HODINKEE Radio: Episode 10: Tony Fadell

September 10, 2018

Subscribe to the show: (Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn). Already heard it once or twice? Please leave a short review here, and tell us which guests we should have on! I guess I'll come right out and admit it: the first time I met Tony Fadell, I was super nervous. It was during a press event for Nest, Tony's company that makes smart devices for the home (which he has since sold to Google), and I spotted him wearing a Patek Philippe ref. 5990 Nautilus Chronograph during the keynote presentation. After our formal post-speech interview, I asked him about his watch and instantly realized I had nothing to worry about. Tony is as friendly and approachable as he is brilliant and insightful, and at the end of the day he's just a big nerd like the rest of us. In the years since this first encounter, I'm happy to say I've had many chances to talk watches with Tony and I learn something new every time. As a watch collector, Tony is interested in both classic vintage watches that represent great design and modern watches that push the boundaries of what is possible from materials and engineering standpoints. But you might remember that earlier this year Tony was actually involved with the release of a watch, the Ressence Type 2 e-Crown Concept. The Type 2 e-Crown combines a fully mechanical watch with an electronic mechanism that sets the time and gets the watch back on track after the power reserve winds down. A few weeks ago, Tony sat down with editor-in-chief Jack Forster and me to talk about the development of the e-Crown, his own history in watch collecting, and what he thinks the watch industry needs to do to survive in the 21st century.We hope you enjoy Episode 10 of HODINKEE Radio. Check out the show notes below and let us know what you think in the comments. Wrist Check While Tony's collection is pretty diverse, including watches that are vintage and modern, complicated and minimal, more often than not you'll spot him wearing something from Ressence. The day we recorded he was rocking a Type 5, which is the sportiest watch in the Ressence collection. The watch is made of two sealed chambers, one housing the movement and one housing the time-telling discs and a layer of transparent oil, connected by a series of magnets. The oil totally eliminates parallax distortion between the crystal and the display, making it perfect for underwater activities C you can read the time at any angle with no problems. Mechanically and aesthetically it's unlike any other watch that has ever been made. Show Notes 1:30Talking Watches With Tony Fadell1:45Hands-On With The Patek Philippe 59803:10The MATRIX PowerWatch4:33Tony Fadell & Beno?t Mintiens Discuss The Ressence Type 2 e-Crown Concept18:45Hands On With The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak RD#225:07The Audemars Piguet Frosted Gold Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked30:20Jean-Claude Biver On The Future Of The Connected Watch41:30The Patek Philippe 2526, And Why It's A Watch To Pay Attention To43:00General Magic official trailer1:00:00Tony recommends that you read In Praise of Shadows1:01:30Jack recommends you read Seiobo There Below1:03:00Stephen recommends you read You Say to Brick: The Life of Louis Kahn