10 episodes
The Watch Files The Watch Files
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4.8 • 8 Ratings
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These are The Watch Files, where we tell the stories of the events that changed the horology industry. Featuring Serge Maillard of Europa Star and Stephen Foskett of Grail Watch.
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i1 Innovations in Watch Component Colors with Positive Coating
As we discussed last time, Porsche Design's innovative use of materials and coatings set their watches apart in a crowded industry. In this special episode, Serge Maillard and Stephen Foskett discuss the future of watch movement and case materials with Lucien Steinmann of Positive Coating, the company driving an explosion of colorful PVD and ALD coatings. Watches like the rainbow-coated Zenith Defy 21 Felipe Pantone Edition leverage these techniques to startling effect, and this materials science will enable a world of color, from heritage to modern models.
The Watch Files turns from history to the future in this special series, focused on the innovators who are driving the horology industry to the future.
Reference Materials:
Positive Coating
IWC, Porsche Design, and Titanium Watches
Zenith Defy 21 Felipe Pantone Edition -
08 Porsche Design and the Titanium Watch
On April 25, 1981, attendees at the European Watch, Clock, and Jewellery Fair in Basel got their hands on something completely new. IWC introduced the Porsche Design Titan chronograph, the first titanium watch available for sale. The revolutionary material caught the watchmaking world off guard, and the Titan helped IWC and their partner Jaeger-LeCoultre survive the quartz crisis. This is the story of the watches created by legendary designer Ferdinand Alexander Porsche and the radical utilitarian watch designs he created with IWC. It's also a story of how materials and design can spark customer enthusiasm and sales.
This episode is divided into three 15 minute segments:
Ferdinand Alexander Porsche and Porsche Design
IWC, Porsche Design, and Titanium
Materials as a Watch Design Element -
07 Eugène Meylan Should Be Remembered For Glycine's Automatic Watch
On June 9, 1931, watchmaker Eugène Meylan registered a new company, Automatic EMSA, to exploit his latest innovation, a central-rotor automatic winding mechanism that could be paired with nearly any small round movement. This would catapult Glycine, the company Meylan founded as a young man, to prominence with the first mass-market automatic watch. But the story of Meylan's life is much more compelling and tragic, and reveals a great deal about the history of watchmaking in the first half of the 20th century. Today we are celebrating the accomplishments of Eugène Meylan and considering his life, which was tragically cut short in 1955.
This episode is divided into three 15 minute segments:
Promising young watchmaker Eugène Meylan founds La Glycine but is soon forced out
Meylan's self-winding mechanism makes Glycine's Automatic the envy of the industry
The tragic story of Meylan's life and untimely death
More Information:
Glycintennial.com
Eugène Meylan, Glycine, and the Fight Over the First Automatic Watch
Ranfft Pink Pages: Glycine Eugene Meylan -
x1 Breitling's Montbrillant Watch Manufactory
In this special "extra" episode of The Watch Files, Stephen Foskett tells the story of the Breitling Montbrillant Watch Manufactory in La Chaux-de-Fonds. If you're a Breitling fan, you're probably aware of the name, Montbrillant, which has been used on historic models and featured in advertising for a century. But you might be surprised to learn what the name really refers to, and the complicated history of the Montbrillant Watch Manufactory Breitling operated in La Chaux-de-Fonds for 85 years. This is the audio of a special Watch Files video, which can be seen on YouTube: "What Does “Montbrillant” Mean to Breitling?"
Join Serge Maillard, Publisher & CEO of Europa Star, and Stephen Foskett, Publisher of Grail Watch, as we tell the stories of the events that changed the horology industry.
More Information:
What Does “Montbrillant” Mean to Breitling?, Grail Watch YouTube
What Does “Montbrillant” Mean to Breitling?, Grail Watch Blog -
06 The Forgotten History of Jaquet-Droz, An Experiment in Cooperation
On April 4, 1960, 70 independent Swiss watchmakers joined forces to form a remarkable new cooperative. Intent on standing their ground against the consolidation of watchmakers into corporations, the Coopérative de Fabricants Suisses d'Horlogerie would launch a shared watch brand three years later, using the name of famous watchmaker Pierre Jaquet-Droz. The Coopérative grew rapidly, accounting for over 15% of Swiss watchmaking exports in 1968 and boasting a catalog of over 2,000 different models. Yet this unique experiment, and the famous brand they used, is entirely forgotten.
Join Serge Maillard, Publisher & CEO of Europa Star, and Stephen Foskett, Publisher of Grail Watch, as we tell the stories of the events that changed the horology industry.
More Information:
The Forgotten History of Jaquet-Droz, Switzerland’s Shared Watch Brand, Grail Watch, 2021
La Concentration Dans le Secteur Horloger, Europa Star 4, 1960
Interview with Dr. Charles-Edouard Virchaux, President of the Cooperative of Swiss Watch Manufacturers, Europa Star Eastern Jeweler 85, 1964
Scope of the Technical Control Center of the Swiss Manufacturers' Cooperative at Bienne, Europa Star Eastern Jeweler 89, 1965
Jaquet-Droz Sales Centre Opens at Bienne, Europa Star Eastern Jeweler 91, 1965
The Cooperative of Swiss Manufacturers Publishes Report for 1965, Europa Star Eastern Jeweler 94, 1966
1966 a Prosperous Year for Jaquet-Droz, Europa Star Eastern Jeweler 100, 1967
Jaquet-Droz Strike their Balance, Europa Star Eastern Jeweler 111, 1969
Jaquet-Droz Six Years' Presence on Watch Markets, Europa Star Eastern Jeweler 133, 1973
Jaquet-Droz: A Great Name Becomes a Great Brand, Europa Star 199, 1993 -
05 How the Bulova Accutron Disrupted the Swiss Watch Industry
On October 25, 1960, American company Bulova introduced the most advanced watch ever made. The Accutron used a tuning fork oscillating 60 times faster than a normal watch thanks to electronic components and a battery. This space-age watch shifted the balance of watchmaking power to America, but it was the brainchild of a Swiss engineer who soon returned home. Max Hetzel's work disrupted the entire industry and kicked off the race to build a quartz watch.
Join Serge Maillard, Publisher & CEO of Europa Star, and Stephen Foskett, Publisher of Grail Watch, as we tell the stories of the events that changed the horology industry.
More Information:
Bulova Accutron at Grail Watch Reference
The Accutron Watch Page
Engineering Time: Inventing the Electronic Wristwatch, Carlene Stephens and Maggie Dennis, British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 33
Customer Reviews
This is what watch enthusiasm is about
This content is exactly what drives interest in watches. Get past tasteless consumerism, cringe at yet another obnoxious wrist roll on social media, and scratch your head at today’s ridiculous prices for watches that cost as much as a middle class American family’s house, and you will arrive at The Watch Files. This podcast offers well researched and tastefully presented history, along with the human interest aspect of twists and turns of the backstories that are all embodied in the “living museum” on your wrist. There is also enough technical information to keep even the most educated watch enthusiast interested, or to educate anyone who simply wants to keep learning. If you really want to appreciate not only the technical mastery of what’s on your wrist, but also all of the people and events that went into these little wonders, then you will love this podcast.
NPR for Watch Geeks 10/10
Stephen & Serge's decision to bring historic moments in watchmaking to a narrated form is truly a gift. The two are not only genuinely passionate about the subjects they tackle, but they're able to craft the stories in a succinct manner all the while incorporating cultural, technical, and contextual details that watch nerds obsess over. Very happy with the episodes thus far and their written counterparts. Can't wait to learn more