The what
In The Metal came into being during the pandemic lockdown of early 2020, when an Irish indie watch specialist and entrepreneur got talking about watches one evening with a US master watchmaker, who in a past life also happened to have been a multi-million album selling, three times Grammy nominated, hard rock hell raiser with thrash metal legends Anthrax, and they discovered that they had a lot in common.
A Skype call that could have lasted ten minutes went on for an hour and a half, and at the end they both knew they should have recorded the conversation, because it flowed naturally, it was serious but great fun, and of course because they got on like a house on fire!
So, armed with a shared love and knowledge of contemporary independent watchmaking, Dan Spitz and Johnny McElherron decided to see if they could recreate that informal, slightly irreverent and definitely engaging ambience in a webcast/podcast format, which would focus pretty much exclusively on the often unseen world of the independent watchmaker, and bring their stories, and indeed their faces to the fore, in what has become a fascinating series of interviews.
The why
Just like a mechanical watch, the watch industry itself is a world comprising many parts. There are big brands, there are small brands, there are old brands and there are new brands, and while some are household names, others are lesser known, although no less dedicated and passionate. Somewhere beyond that is a horological Narnia of independent watchmaking, where small teams of artisans, and sometimes even soloist individuals create a very special kind of magic.
Where the CEOs and Presidents of the true Grandes Maisons are typically immaculately turned-out consummate professionals who take the helm of their prestigious charges, using their corporate experience, resourcefulness, delegation and management skills to guide them safely through another generation, before handing over to the next pre-groomed executive, our kind of people are much more at home behind a lathe, seeing their worlds through a loupe, as they project their unique personalities into little works of mechanical art which are individually crafted and finished by hand, making each a one of a kind masterpiece.
These are the people whose names, faces and voices are familiar only to the few; the collectors, the aficionados and the cognoscenti who appreciate that we are witnessing and connected to history in the making. Executives come and they go, and are often soon forgotten, but when your own name is inscribed on a dial or deep inside a hand manufactured movement, it is preserved there for all time. When the historians of the future look back at this era, in the same way as their contemporaries do today at the masters of the last three hundred years, it won’t be the CEOs, chairmen or presidents they will be discussing, but these wonderful artisan watchmakers, working in isolation and relative anonymity.
So the ‘why’ of In The Metal is to give those profoundly talented inventors, innovators, problem solvers, perfectionists, rebels and non-conformist sculptors and caressers of metals and time their share of the spotlight, and a chance to tell their stories in a chilled and informal setting.
The Who
Daniel A. Spitz. United States of America; Master Watchmaker, Musician.
A rebel and an undisputed groundbreaking pioneer of heavy metal music with hard rock legends Anthrax, Dan Spitz is a man who has always refused to conform. Incredibly, not only is he a three-times Grammy nominated master of his signature Jackson guitars, with which he recorded many of the band’s most iconic albums, racking up sales of over 30 million copies in his fifteen years as their lead guitarist, he is also a fully WOSTEP trained Master of Horologic Complications, with forty years of experience. Still as uncompromising as ever, Dan is an Independent Watchmaker to the core. He suffers for his art, and his pursuit for perfection is relentless. He works in isolation. No one sees him bloody his fingers. There’s no one else there to hear him scream, or to witness the creativity and the uncompromising dedication that goes into every little detail. It’s just him and the watch, and the watch is his boss.
Johnny McElherron. Ireland; A writer and entrepreneur who specialises in Independent Watchmaking.
A bit of a rocker himself, Johnny has worked to promote and support independent watchmaking since 2005, long before it was cool! Whether connecting collectors with their dream timepieces, or writing about these extraordinary mechanical creations, he obsesses over each nuance of a watch. He spends his waking hours in search of that exact metaphor or adjective which defines the essence of the object of his musings. If he could, he would shrink himself in order to climb into the watch case to explore the minutiae within. Then he would find the best words to describe it to the world.
Together, the artisan watchmaker turns hard metal components into beautiful handmade timepieces, while the writer makes sense of that creativity, and transcribes in emotive detail so that others can appreciate and understand the complexity and beauty of this traditional mechanical art.
The How
Through a series of intimate, in depth conversations which touch on life, influences, observations, tools, techniques, motivation, challenges, the trials and tribulations, the triumphs and joys, and whatever else drives them on, Johnny and Dan talk to the people behind the dials, and take a look at what really makes contemporary independent watchmaking tick.
Via our live webcasts, though our YouTube channel or in audio podcast format, In The Metal is dedicated to this fantastical but very real world of independent haute horlogerie, and through these informal conversations you’ll gain a unique insight into the lives and methods of these creators of historically significant horologic masterpieces.
Each episode is a exclusive invitation to enter through the doorway of the watchmaker’s atelier, into their private creative zones where few if any ever gain access, and where the extraordinary watches which evolve from sketches to physical, living mechanical objects, take shape over years-long gestations.
So, if you’re looking for corporate hat-tipping, or adulation at the altar of global brands, then you have plenty of choice out there. In The Metal is more of a melting pot of irreverence, originality and good old-fashioned fun, with a mission to educate, inform and inspire. Expect to learn about hardcore machines and hand operated tools, expect to hear unique stories from the real people whose blood, sweat and tears keeps independent watchmaking’s heart ticking.
