HODINKEE Podcasts

My guests this week are Phil Toledano and Mike Nouveau.

Phil is no stranger to Hodinkee, having been on Talking Watches and this podcast previously. He's an artist and photographer, bon vivant as well as a collector of all kinds of stuff, including watches. Most recently, he's the co-founder of Toledano & Chan, which just released its first watch, the brutalist B1. He's also a frequent undercard on Mike's social videos.

Mike is a vintage dealer and the king of WatchTok – he's got hundreds of thousands of followers across social media who tune into his daily updates on life as a dealer in New York City. He has, in particular, become known for his love and expertise in vintage Cartier, which we certainly talk about.

The odd couple are friends and collectors, and they just love watches. We talk about vintage Cartier, Breitling, Patek, and pre-Daytonas, as well as the first release from Toledano's new brand. Along the way, we all get in a few friendly jabs.

Show Notes

00:01: Mike Nouveau on TikTok and Instagram Phil Toledano on Instagram

1:00: Introducing: The B/1 Is An Audaciously Designed Watch By Newcomer Toledano & Chan

1:21: Phil on Hodinkee Radio in 2020

2:30: Hands-On: Cartier Brings Back The Tortue – Monopusher Chronograph And All

11:05: Phil's rectangular Patek with blue sapphire numerals

11:25: Buying, Selling, & Collecting: The Audacious Design Of 1970s Patek

11:56: Mike and Phil picking up the Rolex Zerograph

15:30: Mike's Patek 96 with Breguet numerals

16:44: The steel Patek 96 that sold at Antiquorum in May

19:45: Auctions: Sylvester Stallone's Grandmaster Chime Sells For $5.4 Million, Evaluating Vintage Patek Philippe Condition, And More From New York

23:52: Talking Watches with Phil Toledano

My guests this week are watchmaker Dr. Rebecca Struthers and Lewis Heath, founder of AnOrdain. The two are friends and collaborators, so it was fun to get them both together for a conversation about watchmaking in the U.K., what they're up to, and what's next. 

Lewis Heath founded AnOrdain in 2015. Since then, the Scottish brand has become known for its beautifully crafted enamel dials. He founded the company after working as a product designer and deciding he wanted to make something closer to home. 

Dr. Rebecca Struthers is a watchmaker and co-founder of Struthers Watchmakers along with her husband and fellow watchmaker, Craig. The two began their business as restorers, but after realizing they'd made pretty much every other component for other people's watches, decided to build their own. This was the beginning of Project 248, their effort to build their own in-house movement. Struthers also became the first watchmaker in the United Kingdom to complete a Ph.D program, making her the country's first "watch doctor." 

Show Notes

3:00: Lewis' Dubley & Schaldenbrand watch

4:59: Rebecca's HSNY talk on Dutch forgeries

8:38: Hands on Time, by Rebecca Struthers (publisher page); read the Hodinkee review here

9:16: Value Proposition: The AnOrdain Model 1

9:50: AnOrdain and Struthers Project 248 enamel dials

14:04: Hands-On: AnOrdain Model 1 'Fume'

33:45: British Horological Institute

58:00: Rebecca's Movado Weems watch

My guest this week is Sylvain Berneron. Sylvain is a designer and the founder of one of the most exciting young watch brands. Before starting Berneron, Sylvain spent five years at Breitling, where he eventually became Chief Product Officer. There, he helped completely revamp and build a product portfolio after the brand’s acquisition. Before Breitling, he was also a watch designer at Richemont, working on projects for its portfolio of brands.

He got his start designing motorcycles and cars, most notably for brands like BMW and Ducati.

Now, Berneron is leading his own brand, and his first watch, the Mirage, makes a statement. It’s an asymmetrical gold wristwatch that takes its shape from its caliber.

More important than his background though, he’s one of the most thoughtful guys around.

Sylvain and I talk about his career, what watch design is missing, and about building his brand and developing the Mirage.

Show Notes

1:11: Berneron's website

1:30: One To Watch: Breitling Designer Sylvain Berneron Sets Out To Explore Asymmetry On His Own

21:30: Breitling Sells Controlling Stake To CVC Capital Partners For $870 Million

39:00: Bulgari Sets A New Record (Again) For The World's Thinnest Watch With The New Octo Finissimo Ultra

1:01:54: After A Decade Working For Big Names, Simon Brette Steps Out On His Own

1:02:00: In Conversation With Xhevdet Rexhepi, Independent Watchmaking's Next Big Thing

This week, we discuss a few new releases on our desks from VPC and Anoma which leads to a short discussion of the growing small-brand scene. We also jump into our thoughts on the new Audemars Piguet [Re]Master02. Finally, we talk about brand exhibits and spend some time chatting about a recent visit to the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, and what made our jaws drop at the mecca of museums.

Show Notes

2:50: Hands-On: The VPC Type 37HW

3:00: Series on Fratello about the development of VPC

7:30: Anoma Watch (hands-on review to come)

8:20: Amida Digitrend

11:40: The B/1 Is An Audaciously Designed Watch By Newcomer Toledano & Chan

15:05: Introducing: The Audemars Piguet [RE]Master02

17:25: AP Chronicles on the original ref. 5159

25:00: Introducing: The Audemars Piguet Mini Royal Oak

29:00: AP Chronicles 20mm Royal Oak from 1997

37:35: Patek Philippe Museum

44:30: Raúl Pagès Turns The Page With His Old-School Régulateur à Détente

45:30: Steel Patek Philippe 96 Sector Dial at Sotheby's

46:30: The 'Imperial Patek Philippe' Owned By The Last Emperor Of China Sells For $6.2 Million

47:45: Buying, Selling, Collecting: A Rare, Complicated Patek Calatrava You Might Not Have Known About Is Coming Up For Auction

In this week's episode, I'm running the three-man weave with Ben and James. I gave the guys a bit of homework before we recorded. Last month, Ben mentioned in his review of the Rolex "Le Mans" Daytona that maybe we should do "A Week On (An Owner's) Wrist" reviews every once in a while. Talking about – and reviewing – watches that we've recently acquired. I thought it was a pretty good idea (nice, Ben!), so I called him up and said "Let's do it on the pod!" Of course, I had to get James in the mix as well to keep us grounded in reality (and Seiko). So each of us came ready to talk about two watches we've recently acquired. Why we bought them, what we like about them, and what we'd change if we could. We cover basically the entire range of watches, from Swatch to Seiko to maybe the hottest indie around. 

1:30: Financial Times Luxury Live Summit

3:00: In-Depth: Marc Newson Opens Up About Ikepod, The Pathbreaking '90s Watch Brand That's Cool All Over Again; Marc Newson Hourglass for Hodinkee

6:30: Ben's Watch Spotting at the Universal Geneve Meetup That Tony Definitely Read

7:50: Wind Vintage Universal Geneve Film Compax

9:40: Hands-On With (That Other) Universal Genve Film Compax

10:50: Ben's A Week On The Wrist With The Le Mans Daytona

14:50: James' A Week On The Wrist With The Tudor Pelagos 39

16:40: Blancpain x Swatch Fifty Fathoms Ocean of Storms

21:50: The Unimatic Carbon Limited Editions for Hodinkee

23:45: Hodinkee's first capsule collection with Unimatic

24:35: The 36mm Unimatic Modello Cinque

24:50: The Unimatic x Massena Lab Modello Cinque

26:10: Introducing: Rexhep Rexhepi Returns With A Sequel To The Award-Winning Chronomètre Contemporain

27:00: Ben's November 2023 Photo Report from Geneva

29:28: In-Depth: Gruebel Forsey Signature 1

32:15: Only Watch 2024 Auction Results

34:00: Hands-On: Swatch Adds Six Watches To Its Neon Collection Just In Time For Summer

38:10: Watches in the Wild: Thailand: Episode 1

38:45: Hodinkee's 10 Favorite Seikos of All Time

40:40: James' Review Of The New Seiko "24MAS" Divers

42:58: James' A Week On The Wrist With the Seiko SPB143

44:30: Cartier Brings Back The Tortue, Monopusher And All

47:00: A Collector's Guide To 1970s Cartier Watches

Today on the podcast I'm thrilled to have two legendary collectors and dealers join me, Eric Ku and Justin Gruenberg.

Of course, Eric is no stranger to Hodinkee, having appeared on the site, Talking Watches, and this podcast. He got his start as a vintage watch dealer, soon founding 10Past10 back in 2005. Most recently, he co-founded the online auction site Loupe This in 2021. He's since become known for his expertise in Rolex, Cartier, and pretty much all things vintage.

Eric's Loupe This co-founder is today's other guest, Justin Gruenberg. Justin is a second-generation watch and jewelry dealer from L.A., and since joining the family business he also founded the vintage dealer The Keystone. Justin is widely admired for his wide taste that runs the gamut from vintage to modern, sport to dress, and everything in between.

Both of these guys have a keen eye, great taste, and extensive about watches. In today's episode, we discuss the most recent auctions and the market more broadly, what dealers and auctions can do better, and get into the nitty-gritty with vintage Patek, Rolex, and Cartier. We also have a little fun – I get both of the guys to tell me what watch they'd love to snag from the other's collection.

Thanks as always for listening, and make sure to hit the show notes to follow along with some of the watches we discuss. 

00:01: Loupe This

3:00: The Keystone

4:40: Acquired LVMH podcast

8:00: Seven Things I Learned From The Spring Watch Sales And Trying To Make Sense Of The Up-And-Down 'Market'

8:40: Patek 1463 at Antiquorum Geneva that sold for CHF 293,750

10:10: Christie's Geneva Watch Auction Postponed Until Tuesday Due To Cyberattack; Potential Bidders Encouraged To Contact Christie's

11:20: Hands-On With Formula 1 Legend Michael Schumacher's Watches Ahead Of The Christie's Sale

12:10: Unique Patek Philippe Steel Sonnerie Minute Repeater Sells For $17.3 Million In Return Of Only Watch

15:50: Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime For Only Watch 2019 Sells For CHF 31 Million, Becoming The Most Expensive Watch In The World

23:30: The Patek Philippe Complicated Desk Clock Sells For CHF 9.5 Million At Only Watch 2021

32:10: AP Chronicles

35:20: The "gold albino" Rolex Daytona 6265 that passed at Phillips

35:30: A Close Encounter With Just The Third Of Its Kind: Hands-On With The Legendary Albino Daytona

41:10: Eric's "PSA" Instagram post about fake Rolex stone dials

49:10: Dealers Alessandro "Mr. A" and Peluco on Instagram

52:10: Justin's Decagonal Cartier London watch

52:50: Eric's Cartier London Tank Cintree

56:50: Jay-Z wearing the Rolex "modified" by "Franck Muller", and Franck Muller's Rolex school watch as seen in an old auction catalog

1:01: Hermes Acquired podcast

In today's episode, I tapped our style editor Malaika Crawford, client advisor Rich Fordon, and video producer Jonathan McWhorter on for a Q&A. Some of the questions we take on:

• What other brands should release a Cartier Privé-style collection that taps into its heritage, and which brands should not;
• Our thoughts on the TAG Heuer x KITH Formula 1;
• Whether brands and stylists have ruined watch spotting at red carpet events like the Met Gala;
• Finally, Since Rich was on his way to Geneva for the spring auctions, we talk about how to navigate the sometimes scary world of auctions.

Before we get to the Q&A, we also touched on our 21st Century Fantasy Draft from a few weeks ago. We announce the winner, and then Rich and Malaika tell us about all the amazing watches from the past 24 years we should've included. 

2:40: 21st Century Fantasy Draft

5:11: Introducing: Richard Mille RM07-01

5:20: Introducing: The Richard Mille RM 27-04 Tourbillon Rafael Nadal

11:00: The modern Movado Super Sub Sea

12:45: Jaeger-LeCoultre Introduces Its Second Vintage Capsule Of 'The Collectibles'

13:23: Hands-On: Jaeger-LeCoultre Updates Its Complicated Duometre Collection With A Trio Of New Watches

14:53: Hands-On: With The Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph

15:03: Ben Clymer on His JLC Tribute to 1931 Reverso

15:20: Hands-On: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph

19:26: What This Vintage Cartier Tank Cintrée Tells Us About The Future Of Restoration

20:35: Introducing: The Audemars Piguet [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph

21:25: Introducing: Audemars Piguet Brings Back The Starwheel

23:10: Only Watch Auction Results 2024

31:40: Introducing: The TAG Heuer Formula 1 | Kith: A '90s Icon Revived (Live Pics)

40:20: Watch Spotting At The Met Gala 2024

41:00: Hollywood Pay-To-Play Has Drained The Fun Out Of The Red Carpet

This week, we're back talking auction action ahead of the upcoming Geneva spring auction season. To do so, we've invited two of our biggest auction lovers – Hodinkee founder Ben Clymer and editor/photographer extraordinaire Mark Kauzlarich – to talk about what they're watching in the upcoming weeks.

2:20: Rough Diamonds

3:00: Monaco Legend Group Spring 2024 Auction

4:00: Rolex 4113 Record, Piaget

6:30: Record-setting Datejust

9:00: Talking Watches with John Goldberger (with the "cheese knife" Rolex 4113 moment)

12:45: Patek Philippe ref. 6301A Sonnerie for Only Watch

13:15: The Only Watch Auction Delay and Reschedule to May 2024

14:45: Only Watch Patek Grandmaster Chime Record

15:45: The "Paul Newman" Paul Newman Daytona Record  and Henry Graves Supercomplication.

20:20: Introducing Rexhep Rexhepi for Only Watch 2023 and Petermann Bédat and Theo Auffret for Only Watch

21:50: In-Depth with Furlan Marri's Secular Perpetual Calendar for Only Watch

22:15: Christie's Rare Watches Including the Property of Michael Schumacher; AP Royal Oak Chronograph; F.P. Journe Vagabondage

23:45: Michael Schumacher's Daytonas (Gold and Paul Newman);

27:00: F.P. Journe Ruthenium Collection Tourbillon; Ruthenium Box

28:30: Christie's Black Dial Patek 2526 in Rose Gold

32:15: Phillips Patek ref. 2577

34:10: Phillips 1931 Cartier Tank à Guichets and Cartier "Lozenge"

34:45: Gatherings A Special Cartier Roundtable Discussion At Watches & Wonders In Geneva

34:45: Gatherings A Special Cartier Roundtable Discussion At Watches & Wonders In Geneva

35:40: Cartier London Cintrée with Blue Dial and Paris Cintrée at Phillips

36:00: Cartier Reverso at Phillips (and other auctions) and the Patek 5975J (also at multiple auction houses)

37:40: Patek 2523 at Antiquorum, Christie's Hong Kong, and Phillips

38:15: Patek 605 HU Pocket Watch at Antiquorum with CHF 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 estimate

39:20: Tony's Pick: Franck Muller at Sotheby's

40:45: Ben's Picks: Tiffany Patek ref. 2499 at Sotheby's and Full Set 2499 at Christie's

41:20: Mark and Ben's Pick: Steel Lange 1

After Watches & Wonders, we're all a bit exhausted by new watch releases, so we decided it was time to do something fun: Another fantasy watch draft. And this time, we're tightening the parameters to get some more variety on the table. So I called up Danny, James, and Jonathan to build a four-watch collection with me.

We're focused on our favorite watches of the 21st century. Any watch available to purchase in 2000 or later is eligible, except for the new releases we saw at Watches & Wonders a couple of weeks ago. Here's the big rule: Once a watch has been picked from a brand, NO other watch from that brand can be picked (i.e., once someone has chosen a Rolex, no one else can choose a Rolex in any category). Honestly, after our last draft when three of us picked Rolex sports watches, I wanted to get more variety on the table, and there has been so much good watchmaking in the last 24 years. The hope was that the draft would be a fun way to remember some of the best watches of the 21st century, so far. We also didn't choose any piece uniques or one-offs. 

Head to the site here to vote on the winner, and we'll announce the champ in a few weeks.