About this episode

Rick and Ariel discuss the current state of the watch industry, focusing on the impact of Watches & Wonders and the complexities of the watch market.

This week on aBlogtoWatch Weekly, it is just Rick and Ariel back behind the microphones for a wide ranging and occasionally chaotic conversation about the state of the watch industry. With Watches & Wonders approaching, the two dive into how the modern release cycle has changed the excitement around major watch events, why embargo driven coverage has made launches feel predictable, and whether the industry has accidentally replaced discovery with information overload. Their discussion then shifts into a deeper look at the watch market itself, sparked by Ariel’s recent article examining how widely circulated industry reports attempt to measure brand health through used watch pricing. Rick and Ariel unpack why those numbers often tell an incomplete story, why secondary market data can be misleading, and how speculation has influenced the way collectors think about buying watches. Along the way, they also touch on microbrands, new watch releases, and a few standout pieces currently on their radar, including collaborations, high-end independents, and some very unusual horological creations. As always, things wander between industry commentary, watch nerd tangents, and a few…

People in this episode

Hosts: Rick, Ariel

Topics covered

• watch industry
• Watches & Wonders
• watch market
• embargo driven coverage
• secondary market data
• microbrands
• new watch releases

Keywords

• watch industry
• Watches & Wonders
• embargo
• secondary market
• microbrands
• watch releases
• collectors

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Watches & Wonders, aBlogtoWatch, ABTW Shop

Products: Horology

More episodes of A Blog To Watch Weekly

• 218. Inside Watches & Wonders 2026: Booth Rankings, Patek Debates, And Rolex Returns · April 27, 2026 · 1h 14m
• 217. Press Release Apocalypse, A Waterfall of Mediocrity, and Watches & Wonders Expectations · April 10, 2026 · 1h 4m
• 216. Tourbillon on a Budget, Beverage Branding Gone Wild, and The Longines Debate. · April 3, 2026 · 1h 3m
• 215. Watch Market Noise, Misleading Data, And Ariel Breaks The Rules · March 29, 2026 · 56 min
• 214. Watch Comfort Crisis, F1 Sponsorship Chaos, And Brand Rankings Gone Wrong · March 21, 2026 · 1h 0m
• 212. Swatch Group Strikes Back, The Smartlet Double Watch Experiment, And Jumping Hour Madness · March 6, 2026 · 1h 14m

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