Surprise Embargos, All-Nighters, And So Many New Watches: Jumping Into The Deep End At My First Watches And Wonders

As I drove past the Palexpo in a cab just two days before Watches and Wonders, I was brimming with anticipation. The stories had been written, the embargo times had been set (mostly), and the photos had been edited. My main concerns were adjusting to the GMT +1 sleep schedule and ensuring my international data plan was robust enough to sustain my endless stream of posts on the Hodinkee Instagram account for the next week. I had just landed in Geneva for my first Watches and Wonders, and while much of my brief two months here at Hodinkee was spent preparing for the biggest week of the year in the watch world, no amount of work or preparation could have readied me for this incredible experience.

As I write these words while flying home, high over the Atlantic, I can’t help but reflect on what can only be described as one of the best, most unforgettable, busiest, and most exciting weeks of my work career and life. As someone who was recently on the other side of the coin—a devoted reader of Hodinkee and not an employee—I thought others might be interested in my experience, especially since it’s so fresh in my mind.

Three months ago, I was very much not in the watch world. I found myself in Chicago on New Year’s Eve with my girlfriend, and we wondered where the year would take us. As we sipped our martinis at Gibson’s (our favorite spot in town), we both felt optimistic about 2025. Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted that three months later I would be in Geneva on a beautiful spring day. The sun shone bright, and the watch world was congregating for the biggest week of the year.

The day before the show, after a long day of shooting a very exciting video with the team (stay tuned for that), I found myself sipping champagne alongside my esteemed colleagues at Hodinkee when the news had just broken that Rolex and Patek Philippe, two of the three brands that don’t allow previews, would be moving their embargoes up from 8 am, their standard, to midnight. We savored those last sips of champagne because we knew what would be ahead of us—an all-nighter. We had started that day, Monday, at 8 am on a video shoot, and when the news broke, James and Ben confirmed we were going to be staying up all night. A near 24-hour workday was a reality. A daunting task certainly, but one for which I was prepared. Even excited.

Weeks earlier, my friend Jim, whom I recently saw, had said, “I just love to be around people working.” I was reminded of this simple quote as we entered the conference room for the night, just as the sun was setting. We had rented a hotel conference room, and as darkness fell, we settled into the Hodinkee bullpen for the evening.

We arrived at the conference room at 7 pm. The mood was lighthearted and excited; we tossed around ideas and predictions on what would be released, told jokes, readied our stories, and laid out our publishing schedule for the evening (and early morning). As the evening went on, we prepared, and by about 11:45 pm, the room went silent. By 12:01 am, when we hit refresh on our laptops, we saw the latest releases, headlined by what dear ole’ Roger Federer had teased a day earlier—the Land-Dweller. Rich immediately began working on a story covering Rolex’s most seminal release in years.

Other stories were immediately assigned, and everyone was in their element. Ben wrote an introduction on the new Patek Philippe Calatrava 8 Day (featuring a new caliber), TanTan took a look at the new Patek Philippe Cubitus in 40mm, Malaika penned an article on the Rolex Perpetual 1908, Rich introduced the Patek Philippe Calatrava Ref. 6196P (which Ben called the best Calatrava Patek had released in the past 17 years in his hands-on article a couple of days later), and Mark spun up a story on the new Rolex GMT-Master II — just to name a few of the articles written after midnight that night. 

All the while, James, Andy, and I were busy editing, resizing images, and publishing on social media. By 1 am, we had written and released a dozen articles on the spot and published nearly two dozen further prewritten stories. Then, it was time to start shooting reels for the Hodinkee Instagram account. Head of Video Dave Aujero and editor Joe Wyatt were in the room, and editor Vic Ottomanelli, back in NYC, sprang into action. 

“I just love to be around people working.”

Jim

Throughout all this, I heard Jim’s quote echoing in my head—I loved being in a room where people were working hard. I was fueled by pure adrenaline and my first Red Bull in a decade. It was 4 am when the laptop was finally closed on the first day. After nearly a twenty-four-hour workday, I was tired, but the adrenaline was pumping. I felt invigorated and excited about what we had just accomplished and the momentum we had going into the actual show.

The 8 am Tudor embargo drop came quickly, just a few hours later. Once we got everything out about their releases (James on the new Pelagos Ultra, Mark on the new Black Bay 68, Malaika on the Black Bay Pro, just to name a few), after a few more hours, all the stories and social media were published, and we headed off to Palexpo for the show. The next four days were a flurry of meeting new people, seeing all the latest watch releases, writing, recording podcasts, and supporting the team whenever necessary. The anticipation and preparation for the show had been palpable, and it was exhilarating to finally be there.

After day two, I got four hours of sleep (the most I had all week), and in this somewhat refreshed state of mind, I could zoom out, however briefly, and see what we were accomplishing. The team was humming on all cylinders, and it was incredible to witness and be a part of it.

Every day brought a new challenge, and no amount of preparation could prepare us for breaking news. Success comes from being prepared but also being able to be nimble and adjust on the fly when necessary, so when news broke late Wednesday about the tariffs, Andy sprang into action, penning two stories—the first late into the night announcing the news and the second on Thursday after spending the day talking with some of the most influential people in the industry.

Speaking of preparation, nothing could have prepared me for the sheer scale of the show. I had seen many photos, heard many stories, and read and listened to plenty of coverage from years past, but it’s hard to fully grasp its scale until you’re there. Most of the booths were multiple stories high and certainly rivaled in size the four-story, six-unit apartment building where I live in Brooklyn. The hospitality and attention to detail were also second to none, leaving me in awe.

If you’ve not listened to our daily podcasts from Watches and Wonders, I’d encourage you to do so. On day two, we had the chance to interview Matthieu Humair, the CEO of Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation, who gave us a look behind the scenes at the event. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to ask him how many bottles of Veuve Cliquot they go through during the week—a number that I assume is well into the thousands. Maybe next year, we can get an exact count. It’s a fantastic conversation nonetheless.

During the week, any writing, editing, or podcast recording had to be done either in the mornings, late at night, or in little pockets throughout the day — the meeting ended fifteen minutes early? Great, time to get up a few Instagram posts. — Can someone jump into this meeting for me? I’ve got to get some quotes for a timely article.” Absolutely, I’ve got you covered.  — Who has photos of this specific watch? The hands-on is ready to go. This was our rhythm. We knew the endpoints, but often improvised the path to get there. The days turned into a spontaneous dance, and I felt right at home.

Around 9 pm on Friday night, my laptop closed for the final time on the trip. Sure, there were plenty of stories to be edited and Instagram posts to get up, but we had reached a point where we could pause and catch the breath we had held for the last week. Dave and I went to get a doner kebab and a Kronenbourg—also known as The James Stacey Special—and it felt nice to sit down, chat, and reflect on the week. As we sat outside on Rue de Lausanne on a chilly evening, we were tired but invigorated about the experience, reflecting on what we liked and what went well, and we were already plotting what we could change and do better for next year. We tried to go out for a nightcap, but quite simply, we were too tired, so we went to sleep instead.

As my plane starts to descend into JFK, a couple of glasses of wine running through me, and 1500 words later, I can’t help but dream about what’s next. The lack of sleep, cumulative fatigue, and the steady espresso buzz have started to wear off and become a distant memory, replaced by the vivid recollections of an extraordinary week. The intensity of the work was unlike anything I’ve experienced before—the long nights, the constant deadlines, the ceaseless stream of content creation—but it was precisely that challenge that made it so rewarding. 

As journalists, we live for these moments of collective effort and shared purpose. They say time flies when you’re having fun, but in the watch world, time is the only thing of which we never lose sight. Despite the exhaustion that lingers in my bones, I am already counting down the days until next year’s show. And now I know Geneva isn’t just lovely this time of year—it’s where the watch world comes alive and where I now know I belong.

Check out all of Hodinkee’s coverage from this year’s Watches and Wonders here.

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