Power List: Prominent Watch Communities

Start your year off right with the leaders, the wonders, the visionaries and all the people in watchmaking who have made it such an incredible, fascinating industry. These are Power Lists.

Watches have the power to move people and stir their emotions enough to buy them and, very often, enough for them to share their love and knowledge of their watches with others. While some collectors are very private, many others want to enjoy a sense of community when they acquire timepieces. Besides events organized by brands, some collectors have endeavored to hold meetups of their own. Like-minded enthusiasts who enjoy sharing their collections and passion for horology, certain groups and their founders have gone above and beyond to curate memorable experiences for club members and even collaborate with brands to create unconventional limited editions.

Among the many watch collector communities of the world, RedBar has grown at an unparalleled rate, setting up chapters in many countries around the world. Communities like RedBar and NYC Watch Crew have held countless events where members get to experience new timepieces first hand and talk with the brilliant minds that created these timepieces. When Covid-19 prevented in-person meetings, community leaders like NYC Watch Crew’s Robert Corbett was unperturbed and held virtual chats with prominent industry titans like MB&F founder Max Büsser and auction expert Aurel Bacs. In Asia, Singapore Watch Club too has been holding intimate gatherings that indulge members in unique horological experiences. Most notably, this seven-year-old club celebrated its sixth anniversary by creating a set of 18 one-of-a-kind timepieces together with Cartier.