3-Watch Thursday #15
The Return of an Icon, The Geneva Auction Season and Daniel Roth
Good morning team,
Happy Thursday! (I don’t think that’s a phrase I’ve ever used before).
Not much preamble to report on this week however, there are a couple of exciting things in the works over on @_oxwatch coming in the not-too-distant future.
Other than that, let’s dive straight in!
We’re ready for the next art movement in watchmaking
This caught my attention this week seeing Mike back with The Open Caseback writing about the watch industry.
Since coming across The Open Caseback just before the pandemic and subsequently ‘meeting’ Mike on clubhouse, I love his musings on horology and how more often than not he writes about the happenings we haven’t quite consciously noticed.
This piece was no exception.
Giving his thoughts on the rise of MB&F as an example, Mike shares his musings on social media potentially driving independent watchmakers to make pieces that reflect on the current state of the art or trends.
I noticed this part in particular resonated with some independent watchmakers and there was a little pushback to this idea however, Mike concludes with what I understood to be the takeaway message:
We need more of the weird, more of the seemingly unfeasible creations. As collectors, the patrons of the industry, we should be supporting more forward-thinking watchmakers and designers.
A bit of a call to action to support the next wave of independent watchmakers to make what they want and drive the industry forward into its next ‘art movement’.
Mike’s argument is a lot more nuanced than I’ve presented, so go read the whole piece here.
Also, I’m massively excited for the return of one of my favourite writers and I’m eagerly awaiting to see what’s to come.
Editorial: The Geneva Auction Season, November 2022
As someone who is interested in watches, but does not work in watches full time and has many many hobbies and interests that come with student life, I often struggle to keep up with the auction seasons and know what I’m looking at/for.
That’s why this editorial piece by SJX summarising the happenings of last week in Geneva has really helped to keep me updated about the most important lots and any fallout that might occur.
I particularly like the last section referring to ‘Market Markers’.
It’s a pretty self explanatory piece, so if you’re looking for this kind of summary too, you can find it here.
An Afternoon With Daniel Roth
Once again I am back with an ACM article.
This week a lot of the hype went to the ACM article ‘The Philosophies of Mat Jacobson’, but I spotted this piece about Daniel Roth from a couple of weeks ago.
It’s formatted as a Q&A with Daniel Roth following quite a chronological path through his career.
In all honesty, as someone who has only recently become aware of the work of Roth this piece provides me and others with an exceptional starting point when it comes to understanding his career.
ACM have another article titled ‘A Collector’s Guide to Early Daniel Roth’ and it is on my reading list for another day, but this Q&A is for now.
If you’re interested in the Q&A, you can find it here.
One more little Easter Egg before you go.
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I’d love to know who wrote each ACM article.
Since then, the last 3 ACM articles have authors listed under them.
Is this a coincidence? Or does 3-Watch Thursday have iNfLuEnCe? We’ll never know.
No matter how it’s come about, it feels good to finally be able to credit those where it is due.
Have a great weekend!
Owen