The Colliding Worlds of Cars & Watches with The Horology Club Europe and Le Carage

The rise of interest in watches has sparked many exciting initiatives to share the passion and knowledge for watches and related fields of interest. One such initiative is a watch club, whether online or physical. Like-minded people connect over watchmaking in general, specific brands, or even specific watches, which is nothing new, and it’s an excellent way to build a community. Frank and I were recently invited to join The Horology Club Europe, a new branch of one of the strongest watch collecting communities around. Joining them for their first Dutch event, partnering with car-community platform Le Carage and Le Club Amsterdam, we were happily surprised by the immediate camaraderie and wisdom that exists within THC Europe!

The Horology Club was initially founded in Hong Kong by a trio of watch enthusiasts, Helbert Tsang, Johnathan Chan and Carlos Pang, who were looking for a new way to connect over, well, watches! This started in 2021 and quickly grew into a tight-knit community with more than 800 members based on three pillars: Gather, Educate, Create. While the pillars are pretty self-explanatory, they focus strongly on bonding over a common theme. The community is open to all levels and niches, from vintage to modern and from high-end to accessible watchmaking. The Horology Club branched out into watchmaking as well, as it presented its first collaborative watch in 2022 in partnership with Habring², with Cartier, Trilobe, Sartory Billard and Holthinrichs following in the Austrian independent watchmaker’s wake.

The European Chapter

Venturing out to Europe not too long ago, The Horology Club Europe has since found more than 800 members willing to connect and exchange thoughts over watches. The driving force behind the club are Wouter van Wijk, Frank Smits and Stan Duin, but they welcome initiatives from members. This was made abundantly clear during our first Dutch get-together in Amsterdam, at a place called Le Carrage, where a group of members gave a riveting lecture by Alessio Zenga on vintage Patek Philippe watchmaking with several rare and exclusive examples on display. Next to that, people are invited to organise their own small gatherings, called Fireside meetings, at their own home. Of course, it is at the discretion of each attending member to adhere to the three pillars.

The Horology Club x Le Carage & Le Club

The first Dutch event was hosted at Le Club, the stylish lounge inside Le Carage in Amsterdam. Le Carage is quite similar to The Horology Club, except for the focus is on cars instead of watches. Again, it revolves around a shared passion – gathering to bond, exchange and expand knowledge, and organising exciting events for its members. Le Carage also offers car care services including storage, maintenance, detailing and so on. Walking around the Le Carage facility during the first THC event revealed an eclectic mix of high-end modern sports cars, as well as classic cars from all levels. To me, as both a car and watch lover, it was quite exciting!

But the partnership goes beyond Le Carage providing a venue for The Horology Club Europe’s event. Watchmaking and car culture have always intertwined in various ways, so it’s natural for the two communities to bond. It’s a natural fit, and because of this, I wouldn’t be surprised if more collaborative events are organised in the future.

For more information on either of the communities, please visit TheHorologyClub.com and Le-Carage.com.