Photo Report: UBS House Of Craft NYC
This past Monday, Hodinkee kicked off a multi-day event series with UBS for the inaugural outing of the UBS House of Craft in New York City. It’s the start of a global programming initiative that will focus not only on watches, but also on the worlds of vintage cars, wine, art, and more. We at Hodinkee could not be more thrilled to be able to partner with UBS to create several days of special events for a worldwide audience from our home in New York City as we celebrate the craft and fascination for all things watches.
With many familiar faces taking the stage for several days worth of special talks, the following photos cover the experience, the community, and the great watches that made an appearance. A huge thank you from Hodinkee and UBS to everyone who came to the live events, brought their favorite watches, and asked our many special guests equally special questions. Also, for all of you that were not able to make the event in person, yes, we will be sharing videos of all the talks in the coming weeks.
So stay tuned and get scrolling…
Day 1
The first day of the UBS House of Craft kicked off with Hodinkee’s founder, Ben Clymer, being interviewed by actor and Talking Watches alum Keegan Allen. But we were only getting started as Ben then spent the afternoon in two different talks with two very special guests, actor Daniel Dae Kim and basketball legend Carmelo Anthony. Finally, we closed out the day’s events with a live AMA with all of the Hodinkee edit team hosted by none other than our pal and the celebrated author, Gary Shteyngart.
Keegan and Ben chatting about Ben’s exeprience with Hodinkee.
Live sketch by artist John Lee (@johnleedraws).
Daniel Dae Kim is a true enthusiast and made time between his current run on broadway with David Henry Hwang’s “Yellow Face.”
There’s only one Gary.
Author Gary Shteyngart chats with the collected personalities for Hodinkee’s editorial team.
Gary wearing the new Lorca Model No.2 Chronograph.
Ten-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony chats with Ben about the challenge of buying Rolex watches for his entire team.
Day 2
After Monday established the format and space for the House of Craft, Tuesday doubled down with another amazing series of live conversations, including Malaika and Tony chatting with Alessandro Fanciulli (aka Mr.A on Instagram) about vintage watches, the thrill of the hunt, and the relationship between watches and jewelry. After that, Tony sat down with editor and writer Jay Fielden to talk about his obsession with the continued mystery of John Lennon’s lost (or possibly stolen) Patek Philippe 2499.
Finally, Mark and Ben took the stage with a true legend of the watch industry, Jean-Claude Biver, to talk about his new brand, his start in the watch industry (when he bought all of Blancpain for roughly the price of a Blancpain). It was a truly funny, moving, and special chat full of amazing anecdotes, philosophical considerations, and the lessons learned from a life spent in the watch world.
Jean Claude Biver takes to the stage for an incredible talk.
Writer Jay Fielden on the continually-evolving story behind the hunt for John Lennon’s Patek Philippe 2499.
Day 3
Following a similar format, Wednesday kicked off with a very entertaining chat between Ben and past Talking Watches guest and Emmy winning comedian and host Ronny Chieng. Ronny brought along a bag of watches, including an array of vintage Omega that he inherited from his father. Next up on an action packed day, Ben and James had an enlightening chat with the one and only Alton Brown. Known for his work in the world of food and gastronomy, Alton is a watch enthusiast that did an episode of Talking Watches in 2017 and chatted with a New York audience at H 10 back in 2018.
For the third chat of the day we were delighted to have Malaika host the new CEO of the Americas for Audemars Piguet, Ginny Wright. The two talk about women in the watch world and how AP approaches women enthusiasts in a market that largely caters to a male audience.
Finally, to close out an amazing day of chats, clothing designer Todd Snyder had an awesome chat with Mark and Ben about working with J. Crew, how Todd approached starting his own brand, his thoughts on the realities of menswear, and a whole lot more.
Thanks again to all who attended the first three days of the UBS House of Craft – stay tuned to Hodinkee for the videos of all these amazing conversations.
Hodinkee