If you’ve ever been struck by a sudden bolt of inspiration about some cool, novel complication, I’m sorry to say that Nathan Clapp’s likely beaten you there. The short-form video maestro has been blowing up Instagram and YouTube Shorts with his inventive, blue-sky-thinking approach to watchmaking.
While those designs have been restricted to the digital space (for now) their sheer inventiveness has seen Nathan – under brand name Wraven Labs – gain a die-hard following and an April Fools collaboration with Christopher Ward.
What was the last watch you bought?
Since I’ve been doing the social media thing and being a bit more entrepreneurial, I’ve had to hold back a bit on my spending because I’m trying to make the runway last. So, the last really exciting buy for me was the Yacht-Master 40, with the rhodium grey dial and the teal second hand.
I love the bezel on Yacht-Masters in general, with the mix of polish and matte contrast. I just love that. The case is slimmer too and a little bit more refined, so fits my smaller wrists better than other models. It helped that other people weren’t buying it. It made me feel like, okay, I can get a Rolex but it’s a little different.
Do you collect anything outside of watches?
I’ve always had a little collector in me. I got into vinyl maybe three years ago, so I’ve really enjoyed collecting old records. But if I’m not listening to it, I’m not buying it. I tend to buy records that were pressed when I was in high school, like an old hardcore band or something from the early 2000s. I love the idea that this is the exact sound I heard back then.
I also have a stack of sealed video games and consoles (I have a tonne of Switches) and some sealed Pokémon cards. It’s just kind of fun. I do wonder if one day they’ll actually be worth something. Though I do think I’m a bit of a fake gamer even with all these Switches; I have a gaming PC here that I just really play Rocket League and Expedition 33 on.
What’s at the top of your wishlist?
I’ve always loved A. Lange & Söhne and the latest annual calendar they released in 36 millimetres is perfect. I have to be able to wear things, right? And 36 is a good size for me. The Lange 1 was always at the top of my wishlist but now I’m eyeing that new Saxonia. The proportions look perfect and nothing says Lange quite like rose gold and anthracite.
What is a recent find or discovery?
Through a friend I recently found a local archery dodgeball league. I’m in my upper 30s now but it’s been keeping me somewhat young. It’s literally dodgeball with a bow and arrows. You wear a mask and the arrows have soft tips, but they can still hurt. They go fast. It’s a lot of fun. I go to the gym, but it doesn’t really get me going the same way a game does, so I’ve really been enjoying having something more competitive to do.
What inspires you?
Something simple but strong. When you see my videos, they’re kind of wacky and stuff. But when you ask me what kind of watch I like, it’s all about restraint. I love things that look simple on the surface but have a lot of hidden complexity. Whether it’s the music I listen to, art I see, if it’s minimal at first but there’s an underlying cleverness or complexity, that gets me excited.
In watch terms that means brands like Moser, who I like a lot as a company. Their simple dials and their perpetual calendar look incredibly streamlined, but on the other side they’re complex and as a brand they have some seriously clever concepts that always inspired me.
What is a book, podcast or album that changed the way you think?
There’s a book I’ve referenced before that I think about a lot. I read it like 15 years ago when I started in advertising. The book’s called A Technique for Producing Ideas and it’s really short, but the basic premise is about where new ideas come from. You have your general knowledge about how things work and then very hyper-specific knowledge on an area you’re focusing on. The idea is that you always have this background knowledge and when you start a new, very specific project, it’s all about finding connections between the general and the specific. New ideas come from those connections.
I come back to that basic principle all the time in life. The book still holds up – I actually reread it a year ago – and it really changed how I understood where ideas come from.
Who is a celebrity or person of note that you admire?
I would say Christopher Nolan right now. I think of all the movies he makes, and they always touch an area of my brain that I relate to. I guess that’s a pretty basic answer in a sense because he’s massive, but everything he puts out I want to watch.
What’s something interesting about you that not many people know?
I did magic a lot growing up. I was a semi-professional magician. I mean, I did it enough that people kept trying to hire me for gigs and I would even do some of them, but I didn’t really enjoy doing it for money, so I never took it professional. But magic, specifically street magic with everyday objects interested me. I didn’t like doing things that were too over the top, just working with cards or things you find lying around. To me that felt more magical.
A lot of the storylines or the way I weave my videos come from that performing. The patterns are there, when you think you’re going one direction and then you surprise in another, or bring in an unexpected twist. Magic is about taking physical things and adding gimmicks or hidden elements to them to do something new – there’s definitely some inspiration there.
What is your ideal long weekend?
I like to make; I like to create. So, some weekends, when I know what a video is going to be and I just need to finish making it, I love that. I put headphones on and just get into it. In a broader sense, I love having a project that I know the next steps to, whether it’s something I’m physically building or a digital creation. It feels like expression. If I had a whole weekend to just focus on that expression without interruption, that would be great.
What would we always find in your fridge?
Eggs. I just love eggs. I eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner and make them different ways for different times of the day. My fridge is always full of them. But my pantry is always full of goldfish crackers. They might not belong in the fridge but they’re always somewhere.
What is a rule or mantra that you live by?
That I don’t want to add fluff to the world. By that I mean that I don’t want anything I put out to be surface level, I want it to have substance, to be worth people watching. I’ve said this multiple times to myself when I’m creating. There’s so much out there, you know, so much fluff. I want to put out less – I only put out maybe one or two videos a week – but I want to add genuinely novel ideas to the conversation. If I create a brand or actual watches at some point – which is hopefully the goal – they need to feel distinct, to offer a unique perspective. I want to be precise and a net creative positive.
What does the year ahead look like for you?
The year ahead is going to be very busy. I have my first baby girl due in August, but I also have another baby coming out – a laptop pad that stops you scratching your watch on MacBook Pros. It’s actually where I get my channel name from – a contraction of wrist and haven. I’ve been working on that for a while and hopefully will be launching end of the summer.
Other than that, I just have a bunch I’m trying to do in the watch space now around potentially creating a physical watch. It wasn’t something that was on my radar even six months ago but given all the videos and ideas I’ve been introducing and the positive feedback I’m starting to explore that more seriously.
