell is varied. And if we can be understanding that we're not there at the end yet, and we can always be quite malleable and changing, then we're going to be all right. But brand wise, like Christopher Ward, they blew up just after and during COVID. And there's a lot of brands in this type of room that are doing the same thing. But the big boys are there as well. So It's just ever-changing, head on a swivel. AI's coming, so Skynet's coming. But I think it's an exciting time for all of us, for sure. |
| Jason Heaton | I think, if I can just piggyback on that, I think, ironically, I think the pandemic is, despite its isolating influence, I think it actually brought, at least in our world, it's what really brought TGN together, the community. For sure. And I find that really ironic, but also encouraging. |
| Mike Pearson | VJ was doing all Red Bar Crews and you know, the online red bar community, and I'm sure you found it as well, was it was needed. It was starved of attention. So personalities that want to work, want to do things different. They're going to lead the way. And you guys definitely did that. |
| Unknown | Hi, Reza is my name. I'm here from Toronto, originally from Switzerland, cradle of watch and making and B.O.B.N. Like my journey with watches has been kind of backwards. I got more into them when I moved here. Okay. You know, thinking back, I used to take the bus past the Omega factory every day to go to school, so it's all a bit backwards. But my question is more towards the British watch industry. So there's a lot in these past years, you know, Fierce Watches, Christopher Ward coming up. I feel it's a lot of exciting times, a big exciting time happening. Where do you see the British watch industry going? |
| Mike Pearson | I've always thought that the industry is the world's and the Swiss just kind of honed it and perfected it, right? But if you look at the trends, French, Italians, Spanish, they always kind of dictated things in terms of how it should look and how it should be worn. Brits did it brilliantly and they kind of went away after World War II. And I think the Germans had the same way because of obvious reasons. But what the German, British and I think even the Americans, they'll get there in the end. If they realise that it doesn't just have to be Swiss, it's amazing. I've obviously worked for Bremont, which was very much bringing watchmaking home, and I've been around the Alliance, especially now more with Christopher Ward. The appetite is incredible. The ambition is great. And I think the rules are kind of gone in terms of the Swissness. Christopher Ward's different because it's English design, Swiss made, and we're very clear and we're very proud of it. Two worlds and it works beautifully. But when you look at the alliance and you look at how Mike designs and his design team with Christopher Ward is working, there's no, it has to be this color. It has to be this size. Let's try things. Belcanto is a testament to that. I don't know if anyone in this modern time can do something which was groundbreaking as much as Christopher Ward did without Belcanto, but everyone's going to give it a go, which is exciting for everybody in here because all the rules are gone and there's no bounds. There's no rules. There's no laws. Just have fun because I will not wear As a son of Switzerland, what do you think of Swiss chalet? |
| James Stacey | I can't eat it twice in one day, buddy. I don't know. I don't think I can do it twice. |
| Mike Pearson | I've got to have some ketchup chips and... Ketchup chips are pretty good. Me and you, two Brummies walking into a bar. What's the punchline there? |
| James Stacey | Alright, we had Rhonda just in the back there. |
| Unknown | So my question is, it's a two-parter. First of all, it's an observation. This has been the best weekend. And I go to shows all the time, all around the world, and just to have it here in Toronto with, you know, friends and family. It's been a great honor. So my question is actually for everyone in the audience, like, did you have a great time so far at the show? And, and for you guys, like, is this sort of meetup, like we talked about the TGN summit, but like this sort of meetup, is this kind of more of a future? for then going to Baselworld or Watches and Wonders. |
| Mike Pearson | That's double layered there. Sure. For me. |
| Jason Heaton | I'll take this. I'll take this every day of the week. Yeah. Yeah. Twice on Sunday. I mean, over Baselworld or there's no Baselworld anywhere. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. Watches and Wonders. I think the big show is, as you know, insanely important for the Swiss identity of watchmaking. And I think that that identity being strong helps all watchmaking, whether it's from Britain or the States. or somebody's basement in Toronto. For Jason and I, I think when you, especially like, look, what I'm about to say is a very spoiled position. I've been to Baselworld so many times I've been to, and if I'd never went again, that would probably be okay. Um, I wouldn't, it's not that I would or wouldn't miss it. It's just, if I'm honest, I like this stuff. |
| Mike Pearson | It is where you met though. |
| James Stacey | Yep. Yeah, that's true. At the Braymont booth in the palace. I would say that my side for that, |
| Mike Pearson | I miss Basel. I love that World Cup final, that Olympic 100 meter medal. I love that we're all together and the whole world was watching it. But I went to, I've been to all types of different Red Bar crews and get togethers and individual meets. And I, at the start of this year, I went to Washington DC, America's capital, and it gets no attention from the watch industry. And we had people waiting an hour to see a watch that they'd never seen before. So there is this patience, there's people that want us to come to them. and it's our job to get there. But I think there's room, to your point about the internet, that we can find a balance for both. But I do miss the big grand... a little bit, I do. |
| James Stacey | I would also say that I think the shows, the big shows, have to catch up on what some of the small shows bring, which are these touch points, these moments where we get to hang out. It's much more face-to-face. It's much more personal. And look, I think the Swiss are problem solvers. They're really good at throwing an event. They're obviously incredible at making watches. And I think It's difficult when you want to bring in that many brands to understand what the profile of enthusiasm might be from one brand to another. Because let's say you wanted to do a cool hangout for Rolex. How big a room do they have in Switzerland, right? But pick a different brand. Everything has to be tailored to the enthusiast for that brand. And I think when you start talking about a show that has hundreds of vendors, it becomes a little bit less personal. It becomes a little bit less about enthusiasm and more about, say, business or, uh, the news cycle and, and maybe some of the hype that's tied up to that. Whereas I think you need, you kind of need both sides, like maybe to, to Mike's, um, analogy with like the Olympics or like a mate, the Superbowl or you need that. But I think you still need, you need the, the triple A players that you can see for a normal amount of money. And you, you know, you don't have to deal with, flights and all the traffic and the rest of it. And I think this is all, it has to be part of a thriving ecosystem. And I think a lot of us, and I think a lot of you probably feel this way, the last few years has been exciting in the watch game, but it hasn't felt like everybody was thriving. It kind of felt like things got out of control from the enthusiast side where money, it became way more about money than say the product or the fascination with the product and money will always be involved. We're talking about expensive things we don't need. But I think as that starts to rebalance and find a new equilibrium, we should be able to continue to invest into these scenarios and not lose the other side of the coin with the big shows. |
| Mike Pearson | I don't have to wear a tie anymore. So that's good. Oh, thank goodness. Please no ties. No, never ties. And I had the worst blisters of my life at my first Basel. So you learn those lessons to now just be comfortable. So I like this more. |
| James Stacey | Absolutely. It's great. Any other questions before we shut it down? We've got one more. |
| Unknown | Hi, Alvin. |
| Unknown | I had the opportunity to say hello earlier today in the show. Just for the benefit of the listeners at home, can we get a wrist check for the panel up there? |
| James Stacey | Absolutely. |
| Mike Pearson | Mike, you want to go first? I never do this, but I'm double wristing. Every time I wear, well, most days I wear my bronze pro 300. It is very patinaed because I'm a sweaty Englishman living in Texas, but I wanted to show that, but we just launched the new Lumiere. And so I put it on a strap just to kind of show that it's Beautiful set. |
| Jason Heaton | Thank you. People should go check that watch out. That is, that's a cool, cool release. Um, yeah, just moving, I guess, left to right as you face us. Uh, I've got the jumbo day date automatic from marathon. Um, it's a watch that I took diving about a month ago for a bit of a photo project and I've been wearing it quite a bit since then. And, and we're doing a, an event tonight with marathon. So I thought I'd come proper. |
| James Stacey | So yeah, we're going to go drink some beer and eat some Meats and cheeses, I hope, and that sort of thing with Marathon. I'm wearing my Marathon, a watch I've had for a little while now. It's the SS Navity, so it's the steel version of the Navigator, and I've got it on the green of their rubber strap. And if you're doing another lap before you head out for the day or you come back tomorrow, don't skip on these straps. It's a pretty impressive rubber strap. That's what I've got on. And a good question, and thank you so much for finding us an easy way to close the show. Everybody, thank you so much for coming and hanging out. We couldn't be more thankful. Mike and to everybody else who came up and chit-chatted with us. Love you all so much. And we'll leave you with this quote delivered by Mike Pearson. |
| Mike Pearson | I speak to a lot of people all over the world and I never get nervous. I'm not nervous. I'm a little emotional. And if I'm honest with you about being here, you're my closest friends in the industry. So I'll leave you with this quote. There are no strangers here, only friends you haven't met yet. And I'm glad you did. That's a great job, man. |