The Seven Special Edition Watches Of Time+Tide's FounderFest
New watch season is right around the corner, and our friends at Time & Tide are among the first to move, thanks to not one but seven new watches arriving in September. The watches coincide with the launch of the brand's own watch fair, FounderFest, a show built around independent watchmaking and live music in equal measure. Rather than one exclusive location, FounderFest spans Time & Tide's three Watch Discovery Studios: New York (460 Broome St), Melbourne (178 Collins St), and London (Portland House, 4 Great Portland Street), running 19–20 September, with New York serving as the event's HQ, hosting founders, live interviews, and musical performances. I recently had the chance to see—and photograph—every new piece coming next month. The watches go up for sale globally on 22 September via thefounderfest.com, which will also host the festival online for anyone not on the ground in one of the three cities. Let's jump right in! AWAKE — Sơn Mài Frosted Leaf 'Ultraviolet' Awake may only be seven years old, but in that short time, word has spread quickly on the Sơn Mài and its lacquer dials. For those unfamiliar, these dials are built from layers of natural lacquer applied by hand to the dial surface, then carefully sanded back, worked, and reapplied, a process repeated until the desired depth, texture, and visual effect are met. For the 'Ultraviolet' edition, they've added pure silver-leaf gilding and natural purple and black pigments, resulting in pieces of silver s...