Watch and Listen: A New Podcast

What do you get when you cross an automotive journalist, with a fairly new penchant for watches, and a horologist who makes his own timepieces and is a lifelong watch enthusiast? Though it sounds like the beginning of a lame bar joke, it isn’t. The result is a new podcast titled Watch and Listen.

Matt Farah, of The Smoking Tire, and Cameron Weiss, founder and Head Watchmaker of Weiss Watch Company, are digging into the world of horology, watch collecting, and watchmaking. In the debut episode of Watch and Listen, Matt and Cameron give an overview of their background, their love of watches, and give a peek into their collections.

They start with Cameron. He is low-key and has a wealth of watch knowledge. He founded Weiss Watch Company in 2013 after extensive training from both Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin. Weiss watches are all designed, built, and assembled in Los Angeles, California. They are made by hand and are restoring prestige to American watchmaking.

His collection, like him, is thoughtful. It’s filled with vintage pieces and pocket watches. Each has an interesting story, and many have a bit of quirk to them. He starts with a Mickey wristwatch that plays a tune and has a spinning baton. He meanders to a Seiko quartz that his father owned, and then makes his way to a ghost-bezel Rolex Submariner. It’s from 1967 and is a gorgeous chronometer.

Eventually, he heads to his pocket watches. To many eyes they may not look like much, but for Cameron, that isn’t the case. The first watch has Los Angeles written on the dial, much like his Weiss watches. Even though it doesn’t work and has a broken crystal, its elegant and means a lot to him. This watch serves as the inspiration for the Los Angeles on his own watches’ dials. The rest of the pocket watches have interesting carvings including deer and cherubs. He even has a watch that says “Weiss” on the dial that he didn’t create.

Then there is Matt. He has a big personality and an infectious enthusiasm. New to the watch world, Matt is an automotive journalist. He is a quintessential car guy. In New York he ran a driving club, and then moved to Los Angeles and started “The Smoking Tire,” a production company. Now, the YouTube channel for “The Smoking Tire” has more than 700,000 subscribers and over 178 million views.

Matt’s collection is colorful and sentimental. His first watch was a Baume & Mercier his father got for him as a high school graduation gift. The next watch under the camera is a Rolex Kermit Submariner, and was another gift from his Dad prior to moving to Los Angeles. He then moves on to a Pepsi Bezel GMT as well as a Batman GMT Master II. The Pepsi has a spider dial, but Matt loves the error.

His most sentimental piece comes from Ralph Lauren. Matt’s father was the president and COO of Ralph Lauren for 20 years. They partnered with JLC to manufacture a world-timer. It has a JLC movement, is one of about fifty in existence. Commercially, the watch wasn’t a success, but it still holds a special place in his collection. He ends with an OMEGA Speedmaster, a dark side of the moon, and was a gift to himself.

The guys’ collections are impressive, and expansive. It’s obvious they love watches. While Matt is admittedly “the student” and Cameron, “the master,” this is just the beginning of their stories. During Watch and Listen, they plan on covering new topics weekly, talking to other watch enthusiasts, and showing a lot of great timepieces. Crown & Caliber is excited to take this journey with them.