Next we meet Zach Kazan, Managing Editor at Worn & Wound, a place to discover watches and experience enthusiasm. We hear his fascinating views on the industry, watches he loves and future plans for the business.
MWM: How is business?
ZK: Business is great – the website is growing and we’ve had two successful Windup Watch Fairs (above) this year with a third coming in October.
MWM: What are your current business priorities?
ZK: My priority as Managing Editor is to grow the reach of our blog. Right now we’re focusing on producing the best watch content possible and methodically expanding into other similar enthusiast niches, like photography, EDC, and writing instruments.
MWM: Tell us something we don’t know about Worn & Wound?
ZK: We’re a pretty open book and have discussed our history at length, but something people who only read the blog, listen to the podcast, or catch our videos might not know is we have a growing team of talented people who work behind the scenes managing the Windup Shop, planning events, providing customer service, and producing all of the great photography/video we make. There are maybe 3 or 4 of us who regularly appear on camera but the team has grown to over a dozen people and everyone plays an integral role in our success.
MWM: Which watch do you wear?
ZK: I wear a bunch of different watches, but currently I’m wearing my James Lamb ‘Origin Series’ watch. Mine is the ‘Water’ dial but they are all incredibly beautiful in my opinion.
MWM: Which watch would you like to own?
ZK: There are many! A brand that I’ve recently become infatuated with is Zeitwinkel, particularly their ‘Saphir’ watches with smoked sapphire dials.
MWM: What do you like best about the Watch business?
ZK: It’s a cliche answer, but I really do like meeting new people in the watch community. My favorite thing we do as a company is our Windup Watch Fairs, and I love getting a chance to meet enthusiasts at these shows and hearing their reactions to everything they’re seeing.
MWM: What don’t you like about the Watch business?
ZK: It’s dying down a little, but the “hype” culture that became very prominent during the pandemic wasn’t great. Anytime it feels like the entire watch community is turning its attention to a small handful of incredibly expensive and impossible to obtain pieces, I feel like a lot of good stuff is being ignored.
MWM: What is next on the horizon for you?
ZK: I’m looking forward to Geneva Watch Days at the end of August, and our Windup Watch Fair in NYC in October. We’re also working on a lot of great stories for the website that I’m excited to bring to our readers.
Zach Kazan is a Friend of MrWatchMaster