DEPLOYANT - Luxury watch reviews & horological lifestyles - Luxury watch reviews & horological lifestyles
About two months ago, I wrote about the state of wrist affairs in Watches of the Silicon Valley. In the article, we confirmed the unsurprising SV stereotypes with the array of Apple watches and Fitbits. Just go up to the city and you will see the sad state of Union Square watch boutiques. Look down in the peninsula and you won’t even see a sensible retailer. Or so I thought.
Well turns out, there is a nifty boutique hidden right in my backyard. A 10 minute drive from my workplace and just down the road from campus. But what drew my attention to this little boutique was even more surprising. Quite the contrary to the Apple watch crowd that I see everyday, Stephen Silver- the retailer, was hosting a round table on the State Of Independence within the art of Haute Horologerie. So there were some watch afficionados in the wild west after all.
Putting on the final touches on a MB&F LM Perpetual painting.
As the round table title suggests, the discussion to be held was centered on Independent watches. Apart from its staple of jewelry, Stephen Silver retails a vast collection of independent watch brands. From Greubel Forsey to F.P Journe, they have a pretty substantial collection.
Guests arrive at the Rosewood Sandhill Hotel, where the Stephen Silver boutique is located.
The guests were a learned bunch. And safe to say, amidst the crowd, there were some who were truly concerned about the state of affairs in the business. Now if only Kari Voutilainen’s Chinese mobile phone co-branding news was released before the event…
The Stephen Silver State of Independence panel: (From left to right) Frederic Watrelot-Christie’s, James Malcomson-Robb Report, Sophy Rindler-Redbar, Manuel Yazijian-Watch Inspector and Ariel Adams-A Blog To Watch.
The panel consisted of industry experts with varying vantages. Coincidentally, I had a warm reunion with Christie’s Frederic Watrelot, which I interviewed in Singapore a month before heading to the US of A. Sophy Rindler of Redbar Miami served as moderator and did a great job steering the discussion.
The panel shared stories about their ‘firsts’ with watches, their first real watch and the fun they have in the trade. Topics discussed included questions on longevity of independent brands; in particular, who will service my Philippe Dufour if the guru passes on? Or, do we have enough watch makers that can be trained to take over? Will the younger generation, namely the millennials still like watches, and like them enough to buy these expensive Indies?
Spotted on the wrist of a former SF Giant, the MB&F LM 2.
The Platinum MB&F Legacy Machine 2, seen here with a Vertu Aster.
James Malcomsom of Robb Report cited the work being done by Dufour to train younger watchmakers, and also Greubel Forsey’s role in promoting the longevity of the art. Frederic shared a story of his visit to the Patek Philippe museum with Max Büsser a decade ago. At the museum, Max singled out a particular antique timepiece and remarked that not one watchmaker in Switzerland can [...]
The post Event Report: Stephen Silver State of Independence Silicon Valley appeared first on DEPLOYANT - Luxury watch reviews & horological lifestyles.