The Time Out Watch Fair 2024 Recap – Cars, Costumes, and Collectors a Plenty!
Under beautiful blue skies last weekend, the watch collecting community gathered at our main Little Treasury location as well as at our nearby event space, The Escapement, to celebrate our common love of all things horological. This year, of course, was slightly different from years prior as we had the idea of bringing in a handful of up-and-coming independent brands on Thursday, allowing for three full days of watch world goodness.
In addition to showcasing the independent watch brands that Little Treasury currently carries (such as Towson and Speake Marin), we invited Äonic, Arcanaut, ArtyA, Excelsior Park, Fears, Praesidus, Straum, and, for one day only, Atelier Wen to exhibit their timepieces. The reception of the indie brands was warm and welcoming, with Nicholas Bowman-Scargill of England-based Fears watch brand stating that he was pleasantly surprised at how receptive Maryland area buyers are to newer watch brands and their stories. Day one concluded with specialty cocktails and hors d’oeuvres served in The Escapement.
But the independent watch brands were not the only highlight of the Time Out watch fair this year. As always, our friends at Oris brought in their Airstream trailer, filled with Oris collectible swag and additional watch editions not always seen at our store. There were also representatives from brands like Grand Seiko, Longines, Frederique Constant, Bremont, Alexander Shorokoff, NORQAIN, and many others who had brought special pieces along with them to appeal to our repeat customers. On Friday afternoon, attendees were treated to sandwiches and sides by local Newk’s Eatery and freshly shucked oysters by our charity partners at the Oyster Recovery Partnership. With two days already filled with loads of watches, enthusiasts, and enjoyment, everyone was looking forward to what the next day would bring.
As the morning sun shined off of recently waxed vehicles thanks to our partners at Porsche Annapolis and R&M Performance, Saturday was off to a glorious start. The Oris Airstream had already packed in local collectors and both the main store as well as The Escapement were abuzz with watch talk, laughter, and excitement about the Watch Wardrobing Content that was to happen in the afternoon. Customers and collectors – some there all three days of the events – were treated to local barbecue for lunch and even more beautifully shucked oysters. At roughly two o’clock in the afternoon, however, it was time for a little extra fun.
This year’s Watch Wardrobing Contest was once again MC’d by our dear friend, journalist Barbara Palumbo, with top prizes donated by Fortis, Citizen, and G-Shock. Each contestant had one minute to explain to the crowd (and what a HUGE crowd it was) how their costume coincided with their timepiece while convincing the three independent judges why they deserved to win one of the prizes. The two top prizes, oddly enough, went to two different men named “Steve” who happened to both be dressed as NASA astronauts and wore Omega watches! The amount of effort put into these costumes every year is top notch, and we want to not only congratulate all of the winners, but also thank everyone who made the effort to enter the contest. It’s definitely the highlight of the year for our staff and our faithful customers.
We would also like to extend a special thank you to Titan Cigar for being a sponsor at this year’s event, as well as to every one of our watch partners for taking time out of your schedules to fly in and visit us here in Gambrills, MD.
This years’ Time Out watch fair was once again a smashing success, and we could not do it without the support of our sponsors, the collector community, our wonderful clients, and of course, our expert team. Looking forward to seeing you all again in 2025!
A portion of proceeds from the Time Out Watch Fair is donated to the Oyster Recovery Parnership!