Russell Sheldrake
On Thursday night, we held our first event with emerging micro-brand Toledano & Chan at Discovery Studios in London. This was to celebrate the launch of the brand’s new B/1.2, which features an extremely rich Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial, along with some various upgrades and tweaks to the original B/1 and its lapis lazuli dial. .
Of course, besides the clock, the stars of the event were Phil Toledano and Alfred Chan. They were there and ready to let people try on their latest creations. As a fun side note, not only was this the first event held by this young brand, it was only the second time Phil and Alfred were in the same room. Phil lives in New York and Alfred lives in Hong Kong, and although they launched their business during the pandemic, it’s still rare for them to meet in person. The two first met at Geneva Watch Days last year when they appeared on a panel hosted by our very own Andrew McCutchen and Wei Ko.
So it was a night not to be missed and the studio was packed to capacity with all the greatness and goodness of London’s watch scene. Several other young brand founders were also in attendance, including Matteo Vianello of Anoma, Richard Benc of Studio Underd0g, and Nicholas Bowman-Scargill of Fears. We’ve also seen some of the biggest names in London’s collecting scene there, including Ahmed Rahman, Roni Madhvani and Mo Coppoletta, who own incredibly famous collections, just to name a few. With appearances from the likes of Johnny Dowell (aka King Nerd), Lee Yuen Rapati of @onehourwatch and Fears, and renowned watch designer Emmanuel Gate, it’s no secret that Phil attracts people as creative as he is. It was obvious.
The evening centered around a panel discussion hosted by founders Andrew, Chan, and Toledano, who discussed the challenges of starting and running this brand in locations so far apart from each other, and how the two of them discussed the challenges of starting and running this brand in locations so far apart from each other. We talked about how the dynamics between them work. That they have such different personalities. It was clear from this conversation that it is the contrast that exists between the two that has enabled Toledano & Chan to develop their unique aesthetic and cult following. Balance means Toledano & Chan has a bright future ahead of them. brand.
They teased a little about what’s coming next, including the possibility of a precious metal and leather strap to replace the highly faceted tapered bracelet they currently use. But no promises have been made, just that something is in development with no real timeline. The rest of the evening was filled with Manhattans served from the bar and a steady stream of people eager to try out new watches, wrist rolls, and grill various aspects of their makers. It was flowing.
The event was not only special for Time+Tide as we had the honor of hosting this exciting brand’s first event, but we were also allocated a small number of these hard-to-find watches. This means that anyone who was able to physically touch the watch during the event could put their name and money down to purchase one of the 200 that will be produced. Last time I checked with the studio staff, there were only two left, so if you live in or near London and want to add one to your collection, your best bet is to rush over to Discovery Studios.
