Brynn Wallner’s Dimepiece has become required content for watch lovers who want to know how a woman thinks — a seven-figure contract to educate pale, male and stale Swiss manufacturers surely beckons.
But, as any impoverished watch writer will tell you, before that consultancy deal lands it pays to have a side hustle to pay the bills.
A bit of watch trading and creating straps or even watches to sell to fans on Instagram can be the difference between staying in the game or quitting from the under-valued art of engaging horological content creation.
Collabs with media personalities like Ms Wallner are particularly popular with brands because they always come with a well-crafted back story and a ready-made audience.
Which may explain why a limited edition reissue of a quartz-based Timex 1995 Intrepid became a quick sellout for Timex (a few remain at the Dimepiece store)
The $199 watch came to life after Ms Wallner spotted one of the originals on the wrist of John F. Kennedy Jr. and loved the way it worked with his more formal suit.
She discussed the watch with a business associate, Alan Bedwell at Foundwell, who suggested it would be a great piece to bring back as a collaboration.
After being introduced to the right people at Timex by Todd Snyder, who has worked on several Timex collabs, the project came together and faithful reproduction of the Intrepid was born on the same black rubber strap as Mr Kennedy’s and with an Indiglo dial that lights up after dark.
Despite its 46mm stature, a size that has become increasingly niche in today’s market, Ms Wallner has been valiantly — and successfully — pushing it as a watch that an adventurous lady could wear.
“If it’s too big for you, buy it for a man friend,” she urges in a recent Substack update.
This may have sown a seed of doubt, or inspired a light bulb moment, because now the Intrepid is being remade in a bang-on-trend 36mm case.
And it may have a little more Dimepiece about it; a co-signed dial, perhaps?
All Ms Wallner will say now is that there will be a “Dimepiece edition”, which will be a full 10mm smaller, and is coming out later this summer.