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In the watch industry, the landscape is made up of companies large and small. In this comprehensive list we take a look microbrand watches that have caught our attention and are producing worthy timepieces.
When it comes to watch consumers' interest, there has over the past several years been a rising level of interest in watch brands that deviate from what might be viable for the mass market luxury watch brands but appeal to a niche but passionate audience. These so-called microbrands have represented one of the fastest-growing segments of the mechanical watch market, in which small shops can produce quality products that compete for connoisseurs' attention with the titans of the business. In the past several years, we've handled hundreds of watches from different microbrands out there; In this blog, we take a closer look at some of the best microbrand watches that the market has to offer in a variety of price ranges.
Now first, it is important to try to best classify what a microbrand is and what it isn’t. To me, a microbrand is a limited-production watch company that typically specializes in a particular style that does not have extensive resources to produce its own in-house calibers or other proprietary parts. This classification can get a little grey in the area of independent watchmakers that typically either have higher levels of watchmaking, like a Habring2, who have a master watchmaker like Richard Habring at the helm, or are a brand like Christopher Ward, who produce a high number of pieces and has in-house production capacities.
If you’re a fan of classically styled tool watches, Airain has a genuine legacy within the realm, with the historic French watchmakers as one of the original manufacturers of the Type 20 chronograph (along with Breguet and Dodane). Today, Airain is owned by the Netherlands-based CDMLEC, which also own the revived Lebois & Co. and Fixoflex brands. The modern catalog includes several editions of the Type 20 and 21 column-wheel chronograph, featuring a vintage-correct look and a hand-wound Swiss AMT flyback chronograph movement.
Airain also offers a classic skin diver, the 37.5mm Sous-Marine, in several variants, and this slice of vintage-correct goodness gets all the details right. The AM5 movement is based on a La Joux-Perret G100 that boasts a 68-hour reserve, whirring away inside a 12.77mm tall case (including the domed sapphire crystal). Two hundred meters of water resistance, a roulette date wheel, and the inclusion of both a Fixoflex bracelet and a tropic-style strap, all add up to an unapologetic return to the glory days of tool watches. See more about the brand here.
One of the coolest dive-watch brands from the glory days of classic tool watches is France’s H.G.P.. Along with its reborn sister brand, Wolbrook, the H.G.P. name traces its origins to the 1970s, when it was a prominent Paris dealer of dive equipment. H.G.P. uses a modernized version of the historic Monnin case for the 42 mm Automatic and Mecaquartz divers, and at some pretty attractive prices. Both versions feature 200 meters of water resistance, a clean, easy-reading dial replete with seven layers of Super-LumiNova, Seiko movements, a range of available colorways, and vulcanized rubber straps (or available beads-of-rice bracelets). To top things off, H.G.P. offers a Seiko NH34-powered GMT version, offering impressive bang for the buck along with retro good looks. See more about the brand here.
Jesse Marchant has another winning hand with the lovely Lorca Model No.2 Chronograph, a well-sized tribute to midcentury design cues. Sequels are always tricky, but you wouldn’t know it, such is its vintage-inspired beauty. A 37mm case diameter (38mm with the bezel), a trim 11.6mm case height (not counting the retrolicious 2.8mm double-domed sapphire crystal), and a compact 46mm lug-to-lug make the No.2 Chronograph an easy wear. A manually-wound Elaboré-grade Sellita SW510 M movement with a 63-hour power reserve, 100 meters of water resistance, and Swiss Super-LumiNova lume complete a well-specced checklist, but it’s all about the aesthetic mixology in this martini.
The 12-hour, 120-click bidirectional guilloché bezel is as gorgeous as it sounds, the three dials on offer are lush in their understatement, and that luxurious multilink bracelet is pure poetry, in both feel and finish. The result is one perfect cocktail of a watch, one that’s sure to stir the souls of classic midcentury chronograph fans, and a worthy sequel to Lorca’s 36mm autowinding Model No.1 GMT that struck such a chord among vintage connoisseurs. See more about the brand here.
There’s just something about the purity of the Marin style, with the brand's Skin-Diver series paring back to the essentials of tool watch design. The flat cases and just-right dimensions (39mm x 11.5m x 48mm) wear incredibly well, and the Standard black and Polar white dials are super-legible, with ultra-bold white or black hands, and indices that feature gobs of lume. A searing slash of orange accents the seconds tip on the OS models, and a Swiss Sellita SW200-1 movement keeps the whole show running on time. The watches come with both integrated rubber and Maratac fabric straps, and the whole package is beautifully minimalist to the max. There’s also a new taupe dial variant, and further colorways in the pipeline. As an added bonus, you can request your Skin-Diver in a black PVD finish for a $100 upcharge, for those killer ‘80s Heuer tool watch vibes. See more about the brand here.
Sweden’s Nezumi is a bit of an insider’s choice for a watch microbrand , but you can’t help but love its racy dial designs and solid specs. Founder David Campo Cardenes is a vintage-car fanatic, and it shows in the brand’s two-toned chrono dials that evoke classic dashboard instrumentation. Besides the Voiture mechaquartz chrono, you can choose from the mil-spec look of the Corbeau or the vintage-sized 38mm Tonnerre, along with the 38mm Terrain field watch. And if you’re looking for a bit of adventure beneath the waves, the Baleine diver fills the bill, as does the newly redesigned, Miyota-powered Aviera GMT. In addition to tracking a second time zone, the Aviera will do so at a depth of 200 meters, making it the perfect travel companion. See more about the brand here.
Prevail characterize their Onward Future Field Watch as “the military field watch, redefined”, and they’re not kidding. The Onward boasts a case that resembles an industrial bit of set design out of a lost Ridley Scott sci-fi epic. The passion project of Hassan Madras, an Air Force Reserve judge advocate, and watch design star Matt Smith-Johnson (Vero, Seals, Laco), the goal here was to create a bombproof, accessible field watch that looked like nothing else, while raising funds to benefit veteran’s health initiatives. And they’ve succeeded, becoming a cult hit in the process. The octagonal matte stainless case features 200 meters of water resistance and fixed lugs, with hearty lume, a recessed sapphire crystal, screw-down crown, and a reliable, hassle-free Ronda quartz movement inside. Available in smooth “Explorer” and turret-like “Tactical” bezel styles, there are three colorways and two dial layouts, and the watches come standard with color-matched passthrough nylon straps. The price is rather astounding for what’s on offer, a very approachable $275, with 10% going to The Heart and Armor Foundation. See more about the brand here.
RZE is one of those under-the radar microbrands that’s amassed a fervent fanbase with its winning combination of hardy construction, original design, and fantastic value. RZE is beating the drum for titanium, with the brand's full lineup is constructed of UltraHex hard-coated Grade 2 ti at value-forward prices. Its contemporary field watches, GMTs, and divers are available in a range of sizes, specs, and features, with the yellow-dialed, solar-powered 36mm Urbanist field watch a real standout. But the big story for the brand is its digital tool watch, the UTD-8000, and yes, it’s titanium, even the bracelet. It’s got G-Shock-levels of durability, and just for comparison, a full titanium G-Shock will run you over $2,000 more than the UTD-8000 on the bracelet. RZE even offers one of the most confident try-before-you-buy programs out there: a full refund on your titanium timepiece if you don’t love it after two weeks of real-world use. See more about the brand here.
Sheffield is a love letter to affordable tool watches from the man who revived the brand behind his childhood dive watch. Jay Turkbas not only launched the Sheffield Allsport’s modern incarnation, he even kept the price the same, an inflation-adjusted $108. For your money, you’ll get a capable, no-nonsense 200-meter quartz diver that offers complete transparency about its component sourcing. Sheffield now has a much broader lineup, including Seiko-powered automatic GMT models that retail for an absurd $238, as well as limited runs that include the Sheffield 24Hr, with its striking day/night dial. One of the best of the bunch is the 38mm 1A 38 in its black-and-orange guise, a well-equipped slice of no-date retro goodness that retails for under $200. Other highlights include the quartz Sportlume QL1, a screaming bargain of a driver’s watch at a mere $50, as well as special editions that include the sold-out driver’s automatic created in partnership with Jay Leno’s Garage. See more about the brand here.
EPSA compressor dive models are highly sought vintage pieces, and the Sherpa Ultradive and blacked-out OPS versions are tributes to that innovative case design. In a nutshell, a true compressor utilizes a spring-loaded caseback to ensure watertight operation, even when gaskets start to wear. Sherpa pays homage to the original Enicar Sherpa with its new models that also feature the throwback inner rotating bezel and Monoflex compressor crowns. Available in standard stainless steel or the black DLC OPS version, it wears extremely well on the average wrist, with the black offering a stealthy countenance. The Mantramatic MM01 movement is Sellita-based, and you’ll also find an ISO-certified 200 meters of water resistance among the list of specifications. See more about the brand here.
Scotland based microbrand AnOrdain is one of the most unique brands on this list as, with their inclusion, we are already straddling that line between microbrand and independent. AnOrdain's founders pride themselves on their expertise with enamel dials. Enameling is a very complex process of fusing glass to metal and takes a considerable amount of time with attention to detail in order to successfully nail the process (click here for more details on their process). The Model 1 was the genesis of the collection and put into motion AnOrdain's unique dial manufacturing process. Its fumé dials really stand out, with the Model 1 Green Fumé being an outstanding example. AnOrdain watches traditionally range from $1,000-$2,500, feature Swiss mechanical movements within, and are hand-assembled within the company's own facility. See more about the brand here.
Chicago-based microbrand Astor & Banks was founded by watch lover Andrew Perez and has quickly carved out a niche creating some very attractive looking mechanical tool watches. Their newest model, the Fortitude, offers a really versatile look based on a traditional Officer’s watch in a more than reasonable 38.5mm stainless steel case. It’s equipped with the brand's excellent bracelet, a Miyota M9015 movement, and a handful of nice dial color options. You also get 200m of water resistance and an extra suede strap that can be quickly and easily swapped out with the installed bracelet. See more about the brand here.
Similar to the trend of having vintage-inspired designs, the same can be said for that of watches that have minimalist aesthetics, which brings us to our next microbrand. Swedish microbrand Bravur assembles all its watches within its Stockholm-based facility, all of their pieces featuring Swiss movements and very clean-looking dials. See more about the brand here.
Brew Watch Company is a New York-based microbrand founded by industrial designer Jonathan Ferrer and has developed a reputation for a fresh take on watch design. Brew tends to be a little bit slower than many to release new products; however, when a new model does appear it is almost always a hit and quickly sells out. If you want more insight into the mind of Brew designs, check out Teddy's discussion with Jonathan back in 2018 at a local NYC park. Pictured here is the Metric, a model released in 2021. See more about the brand here.
Conceived during a boat ride down the Thames in 2004, Christopher Ward was the brainchild of three entrepreneurial British watch enthusiasts looking for a new challenge in their professional lives. Named for the co-founder with the most “quintessentially British” name, the company set out to make premium Swiss-made watches that could be sold at much lower prices than their competitors by avoiding large marketing overheads and retailer margins. Starting out with two models, the C5 Malvern Automatic and C3 Malvern Chronograph, the line has since expanded to include the Trident series of diving watches; the C1 Moonglow moon-phase watch; and the Sealander GMT, inspired by dual-time “explorers’ watches” of the 1970s. Its most recent triumph is the megapopular, simply-dubbed The Twelve model, with a dodecagonal (12-sided) bezel, integrated bracelet design, and a host of dial options in either steel or titanium cases. See more about the brand here.
Founded by watch collector, Dan Henry, this microbrand was created to encapsulate the 30 years he has spent collecting and acquiring over 1,500 watches in his lifetime and offering classic designs at affordable prices. See more about the brand here.
Dufrane was founded in Austin, Texas, an area whose influence is felt throughout the collection, whose timepieces offers many stylistic nods to the city. The microbrand prides itself on those Texas roots, and the hand assembly of all their watches in the United States. The brand first made its way onto the scene with the competitively priced and capable dive watch called the Barton Springs. As a shift away from those sporty undertones, Dufrane unveiled the Waterloo, a dressy watch with everyday capabilities, and the Travis (pictured), named after Austin's Lake Travis, with a dial that captures its dazzling shades of blue. See more about the brand here.
One of the newest yet “oldest” microbrands on our list, Elka traces its heritage all the way back to a Dutch watch brand, founded in Amsterdam in 1877, which opened a branch in Switzerland in 1949 and disappeared from the scene entirely in the 1970s. The modern Elka, which opened its doors in 2022, is fully Swiss, a project of former Swatch Group design veteran Hakim El Kadiri (nicknamed Elka, in a bit of serendipity), and leans not only into the vintage styles of its defunct predecessor but also into eccentric, unconventional aesthetic elements, as on the X02 model pictured, whose dial puts the emphasis on the minute markers rather than the hours. Also classically Swiss are the movements, from the artisans at La Joux-Perret (actually owned these days by the Japanese Citizen Group), which offer extended 68-hour power reserves, an extra bonus at the watch’s very reasonable price point of around $1,500. See more about the brand here.
In the microbrand community, there are several companies that most would agree occupy the the upper echelon in terms of materials, and the British brand Farer falls in this category. This British brand's unique and fun design formula is recognizable throughout its catalog, defined by a use of vibrant colors. With most of Farer's pieces falling within the $1,000-$2,000 price range, they are among the more expensive watches on this list, but the prices are warranted thanks to the elevated Swiss movements within and the quality finishing throughout. Highlighted here is the Segrave Monopusher, containing an automatic movement with single-push chronograph functionality and a matte black dial with. a "big eye" bicompax layout and colorful details. See more about the brand here.
Lorier is a small brand founded by a husband-and-wife team, with a core collection that is heavily focused on vintage-inspired sports watches. With the exploding world of vintage watches and the rush of many that want the vintage looks — but want it with modern reliability and at more feasible price tags — Lorier has carved out a spot for itself in the microbrand market. The company first jumped on the scene with the release of the Neptune and followed up with other favorites like the Falcon, which Teddy reviews on our YouTube channel here. See more about the brand here.
Maen was founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 2018 after a successful Kickstarter campaign, starting off with a dive watch, the Hudson Automatic, and expanding the scope to the Skymaster 38, a vintage-style pilot chronograph, and the sporty Greenwich 38 GMT. The Manhattan (above) is the brand's take on the ever-popular integrated sport-luxury dress watch genre, with a 1970s-inspired steel case and bracelet (in period-appropriate, modest 37mm dimensions), a Swiss-made Sellita movement, and date or no-date côtes de Genève dial options in an assortment of colors. See more about the brand here.
Hailing from New Zealand, Magrette is a watch microbrand that has caught on the international radar with its value-driven distinction and impressive spec-stacked collection of dive-inspired timepieces. Magrette uses a variety of movement styles across its lineup from ETA, Sellita, and Miyota, and are highly water-resistant, particularly the Moana Pacific Waterman models capable of 500m of depth. Perhaps the most appealing aspect of these models is the price, which ranges from $300 - with a Sellita movement, no less - to $765 for the aforementioned Moana Pacific Waterman model in the bronze case. Positioned at the top of the collection are hand engraved cases that are of extremely limited production. See more about the brand here.
Massena LAB is the brainchild of prominent industry personality William Massena. To know the brand is to know the person, Mr. Massena has done a bit of everything in the industry: he owned retail stores, was the managing director of the Timezone forum, and was even the COO of Antiquorum auction house in Switzerland. His latest project is his startup watch company which produces vintage-inspired chronographs that are heavily influenced by the famous Universal Genève “Big-Eye” chronographs from the 1960s. Currently, the Uni-Racer collection consists of reasonably sized 39mm models in a handful of sharp and interesting colorways and supplied with reliable Swiss Sellita movements. See more about the brand here.
Minase, based in Japan’s Akita Prefecture, traces its relatively short history to the high-end manufacturer Kyowa, which has been making tools and components for watch companies inside and outside Japan since 1963. In 2005, a group of ambitious watch designers within the company launched the brand HIZ, which became “Minase” in 2017, taking its name from the former village that occupied the area around the factory. Minase watches specialize in openworked dial whose movements appear suspended inside the cases; the geometrically inspired “Windows” cases, with rounded rectangular sides and five to seven individual sapphire crystal windows that showcases the movements; and the elite “Saliaz” surface treatment on the case elements, which combines mirror polishing and satin-brushing for sharp diamond-like facets. Minase is one of the smallest Japanese watchmakers, producing fewer than 500 complete timepieces annually. The most limited pieces are from the brand's Masterpiece collection, which feature exquisite lacquer dials by master craftsman Junichi Hakose, with traditional patterns hand-executed in the ancient Urushi lacquer technique. See more about the brand here.
Monta is a microbrand based out of St. Louis, Missouri that has quickly risen in the ranks since its founding in 2016, developing a great reputation for producing watches with an elite level of finishing at their accessible price points. Along with the strong (albeit somewhat familiar) designs and their use of Swiss automatic movements, this creates a winning formula. The SkyQuest is Monta's sporty travel watch, with undeniable resemblance to the famous (and much harder to get) Rolex GMT-Master and housing a Sellita movement with a 56-hour power reserve. See more about the brand here.
The brand name Nodus comes from the Latin word signifying the intersection of pathways, and signifies the microbrand’s mission of merging the two worlds of vintage and modern design. The first watch launched by the SoCal-based brand was the Trieste dive watch in 2017, which was discontinued after its initial run but continues to inspire successor models, like the Retrospect dive watch and the skin-diver-styled Sector Dive. Nodus watches are designed and assembled at the company’s HQ in Los Angeles and the bracelets feature the proprietary, button-operated NodeX module that allows for easy adjustment in five positions. In 2019 Teddy reviewed the Retrospect II on the main channel. See more about the brand here.
A jointly developed project between Swiss watch entrepreneur Ben Küffer, former Breitling co-owner Ted Schneider, and retired NHL player Mark Streit, Norqain was founded in 2018. It has established itself fairly quickly and decisively as a player in the field of value-driven sports watches with proprietary movements. The movements are made in partnership with a Swiss movement-making firm called Kenissi, which was established as a subsidiary company by Tudor, and boast 70-hour power reserves as well as COSC chronometer certifications. Norqain’s primary collections include the inspiringly named Freedom and Independence lines, and more recently the mountaineering-inspired Adventure Neverest, which Norqain has used as a stage for some very innovative dial colors and textures. See more about the brand here.
Orion was founded by Nick Harris, a watch enthusiast and watchmaker who became addicted to watches after receiving a vintage Omega Constellation from his grandfather. Orion makes no-nonsense tool watches that have fun '70s touches of color and style throughout. Landing here as a spotlight piece is one of the latest offerings from the brand, the Hellcat, offered in a handful of pleasing dial colors. See more about the brand here.
Founded in 2015 by former banking professional François Moreau, Reservoir brings a visually unique approach to displaying dial information. Time is displayed by a single retrograde hand with a jump-hour mechanism which is inspired by vintage measurement instruments with similar readouts. Whether it’s a watch for land, water, or air, this design language is prominent across each collection, giving the brand a very distinct identity. Reservoir calls La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland home and uses high-quality Swiss movements to pair with the signature designs. See more about the brand here.
Serica is a French microbrand, founded in 2019 in a collaboration between the watch blog “Les Rhabilleurs'' and the WM Brown Project, established by sartorial expert and A Man & His Watch author Matt Hranek. Following up the company’s first release, a “Dirty Dozen”-style field watch called the W.W.W. William Brown Edition, is its first divers’ watch, the distinctly designed 5303 series. Its high-end bonafides include sunray finishing on the bezel, mirror polishing on the articulated lugs, and an aluminum and ceramic dive-scale bezel that also incorporates a countdown function. Serica tests the automatic Soprod Newton movements to plus/minus four seconds per day, which speaks to the watches’ performance as well as the founders’ attention to detail. See more about the brand here.
When it comes to microbrands that nail both the design of their pieces but also their digital positioning, Unimatic is among the best of them. This Milan-based brand probably won’t surprise you that there is a team of great industrial designers at the helm given their branding. Unimatic has quickly become an archetype for how a small upstart brand can get more mass-market attention through quality design from the high-level brand experience down to the products it creates. See more about the brand here.
Founders Ryan Torres and Reagan Cook pooled their collective life savings to start Vaer because “we couldn’t afford the watches we liked and didn’t like the ones we could afford.” Based in Venice, California, Vaer released its first watches 2017. Designed and built with outdoor and sporting activities in mind, and adhering to the founders’ vision of “simple, well-built analog watches” for everyday wear, Vaer’s collection comprises two major pillars, one made up of dive watches like the D5 Tropic USA Automatic, pictured, and the other of military-influenced field watches, like the S5 Calendar Field, a homage to the World War II-era military-issue A-11 watch. Vaer watches offer several movement options, including Japanese quartz, Japanese solar-powered quartz, and, in the GMT model, a Swiss automatic Sellita SW330-2. See more about the brand here.
Vero is a Portland, Oregon-based microbrand that has carved out the casual "West Coast" look with its pieces, which also uphold a retro aesthetic. In their Portland facility, Vero produces its own dials and assemble all finished watches within its walls while offering regulated Swiss movements inside the cases. The Vero Ridge Trail is boldly designed and comes with a minty green dial. See more about the brand here.
Cameron Weiss, an entrepreneurial WOSTEP-trained watchmaker who had worked for Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin, launched Weiss Watch Company in 2013. The initial 10 pieces of his first watch, the original Standard Issue Field Watch, were hand-finished and assembled in a makeshift workshop, in a walk-in closet at his home. Originally based in Los Angeles, the company now makes watches at a workshop in Nashville, Tennessee. Each watch is individually assembled by a Swiss-trained watchmaker, with its case, crown, and buckle all machined in-house from a single block of stainless steel. Weiss initially used Swiss movements in his watches but as of 2016, his timepieces contain the in-house-developed Caliber 1003, which is 95 percent American-made. See more about the brand here.
Founded in France in 1948, Yema has had an up-and-down history in the watch world, with ownership changing several times over the years (including a stint in the 1980s when it was owned by Seiko). In 2005, under new French ownership, Yema returned to the scene after a long hiatus and began offering a vast range of watch styles, including the racing-inspired Rallygraf chronograph, the retro-futuristic LED models, and the Flygraf GMT models that emerged from a partnership with the French Air Force, one of Yema’s many projects in its role as partner of France’s Armed Forces. By far the most emblematic Yema watch is the Superman divers’ series, which first debuted in 1963 and which still boasts a loyal following. The Urban Traveller, above, stands out from other integrated sport-luxury timepieces with its handsome honeycomb dial and its in-house YEMA2000 automatic movement. See more about the brand here.
Singapore-based Zelos has become one of the fastest emerging microbrands in the world thanks to its value-driven timepieces, primarily its robustly well-constructed dive watches. The cases are made of high-quality materials and contain both Japanese and Swiss movements. Zelos has carved out a unique niche in the competitive landscape of boutique diving brands. See more about the brand here.
Founded in London in 2016, William Wood Watches pays tribute to its namesake, founder Jonny Garret’s grandfather, who was a decorated 25-year veteran of the British Fire Service, with its use of upcycled firefighting materials in its watches. The crowns are capped with a medallion crafted from melted-down brass London Fire Brigade helmets from the 1920s. Among the variety of interchangeable straps and bracelets available are tough, supple rubber straps that have been hand-cut from fire hoses used more than 10 years by the U.K. Fire and Rescue Service, which still maintain a faint smokiness from their decade-plus of service.
Other aesthetic nods to firefighting culture abound, including a checkered ring around the dials’ perimeter, in place of a traditional minute track, echoing the livery of a British fire engine; a double index at 12 o’clock that resembles the collar markings on the lapel of a U.K. Fire and Rescue Service Crew Manager, an applied vintage fire helmet above the logo, and the counterweight on the central seconds hand that takes the form of the chime inside a historical fire bell. William Wood Watches are offered with a choice of two different types of mechanical automatic movements, either a Japanese Seiko NH35 or, for a slight upcharge, a Swiss Sellita SW200. William Wood donates a percentage of the sales of each watch to firefighting charities, including the U.K.’s Fire Fighter Charity, which provides mental, physical and social support to the firefighting community, and the Australian Bushfire Relief Fund. In 2021, for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, William Wood partnered with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation to auction off a unique edition of its Triumph Heat chronograph model to benefit the charitable organization, which raised $19,000 after an opening bid of $2,000. See more about the brand here.
From the name, you might think that Bausele is a Swiss microbrand based in the (former?) watch-industry trade show capital of Basel. You’d be right about the Swiss part, but way off on the home base. “Bausele” is an abbreviation of “Beyond Australian Elements,” and refers to the unique design sense that Swiss watchmaking entrepreneur Christopher Hoppe, who moved to Sydney with his Australian wife and founded the brand in 2011, brings to the table with this Swiss-made, Australian-designed microbrand. Bausele’s flagship collection is the OceanMoon series of professional grade dive watches, outfitted with 200-meter water resistant steel anti magnetic cases on straps made of recycled ocean waste and containing Swiss automatic calibers.
Among those “Australian elements” are the cases’ hollow glass crowns through which you can glimpse an actual living element of Australia — red earth from the Outback, sand — which allow the watch’s owner to literally carry a piece of Australia with them anywhere in the world. Bausele is the official watch of the centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force as well as several military corps and even the iconic Sydney Opera House. See more about the brand here.
Originally founded by Oscar Waldan in 1979, New York-based Waldan Watch Company is a microbrand enjoying a renaissance under the guidance of Oscar’s son, Andrew Waldan, who revived the dormant brand during the challenging year of 2020. Thus far, Waldan consists of two distinctive sub-families within the flagship Heritage Collection: the dressy Professional, and the more casually colorful Sportline, which has a Nautilus-like lined-texture motif on the dials. All the watches feature steel cases with the thin, stepped, polished bezels typical of early Waldan models and knurled crowns. Most notably, they all feature a U.S.-made movements, namely the “Ameriquartz” caliber 70200, a quartz caliber developed and produced by Fine Timepiece Solutions (FTS) in Fountain Hills, Arizona that carries a five-year warranty. Also noteworthy at this price point (around $300) is Waldan’s use of sapphire crystals rather than mineral glass over the dials. See more about the brand here.
The watches are all assembled in Great Britain and mounted on Epsom calfskin leather straps from The Strap Tailor, an artisanal shop also headquartered in London.Most notably, Studio Underd0g watches are equipped with hand-wound ST-1901 column-wheel chronograph calibers, which are made in China but based on the classical Swiss-made Venus Caliber 175. Each watch is inspected for accuracy and demagnetized before being shipped from the U.K. with its own individual “Report Card.” The first series from the young brand was priced at a very reasonable $475. See more about the brand here.
Kuoe was established in 2020 in the Japanese city of Kyoto. Its founder, Uchmua, who also serves as watch designer, was attending university in London a decade earlier when he discovered a shop that sold and repaired antique wristwatches and subsequently fell in love with their classical design and the accumulated history they represented. After several years working for another watch manufacturer, he ushered in the launch of Kuoe with its first timepiece, the vintage-influenced Old Smith 90-001. The Royal Smith models that followed represent Kuoe’s “premium” line, inspired by watches from the 1940s with rectangular cases, hand-applied Breguet numerals on the dials, and Japanese-made Miyota automatic movements inside, providing a high-beat frequency of 28,800 vph. See more about the brand here.
Based in Austin, TX and hailing from northern England, watch enthusiast Nathan Trafford worked in the creative end of the advertising business before the call of the watch industry moved him to found his own microbrand in 2020. Trafford’s passion for design and typography is evident in the brand’s flagship collection, called Crossroads, comprised of timepieces whose distinctive feature is the motif of a curved horizon line — in the sides of the rectangular steel case, on the rotor of the automatic Miyota movement, even on the buckle of the straps, which are made of Italian suede leather. The meticulously brushed dials are offered in an array of colors, many paying visual tribute to the scenery of Trafford’s adopted home of Texas. See more about the brand here.
If Tornek-Rayville’s military-look dive watches look familiar, there’s a reason. The original models, sold exclusively to U.S. military clients, were actually heavily modified Fifty Fathoms watches, sourced from Swiss watchmaker Blancpain and re-branded by retailer Allan Tornek as a clever end-around to the “Buy American Act” of 1933, which required America’s armed forces to buy strictly from American brands. (Hence, “Tornek,” the retailer’s name, plus “Rayville,” a vocal anagram of Blancpain’s Swiss hometown of Villeret, or "Ville-Ray".) Entrepreneur Bill Yao, who had previously founded the tool-watch brand MKII, relaunched Tornek-Rayville in 2010, with a heavy emphasis on a reissued version of the most legendary model, the TR-900, which was worn by U.S. special forces during the Vietnam War. The TR-660 followed, offering another does of mid-’50s Fifty Fathoms DNA at a far more accessible price point, Modern Tornek-Rayvilles are made in Japan and contain the Seiko NE15 automatic movement. See more about the brand here.
Since 1980, the St. Moritz Watch Corp. of Vancouver, Canada, has been making sturdy and affordable sports watches under the Momentum brand. The flagship Sea Quartz divers’ watch has its origins slightly further back, when brand founder Simon Pennell originally introduced it as part of his earlier brand, Chronosport. The model, one of the first analog dive watches with a quartz caliber, is best known for its role in the iconic 1980s TV series Magnum, P.I., where it was worn for the first three seasons by star Tom Selleck. Today’s Sea Quartz models replicate the fondly remembered design of the original, with robust 300-meter water resistant cases and Swiss-made Ronda quartz movements. See more about the brand here.
The initials in this microbrand’s name stand for “All Day Purpose and Terrain,” which should be a tipoff that ADPT watches lean design-wise more into tool and sport than elegant luxury territory. Launched by online retailer and content platform Worn & Wound in 2017, and produced in collaboration with another boutique watch manufacturer, BOLDR Supply Co., the collection is fronted by the Series 1 three-handed models, based on the BOLDR field-watch platform and sporting titanium cases, equipped with an automatic movement from Seiko; and their GMT-enabled offshoot,s the Series 1 Dual Time, also with Seiko self-winding calibers. The military-style nylon straps are made in the U.S.A. See more about the brand here.
French designer Nicolas Ducoudert established BeauBleu in 2017, drawing upon his experience in the automotive and luxury goods industries to create the unique look of the company’s watches, identified by their circular-shaped hands that seem to float above the dial. BeauBleu watches are conceived, designed and assembled in Paris, and outfitted with mechanical automatic movements from Japan’s Miyota. The three main pillars include the Ecce Lys, with rose-gold-toned cases and grained dials; Ecce Smalt, defined by embossed blue dials with gradient effects; and Ecce Vesperal, with monochrome metallic-brushed cases and dials. See more about the brand here.
Founders Rick Bell and Mark Stegman founded Cincinnati Watch Company (originally a venture called Build Your Own Watch) in 2018 with a mission to bring the watchmaking trade back to their midwestern home city. Former AWCI executive director and WOSTEP-trained watchmaker Jordan Ficklin came aboard to help launch the company in 2020. The company assembles all its timepieces in-house, equipping them with movements from Switzerland and Japan. Its first timepiece was the Union Terminal Watch, whose design celebrates the historic train station in the “Queen City” that is also one of the United States’s icons of Art Deco architecture. Another historically inspired watch, the Guild Mechanical, pays tribute to another facet of Cincinnati’s horological past, the “Time Hill” guild hall that was once the home of the Gruen Watch Company. See more about the brand here.
Industrial designer Nicola Callegro and aerospace engineer Cristiano Quaglia — both watch aficionados from Italy — joined forces to create Echo/Neutra, via Kickstarter campaign, in 2019. Based in the Italian Dolomites, Echo/Neutra is a microbrand that produces watches that pay tribute to the mountain range of their origin and specifically to the city of Cortina d’Ampezzo, host of the 1956 Winter Olympics. The Cortina collection, which consists of three-handers, chronographs, and GMTs, contains Swiss-made mechanical movements and features the emblem of the ‘56 games on the dial; the chronographs are powered by a hand-wound Sellita while the GMTs feature an automatic Soprod. See more about the brand here.
The house watch microbrand of New York online retailer Long Island Watch Co., Islander makes affordable everyday tool watches with (as you might expect from the name) an emphasis on diver styles. The collection is wide, and also includes classical pilot and field watches; many of the watches, which carry the names of Long Island communities such as Greenport, Manhasset, and Bridgehampton, include what the manufacturer calls “hallmarks of quality” found in more expensive brands, including sapphire crystals, screw-down crowns, ceramic inserts for the rotating dive-scale bezels, and mechanical self-winding movements from the likes of Seiko and Miyota. See more about the brand here.
Established in 2016, Isotope Watches operates out of the town of Henfield, England and makes its watches in Switzerland. It was founded by lifelong watch enthusiast Jose Miranda who nevertheless sold many of his personal watches to fund his brand and took inspiration from revolutionary watch concepts like the IWC Pallweber and Gérald Genta’s early jumping-hour watches, as well as the designs of the Art Deco “Streamline Moderne” era. This influence is still evident in today’s Isotope timepieces, like the Hydrium series of dive watches and the Old Radium models that take inspiration from 1940s pilot’s watches. See more about the brand here.
One of the very few Swiss watch microbrands based in Zurich, Ollech & Wajs traces its history all the way back to 1956. It was the first Swiss watchmaker to make a dive watch water-resistant to 1,000 meters and the first to do direct-to-consumer mail-order business; its tool watches were worn by military troops during the Vietnam War and by NASA scientists during the Space race. After many decades of such milestones, the founding families sold the company to its current owner in 2017. The watches produced by the brand — like the motorsport-inspired Rallychron, the Ocean Graph dive watch with decompression-scale bezel, and the P-104 pilots’ model with slide-rule functionality — channel the spirit of their vintage ancestors, and are all fitted with automatic movements from ETA and Soprod; OW is one of the rare Swiss makers that has never put a quartz movement in a watch. See more about the brand here.
Scotland-based microbrand Paulin, launched in 2013, assembles all of its watches at its workshop in Glasgow, and takes great pride in the transparency it offers to prospective buyers on the sources of the brand’s parts. The watches are truly a global collaboration: anodized aluminum dials made in Germany ands finished in the U.K., cases and crystals from China, hands from India, movements from Switzerland and Japan, straps from a 70-year-old family tannery in Germany. Paulin watches are notable for bold colors and playful designs, like the Ohno Automatic featured above, which is powered by a Swiss-made La Joux-Perret caliber and whose dial features a visual tribute to the free-form typography of California’s Ohno type foundry, a Paulin partner. See more about the brand here.
Oslo-based Straum was the brainchild of two Norwegian students at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, with a shared appreciation of outdoorsy activities and talent for digital CAD prototyping. Their first entrepreneurial project, an experimental piece of camera equipment, was shelved in favor of making a new line of watches inspired by the Norwegian wilderness and its natural wonders. The flagship Jan Mayen collection, accordingly, features dials with a cracked pattern evocative of the landscape of the Beerenberg volcano; previous models, like the sold-out Opphav, had rippled-texture dials that called to mind the ridges and valleys of the nation’s glaciers. See more about the brand here.
Watch collector and re-seller Mitch Greenblatt teamed with his entrepreneurial brother Andrew to form the e-commerce business Watchismo in 2007. After several successful years, the brothers teamed with a designer Daniel Hunsaker to form their own watch brand, Xeric, which since its founding in 2013 has launched 20 successful Kickstarter campaigns for its products — including the most-funded timepiece in the platform’s history. With a mandate to “make time fun again,” Xeric watches are made in California and wildly unconventional in design and mechanics, with quirky complications like wandering hour displays, orbiting moon-phase hands, and linear chronograph indications echoing the look of gauges on a race car dashboard, as on the popular Halograph models. Japan’s Miyota supplies most of the movements, which range from quartz to automatic to a sub-$2,000 tourbillon. See more about the brand here.
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25 Comments
You should really include Marnaut – it’s a Croatian microbrand which has a couple design quirks not seen anywhere else – e.g. all dials are designed to remind of sea urchin, with lume filled dots, because of Croatia being on the coast of the Adriatic sea; every model has a longitude and latitude of some Croatian town inscribed on the dial. Movements are Sellita, craftsmanship is top-notch. They even hive signed spring bars, which I have never seen before. Worth a look: https://www.marnaut.com/
Sangin Instruments is worthy of the list
Really surprised not to see Second Hour listed here , original design, exceptional build quality and run by one of the most passionate brand owners. Get one in your hands Teddy!
Jack Mason is a great American microbrand,but I never see them reviewed on your site. Maybe give them a look. Thanks
Any thoughts on Fears as a brand?
Hello,
Newbie here. Do you know Helm Watches? I have one Komodo orange dial and it is stunning for the price.
Leaving out a few significant US makers. GSD (Greg Stevens Design) RGM (Roland G Murphy) Frett Clock Works and Richard Paige. Not sure how you include a brand like Islander that manufactures way beyond the microbrand quantities and does virtually nothing other than design in house.
I’m curious, what is “microbrand quantities”? Besides, don’t most microbrands do nothing other than design in-house?
Hello, what is your thoughts of Jerome Lemars automatic watch
Hi what are your thoughts of jerome lemars watch. Thank you
Great reading!
There are some microbrands from Euroupe, that it would great to gear you take on.
Italay
Tecnotempo
Venezianico
Norway
There are some brands in Euroupe that I would lkike to know more about, and it would be great to hear your take on them.
Italy
Tecnotempo
Venezianico
Norway
DeSanders Voyage GMT
There are some brands in Euroupe that I would lkike to know more about, and it would be great to hear your take on them.
Italy
Tecnotempo
Venezianico
Norway
DeSanders Voyage GMT
Thanks for the information. Has anyone evaluated or seen the MMI CuttleChron? Or MMI as a watch company? I am intrigued by their design. Just wanted to know if others have any opinions. Thanks.
What is your opinion about second hand wrist watches ? Someone is offering me an srpe93 one year old for 250 eu, looks vgd ? New 470 eu. Appreciate your opinion.
Christopher Ward is not a MicroBrand. Also, any thoughts on Phoibos?
what do you think about Argos watch company from india
Please consider Bangalore Watch Company also
Please have a look at Bangalore Watch Company aswell
Hi Teddy, missing from your list is Henry Archer. Suggest you give them a look.
I am curious, when did the definition of “microbrand” become cloudy? Deep Blue, St. Mortiz, Spinnaker, Vaer, Momentum, Yema, Christopher Ward are global brands with employees in the double digits.
Mercer closed up almost 3 years ago.
MKII and Tornek Rayville are the same brand/owner/employee’s. I am not sure why this is listed separately.
If there was some research done I am sure there are some worthy microbrands who could filled those voids.
It would be nice to have a comparison between these microbrands as to movement/quality/reliability/cost. This article is more just a blurb but no criticisms.
No love for Nivada Grenchen??
No love for Nivada Grenchen??
Great article! Please, check LEBOND. Architect designed timepieces!
Teddy ~ marvelous! Informative! And eye-catching.
Unfortunately, my two MB’s didn’t make your video list. I have Maen, Manhattan 37 [salmon color face] & DuFane Waterloo. Both wonderfully designed and executed. As typical for MB’s, quite cost-effective. They’re both wonderful to wear and keeptime beautifully.