So back in December I had the opportunity to visit IWC and Schofhausen to get a sneak peek at the novelties they'd be releasing a few weeks later at the S.I.H.

As you already know by now, the brands focus this year is on its pilot's watches and in particular a new crop of Spitfire models.

The smaller sizes, the mix of steel and bronze cases, and the military styling are all great. You can count me as a fan. The highlight of my

trip though wasn't seeing the new watches. It was actually a conversation I got to have

with IWC CEO Chris Granger. He's one of the more interesting people in this strange little industry of ours. Chris the agency he worked for was contracted to work on a boutique for the brand.

They were so impressed by him that he was actually asked to formally join the company in 2006 and

after working in a few different departments, he was named CEO in 2017. Not a bad trajectory, right? We sat down to talk

and the company's new manufacturer on the outskirts of Schofhausen a building that

Chris himself actually designed.

Of course we talked about the new Spitfire collection, but we also get into what makes

Chris tick, how his background in architecture informs what he does in his current position,

and his abiding passion for collecting Hot Wheels cars.

Yeah, this isn't your usual CEO of you, I promise.

I'm your host Stephen Polmerant, and this is Hodincky Radio. Thank you for

for joining us. Good to be back here in Schaffhausen.

Well, thank you Steve and thank you for being in Schaffhaus House again and thank you for coming to the

Seattle Manufacturing Center. Yeah absolutely that's actually a good place for us to

start I think is the new manufacturer can you tell us a little bit about where you and

I are sitting right now.

Yeah, so we are in the new 13,000 square meter extension

to our manufacturing right here at the outskirts of Chifausen.

We've been in our historic building ever since Jones built it when he came over to Switzerland back in 1874.

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