Reflections
Toronto 2025
Reflections on the 2025 Toronto Timepiece Show and the
Timepiece World Awards
Words and photography by @furrywristabroad
Note: the author was enlisted as the event’s photographer on the first evening of the show, well after his
commitment to this publication for this article.
Ambition, execution, and scale were the loudest positive impressions expressed by industry professionals who attended the Toronto Timepiece Show this year. The interplay between these three elements was proudly on display for those in the know as they watched the event’s founder and organizer, Jason Hutton, frequently dash across the expansive venue to ensure everything was running smoothly. The view from the public was one of wonderment, however.
There was one sentiment that was shared among those working in the industry, as well as among attendees who were enthusiasts, potential customers, and those who were simply curious. While weaving in and out of the varyingly dense crowds at the show, I heard more than a few dozen people marvel at the scale of the show this year compared to last. Those outside of the industry who had attended last year signalled the increased scale and seamless execution from their vantage point as the biggest indicator of success for the show. As the weekend progressed, I came to share this opinion as I saw, at first hundreds, but then thousands of faces with expressions of awe, admiration, and genuine joy as they went from one booth to the next.
Enthusiasts showcased their knowledge to their significant others while also happily engaging with the brand owners. Potential consumers looked at their smartwatches in dismay as they saw intricate works of functional art which were also affordable. Industry professionals revelled in the opportunity to network and catch up with one another.
The awards gala and ceremony, though as beautiful and efficient as it was, was only attended by those in the industry due to its ticket price of $106 Canadian. As a result, the Timepiece World Awards ceremony had a very intimate and familial atmosphere. As I rushed between covering the gala with my 70-200 lens and taking portraits on the red carpet with my 24-70, I couldn’t help but wish that enthusiasts had paid the ticket price to attend. They would have been able to rub shoulders with industry darlings such as writers Elizabeth Doerr and Robert-Jan Broer, artists such as Sinziana Lordache, and the duo behind the most beloved podcast in the industry, The Grey Nato, hosted by James Stacey and Jason Heaton.
The air of a backyard family gathering extended into the auditorium as everyone cheered with joy for every winner as they climbed the stairs to accept their award. While Isotope’s José Miranda stole the show, winning both coveted categories of Time Only and People’s Choice awards, there were several other moments during the show that proved particularly heart-warming.
From the evening’s legendary host, Colin Mochrie, poking fun at how long it took for Mr. Miranda to get to the stage, to the young duo at Fears embracing each other on stage when celebrating their award for Innovative Complication, to listening to quite possibly the funniest and most engaging person in the northern hemisphere, Alexandre Beauregard of Beauregard Watches, there was a shared communal experience of empowering endearment. We will address the importance of this at the end of the article, but Jason Hutton deserves a colossal amount of gratitude from the industry for undertaking such a significant project.
Before we proceed, I highly recommend reading the coverage of the show by Chris Anzoulis, Brent Robillard, and Robert-Jan Broer. The first two writers are close friends of Mainspring’s, Chris having written for Mainspring, and Vincent, Mainspring’s founder, having worked with Brent’s own publication in the past. Mr. Broer’s article can be found on the site he founded, Fratello, and he was a jury panellist and speaker at the event. They all expertly go over the show’s winners and the majority of the brands at the show. For this article, we will progress a little differently due to the unexpected role I took on as the show’s event photographer.
From pounding the showroom floor, I came away with my own winners of the show. The Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Embrace MP6068-SS001-160-1 was my personal choice as the watch I would happily add to my collection with my hard-earned income, as it was represented by a booth on the show floor.
The show’s first talk between renowned watchmaker Bradley Taylor, the aforementioned Alexandre Beauregard of Beauregard Watches, and Charles G. Tremblay of Charles Simon led to two other personal choices for the entire weekend. I had helped Charles reach out to a large local collector group during the pandemic, but seeing their work in person and meeting Mr. Tremblay simply left me in awe. After the show, I voted with my own wallet and purchased their Oscar Watch Roll. The quality of craftsmanship that Charles Simon brings to the table is simply staggering. The level of uncompromising work achieved by this proudly Canadian brand was echoed during the talk by the other panellists.
While Bradley Taylor’s exemplary work was known to me, the breathtaking work of Beauregard watches warped my perception of reality for a few hours. Erdem Moralioglu, and his wonderful celebration of femininity, is my favourite fashion designer, and seeing the Dahlia by Beauregard simply made my heart melt. The exquisite floral pattern of the gems left me speechless; all before my eyes took note of the central flying tourbillon. This watch is categorized as a lady’s watch, but I would wear it happily nonetheless, and it may have become my own personal grail watch. Beauregard also sells their men’s Ulysse Aqua, but this fire-red opal Dahlia is my choice, and it is worth every penny. Even if stacked, those pennies would amount to a house in a major city. Even as I am writing these words, I feel a little lightheaded as I recall all the details of this watch.
As reality and its foundation started to resolidify beneath me, I was impressed by the number of local brands at the show as there was a surprisingly large number of Canadian brands in attendance. Seeing established Canadian brands such as Marathon Watch Company, Wilks Watchworks, Whitby, Héron, José Ceremeńo, Locke & King, Shelby, Ferro & Company, Redwood, and Tessé came as no surprise. But seeing new brands such as Alanti and Makoto spoke to how vibrant the specific space of microbrands seems to be. Once again, we will touch on this at the end. Seeing booths attended by family members added a special feeling of warmth as they proudly displayed and showed off their favourite models as I walked by.
There were three unexpected MVPs of the show as the event drew to a close on Sunday. First, Mariah of Breitling seemed to be gathering steam as everyone else’s fatigue from the weekend started to show. If you are ever in Toronto, you must visit Breitling’s boutique on Bloor Street not only to see the watches, but to experience the positive energy and pure enthusiasm for watches on display by Mariah.
The second MVP was Anthea, who was helping with the booth over at Selten. Like Mariah, her energy and infectious optimism not only mirrored the beautiful watches by Selten, but she also baked healthy chocolate chip cookies that were so good that I almost wept when I first tasted them.
The third MVP was Sam of Gem Bijou. His authorized dealer was stationed right at the front of the event, so he and his staff were unintentionally tasked with setting the tone and welcoming people to the show. They excelled at this, and everyone who had a booth at the show should thank him and his staff for energizing everyone as they entered the show. Plus, Sam is one of the industry’s biggest sweethearts, and getting to know him is a pleasure that many of us in Toronto treasure greatly. All three of these individuals got stronger as the show carried on, and their love for what they do was as inspiring as it was infectious.
This leads me to my penultimate point about attending such shows. Though you, dear reader, may step into such an event for the watches, you will be greatly rewarded if you pay even closer attention to the people behind the booths. These beautiful humans pour so much of themselves into these watches and watch accessories. If one wants to make a lot of money in life, going into the watch industry is not a recommended easy route. Every single person at the show was there because they live, breathe and dream about watches every moment of their lives.
My last thought of the event came as I listened and talked to the dozens of people who were consumers at the show. At the time of writing this article, food prices in Europe have gone up by 34% since 2019, considerably outpacing other consumer goods at 23%. If human civilization were an organism, it would be on its way to an ICU, for it is severely ill. The repeated blows from the pandemic to wars that their scales are unlike anything we have seen since the Second World War, all place an abundant amount of pressure on all facets of life. This includes the ability for people to buy watches.
I do not subscribe to the notion that watches are obsolete, for taking such a narrow and reductionist view simply ignores the metric ton of nuance that such a topic offers. Many people confided in me that they once considered owning more than one watch and that seeing such beautiful products on display filled them with an unexpected sadness. They were overwhelmed at the sheer level of choice and at the quality on display. Many of the brands in attendance, big to small, like the automotive industry, use the same manufacturers. Thus, the uniformity of excellence took a lot of people by surprise. About a quarter of the people I spoke to who mentioned the cost-of-living crisis expressed that when their smartwatch dies, they will now consider buying a watch from one of the vendors at the show. This was promising.
The internet has helped create a vast landscape where small brands can sell and ship their wares globally, even in the current tumultuous topography of ever-changing tariffs. It has also created a false sense of certainty amongst consumers, for they feel a high degree of confidence in their unsubstantiated impressions from the screens in their hands. Only holding the Mercury Shadow by Isotope in person will quantify why it won the Time Only award. Only by holding a watch by Selten, Fears, March Lab, Paulin or SpaceOne will truly tell the story of how substantial every watch is.
Speaking to those who attended the event changed the scope of the article that you are reading right now. At first, I was going to cover every brand and give you some insight as to how the show went, but a larger narrative was looming and deserved to be told.
As the luxury sector struggles globally, and dinner tables everywhere are consuming larger portions of every household’s income, we are experiencing a golden age for the watch industry. There are an unprecedented number of brands offering genuine products of high quality in 2025. A lot of this has to do with the manufacturing advancements made globally, especially in China. Such progress is allowing this industry, which we all love, to shine during a very dark period in our shared history. People like The Timepiece Show’s Jason Hutton, WindUp’s Zachary Weiss, and Intersect’s Wesley Kwok should be raised on a pedestal. These are the people who are bringing the efforts of all of these brands into the hands of the population. The greater citizens of this planet are increasingly unable to gamble on purchasing a watch sight unseen, and those who put all of the effort into these shows should be celebrated. A few days removed from the event, this is what I took away from this year’s show, and ultimately what shaped this unconventional synopsis of the 2025 Timepiece Show in Toronto.
