From Rolex Watchmaker to Indie Founder: Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, Fears Watches

About this episode

Nicholas Bowman-Scargill discusses his journey from Rolex watchmaker to the founder of Fears Watches, exploring the history and future of British watchmaking.

Paid subscribers: All winners of the holiday giveaway are being individually emailed today. If that’s you, please respond in 24 hours before I draw the next name! Welcome back to the Unpolished podcast. Our first conversation of 2026 is with Nicholas Bowman-Scargill . He’s the 4th managing director of Fears Watches , based in Bristol, U.K., and the great-great-great-grandson of Edwin Fear, who founded Fears in 1846. Fears closed its doors in 1976, but Nicholas reopened them in 2016. This year, Fears is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its re-founding and the 180th anniversary of its original formation. Nicholas made an early-career pivot to watches, joining Rolex in the U.K. as a watchmaking apprentice. After five years at Rolex, he set off on his own to relaunch his family’s dormant watch company. We talk about what he learned at Rolex, why the Crown makes such good movements for watchmakers, 10 years of Fears, mistakes he’s made, the state of British watchmaking, how to make a good watch case, and a lot more. Subscribe to the podcast to get future episodes in your feed: Spotify / Apple / RSS UNPOLISHED STORE If you’re enjoying the podcast, head over to the Unpolished Store…

People in this episode

Host: Unpolished

Guest: Nicholas Bowman-Scargill

Topics covered

• watchmaking
• independent watch brands
• British watchmaking
• Fears Watches
• Rolex
• entrepreneurship
• family legacy

Keywords

• Nicholas Bowman-Scargill
• Fears Watches
• Rolex
• watchmaking
• British watches
• entrepreneurship
• family business

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fears Watches, Rolex

Places: Bristol, U.K.

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