For anyone who has ever struggled to decide which watch to go with for a gathering, well, IAMWATCH has a practical solution: wear two. In fact, double-wristing is in the dress code, which should save at least a few of us from having to explain ourselves. Choosing what to attend during the event may take a little more thought, though.

The Hour Glass’ event returns to The Singapore EDITION from 12 to 15 November 2026, with public days from 13 to 15 November. Its second edition will host 45 makers and friends of the retailer, and the full program is now out. Across the different conversations, lectures, screenings, get-togethers and masterclasses, there is plenty to put in the planner.

Running through this year’s program is a theme that expresses how independence relies on interdependence. A watch may carry a person’s name, but behind it sits a much wider circle of suppliers, fellow makers, retailers and even collectors. Several of the discussions go straight into how those relationships really work.

Conversations

Starting with day 1, Friday, we have the “I Want to Make My Own Watch. Now What?” This panel gets into the practicalities of that theme and features Urban Jürgensen CEO Alex Rosenfield, Vanguart chairman and co-founder Mehmet Korutürk, Biver CEO and co-founder Pierre Biver, and Massena LAB founder William Massena alongisde moderator Manuel Emch, CEO and creative director of Louis Erard, as they discuss what happens after someone decides to make a watch. This covers finding capital, sourcing suppliers, setting prices, and reaching those first clients. Anyone who has ever casually thought of doing so may want to take a few notes from these guys.

Urban Jürgensen CEO Alex Rosenfield and Massena Lab Founder William Massena

Later, “The Morteau Generation” puts independent watchmaker Rémy Cools, Aubert & Ramel co-founder Thomas Aubert and Hazemann & Monnin co-founder Victor Monnin in conversation with Hodinkee’s Mark Kauzlarich about their education in Morteau, the relationships that followed, and whether conditions that produced this generation of great independents can be repeated.

Saturday then raises a question that should give all attendees something interesting to discuss afterwards: “Who Actually Invents Anything Anymore?” Independent watchmakers Andreas Strehler, Kari Voutilainen and Roger W. Smith join Akrivia founder Rexhep Rexhepi for a discussion moderated by Wei Koh, founder of Revolution and The Rake, to consider where refinement ends and invention begins. There is also the slightly uncomfortable question of whether collectors would even recognize the difference between the two. With these four on the panel, there should be plenty of experience and great conversations to draw on.

Roger W. Smith and Rexhep Rexhepi

Sunday then brings the discussion to design and the industry around it. Trilobe founder and creative director Gautier Massonneau and MING founder and chief creative Ming Thein join Constant Kwong, Revolution’s head of partnerships, for “What Should Watches Made in 2026 and Beyond Look Like?”, asking what it means to design for the present.

And in in “Does Independence Need the Groups?”, the panel comprises De Bethune CEO Antoine Pin; Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-president of Chopard and president of Ferdinand Berthoud; and Ulysse Nardin managing director Matthieu Haverlan. The Hour Glass’ general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Aymeric Lacroix, moderates the discussion about the relationships between independent makers and the big houses. Where can the makers support one another, and where does autonomy need to be protected?

George Daniels’ centenary gives the program another substantial reason to be around. On Saturday, “The George Daniels 100 Screening & Conversation” will have a short film commissioned by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo. Phillips senior consultant Aurel Bacs and Roger W. Smith then join moderator Su Jia Xian, founder of SJX Watches, to discuss the life, work and legacy of Daniels, including the topic of whether he was the first of a movement or the last of a kind.

Smith also gives two lectures during the event: “Life & Times of George Daniels”, where he looks at his mentor’s ideas and working methods through his creations, and “The Co-Axial – From Idea to Reality”, tracing the escapement’s development into a system capable of series production. Saturday’s evening screening of “The Watchmaker’s Apprentice” then explores the relationship between the two men.

There are more film programs with Man of the Hour on Friday and Sunday. Friday’s screening is presented with La Fabrique du Temps and followed by a conversation between its co-founder and master watchmaker Enrico Barbasini and Wei Koh. Sunday’s screening follows Maximilian Büsser’s journey and the collaborations behind MB&F, before Büsser joins Koh on stage for a discussion afterwards.

The rest of the six-lecture program opens up some less familiar corners of watchmaking history for the nerds. Carlos Torres, founder of The Ministry of Horological Affairs, gives two talks on precision, looking first at the régleurs (or regulators) who adjusted chronometers for the observatory competitions, without ever receiving flowers given to the names on the dial. His second lecture looks at the competition themselves, examining how observatories including Neuchâtel, Geneva, Kew, Hamburg and Besançon measured timekeeping accuracy and helped establish reputations.

Andreas Strehler considers how traditional methods have been questioned and developed over time in his “Standing on Tradition – The Historical Development of Innovation in Watchmaking”. Rémy Cools, meanwhile, looks at the makers and technical advances behind “18th & 19th Century French Precision Horology”.

There is also time to simply sit down, relax and talk watches. Friday’s “The OGs” get-together in the Penthouse includes Andreas Strehler, Kari Voutilainen, Maximilian Büsser and Roger W. Smith, as well as Urwerk co-founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei, and independent watchmakers Sylvain Pinaud and Vianney Halter.

And Saturday’s “The Young Guns” gives the same space to the next generation, with Hazemann & Monnin co-founder Alexandre Hazemann, Aubert & Ramel co-founder Alexis Ramel-Sartori and Petermann Bédat co-founder Gaël Petermann, alongside Australian independent watchmaker Reuben Schoots and Japan-based independent watchmaker Yosuke Sekiguchi.

No formal agendas here, and collectors are greatly encouraged to bring watches from their own collections to discuss and share.

For some time at the bench, Swiss Federal Master Watchmaker Michael Dubs will lead watchmaking masterclasses across all three of the public days. Participants can work directly on a mechanical movement under his guidance and even get to leave with the movement they worked on, along with a certificate of participation.

Each evening ends with the Sunset Social on the Outdoor Deck, with food, drinks and live music of course. After a day spent discussing escapements, inventions and the business of making timepieces, a few hours with no plans sound like a reasonable next appointment.

IAMWATCH 2026 takes place at The Singapore EDITION from 12 to 15 November, with public days from 13 to 15 November. Admission is complimentary, and registration is open through this link.