If you’re based in Southeast Asia, or just have a general hankering to visit Bangkok soon, the capital city of Thailand is preparing to host the second edition of the Siam Paragon Bangkok Watch Week from September 22nd to September 27th. Hosted by Siam Paragon, one of Thailand’s largest luxury shopping malls, the six-day showcase will bring together a large gathering of collectors from across Southeast Asia and beyond, curious newcomers to watchmaking, and industry heavyweights for a major celebration of horology.
This year will see over 45 brands participating in the watch week, which marks more than double the brand count from last year’s inaugural effort. The show will feature a wide range of brands, from haute horlogerie mainstays like Greubel Forsey, A. Lange & Söhne, and MB&F to more niche names like David Candaux and Behrens. There’s going to be a lot of the big names here, and enough deep-cut brands to keep you entertained.
Part of the programming for Bangkok Watch Week will be numerous experiences spread out throughout the week, with workshops, presentations, and more being conducted by many notable names behind many of the brands making an appearance during the show. Unfortunately, I believe many, if not most, of these experiences are already fully booked, so if you’re planning to make it to Bangkok, take a look now to see what’s still open. Our friends at the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, or the FHH, will introduce its Academy Lounge concept to host workshops, experiences, and learning activities for those looking to grow their watch knowledge in a more structured way.
Some of the novelties to be shown at Bangkok Watch Week.
And there will be a lot of visitors, with Siam Paragon estimating over 40,000 visitors for the watch week, and one of those 40,000 visitors will be me! The Southeast Asian collector scene is something I’ve been eager to understand more, and I really look forward to some watch spotting and chatting with collectors about what makes collecting in this part of the world so special. In the meantime, however, I’ll steer you towards one of the coolest videos we’ve ever made to this day, courtesy of Cole Pennington (who you’ll also run into at Bangkok Watch Week).
But I’m not just there to soak it all in—one of the main headliners of Bangkok Watch Week is the array of Symposium talks happening throughout the week, with almost 20 of these keynotes and panels in the mix. I’ll be taking part in two of them—a chat with George Kerns on Breitling, and alongside Grand Seiko’s Jon Bues (Hodinkee alum!) and Takeshi Sakamoto on the brand. If you’re coming, don’t be a stranger—come say hi; I’d love to chat. But if not, no worries; be sure to follow the Hodinkee Instagram and yours truly for all the latest updates during my time there.
For more, visit the website for Bangkok Watch Week.
