Our first Studio Discovery Sessions with Zenith and Ocean to Orbit were a hit with watch fans
Jamie WeissOne of the reasons I joined the Time+Tide team a year ago was because of the Time+Tide Discovery Studio in Melbourne. Part watch boutique, part creative studio, part community clubhouse, there’s nothing else like this in the watch industry, locally or globally. As a writer, you can often feel a bit divorced from your audience: but not so at Time+Tide, where our readers can see me or other members of the T+T creative team doing our thing in real time if they pop in and visit.
Indeed, demystifying and making the whole watch game more accessible – on both the content and retail side of things – is the whole point of the Discovery Studio. We often hear from our readers and customers that they’re intimidated by going into traditional watch boutiques, which can often be very stuffy and not very welcoming. The Discovery Studio is the opposite of that. Sure, we sell nice watches, but it’s a chill space where you’re not going to have sales assistants foist watches on you and force you to make a purchase.
It’s also something that the brands we work with, both the big box brands and emerging microbrands, really like about our Studio. That’s why we’ve launched a new series of Time+Tide “Discovery Sessions”, where brands can come in on a weekend and exhibit their products in our space, as an alternative to the traditional fair or boutique experience.
The first two Discovery Sessions we’ve had are perfect case studies. First up, we had Ocean to Orbit: a new Melburnian microbrand funded by two ex-automotive designers who swapped penning the new Ford Ranger Raptor to obsessing over the width of polished chamfers and the minutiae of clasp logo engravings, as Borna aptly puts it. Co-founders David and Siddhartha packed out our Studio, with attendees (including a large contingent from Watch Enthusiasts Melbourne, a local community of enthusiasts) eager to hear about the brand’s progress as well as get hands-on with their inaugural release, the Lhotse.
Last weekend, we also welcomed Zenith to the Time+Tide Studio. Fiona Currie, Zenith Brand Manager for Australia and New Zealand, was on hand to exhibit Zenith’s 2024 Watches and Wonders novelties, including the Defy Skyline Chronograph, Defy Extreme Diver and Defy Revival A3648. For many attendees, this is the first time they’ve ever seen Zenith watches in the flesh. Certainly, it was the first time that these novelties have been exhibited publically in Australia.
In some ways, Ocean to Orbit and Zenith couldn’t be more different: one is fresh as a babe, with no history to speak of yet, only one watch in the range so far that sits at an affordable price, and a very small team. The other is 159 years old, a stalwart of the Swiss luxury watch industry known for its wide range of technical (and expensive) watches, especially high-beat chronographs. Yet both felt right at home in our Melbourne Discovery Studio.
Both events also exceeded our (already high) expectations in terms of turnout. It was awesome to see so many members of our community, both new and old, make their way out to these weekend sessions. Like any retail space, there are ebbs and flows in foot traffic throughout the day, but I always get a kick out of seeing the space fully packed.
We’re looking to do more of these Discovery Sessions going forward, with as wide a range of brands as possible. We’ve also got a few exciting community events that we’re cooking up for the Studio that we’ll be able to reveal soon. Also, we’re taking the show on the road with our first-ever Time+Tide Studio Pop-Up in Sydney this weekend. In short: there’s lots going on at Time+Tide.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Jamie and the Time+Tide Team
Watch meme of the week: the only time we want a watch to run super fast
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Waiting for a watch is like being tickled: fun for some, utterly excruciating for others. The anticipation can be a source of excitement or a waterfall of anxiety. Hit refresh all you want, it will get to your doorstep when it gets there…
Wristshot of the week: Auro’s aurora aura
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A watch over a sleeve is sure to have many male watch enthusiasts crying foul and shrieking in horror. “You’re not Gianni Agnelli!” Leave it to watch industry legend Auro Montanari (a.k.a John Goldberger), however, to defy such sentiment with swagger. I can’t get behind it personally. Then again, I can’t imagine telling Auro how to wear a watch, either.
Time+Tide Shop pick of the week: Furlan Marri x Time+Tide Outback Elegy
We are thrilled to announce that the highly anticipated Furlan Marri x Time+Tide Outback Elegy is now available for purchase in-store! This unique watch marks the first boutique edition of our Time+Tide 10-year celebration and is available exclusively at our Time+Tide Melbourne Discovery Studio location. Inspired by the Australian Outback, its metallic ochre brown dial subtly transitions to glossy chocolate at the edges, perfectly complemented by warm rose gold details. The sector layout and dial appliqués are meticulously crafted, with Roman numerals replacing the traditional Breguet Arabics for an added touch of elegance.
Discover the limited edition Furlan Marri x Time+Tide Outback Elegy exclusively in-store at the Time+Tide Melbourne Discovery Studio. Price: A$2,650.
Accessory of the month: Bark & Jack NATO straps
About Effing Time might be no more but we’re still good mates with Adrian Barker (a.k.a Bark & Jack), and we’re proud to announce that Time+Tide is now Bark & Jack’s first official distributor. We’ll be stocking a select range of Bark & Jack NATO straps in our Melbourne Discovery Studio and online. They’re affordable, robust and stylish: in an age where every YouTuber or internet celebrity is rushing to sell their own (often dubious quality) merch, Bark & Jack’s straps stand out as singularly good products.
Discover our range of Bark & Jack NATO straps in the Time+Tide Shop, either online or in our Melbourne Discovery Studio. Price: A$46.
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week
Blancpain unveils its first-ever ceramic bracelets for the Bathyscaphe on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (live pics)
In a big development for the Le Brassus brand, Blancpain has just released its first-ever full ceramic bracelets, outfitting the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe in three different ceramic colours across three different complications, with the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet Phases de Lune a particular highlight. Australian journalists (including our very own Jamie Weiss) were the first in the world to try these watches and bracelets on for ourselves; a rare opportunity.
New watch alert: Andrew unboxes his precious TAG Heuer Skipper
Andrew films his live reaction and unboxing of his new TAG Heuer, so you can see, in real-time, his thoughts, analysis behind his purchase, and the inner monologue of rollercoaster emotions. You would think sharing a new watch purchase would be all happiness and joy, and that may or may not be where it all lands at the video’s conclusion.
Is the Seiko Presage SPB445 the best Arita Porcelain dial watch yet?
We’ve seen quite a few Arita Porcelain watches from Seiko over the years, but the new SPB445 might be the best yet. Simultaneously complex and essentialised, its symmetrical layout and clean aesthetic make for an extremely compelling package.