Scottish Watches Podcast #808 : Hell’s Bells – Helene Is Back For More Mayhem
transcript
show notes
Hélène is back, and this time the conversation goes even further off the rails than the first one, in the best way. We catch up on what she’s been collecting, including the Fears Brunswick Orchid that she fell for at British Watchmakers Day, a tiny vintage Girard-Perregaux Gyromatic bought on eBay and brought back to life, and a €40 Junghans she randomly discovered at a village fair in France.
Click here to read along and see the photos in our show notes as you listen – http://www.scottishwatches.co.uk/2026/08/25/scottish-watches-podcast-808-hells-bells-helene-is-back-for-more-mayhem/
From there we wander through Formula 1, Star Wars, Star Trek, vintage radium and the slightly terrifying history behind it, fountain pens, and the strong connection between mechanical watches and other beautifully unnecessary but wonderfully crafted objects. We also get into one of Elaine’s biggest annoyances in watch culture, the dreaded “if you know, you know”, and have a proper conversation about gatekeeping, sharing knowledge, finding your people online, dealing with criticism, and why a hobby should actually be fun.
It’s another wide-ranging chat that starts with watches, disappears down several very nerdy rabbit holes, and somehow brings everything back to why we love this hobby in the first place.

Hélène is wearing her Fears Brunswick 38 ‘Orchid.’






Rikki is wearing the Straum Jan Mayen Arctic Blue.


Other dial options.

Straum Frozen Metal Titanium
Girard-Perregaux 34mm watch from the 50s.
The Radium Girls
Radium Rolex Submariner.
Zenith Pilot.
Rolex Red Submariner.
Rolex 14270 “Blackout” Explorer.
This Week’s Best New Watches
The Secrets Behind Andrew Morgan’s New Watch Collab
https://www.timepieceshow.com/ 
Jugnhan’s Trilatisc before and after.
Fears Brunswick 40 ‘Aurora’
Fears Tea.
Gimlet Launch Party.
Moser Streamliner Two Hands 34mm Silver Fumé


Hobonichi Planner with its Bamford Watch Department sticker, and the right kind of nerd will appreciate the Tomoe River paper.
Some of her Montblanc Pens.

Fun With Pens: https://www.instagram.com/funwithpens/
Previous Podcast Episodes: Scottish Watches Podcast #757: Why We Buy Watches And How Brands Get Inside Our Mind Featuring Helene
Scottish Watches Podcast #807: All Budgets Great And Small
Scottish Watches Podcast #805: Andrew Morgan Explains All About His New Fears Collab Watch
Scottish Watches Podcast #432: Watches, Cars, Cameras and Audio With Ken Kessler
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