Issue 189: In Conversation With Split Watches
As the young British company claims a world first, I sat down with founder Ed Margulies to hear what it's like growing a brand in today's climate.
Hello and welcome back to The Fourth Wheel, the weekly watch newsletter that says look everyone, we made it through January, how much harder can the rest of the year be? Actually, look, don’t answer that. But hopefully wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, you can find reasons to be cheerful. And hey, it could be worse: you could be wearing this Omega Constellation Squadra that I came across during my research for A Big Project I Can’t Really Talk About Yet. Wowee. The 2000s weren’t a kind time for watch design.
On that note, actually: are you a serious Omega collector and/or super geek? I’d like to talk. Nothing weird I promise :-)
As this is Issue 189, next week will be another Ask Me Anything. Every ten issues I throw it open to you and you have never let me down yet. What do you want to know? Ask and ye shall be answered.
Thank you to everyone who has got on board with the new podcast: if you’re not aware, every Tuesday I publish a 20 minute audio bulletin summarising the week’s news. You can listen on Spotify as well as right here on Substack. Here’s this week’s episode.
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Here’s a little taste of what you might have missed recently:
In Brief
A couple of snippets that I didn’t want to leave until next Tuesday…
Back in November, in his unexpectedly awkward1 speech at Dubai Watch Week, Francois-Henry Bennahmias said that we could expect his new luxury conglomerate, The Honourable Merchants Group, to announce its first acquisitions in the watch world at the start of 2026. Word on the grapevine was that an announcement was scheduled for the first week of February.
This week, however, an email went out from THMG dashing cold water on those expectations. In a note from the CEO himself, it says “If we’ve been a little quieter than usual lately, it isn’t for lack of news, but because our focus has shifted entirely toward a decisive chapter: our funding.” Describing this period as a stage that “demands a level of presence and intensity that explains our relative silence,” the email says that although an announcement had been imminent, for the time being there is no news - “some stories are better told only once the ink has dried” - and signing off with “the best is yet to be built”.
Back in 2025 I wrote about the potential acquisitions that THMG might have in its sights, from the likes of Sowind’s Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin to the hotly-anticipated De Bethune or unlikely prospects like Minerva.
Even this lack of news is intriguing: when THMG was announced (and in fact long before), the one thing everyone seemed to be sure of was that it came with a huge war chest. However, when he spoke to The Luxury Society Podcast last year, Bennahmias said that “a really dear friend is basically financing the whole beginning of the entire venture”, but that plenty of other willing funders were waiting in the wings. “We have people calling… it’s never going to be an issue of finding the money; I don’t just want money, I want smart money. I want people who can bring access, distribution, R&D, things we don’t know about. We have to open the doors slowly, because right now my friend and I are financing everything.”
I believe there are moves afoot; I can also easily believe they aren’t progressing as quickly as expected. The very faint whispers on the grapevine are that some of the names I’ve mentioned might be right, but until THMG can put pen to paper and make it real, I also know there are sceptics in the industry who say F-H B talks a big game. He doesn’t have much to prove, is my take, but I hope we see some action this side of W&W.
Speaking of our annual Springtime pilgrimage to the lakeside, there is a new satellite event to be aware of. Called Chronopolis, it’s going to take place in downtown Geneva from April 14-18th, in the Halles de l’Ile, an event and exhibition space on a tiny pedestrianised island in the mouth of the Rhone, a stone’s throw from the Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons hotels. It’s being organised by ApresDemain, the creative agency that also owns cult magazine Heist Out, and will host 20 independent brands (key names include Atelier Wen, Awake, Dennison, Baltic, Furlan Marri, Studio Underd0g, Serica, Nivada and Spaceone).
Crucially, it’s free to visit, promises to be laid-back, hands-on and transactional; sounds like some of the Time+Tide / BWD / WindUp playbook is finally gaining traction in the motherland. To me, it sounds a lot easier than trying to find your way around the Beau Rivage suites. If you’re mulling whether to visit W&W as a punter, this might be worth considering - although the flip side, for me, is that this is more or less the same set of brands that are every regional watch fair. If you live somewhere that’s not (yet) served by a decent watch event, maybe it’s worth it; if you know these brands already you may decide to catch them in a city that doesn’t cost quite as much as Geneva to visit.
Time to Split
I first came across Split Watches last summer, when the brand made its public debut. I sat down for a long introductory chat with founder Ed Margulies, and to tell you the truth, the only reason I didn’t write anything about Split back then is because others got there first and did a great job.
Now Split is back with an addition to its launch collection and a little tease about what’s coming next - but more importantly, with six months’ perspective. This week I met up with Margulies again, and discussed progress so far. Here at TFW you’ll probably know that one of the subjects closest to my heart is what it takes to successfully launch a new brand. The watch industry has no shortage of optimistic entrepreneurs (to say nothing of the investors and executives who think they can triumph where others have failed - Favre Leuba, Corum, Baume & Mercier, Breva… but that’s another story) and I think Split is an interesting case study.
For one thing, you could never accuse Margulies of lacking industry experience. “I’ve literally been born into this industry,” he says when I ask how he drew on his past experiences to create his own brand. His father is Marcus Margulies, one of the most influential businessmen in the watch industry of the last half-century - through Time Products, the owner of Sekonda and Accurist; as the former owner of the eponymous boutique Marcus, one of the driving forces behind high-end independent watch retail in London, and as a distributor operating across the UK and Europe, intrinsically linked to the fortunes of brands including Girard-Perregaux, Blancpain, Audemars Piguet, Hublot, Greubel Forsey and others.
Ed’s training in the family business began during his school holidays, but his exposure to the industry goes beyond the commercial. As a young man he trained as a watchmaker, learning the ropes at Longines in St Imier before working for both Vacheron Constantin and Piaget. His CV includes Watches of Switzerland, Aspreys and even “a couple of weeks at Ratners before that all came crashing down.”
Joining Time Products in the early 1990s, he had a front row seat for the industry’s rebirth, as Switzerland’s most prestigious brands laid the foundations on which today’s luxury giants are built.
“We got a call from Jean-Claude Biver, who had just taken on Blancpain, literally within weeks. We went over to Switzerland to meet him and it was just him and a suitcase. He had six watches in the suitcase: his master complications and I think before he even opened the suitcase, we wanted to take the brand on. I was entrusted with bringing it into the UK and managing the brand.”
