Event Report: UBS House of Craft X Clymer X Hodinkee

I woke this morning at "zero dark thirty" in order to catch an Amtrak train into New York City.

The exhibition entry.

My destination was a preview of "Icons of Time," an exhibition and collaboration between UBS (a bank) and its "House of Craft," Hodinkee and Hodinkee's founder and President Ben Clymer. I'd missed the last gathering of this sort, held around the same time last year. But this time around my schedule allowed me to participate so off I went.

The event promised to offer twelve timepieces, one for each hour marker on a watch dial, curated by Clymer. According to my invite, these timepieces were selected because they are rare and "[embody] both the vision of its maker and the enduring legacy of those who have worn it." I decided to see if I could guess ahead of the event which twelve might be featured. I promise I'm typing up this list as I ride the train.

• My first guess would be an Omega Speedmaster because that watch is "font and center" on the RSVP for the event. To check the rarity box, I'd further guess that there would be an example with movement caliber 321 (either OG or modern) or perhaps one of the gold examples gifted to astronauts or even perhaps a broad arrow.
• Next up: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. You can't get more iconic. A recently auctioned and "rare" example would be the blacked-out "Lagerfeld" although I don't know if it would be difficult to convince the owner to lend it for the exhibition.
• Patek Philippe ref 1518, the first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph. These are inherently rare and regularly command seven figure prices at auction. But if a steel example is on display then we're talking rare^rare.
• Vacheron Constantin Overseas. This watch is also an icon of the industry and much sought-after by collectors. I'd hope to see one of the limited "Everest" editions in titanium inspired by a unique piece which accompanied climber Cory Richards at Everest.
• Rolex Daytona, Paul Newman or pre-Daytona. Rare, worn by Paul Newman and many others of great noteriety. I'd be shocked if we didn't see one of these (although a calendar "complications" reference from earlier years would also make sense).
• Tag Heuer Monaco. This is the stuff of legends considering it's connection to racing as well as actor Steve McQueen. A vintage "Dark Lord" example would provide rarity.
• Cartier Crash. These have just never been produced in great volume and they're much loved by collectors and people who appreciate more non-traditional designs.
• Philippe Dufour Simplicity. Dufour's role in launching and cementing the importance of independent manufacturers is unquestionable and the horological artistry in his work easily deserves a place in an exhibit like this.
• F. P. Journe Souscription reference. I think the souscription examples testify to collector commitment to the craft of traditional watchmaking. If you wanted one of these, you committed money with the hope that the result would be fantastic (and it was).
• Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, vintage. There's a debate over whether this is actually the first true dive watch but the historical record offers receipts which suggest this is the case. The US Navy was quite fond of the Fifty Fathoms in its very earliest years.
• IWC pilot watch reference. It is a little hard to say what would be most fitting, but I would personally suggest one of the US military "unit watches" because those are particularly rare with very interesting stories. An alternative here would be one of the IWC 1980s watches with advanced complications because they mark an important turning point for the brand spearheaded by watchmaker Kurt Klaus.
• Breguet Type XX (vintage). Breguet recently released a really interesting book describing the history of the Type XX and vintage examples are rare and sought-after by collectors.

We're pulling into the train station now, I'll grade my guesses in just a few hours.

Ok, now I'm writing after my visit to the exhibition, which is quite good and I would recommend it for anyone with even a bit of interest in the watch industry. First, let's grade my guesses. I'm going to give myself two grades: one for guessing brands that were present and one for guessing the actual reference. I'm not going to go into too many details about which watches, specifically, were there because I don't want to give away any spoilers (I'll post particulars to my Instagram after the official exhibition opening).

Brand / Reference Guess	Brand Correct	Reference Correct
Omega Speedmaster (caliber 321)	✅	✅
AP Royal Oak (possibly Lagerfeld's)	✅	✅
Patek Philippe 1518 (maybe steel)	✅	❌
Rolex Daytona (Paul Newman or pre)	✅	❌
Tag Heuer Monaco (Dark Lord)	✅	❌
Vacheron Constantin Overseas	✅	❌
Cartier Crash	✅	✅
Philippe Dufour Simplicity	❌	❌
FP Journe Souscription	✅	✅
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms	❌	❌
IWC Pilot Watch reference	✅	✅
Breguet Type XX	❌	❌

On brands I earned a passing grade of C (9 out of 12). I'll explain in a moment where my blind spots were. On references I earned a F (5 out of 12). While I did do better than a coin flip, my overall grade was F+ (14 out of 24, or 58.3%).

To the extent my predictions reflect what others might expect (perhaps questionable) I think this exercise illustrates that there will be some suprises at the exhibition.

The example Cartier Crash on display.

These go beyond the watches themselves. As Clymer explained during his introductory remarks, the exhibition reflects the ability of Hodinkee and UBS to draw from across a wide spectrum of brands and market segments. There were a number of pieces, some very historically important, which were loaned to this exhibition from brand museums. And the brands and references I overlooked were those at the more accessible end of the collecting spectrum. Including those was a very good decision, it shows that watch collecting need not require five digit (or even four digit) spending. This was a conscientious decision by Clymer.

"Icons of Time" also illustrates a principal we sometimes speak of in the world of information economics: positive spillovers.

One of the exhibition's wall displays.

There are risks that profit-oriented businesses under-supply information about their products and product categories because some of the benefit to supplying that information likely accrues to competitors. For example, someone may see an advertisement for Wrigleys gum and it may convince them to buy gum but they might end up buying Juicy Fruit (Wrigleys paid for the ad but Juicy Fruit benefited). Trade associations and trade groups exist, in part, to address this risk and ensure that there is a supply of information that can benefit all market participants. From this perspective, the UBS-Clymer-Hodinkee collaboration is exactly the kind of event which can perpetuate and grow enthusiasm for the watch industry (more of these events will take place next week in New York City with Watchtime and the Windup Watch Fair).

In conclusion, as a watch industry enthusiast I recommend a visit to the "Icons of Time" exhibition. Visitors may attend on Thursday, October 9 from 11am to 2pm or Friday, October 10, same hours. There are ongoing events which include a watchmaking display, podcast recordings and a panel discusssion. Just make sure you reserve your spot ahead of time.

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