It’s almost the end of summer. Before we head back to school and a few of you lucky folks head to Geneva Watch Days, I decided it was time for a Mid-Year Awards Show. I called up Andy Green and Felix Scholz of the O.T. Podcast to talk about the releases we’ve seen so far in 2026.
We start by discussing trends: The rise of “economy gold,” the second generation of microbrands, outer space is back in a big way, and our most worn watches of the year.
Then, we give out some fun awards: Best Watch Under $2,000; the Discourse Award, for generating the most posts per unit of watch actually produced; the Beige Award for most boring release; Best Release of the Year (overall); Most Likely to be a Grail in 20 Years; and the ‘Big Dog’ Award.
We also talk plenty about Chanel Blue and the Best Blue Award, craft, value, and if it’s okay to take five years to “develop” a color.
What will be a grail in 2046?
We closed the episode with a question that turned out to be two questions. I asked Felix and Andy to name the watch from 2026 they think will be a grail twenty years from now, and they immediately answered different prompts.
Felix went predictive: His pick was the Jubilee motif Oyster Perpetual, and his reasoning had nothing to do with whether he wants one. It’s about how the catalog will read in 2046: Rolex made a weird dial for a single year, 20 years ago, and then never again. It’s the kind of thing collectors love.
Andy went personal: The watch he still expects to want in 20 years, the Chopard L.U.C 1860 Areuse Blue. It’s not that the latest L.U.C will be breaking auction records in 20 years, he just likes it. We talk about the new Alpine Eagle XPS “Mountain Glow,” but Andy’s pick for 2046 is the L.U.C 1860—something about it feels more certain as a future classic. He held it back from his Best Release of the Year list to save it for this question.
My pick was somewhere between the two: The Daniel Roth Extra Plat Skeleton. Production is genuinely limited, and each one is numbered, which means we might have a good idea how many were actually made in 20 years. Daniel Roth, Gérald Genta, and La Fabrique du Temps will also likely be the last watchmaking projects from legendary watchmakers Enrico Barbasini and Michel Navas. It’s the kind of thing we only grow to appreciate as the years pass, especially their connection to Genta himself and the first generation of indies.
Podcast episodes are published on Fridays. Listen here, and subscribe to get future episodes in your feed: Spotify / Apple / RSS. Also watch on YouTube:
Show Notes
Watches mentioned include: the Sinn U1, Earthen Ceramic, Andy's Rolex Land-Dweller (in for service), TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph, Buzz Aldrin’s Speedmaster; Kiwame Tokyo Sakura, Anoma, Raymond Weil A.R.T, Hamilton Khaki Field 250, Blue Chanel J12, Cartier Privé collection; Naoya Hida x Zenith GFJ, Grand Seiko Ushio diver UFA, IWC Ingenieur 35 in Pool Blue, Chopard 1860 Areuse Blue, Daniel Roth Extra Plat Skeleton, titanium IWC Perpetual Calendar, and more.
END-OF-SUMMER SALE!
Head to the Unpolished Store to shop our selection of Canvas and Leather Straps. We’ll be restocking for fall in the next week, so everything currently in the store is marked down at least 10%:
Check them out in the Store: shop.unpolishedwatches.com
Thanks for listening, and let us know your award winners for the first half of 2026.
