From FounderFest to Full Throttle with Tissot at Silverstone
Tom AustinThis week marks the launch of one of our most ambitious projects yet, FounderFest. It’s the culmination of around eight months of incredible work from the entire team at Time+Tide, intense collaboration with some of the most exciting brands in the microbrand space, and the orchestration of a symphony involving our three Studios across London, Melbourne and New York City. We’ve revealed the watches, but there is so much more to come, and we can’t wait to share it all with you. Over the coming weeks, there will be YouTube content, editorial features, a phenomenal physical magazine, and finally a weekend of events across the globe at our Studios in September, all designed to celebrate the world of independent watchmaking, music and watch culture. We’ll tell you a little more below, along with some other snippets from the world of Time+Tide that have happened over the last week. So sit back, grab a coffee and enjoy this week’s Wind Down.
Time+Tide presents: FounderFest
The watch fair, reimagined by Time+Tide. FounderFest is shaping up to be unlike anything we’ve ever attempted. Across one global weekend on September 19–20, our Watch Discovery Studios in Melbourne, London and New York will come alive with independent watchmaking, live music, founder conversations and the debut of seven exclusive Time+Tide Studio Editions. Created alongside Awake, Baltic, Beaucroft, Dennison, echo/neutra, Furlan Marri and Serica, each watch explores the music and culture that inspired the founders behind the brands, bringing together stories that go far beyond the watches themselves.
Whether you join us in person or follow the event online, FounderFest will also feature exclusive videos, editorial coverage, a limited-edition print magazine which will also be available in digital format, and plenty more throughout the weekend. Tickets are now available for all three Studios, so if you want to experience the launches, meet the founders and be part of our biggest event yet, head to thefounderfest.com and secure your place.
Time+Tide went full throttle at Silverstone
Last weekend, Time+Tide was fortunate enough to join Tissot at Silverstone for the British round of the MotoGP World Championship, spending the weekend inside the paddock with the championship’s Official Timekeeper. It didn’t take long to realise that Tissot’s role extends far beyond sponsorship.
Since 2001, the brand has been responsible for timing every session throughout the MotoGP weekend, while its name has become synonymous with the Sprint races that now form a key part of the championship.
Of course, accurate timing is only one side of the story. Walking through the paddock, it becomes obvious just how deeply embedded Tissot is within the championship. Giant timing displays dominate the walkways, branded clocks keep the garages on schedule, and every team, rider and engineer lives by the clock. In a sport where victories are often measured in hundredths of a second, precision isn’t simply appreciated; it’s fundamental.
The weekend also offered a rare opportunity to get closer to the bikes than I’d ever managed before. As someone who spends a lot of my time photographing watches, swapping static dials for Spain’s Marc Márquez travelling at well over 150mph was a welcome change of pace.
Panning a MotoGP bike through Silverstone’s high-speed corners and the Hamilton Straight proved considerably more challenging than lining up a chronograph under studio lights, but when everything comes together, the sense of speed is incredibly rewarding to capture.
Getting up close to the machines was equally fascinating. With their carbon fibre aero packages, titanium exhausts, maze-like cooling systems and impossibly compact packaging, modern MotoGP bikes are astonishing feats of engineering. The more time you spend looking at them, the more details emerge. Every component has been optimised, every bracket has a purpose, and every gram has been scrutinised.
It struck me that they’re not entirely unlike a high-end mechanical movement. Pull the caseback off a complicated chronograph, and you’re met with layers of levers, springs, wheels and precisely machined components, all working together in perfect synchronisation. A MotoGP bike follows the same philosophy, just on a much larger and significantly louder scale. Both represent masters of precision engineering pursuing marginal gains through obsessive attention to detail.
Watching that level of engineering unleashed around Silverstone while the company responsible for measuring every fraction of every lap looked on felt like a fitting reminder of why Tissot and MotoGP have remained such natural partners for more than a quarter of a century. When everything revolves around precision, it’s hard to imagine a better match.
I hope you enjoy your weekend.
Tom and the Time+Tide team
Tom’s Time+Tide take of the week: Not every watch has to be an “everyday watch”
I probably use the phrase “everyday watch” more than I should. Spend enough time writing about watches, and it becomes an easy shorthand for something versatile, comfortable and easy to recommend. More often than not, it’s accurate. A good everyday watch is exactly what most people are looking for. But I think we might be starting to expect every new watch to tick that same box. Somewhere along the way, “I’d wear that every day” became the highest compliment you could pay a watch. As a result, many brands seem to gravitate towards the same safe formula: unassuming colours, sensible dimensions, familiar layouts and enough versatility to “work with a T-shirt or a suit.” There’s nothing wrong with that, but it shouldn’t be the only goal.
Some of the most interesting watches I’ve handled this year absolutely aren’t everyday watches, and that’s precisely why they’re memorable. Serica’s Ref. 1174 is unapologetically elegant, while Echo/Neutra’s tiny Rivanera Piccolo asks you to embrace proportions that many collectors would dismiss without ever trying one on. Neither feels designed by committee to appeal to everyone, and both are stronger because of it. Not every watch has to disappear under a cuff or become your one-watch collection. It might only suit certain occasions, certain outfits or even certain moods. That’s not a weakness; it’s personality. So perhaps we’ve become a little too obsessed with finding the perfect everyday watch. I’d much rather see brands continue producing watches with a clear point of view than chasing universal appeal. That shows confidence, and after all, the watches we remember most are rarely the ones that tried to be everything to everyone.
Wrist shot of the week: Andrew Morgan’s Fears “Ultimus”
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Andrew Morgan, the man behind some of YouTube’s most recognisable pair of hands, shared this collection of shots of his new Fears Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour “Ultimus” collaboration piece, a limited farewell edition that gives the distinctive Jump Hour platform its most adventurous dial yet, blending Art Deco inspiration with thoroughly modern construction.
Time+Tide Shop pick of the week: Christopher Ward Trident 30×30 Limited Edition
Christopher Ward has never been shy about producing great value dive watches, but every now and then it creates one with a little more purpose. The new Trident 30×30 is exactly that. Developed in partnership with the Blue Marine Foundation, it’s the fourth watch to emerge from a collaboration that has already helped raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for ocean conservation, with £30 from every watch sold supporting the charity’s ambitious goal of protecting 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.
The watch itself is every bit as compelling as the cause behind it. Limited to just 500 pieces, the 41mm Trident pairs Christopher Ward’s proven dive watch platform with a vibrant parrotfish-inspired blue wave dial, punctuated by a coral-red seconds hand that brings the whole design to life. It’s colourful without feeling loud, striking without sacrificing the everyday versatility the Trident collection offers.
There’s substance beneath the surface, too. The Trident 30×30 is the first watch in Christopher Ward’s current dive lineup to receive the new Sellita SW200-2 Power+ movement, extending the power reserve to a very useful 65 hours. Add 200 metres of water resistance, a choice of Aquaflex rubber straps or the excellent Bader bracelet, and eco-conscious packaging crafted from recycled bamboo and seaweed by-products, and you have a dive watch that combines strong specifications with an equally compelling story. Better still, you can preorder yours now through the Time+Tide Shop before this 500-piece limited edition disappears beneath the waves.
The Christopher Ward Trident 30×30 is now available to preorder from the Time+Tide Shop. Price: €1, 175/US$1,250/£895 (Parrotfish blue or white Aquaflex rubber), €1,385/US$1,475/£1,060 (Bader bracelet).
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week
Citizen Eco-Drive History Explained: 50 Years of Light-Powered Watch Innovation
Citizen’s Eco-Drive is so familiar today that it’s easy to forget just how revolutionary it once was. To celebrate the technology’s 50th anniversary, Zach explores the fascinating history behind light-powered watchmaking, from the pioneering 1976 Crystron Solar Cell to the astonishing one-second-per-year accuracy and year-long autonomy of today’s most advanced Eco-Drive calibres.
Moonwatch or Snoopy? Omega Speedmaster Head-to-Head (feat. Fratello’s R.J. Broer)
Selten and Watch Ho & Co(mmunity) are back with a new steamy-dialled watch
Zach shares the story behind the Watch Ho & Co(mmunity) x Selten Yum Cha, a collaboration inspired by founder Jackie Ho’s childhood memories of family dim sum gatherings. Its remarkable hand-engraved Grand Feu enamel dial requires 16.5 hours of work, proving that the strongest watch designs often begin with a deeply personal story.