The Watchmaker’s Club Summer Event
The Watchmaker’s Club returns to central London this summer with a free to attend horological fest. Both collectors and enthusiasts can visit the event and get close to both watches and the people behind the brands.
Each year I travel to Geneva in order to attend SIHH. Thereafter, I return home, eager to write about the novelties I have just seen. In March, I return to the landlocked country and join throngs of journalists and retailers at Baselworld.
Both fairs are comprised of rushed meetings, snatched meals and weary feet. And yet, surprisingly, I would not change a thing. I love my annual trips to Geneva and Basel. Walking between exhibition stands you inevitably spot a familiar retailer or an overseas journalist and a few minutes of conversation ensues. Nevertheless, nothing interrupts the objective of seeing ‘novelties’.
To some extent these events are the preserve of journalists and retailers. Members of the public have limited access. Sadly, unless a person is an invited high net worth individual, they are unlikely to touch physical watches. The best they can hope for is a display cabinet view and / or a flimsy pamphlet. Indeed, prior to my present journalistic career, I was a modest collector of watches with my nose pressed against glass. I continue to empathise with those horophiles who can only look from afar. However, the Watchmaker’s Club is different.
The Watchmaker’s Club is a collective of small brands, exhibiting their watches within the confines of an intimate venue. The format is low-key with a notable absence of branding, merely small tables and modest display cabinets. The rationale is simple, the environment is intended to encourage visitors to sit down and have a drink with a brand.
Visitors can touch watches and chat to the brand’s representatives. Some of the brand’s personnel will be brand owners, CEOs, designers or famous watchmakers. The underlying objective is to provide visitors with accessibility to participating brands.
There is a multitude of watches to sate most needs. From the affordable to the financially rarefied. However, for some guests the event is not about procuring watches but merely meeting fellow collectors in a relaxed environment.
The Watchmaker’s Club Summer Event 2019, to be held on the 5th June, is the third edition of this horological soirée. In order to meet demand, this event will be held at a larger venue, Unit 6 at London’s Covent Garden, just one minute from the underground station. This art gallery will play host to 18 brands, albeit this may still grow. A list of the exhibiting brands can be viewed here
Lastly, admission tickets for The Watchmaker’s Club Summer Event 2019 are free. They are offered on a first come, first served basis – book free tickets here
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