IAMWATCH is returning to Singapore with the kind of guest list that tells you where modern watch culture is heading.
Running from 12 to 15 November 2026, the four-day event will gather more than 50 watchmakers and friends of The Hour Glass at the Singapore Edition Hotel.
For collectors who follow independent watchmaking from a screen but rarely get to meet the people behind the watches, this is the point of the exercise.
At a glance
- IAMWATCH returns to Singapore from 12 to 15 November 2026 with more than 50 watchmakers and friends of The Hour Glass.
- The programme is centred on direct access to independent makers, collectors, designers and creative figures shaping contemporary horology.
- The Singapore edition will take place at the Singapore Edition Hotel, underlining Asia’s growing role in the independent watchmaking conversation.
A room built for independent watchmaking
Independent watchmaking has moved from a specialist corner of collecting into one of the most closely watched areas of the market.
That visibility has created a strange tension, because the watches are discussed constantly online while the makers themselves remain difficult to encounter in a meaningful way.
IAMWATCH addresses that gap by putting collectors, creators and industry voices in the same physical setting.
The 2026 Singapore edition is shaped around conversation, education and access rather than the usual spectacle of a large trade fair.
That makes sense for The Hour Glass, which has long positioned itself as more than a luxury retailer.
Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Singapore, the company has built much of its identity around watch culture, collecting and long-term engagement with the people who make and study mechanical watches.
The established names set the tone
The returning lineup includes several of the most recognisable figures in independent horology.
Kari Voutilainen, Rexhep Rexhepi, Andreas Strehler, Konstantin Chaykin, Max Büsser, Raúl Pagès and Vianney Halter are among the makers associated with the 2026 programme.
The list also includes Jean Arnault and Jean-Claude Biver, two names that bring a broader industry perspective to the discussion around contemporary watchmaking.
That mix matters because independent watchmaking is no longer simply about small workshops operating outside the mainstream.
It now sits at the intersection of craft, design, patronage, collecting culture and brand-building.
A younger generation enters the conversation
One of the more interesting aspects of IAMWATCH 2026 is the presence of younger makers who are already earning serious attention.
Alexandre Hazemann and Victor Monnin of Hazemann & Monnin are among the names to watch closely.
Their School Watch won the 2025–2026 Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives, adding to the momentum Hazemann had already built after winning the 2023 F.P. Journe Young Talent Competition with the AH.02 Signature.
Together, Hazemann and Monnin have also created a wristwatch with a sonnerie en passage and an instantaneous jumping-hour display, an ambitious calling card for a young duo working with a clearly personal point of view.
Norifumi Seki of Quiet Club will also be part of the 2026 event.
Seki’s Fading Hours was named a finalist for the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize, while his earlier F.P. Journe Young Talent Competition win came in 2020 at the age of 23 for a pocket watch featuring a spherical moon and drum calendar.
His work fits into a broader shift among emerging makers who are treating mechanical timekeeping as both engineering and emotional language.
Watch culture beyond the watch bench
The 2026 list also stretches beyond the traditional idea of the independent watchmaker.
Australian independent watchmaker Reuben Schoots and second-generation Austrian horologist Simon Michlmayr are expected alongside URWERK co-founder Martin Frei, collector and collaborator William Massena and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
That range says a great deal about where contemporary horology now sits culturally.
Watches still begin with movements, cases, dials and hands, but the wider conversation increasingly includes art, design, collecting psychology and community.
For Singapore, the timing feels particularly relevant.
Asia has become one of the most important regions for independent watchmaking, not only as a market but as a community of collectors who are highly informed, socially connected and eager for direct access.
IAMWATCH 2026 brings that energy into a more personal setting, where the appeal lies less in seeing watches behind glass and more in understanding the people and ideas behind them.
For collectors, enthusiasts and anyone following the rise of independent horology, its return to Singapore should be one of the more compelling watch events on the 2026 calendar.
