FRIDAY WIND DOWN: HSNY awards $100K in scholarships to watchmaking students and institutions at their annual gala
Zach BlassOne of the biggest fears or concerns within the watch industry is keeping the art of watchmaking alive. When you ask young children what they want to be when they are older, you usually get a response along the lines of professional athlete or secret agent. Watchmaker is by no means their go-to answer. But, fortunately, there are organisations like the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), that actively work to maintain the art of watchmaking and support those looking to educate or enter the field.
Each year, their annual gala marks a moment for all those who love horology to come together in support of the art form. Last Saturday, 200 HSNY members, patrons, and friends celebrated the organisation’s efforts to advance the science and art of horology as well as celebrate those who received much needed scholarships to keep the watchmaking tradition alive.
The evening marked the announcement of HSNY’s largest financial aid award to date – a sum of $100,000 USD to 15 watchmaking students and three watchmaking institutions across the United States. It was an incredibly rewarding moment for the watch community, as well as a moment of comfort to know that those looking to pursue a career in watchmaking were receiving support that not only benefits their education but also reassures watch buyers around the world that the next generation is being prepared to take on the craftsmanship mantle.
An equally large source of excitement of the evening came in the form of a bidding war for the very special and first-ever HSNY Lifetime Membership Card, a card made from an alloy of 92.5% sterling silver which was personally engine-turned by California-based watchmaker Joshua Shapiro and hand-engraved by Arthur Akmaev. Starting at $500 USD, many sought to win the Lifetime Membership Card – which, as its name suggests, affords the winner lifetime membership privileges at HSNY, including all aspects of current and future membership levels. Notably Shark Tank‘s very own Kevin O’Leary sought to win the Lifetime Membership Card, but was ultimately beat out by attendee Jared Tramontano who secured it at a hammer price of $18,000 USD (all of which will go to HSNY’s ongoing financial aid initiatives).
For a full recap of the event, complete list of scholarship recipients, as well as the entire image gallery, you can head to the HSNY website here.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
– Zach
Watch meme of the week: JAYGER-LAYCOLETRAY
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Luxury Swiss watchmaking is a sophisticated space, but unless you have mastery of French or German it is unlikely that you are saying the name of a brand as it is intended. How many times have you heard someone butcher the pronunciation of Patek or the Rattrapante complication? You know what, even we are guilty of it at times. This is why I literally laughed out loud when I saw this remixed meme from Brynn @dimepiece.co, reminding me of the moment at Watches & Wonders where Luke and I took a stab at saying the JLC name with the required “je ne sais quoi”. Don’t beat yourself up if you to deliver brand names in a manner that would make the Swiss shiver, but once you hear the right pronunciation certainly give it your best shot.
Wrist shot of the week: Oh beigeby 🤤
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The Friday Wind Down is my domain, so I am using my power to showcase a wrist-shot we took while at Watches & Wonders. A wrist-shot of a watch that, of everything I saw, is the one I walked away from the fair thinking: how can I make this happen for my collection? Now, I have my own footage of the piece. But to have a capture of the lovely beige-lacquered Santos Dumont Limited Edition Cartier courtesy of the dynamic duo that is our creative director Marcus and wrist-model extraordinaire Jeremy is literal watch-porn for me to stare at until I know whether or not I will be able to secure one. Oh beigeby how I long for thee…
Time+Tide select of the week: Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 Green
The Tissot PRX is a prime example of ultimate value, serving up a quality contender in the integrated sports watch space that is both low cost and low compromise. The case and bracelet finishing are superb for the price point, it is 100 metres water-resistant, and it is powered by a movement which offers 80 hours of power reserve. The blue cloud de Paris dial already drew a lot of love to the collection, but Tissot has followed up with a recent green take on the beloved entry-level sports watch. The good news: if you are located in Australia you can secure yours now via our Time+Tide shop.
Price: $1,050 AUD
Buy now at the Time+Tide Shop, available in Australia only.
Our favourite Time+Tide coverage of the week:
WATCH CONFESSIONS: “I wear a fake Rolex and don’t give a damn”
In this latest installment of Watch Confessions, one anonymous watch lover justifies the apparently unjustifiable and explains why he wears a fake Rolex. GASP! Click here to read more.
Nicolas Cage loves shortbread, tree bark, and Grand Seiko
WHO, WHAT, WHERE, HOW?! Just kidding. But in true Nicolas Cage form, he dialled up the quirk factor to 100 as he professed his love for shortbread, trees and, both surprisingly and unsurprisingly, Grand Seiko. Read the full article here to find out what the strong connection is between such three random things.
VIDEO: Meet the team! The live video from a watch fair that YouTube has been waiting for…
“It’s fair to say we don’t get everything right, all the time,” Andrew writes. “One video I properly botched was in February last year. It was billed as a ‘meet the team’ video. But in reality, it was me talking about the team, on their behalf. Most commenters were positive enough about the broad message: that you could start to expect more accents other than Australian going forward. But some pointed out that it might have been nicer to actually have footage of the team in action, speaking for themselves. The truth is, I agreed. I would have loved to deliver this at the time.” You asked, and we were glad to deliver. With the editorial team all in one place for Watches & Wonders, we had to seize the moment to film a proper intro to the team – fair favorites, highlights, and plenty of jabbing banter. So, pop open a cold one and have a beer with us while you watch our Watches & Wonders team recap video above.