Keeping Seconds

For our first-ever interview on Keeping Seconds, we're joined by Czapek CEO Xavier de Roquemaurel and Mike Margolis for an unforgettable evening of watches, whiskey, and conversation.

Recorded following a special gathering with the Carolina Watch Club, we explore the remarkable revival of Czapek, the explosive success of the Antarctique, and the challenge of building an independent watch brand without becoming defined by its greatest achievement.

Along the way, Xavier shares deeply personal stories about entrepreneurship, second chances, and the friendships that make the watchmaking community so special. We also dive into the artisans behind Czapek's extraordinary creations, the philosophy of beauty, and what the future holds for independent watchmaking.

From selling just 11 watches in North America in 2017 to becoming one of the most talked-about names in modern independent horology, this is a conversation about far more than watches.

Welcome to Episode 5 of Keeping Seconds.

Two watches. Essentially the same movement. Thousands of dollars apart. What exactly are you paying for?

In Episode 4 of Keeping Seconds, Michael and Noah explore what makes a watch truly special. Is it the movement inside, the design on the outside, the craftsmanship behind it, or simply how it makes you feel?

From Kurono Tokyo and the rise of design-driven independents to the often-debated meaning of “in-house” watchmaking, we unpack the relationship between engineering, originality, and value. Then we put ourselves to the test: three hypothetical $5,000 watches, three very different approaches to watchmaking, and one choice that proves harder than expected.

Plus, this week's wrist check, The Watch List, and a small moment with the next generation of watch enthusiasts.

Because sometimes, the most meaningful part of a watch has nothing to do with the movement inside.

Recorded on the drive home from Atlanta, Michael and Noah unpack a full day at Atlanta Watch Salon and the watches that stuck with them most.

From Lederer’s obsession with the sound of an escapement to NORQAIN’s new Wild One Titanium, Toledano & Chan, 1776, Pragma, Grand Seiko, Atelier Wen, Mauron Musy, Lang & Heyne, Maurice Lacroix, Schwarz Etienne and more, the conversation is less about specs and more about what changes when you finally handle a watch in person.

Plus: a Farer and Aquanaut wrist check, why the salon format made six-figure watches feel surprisingly approachable, the Watch List, and one idea Michael can’t stop thinking about: what a mechanical watch actually sounds like.

Why can a 41mm watch wear smaller than a 39mm one? Michael and Noah dig into the dimensions that actually shape how a watch feels on the wrist — diameter, lug-to-lug, thickness, dial depth, case architecture, weight, and more.

Plus: the beginnings of a Keeping Seconds watch-wear calculator, the Wren Vessel, Omega’s latest James Bond Seamasters, and a look ahead to Atlanta Watch Salon.

In the first episode of Keeping Seconds, Michael Berrios and Noah Williams look back at Intersect Charlotte and use it as a jumping-off point for a bigger question: what do you actually learn about a watch when you finally see it in person?

They talk about why specs and photography can only tell you so much, how meeting the people behind independent brands can change the way you see the product, and why “buy the seller” might apply just as much to microbrands as it does to the pre-owned market.

Michael also shares how he unexpectedly went from Bernhardt collector to helping steward the brand, and what designing watches taught him about the phrase “I’d buy it if…"

Plus: what’s on the wrist, the first edition of The Watch List, upcoming shows in Atlanta and New York, and what Michael and Noah are still thinking about this week.

Keeping Seconds is a podcast about watches – and everything around them.