2020 Virtual Global Meetup Recap
Our 2020 Global Meetup was originally planned to be in London on September 11-13, 2020, with an opening night party and two full days of content and horological hijinks. The ongoing pandemic forced us to cancel the in-person event, but rather than cancel outright, we decided to do a fully virtual multi-day watch event for the first time ever.
This past weekend, we hosted RedBar members from around the world on Zoom at our Virtual Global Meetup. We launched a charitable campaign, revealed a new collection of limited edition watches, went on a virtual dive at a coral reef, and had a live DJ dance party on day one. We continued into day two with panel discussions on insuring your watch collection (which was far more interesting than it sounds!), independent watchmaking, and the current and future state of the watch industry.
First, we kicked things off with RedBar CEO Kathleen McGivney, Founder and President Adam Craniotes, and Founding Partner James Lamdin to welcome everyone and talk about the RedBar Fund. We announced our new Britesiders campaign to raise funds to support The Trevor Project. Anyone can participate in the campaign, which will be running throughout the month of September, which is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Head on over to Britesiders for a chance to win Wei Koh's personal watch!
Next, we were treated to the technical genius of Pim Koeslag, Technical Director of Frederique Constant and Alpina, for a look at their latest collections and the launch of the Frederique Constant x RedBar Highlife Collection. US purchasers will receive a $50 gift card to help fund a project at DonorsChoose.
We started the afternoon with our friends Simon Wolf and Michael Jappert of WOLF, to talk about our collaboration with Wolf, the launch of their newest collection, and more. We almost saw them get arrested by Italian security guards, so be sure to check out the recording.
We rounded out the afternoon with VJ Geronimo from Oris, who introduced their partners at the Coral Restoration Foundation. After donning the VR goggles Oris generously provided, we went on a virtual coral reef dive, expertly narrated by Roxane at the CRF. After coming up for air (ascending at an appropriate pace), we were joined by Luis Clemente of the Roberto Clemente Foundation for a tour of their museum and a discussion of Oris’s latest collaboration, the Oris Roberto Clemente Limited Edition. To finish the session, we were joined by Oris CEO Rolf Studer for a drink in our Oris Bear mugs.
We finished off the afternoon and led into the evening with a cocktail party with a live DJ set by Donwill, who kept us all dancing into the night.
Day two kicked off with a session with WAX Insurance founder Vasu Kulkarni, where he talked with collectors Greg Wirtz and Will Tolliver and collector / retailer James Lamdin of Analog Shift about the gap he identified in valuable personal property insurance and the startup he created to address it. Trust us, we didn’t think a 30 minute conversation about insurance would have been so compelling, but it kept our attention to the end.
Next up, we were joined by the friendliest group of heavy-hitting independent watchmakers in the business for our Independents Panel: Max Busser of MB&F, Roman Gauthier of his eponymous brand, and Bart and Tim Grönefeld of Grönefeld, also known as the Horological Brothers. RedBar CEO Kathleen McGivney led a moderated discussion of topics that included how they each got started in the watch industry, what continues to inspire them in watchmaking, their philosophy and approach to creativity and innovation, their personal connection with collectors, and how they are navigating through uncertain times. Spoiler alert: we find out what watches they admire from the others!
We closed out day two with another panel discussion: The Current and Future State of the Watch Industry, with Davide Cerrato of Montblanc, VJ Geronimo of Oris, Chris Hall of MR PORTER, James Lamdin of Analog Shift, and Blake Malin of Worn & Wound. We touched on many topics affecting the watch industry: production disruptions, changing consumer buying patterns, the challenges associated with staying connected in a virtual environment, how retailers are able to provide safe shopping to their customers, and more.
You can view all of the recordings of the sessions on the RedBar Global Meetup 2020 YouTube playlist.
