The Business of Watches [44] The Organizers Behind The Escapement In Las Vegas And Why They Think It's Time For A New Kind Of Watch Show

Is there room for another watch show? Is there demand? Is Las Vegas the ideal place to bring thousands of watch collectors together for a weekend of horological themed fun, discussion and entertainment?

The folks behind The Escapement are saying an emphatic yes to all of the above. They're putting on a new watch event in Las Vegas in 2027 running February 5-7 and they believe collectors and enthusiasts are primed for a fresh, in-depth and upgraded take on the watch meetup.

Texas-based Neeshu Hajra is an enthusiastic watch collector who has decades of experience in the events business. Now located in the Middle East, Faheem Khan spent most of his career in the energy industry in London and now writes and curates the popular watch, philosophy and psychology driven Substack blog ScrewDownCrown. He's also the irreverent voice behind @kingflum on Instagram. Together, they're planning and organizing The Escapement with help from a few other big names in the industry that we dive into during the episode.

We discuss what makes meetups work and why they had to pull plans to hold the inaugural edition of the event in Abu Dhabi and move to a more conventional location in Vegas where they hope to attract some 5,000 general admission ticket buyers and 750 VIP ticket clients.

There's been some skepticism from industry naysayers as to the need and potential of the event. WatchPro's editor said the original gathering planned for Abu Dhabi gave him "Fyre Festival vibes," recalling the island music and entertainment party promoted by social media influencers that was the subject of dueling documentaries on Netflix and Hulu detailing its troubled outcome.

During a wide-ranging interview, Hajra and Khan tell us how they're staging and financing this first show and why they believe the event, with industry notables including Rexhep Rexhepi and Eric Ku slated to speak and with brands attending ranging from Atelier Wen to Biver to Daniel Roth to Greubel Forsey to Lang & Heyne and Ming, will tell brand stories in a fresh new way, making the event a success with further editions for years to come.

Show Notes:
1:23 Nishu Hajra and The Trade Group (Exhibtor Online)

1:32 Comic-Con International

2:45 Screw Down Crown / kingflum / Substack

7:38 Middle East Forces The Escapement To Cancel Abu Dhabi Event And Move To Las Vegas (Hodinkee)

13:59 What's Happening in Abu Dhabi (Time Out)

14:10 Etihad Arena Abu Dhabi

16:30 Photo Report Dubai Watch Week (Hodinkee)

18:58 A Visit With @NYCWatchGuy (Swiss Watch Gang YouTube)

22:42 T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas (website) 24:05 FHH (website) 30:02 Watch Anish (Instagram) 32:55 Wynn Las Vegas

33:42 An example of an F.P.Journe Clock previously sold at auction (Loupe This)

34:54 Phillips Watches

35:44 Andrew Schulz (Official Website)

36:49 Rubis Awards (website)

37:05 Top Gamer and AI Techs Mike Capps and Ben Horesh Helm Everywatch (Forbes)

43:08 Horologer Ming Executives Ming Thein And Praneeth Rajsingh Talk Design, Manufacturing, Pricing, And More (Hodinkee)

46:02 HSNY Watchmaker Classes