This week on The Business of Watches, we're talking to the man behind one of the more successful new watch brands in recent years, Studio Underd0g. Richard Benc is just 33, and since 2020, he's built his irreverent, approachable-priced, design-driven brand to a significant size, producing about 14,000 watches last year. And he's done it all, not from Switzerland or Hong Kong, but from the U.K. Benc has grown his business with intent, making strategic investments in his supply chain, including bu...
Jun 03, 2026•51 min•Ep. 299
This week on The Business of Watches, we're in La Chaux-de-Fonds to speak to Pascal Béchu, who heads not one, but two Swiss watchmaking brands, Angelus and Arnold & Son. They're both specialized, low-production, high-horology watchmakers, with very different back stories. While Angelus is a historic Swiss brand known for its repeaters, chronographs, and long power reserve movements, Arnold & Son celebrates the work and innovation of one of history's most important (British) watchmakers, ...
May 27, 2026•51 min•Ep. 298
This week on The Business of Watches, we're talking to the head of what's now the largest U.K.-based watch brand, Christopher Ward. Under the direction of Chief Executive Officer Mike France, the Swiss-made, approachable-priced watchmaker has enjoyed outsized growth in recent years, due in part to popular and surprising releases like its Bel Canto chiming watch and its commitment to keeping prices in check. But first, we're joined by Hodinkee Senior Editor Mark Kauzlarich to talk about the Audem...
May 20, 2026•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 297
This week on The Business of Watches, we sit down with Akio Naito, the President of Seiko Watch Corporation. Seiko's Credor brand, the ultra-premium offering showcasing artisanal creations, unique craftsmanship, and design, made its Watches and Wonders debut this year. We talk about Credor's positioning within the Seiko group and its expansion into international markets. The biggest challenge for Credor, Naito says, will be increasing production for more markets, as the skills required to produc...
May 13, 2026•33 min•Ep. 296
This week on The Business of Watches , we're in Hölstein, Switzerland, near Basel, at the peach-rose colored headquarters of Oris to talk to Rolf Studer, the brand's Chief Executive Officer. One of the 50 largest Swiss brands by sales, Oris is a true independent, making mechanical watches at fair prices, conveying the brand's unique spirit. Its history dates back to 1904, with boom times in the 1960s that were kick-started by the tireless legal and lobbying work of Dr. Rolf Portmann, an Oris exe...
May 06, 2026•1 hr•Ep. 295
It's the final podcast of the fair, and Tim Jeffreys is joined by Andy Hoffman and Jamie Weiss. The discussion kicks off with the official launch of Hodinkee Australia, exploring the region's unique, outdoorsy collecting culture, and moves on to some new watches, including Norqain’s whimsical "Sprinkles" chronograph and Ulysse Nardin’s technically mind-blowing Super Freak. The team also chats about Audemars Piguet's return to the fair, Zenith's first-ever tantalum watch, the Laurent Ferrier Spor...
Apr 18, 2026•26 min•Ep. 294
We’re three days into the show, and Tim is joined by Tantan and Andy to chat about some interesting evening events and the latest releases from JLC, Moser, Lange, and more. Thanks to Bugari for their support of this episode of Hodinkee Podcast. For more, visit Bulgari.com
Apr 17, 2026•27 min•Ep. 293
To cap off an exciting day 2 at Watches and Wonders, Ben, Malaika, and James chat about the latest releases from Vacheron Constantin, IWC, Grand Seiko, Oris, Lange, and a few additional models from Rolex. From old-school throwbacks to the dual timers and divers we’ve been begging for, it’s a broad mix of great watches announced this week in Geneva. Thanks to Bugari for their support of this episode of Hodinkee Podcast. For more, visit Bulgari.com
Apr 16, 2026•35 min•Ep. 292
It's the first day of the fair in Geneva, and James is joined by Ben and Tim to chat over the brand new releases from Rolex – including the new enamel-dialed 126502 Daytona – as well as Patek's offering for the 50th anniversary of the Nautilus, some curiosities, and line extensions from Tudor as the brand celebrates 100 years, and all that glitters (and is Privé) from Cartier. Also, as a special treat, Ben and Andy Hoffman sit down with Matthieu Humair, the CEO of the Watches and Wonders Geneva ...
Apr 15, 2026•32 min•Ep. 291
This week on The Business of Watches , we're in Geneva marking 50 years of Raymond Weil and an in-depth conversation with Chief Executive Officer, Elie Bernheim. At a time when much of the market is premiumizing and moving upscale, Raymond Weil is leaning in to its value-driven, Swiss-made heritage, producing approachable-priced timepieces that celebrate half a century of watchmaking and design. Bernheim gives us a rundown of the brand's history, and talks about the " The Fifty" , a limited edit...
Apr 08, 2026•44 min•Ep. 290
There is already a bevy of alternatives or side venues to the mighty Watches and Wonders, taking place during what's now known as Geneva Watch Week. Maxime Couturier and Lorenzo Maillard expect there's room for one more. They're the guys behind Chronopolis, a new gathering space in downtown Geneva that's promising to give profile to the 20 or so brands participating during what's arguably the most important week of the year for the industry. Armed with a hipster watch enthusiast persona, Couturi...
Apr 01, 2026•46 min•Ep. 289
This week on The Business of Watches, w e 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 pric...
Mar 25, 2026•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 288
This week on The Business of Watches, a Swiss brand that resonates with much of the Hodinkee community, Doxa. Founded in Le Locle, Switzerland, and now based in Biel/Bienne, it has more than a century of history and is responsible for designing and producing some of the most iconic dive watches ever built. With links to legendary figures, including Jacques Cousteau and author Clive Cussler, Doxa has served as a case study for how to revive, rebuild, and grow a brand by zeroing in on the best par...
Mar 18, 2026•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 287
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 founde...
Mar 11, 2026•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 286
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 challenge...
Mar 04, 2026•51 min•Ep. 285
This week on The Business of Watches , we go behind the scenes with the man who compiles and crunches the numbers for the Morgan Stanley Swiss Watcher report, the most influential and widely read annual financial league table on the industry. Oliver Müller has been around the sector for some three decades, beginning his career at Omega before executive roles at a series of brands, including Laurent Ferrier, where he served as Chief Executive Officer. He's now a consultant to the industry and has...
Feb 25, 2026•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 284
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 C...
Feb 18, 2026•52 min•Ep. 283
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...
Feb 11, 2026•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 282
On this week's episode of The Business of Watch es, 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 hig...
Feb 04, 2026•58 min•Ep. 281
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 ...
Jan 28, 2026•1 hr•Ep. 280
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 Crawf...
Jan 21, 2026•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 279
On this week's The Business of Watches, we head to Villeret, Switzerland, and the storied Swiss watchmaker Minerva. The brand, founded in 1858, is truly the jewel within Montblanc's watchmaking division, which itself is part of Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont. Laurent Lecamp is the man leading Montblanc and Minerva's watchmaking operations, and he sat down with us for a detailed discussion on Minerva and what he's doing to satisfy the clients that he calls "fans" and not customers. Montblanc...
Jan 14, 2026•54 min•Ep. 278
On this week's episode of The Business of Watches, we sit down with the principals of Horologer Ming and there is plenty to talk about. Founder and creative head Ming Thein explains his unique design and engineering process, while Chief Executive Officer Praneeth Rajsingh discusses financial challenges and financing solutions the small company has utilized to keep the business humming. We dive deep into the manufacturing process of the titanium, 3D-printed Polymesh bracelet that has the watch wo...
Jan 07, 2026•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 277
On this week's episode of The Business of Watches, we sit down with Ilaria Resta, the Chief Executive Officer of Audemars Piguet. Among the strategically important years in the brand's 150-year history, 2025 may rank among the most significant. Not only did it mark a century-and-a-half anniversary, it demanded a strong and determined leader to navigate through a mille feuille of challenges. Amid U.S. tariffs, record prices for gold, an extremely strong Swiss franc, and an overall downturn in mar...
Dec 24, 2025•29 min•Ep. 276
On this week's episode of The Business of Watches, a frank discussion with one of the most powerful women in the world of horology. Hind Seddiqi is the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Watch Week, an event that's grown and matured to become one of the few truly top-tier events on the watch sector calendar. As CEO of the biennial gathering, Seddiqi oversees the team that decides which brands get to exhibit their wares, which executives and collectors get to speak on the industry panels, and exact...
Dec 10, 2025•33 min•Ep. 275
James Lamdin is a sage voice of reason and experience in the vintage watch market. He's earned those titles through his years in the business. A co-founder of the OG collector meetup RedBar Group, Lamdin went on to found Analog Shift, the vintage and pre-owned dealer acquired by Watches of Switzerland (also the parent company of Hodinkee) in 2020. In a conversation recorded live in front of an audience at UBS House of Craft in New York City in October, Lamdin breaks down the vintage and pre-owne...
Nov 24, 2025•50 min•Ep. 274
On this week's episode of The Business of Watches , we're doing something a little different. We're taking your questions, and we've got a special guest as Hodinkee Editor-In-Chief, James Stacey, joins the podcast to help answer your queries on the business side of the dial. We hit a lot of topics, from the best perpetual calendars under $20,000, to rising watch prices, the recent surge in Swiss watch exports to the U.K., and just how popular is Halloween in Switzerland? It's a fun episode, and ...
Nov 12, 2025•42 min•Ep. 273
On this episode of The Business of Watches Podcast we drop in on Niels Eggerding, the CEO of Frederique Constant (and sister marque Alpina), at the brand's headquarters in Plan-les-Ouates, Switzerland near Geneva. Eggerding has been in the corner office since 2018 and has steered FC through a series of challenges and triumphs during his time leading the company. The Dutchman has brought more high horology and cool collaborations to the value and volume-driven brand, including perpetual calendars...
Oct 29, 2025•45 min•Ep. 272
On this week's The Business Of Watches podcast, we catch up with Antoine Pin, the Chief Executive Officer of Tag Heuer. He's having quite a year. The brand is in the first season of a new decade-long deal to be the official timekeeping sponsor of Formula 1. It's a high-profile, multi-brand agreement that, if executed correctly, could launch Tag Heuer to a whole new level of visibility. But it also comes at a challenging time for the global economy and the watch industry in general as soaring inp...
Oct 15, 2025•27 min•Ep. 271
Georges Kern is emphatic. The Breitling Chief Executive Officer isn't slowing down on plans to expand his company's reach. Even as U.S. tariffs and economic headwinds challenge the industry, Kern is pushing ahead with planned launches of the Universal Geneve and Gallet brands in 2026. He's already orchestrated rapid growth and value creation at the historic Breitling marque since taking on the top job in 2017. Breitling was sold to private equity partners for less than a billion dollars that yea...
Oct 01, 2025•38 min•Ep. 270
