Windup Watch Fair Chicago 2022 & The State of the Watch Ecosystem
Patrons browse the Windup Watch Fair in Chicago
Attending Windup Watch Fair in Chicago two weeks ago was a breath of fresh air. It’s taken me a little bit of time to digest the changes occurring within the watch ecosystem.
It’s not that I have attended so many Watches & Wonders and Dubai Watch Weeks that I am sick of shows. In fact, quite the opposite. I’ve not attended any other show. I’ve simply spoken to watchmakers, collectors, brand teams, and spent a lot of time on Zoom with them.
Windup Watch Fair Chicago was different.
The watch community came together in a really strong way to celebrate watches and the watch ecosystem. The setting was lighthearted with a focus on connecting brands and collectors and getting people talking. The show wasn’t too serious — it allowed the fun side of watches and collecting to be front and center.
My Takeaways
Windup Watch Festival did a great job of breaking down barriers between brands and consumers. The watches and products were right there in front of you for you to see. This ability for enthusiasts to see watches in the metal and to have access to watches to try on is something that is increasingly rare over the last few years.
The second thing I really noticed is that the state of the watch ecosystem — yes, ecosystem, not market — is incredibly healthy. Brands adjacent to watches were present and taking part in the show and there are a number of great apparel, home goods, and horology focused products on the market. It was great to see so many of them exhibiting at Windup.
To me, the vibe at Windup has me excited to see a more decentralized release calendar from all brands in the future. With Watches & Wonders, Dubai Watch Week, and Geneva Watch Days, the watch industry is moving towards a decentralized release calendar, but I look forward to seeing more of this, and special editions and limited editions just for in-person events like Windup. There is a lot of noise at an event like Watches & Wonders and it takes me quite a long time to sort through all the noise to find releases that are interesting to me, so I welcome a more decentralized release calendar.
Windup Watch Fair Chicago was a view into the watch ecosystem, and from what I saw over the weekend at Windup, the ecosystem is strong. The watch market has been overhyped for the last few years. With recent cooling in some hype pieces, I was glad to attend an event that was distinctly non-hype focused, allowing smaller brands to get their product, into the hands of watch enthusiasts.
I hope there continue to be more events like this in the future, where brands can connect directly with consumers and where we, as enthusiasts and collectors, don’t have to wait for a release schedule that is focused on one show a year where most releases get lost in the noise.
