Windup Watch Fair NYC 2025: and The Hype around the Corner

Touted as the largest watch fair in North America, this was my third Windup Watch Fair NYC, my second as an industry professional, and by far the biggest and boldest yet. The attention to detail that Worn & Wound puts into these events is evident the moment you step inside. This year, they’ve somehow pushed even further, raising the bar for what a watch fair can be.

But maybe Windup is starting to outgrow itself. Maybe it’s simply too much independent goodness to be contained under one roof. Enter The Hype NYC, the new kid on the block, eager to soak up the overflow.

The first time I went to Windup, I went alone. No friends in the industry, no podcast, no clue what I was doing, just me and a sea of watches. Fast-forward a few years, and now I’m out here tossing hot takes like confetti: In-house movements are just marketing placebos; Ming, Studio Underd0g, and Baltic are the holy trinity of affordable independents; and my personal favorite, Rolex is middle-class cosplay.

(Chris waits patiently for someone to take the bait.)

This year, I was rolling deep with friends I adore and an industry I genuinely love. Team Abinger (Tom, Zoe, and Holly) joined me, as well as my friend and Worn & Wound contributor, Meg Tocci. We wandered the floors, got distracted by shiny things, swapped stories, and lost each other only to reunite for drinks.

Meg absolutely crushed her first panel for Worn & Wound, and Holly made the grave mistake of admitting she’d never bought herself a watch. Naturally, I tried to enable her. Also naturally, I failed. Nevertheless had fun cruising booths and trying on watches.

Friday morning kicked off at one of my favorite NYC restaurants, Buvette in the West Village; great coffee, the best f*cking eggs you can find in Manhattan, and a healthy dose of British ridicule for my pomelo-yellow VW GTI. (I’ll have you know, it’s cheerful.)

The Abinger crew couldn’t make the opening of Windup, so I strong-armed Tom into letting me borrow his Abinger Nimrod for the day. I handed him my newly acquired Speedmaster Snoopy in return. He accepted it like a willow tree accepts a hurricane, with grace, but also trauma.

By the time I reached Center415, the line outside was outrageous, wrapping halfway down 5th Ave, around 38th Street, and then around the next block. The first guy in line had apparently arrived at 1:30 a.m. just to snag the Studio Underd0g x Fears Manhattan. I’d seen this level of devotion before at British Watchmaker’s Day when the same duo dropped their Gimlet collab. Behind him were more fans ready to empty wallets, some chasing the Christopher Ward x Worn & Wound C12 Loco, the first major Loco collaboration since its celebrated launch earlier this year.

Ah, press credentials, the golden ticket. I walked right in. (maniacal laugh) Don’t worry, I didn’t steal anyone’s limited edition dreams.

Inside, Windup’s merch table was the first stop, tote bags, t-shirts, hats, and other odds and ends featuring horological characters illustrated by the one and only Matt Smith-Johnson. To the right, rows of watch brands. To the left, EDC brands like GiantMouse Knives and Esterbrook Pens.

The UK’s own James Crichton of the Form and Function podcast, would later bring me back here to educate me on what a slipjoint knife is and why he needs dozens to open Amazon packages. In truth, James and the fellas at GiantMouse successfully sparked some curiosity. And while I didn’t purchase a knife, I did buy a solid brass measuring tape so I could be ready to whip out something if someone didn’t know their own wrist size at an event like this. 7.6in…in case you’re looking to send me anything for the holidays.

Beyond the entryway, the show opened up, a panel room, a bar courtesy of Bruichladdich Distillery (I know even less about whiskey than I do knives, so don’t ask), and then two massive floors with over 150 brands and thousands of enthusiasts.

Christopher Ward anchored the center of the room, with North American Brand Director Mike Pearson leading the charge with troops from both sides of the pond. The layout this year was spot-on, large and small brands evenly spaced, foot traffic flowing easily, and not a single booth hidden in obscurity.

Yes, I know, a stainless-steel black-dial GMT tool watch. Shocking I could dig something so boring. But Timex’s new Atelier GMT deserves praise. Priced at $1350 on rubber or $1450 on bracelet, this thing is stunning. The enamel dial gleams, the case shape pops, and while the Landeron 24 movement might make some purists grumble over the caller GMT functionality, I think it’s a bold, handsome release from Timex’s higher-end division.

John Ferrer of Brew did it again. While the limited “Subway Series” Metrics didn’t do much for me (why make the dials look like the subway floor that always smells like pee), the Digital Blend hit me right in the serotonin. It has an ani-digi display, a 30-second espresso timer that beeps, and a steaming coffee cup animation. Whimsical, practical, and unapologetically Brew; this was my favorite affordable piece of the show.

The Christopher Ward x Worn & Wound Loco Brooklynite was, unsurprisingly, as glorious in person as I anticipated. I was fortunate enough to work on the campaign for the initial release of the Loco, and was able to have the blue one in my possession for nearly a month. This watch is as astonishing as the hype surrounding it. But this limited edition is the most fetching model yet. The dial echoes the architecture of a Brooklyn landmark, the Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower and its clock. Worn & Wound has grown in the watch industry over the years, in sight of this tower and it’s a perfect fit as THE limited edition marking the 10th anniversary of Windup Watch Fair NYC. However, as a born and raised kid from Queens, I could never own a watch celebrating the hordes of graphic designers roaming the streets of Brooklyn.

Quartz watches. There, I said it. Cry about it.

Dennison blew me away. This was my first hands-on experience with the brand. I admit, I was skeptical. I knew these folks were getting tons of press for their approach to elegant and affordable, mostly stone dial, pieces. But they deserve every damn word. These are beautiful in hand. For the sake of this recap, though, I will single out their new capsule collection with onyx dials and lacquered ‘Kandinsky Accents’. These watches are fun, yet serious, and uniquely designed to make the wearer stand out. You’re getting playful dials made from materials often seen on watches well above Dennison’s pricing (ranging from $490 USD to around $950 USD).

I was so impressed by Dennison that I even purchased a Dual Time Tiger Eye and Marble in steel, and will likely also purchase the new steel mesh bracelet that was released with the new Kandinsky capsule collection.

In the shadow of both Windup and WatchTime, The Hype NYC emerged at the Draper Hotel with nine independent brands: Isotope, Holthinrichs, Sartory Billard, LIP, Sherpa, Oberlin, Ollech & Wajs, Statera, and Kneijnsberg.

Each brand brought something genuinely unique: Isotope’s sci-fi flair, Sartory Billard’s bespoke artistry, Holthinrichs’ futuristic 3D-printed design, and Kneijnsberg’s delightfully weird imagination to name a few.

The Standout of the Entire Weekend: 

The Holthinrichs Ornament Nouveau. This thing has a UV-sensitive photochromic dial that darkens in sunlight to protect the movement, then clears up indoors. It’s housed in a 3D-printed titanium case and looks like something an alien craftsman would gift to an art deco architect. It’s rare for a watch to completely blow my mind, but this one did.

Windup Watch Fair NYC 2025 felt like proof that independent watchmaking isn’t just thriving, it’s overflowing. Between the chaos, camaraderie, and creative energy, it’s clear the watch community has never been stronger (or weirder, in the best possible way).

Worn & Wound continues to outdo themselves, but The Hype NYC proves that there’s plenty of room for satellite fairs and fresh voices. Whether you’re in the industry, a collector, or poor soul who lined up at 1:30 a.m. for a watch named after a cocktail, there’s something deeply special about being part of this horological circus.

By next year, I half expect Windup to annex neighboring zip codes, a horological Manifest Destiny.