The Worn & Wound Podcast Ep. 114: Bringing Back Fears with Nicholas Bowman-Scargill

On this week’s episode of The Worn & Wound Podcast, Zach sits down with Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, the Managing Director of Fears watches. This week’s episode is brought to you by the Windup Watch Shop.

First, a little bit of background to set the scene. Zach met Nicholas at the Windup reception hosted by Watches of Switzerland in Soho late last year. They two got to talking, and that’s when Zach realized it would be a great to get Nicholas on the podcast to tell the story of Fears.

For those unfamiliar, Fears was founded all the way back in 1846 by a young watchmaker named Edwin Fear, who set up his workshop and showroom in Bristol in the UK. It was a family run business for the entirety of its operation, and it existed until 1976, when the company was forced to close its doors. Then, in 2016, Nicholas, who is the great-great-great-grandson of Edwin Fear, brought the company back with the Redcliff, the brand’s first watch in 40 years. There is, of course, much more to this story, but Nicholas tells it better than I ever could.

Late last year, Nicholas swung by Worn & Wound HQ, and this episode was actually recorded on the third anniversary of the brand’s relaunch. Nicholas and Zach discuss a whole bunch of things, among them the brand’s history, its relaunch, the importance of real heritage and being authentic, and Nicholas’ approach to plotting Fears’ future. One of my favorite moments is when Nicholas explains why Fears going out of business in ’76 was actually a good thing for the brand in the long-run. I won’t say more here, but he makes some really interesting observations.

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Show Notes

• Zach’s wrist check – Farer Markham World Timer
• Nicholas’s wrist check – Fears Brunswick White
• Fears
• Fears IG
• Oak & Oscar
• Farer
• Vertex
• Christopher Ward
• Roger W. Smith