Town & Country Says Dimepiece Newsletter is a “10”
But this is my first one...
Earlier this year, Dimepiece was featured in a Town & Country magazine article rounding up the best watch-dedicated social media accounts. I was called a “TikTok rat” (I don’t use TikTok) and my newsletter was rated a perfect 10 (I don’t have a newsletter). Well… not until now. My reputation precedes me.
To be fair, I do have a newsletter sign-up section on my website, which you must have found if you’re reading this now. And if you’re like, what is Dimepiece? Allow me to reintroduce myself ~
I’m Brynn Wallner, the founder of Dimepiece, a femme-forward resource for anyone who might be into watches, from “First Dimers” to seasoned collectors. I am grateful to announce that Vogue Business just featured me last week on their “100 Innovators” list for having an outsized impact on the watch industry.
Dimepiece is an Instagram and a website featuring interviews, essays and videos alongside vintage watches available for sale in partnership with Foundwell, a professional watch dealer (we additionally have a curated collection at Dover Street Market in NYC and LA). I also write about watches for outlets like the Financial Times and GQ.
This newsletter will: tap you into what’s going on in the watch world, highlight what real people are wearing, make you a smarter watch consumer… and occasionally try to sell you one.
Now let’s talk about what’s come across my desk over the past few weeks.
BELLA HADID JOINS CHOPARD AS THEIR NEW GLOBAL BRAND AMBASSADOR
The Swiss luxury watch and jewelry house is banking on the “Bella-Effect.” Before the Chopard brand deal, Hadid’s go-to wrist candy was Cartier’s slinky, sexy Panthère, leading me to declare it the “It-Girl Watch” in Harper’s BAZAAR (2021). But can Bella’s “authenticity” sway aspiring it-girls to invest in Chopard watches?! According to Morgan Stanley’s 2023 Swiss watch report, Chopard sits in spot #20 of the industry’s most dominant watch brands (ranking as 6th largest jewelry brand globally), while Cartier, with their influential clientele, sits pretty at #2. Not to put the two against each other, but I can only imagine all watch-jewelry-hybrid brands are like, “how can we get to Cartier’s level?” – and I’ll be “watching” to see if Bella Hadid can get the girlies rocking the maison’s whimsical Happy Sport pieces. I myself have been eyeing a vintage version and feel that if Chopard can apply their jewelry expertise to create more everyday, FLIRTY!!!, relatively affordable watches like this, they can present a viable alternative to those suffering from Cartier fatigue (I’ll love it forever, but it’s EVERYWHERE).
Read more about Bella’s partnership with Chopard via Milena Lazazzera’s article in Vogue Business, which I coincidentally just got a free membership to by making their 100 Innovators list. They also shared a 10% discount code if you want to sign up: apply “SAVE10” at check-out <3 haha, I swear this isn’t spon-con.
CHANEL HAS “WIRED IT GIRLS” ON THE MOODBOARD
This is relatively old news, but in late August, Chanel released the PREMIÈRE SOUND, a long necklace featuring a watch and... wired headphones. The press release led with Gabrielle Chanel’s quote "I want to be part of what is to come", spelling out the role that fashion houses play within the grand scheme of the watch industry. Brands like Hermès and Chanel have been upping their horological game but are still rooted in fashion, which by default moves at a quicker pace than that of the Swiss watch industry. And so, they can bob and weave more seamlessly with the trends and push the industry forward style-wise. Case in point: the wired headphone watch, which is no doubt inspired by the groundswell of girls opting for wires over AirPods, chronicled by @wireditgirls on Instagram. The watch, modeled by Chanel ambassador Lily-Rose Depp, hit boutiques on September 2nd and is priced at $14,700 USD.
THE BEST WATCH TO FLEX IN THE ART WORLD IS A SWATCH
If you’re mixing and mingling with heavy hitters in the art world, but can’t keep up with their watch game, wear a Swatch. I learned this last week at the after-party for Hilary Pecis’s opening (on view at the David Kordansky Gallery in Chelsea until October 12). Art advisor and Nota Bene co-host Benjamin Godsill explained that his daily Rolex wasn’t cutting it in a sea of rare Pateks, and ever since he started wearing this $80 Swatch he bought at the Zurich airport (“Everyone needs a treat after closing deals in Basel.”), he’s been getting more compliments than ever.
Oh, it’s also New York Fashion Week here, and the watch spotting has been good. Amy Smilovic, the Founder and Creative Director of Tibi, wore her signature Breitling as she presented her Spring 2025 collection (last year, the models wore watches on the actual runway in partnership with Breitling). Writer Emily Farra wore her grandfather’s two-tone Audemars Piguet Royal Oak to the star-studded J. Crew dinner at the New York Public Library, recreating high society’s iconic haunt of yore, La Côte Basque (the whole night felt like a rich person’s wedding). And Sofia Coppola wore the gold Cartier Baignoire on a bangle to her brother Roman’s Zegna dinner on the Upper East Side (she was very nice, but I was too shy to ask for a picture).
THE US OPEN BANS INFLUENCERS FROM ATTENDING NEXT SEASON
“We’re sick of their obnoxious court side photos dominating our Instagram feeds,” says a press representative from the International Tennis Federation. “These people rude and disruptive to the sport.” Read the whole article via The New York Times.
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Ciao for now! xo
Got me on that last link! 😂
Yaaaay