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Loot Boxes, Long Degeneracy, and the Watch World's Gambling Problem

Luxury Bazaar just partnered with Courtyard.io to sell mystery watch packs. The maths are terrible for the buyer, and the theory of why all this exists is pretty interesting.

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Ben Clymer, Hodinkee, and The Chairman Who Wasn't There

Jan 17, 2025 • kingflum

A Personal Update

Jun 25, 2025 • kingflum

Swiss Made or Swiss Charade?

Nov 13, 2024 • kingflum

What Your Watch Is Actually Worth

Feb 13 • kingflum

SDC Weekly

SDC Weekly 137; Inside the MB&F M.A.D. House; Kurono’s Diver

I toured MB&F's manufacture expecting clever marketing. I found custom 3D-printed tools, 8-hour crystal bonding, and a story nobody else seems to be…

11 hrs ago • kingflum

SDC Weekly 136; Hajime Asaoka and the economics of scaling craft

Hajime Asaoka's PWT runs four brands under one roof - from AHCI-grade bespoke watches to Kurono batch runs. Plus: Morgan Stanley's Swiss Watcher errors…

Mar 2 • kingflum

SDC Weekly 135; The Supreme Court Just Killed Trump’s Tariffs... He Doesn’t Care; Nobody wants the CD

The CD died because nobody needed the sensible middle. The same thing is happening in Swiss watchmaking. Plus: tariffs, vinyl, and when to trust your…

Feb 23 • kingflum

SDC Weekly 134; Abdulmagied Ahmed Seddiqi, 1950–2026; Should watchmakers get paid when their work is resold?; COSC’s New ‘Excellence…

Should watchmakers profit when their work is flipped? We explore the law, the psychology, and the industry solutions. Plus COSC's new Excellence…

Feb 16 • kingflum

You Can Now Bet on Whether Rolex Will Release a Coke GMT

You can now bet on whether Rolex releases a Coke GMT. We discuss what's going on, who benefits, and what the watch community should be worried about.

Mar 4 • kingflum

How Scarcity Creates Desire

What do an 18th-century Prussian king's potatoes and a Rolex Daytona have in common? This is about the psychology of manufactured scarcity.

Feb 25 • kingflum

Morgan Stanley/LuxeConsult - Ninth Annual Swiss Watcher 2025/2026

The Swiss watch industry halved its output but grew revenue. SDC breaks down who's winning, who's bleeding, and what it means for collectors. Full data…

Feb 24 • kingflum

What Your Watch Is Actually Worth

I asked some watch dealers to open their books. The margins are thinner than you think, the costs are harsh, and the maths will change how you buy and…

Feb 13 • kingflum

A graduate student solved two "impossible" maths problems because nobody told him they were impossible. Most of the rules we follow work the same way.

Feb 11 • kingflum

Why Watch Collectors Talk Past Each Other

Someone posts a Cartier Santos. 30 comments later, three separate debates are happening. None are actually disagreements. Here's why that keeps…

Feb 6 • kingflum

The Art of Divergence - Greubel and Forsey Split

Founder Stephen Forsey says he was "terminated" by Greubel Forsey's board. After 25 years, what went wrong? The facts, the rumours, and what it means…

Feb 3 • kingflum

Two Simple Tricks That Will Make You A Better Watch Collector

Undecided? Two research-backed strategies can help - bracket your choices broadly to spot patterns you're missing, then use a coin flip as a catalyst to…

Jan 30 • kingflum

Morgan Stanley's Q4 2025 Swiss Watch Market Report

Analysis of Key Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities for Watch Brands and Watch Collectors from Q4 2025

Jan 23 • kingflum

Ming's Radical Watchmaking Playbook

Ming's leadership pulls back the curtain on how they're building an independent brand; from 3D-printed titanium bracelets to project financing that lets…

Jan 20 • kingflum

The Cost of Truth in Watch Media

Two essays about watch media's funding crisis prompted my annual rant. Adams wants brands to fund independent journalism. Remontoir wants collectors to…

Jan 16 • kingflum

UBS Global Wealth Report - Luxury Watch Edition

The UBS Global Wealth Report explains why everything feels so expensive. 52 million 'everyday millionaires' got rich from property, not income - they're…

Jan 14 • kingflum

Newsletters

SDC Weekly is a newsletter containing my thoughts on the world of watches, and any other interesting material I’ve consumed since the last edition. It will likely cover a wide range of subjects in addition to watches including, but not limited to technology, nature, geopolitics, energy economics, parenting and history.

Top posts

Ben Clymer, Hodinkee, and The Chairman Who Wasn't There

Jan 17, 2025 • kingflum

A Personal Update

Jun 25, 2025 • kingflum

Swiss Made or Swiss Charade?

Nov 13, 2024 • kingflum

What Your Watch Is Actually Worth

Feb 13 • kingflum

WoSG Results Reveal Hodinkee's £11m Price Tag

Dec 5, 2024 • kingflum

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This is a blog exploring why collectors of luxury items (mainly watches) believe and do what we do, why we pretend otherwise, and how we might do better.

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ScrewDownCrown

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