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Results for Microbrand Watches

19,019 articles · 2,659 videos found · page 241 of 723

Ōtsuka Lōtec Debuts the New No. 9, an Experiment in Haute Horology Worn & Wound
Sep 23, 2025

Ōtsuka Lōtec Debuts the New No. 9, an Experiment in Haute Horology

Ōtsuka Lōtec had a viral moment over the weekend with the surprise launch of the No. 9, the latest creation from the Japanese microbrand headed by designer and watchmaker Jiro Katayama. These watches have captured the attention and imagination of enthusiasts worldwide for their unique steampunk aesthetic, filtered through a unique Japanese industrial design perspective. Up until now, their watches have been defined by interesting complications (wandering hours, retrograde displays, etc.) at ultra competitive price points topping out at around $5,000, and being genuinely difficult to obtain outside of Japan thanks to extremely limited production and simply not being offered to en masse to those outside the country. With the No. 9, it certainly appears that Ōtsuka Lōtec will continue to make watches that are tough to obtain, but they’ve thrown the pricing structure out the window with this release, offering up a far more complicated watch than anything they’ve previously attempted.  The No. 9 is a rectangular watch in a stainless steel case measuring 41.3mm by 26.4mm. It’s 10.35mm tall, which makes this a quite compact package, and all the more impressive given the mechanical complexity. Going through the list of features and mechanical complications here is going to be a bit like the Stefon sketch on SNL (“This watch has everything…”) so let’s just embrace it: across 278 components, this watch features a tourbillon, a jump hour, “rewinding minutes,” a...

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Christopher Ward Bel Canto Review Teddy Baldassarre
Christopher Ward Sep 5, 2025

Christopher Ward Bel Canto Review

London-based watchmaker Christopher Ward has achieved the impossible in its relatively short number of years in the watch game, catapulting from if you know, you-know microbrand to one of the most continuously successful indie watch brands on the market. Its founding principles remain largely unchanged, though its scale has grown in the 24 years since its founding: make high-quality watches while cutting what could be called the luxury tax in the industry with a direct-to-consumer model. But there is one distinct product that put the brand on the map more than any other, and that was the introduction of its own chiming watch at an unheard-of price point, the Christopher Ward Bel Canto. As you might have already guessed by the article title, today, we’re taking a microscopic view of the C1 Bel Canto, exploring what has made the watch such a crowd-favorite, and how it holds up today, four years after its initial release.  Christopher Ward Bel Canto History As always, let us begin our horological journey with a history primer on Christopher Ward’s pathway to contemporary success. Luckily for you (and your dear writer), the brand doesn’t have as sweeping a history as many of the centuries-old watchmakers out there, so we can really dive into the microscopic view here. Christopher Ward, whom I would bestow the title of reigning King of Indie Watch Brands, has one of the scrappiest origin stories in the watch world. Founded in 2004 by the trio of Mike France, Peter Ellis,...

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The Batavi Marine Chronograaf Conjures the Scent of Summer Worn & Wound
Jul 14, 2025

The Batavi Marine Chronograaf Conjures the Scent of Summer

As someone who lives within a mile of the Pacific Ocean, the smell of the sea is one of comfort to me. Naturally, this leads me to like candles and fragrances that have a hint of that crisp aquatic breeze. Of course, this has little to do with watches; or at least I thought it did. But Amsterdam-based microbrand Batavi has launched a yacht-inspired fragrance and wristwatch pairing that evokes the ocean in all its aesthetic and olfactory glory, so you can bring that sweet, salty scent with you in more ways than one.  The Marina Chronograaf lineup introduces four variants, each with identical specs but relatively singular designs. To start, each Chronograaf measures in at 46mm lug-to-lug, and a 38mm stainless steel case with 13.5mm of thickness conveys a sporty silhouette. Each model features two subdials, a running seconds and a 30-minute counter at the 9 and 3 o’clock positions respectively, a railroad track around the dial, and hands that lay somewhere between GMT, chronograph, and diver styling. Inside, a hand-wound Seagull ST1901 movement keeps the yacht-timer functionality of each reference ticking and promises a 45-50 hour power reserve. Fifty meters of water resistance, a domed sapphire crystal, see-through caseback, and stainless steel quick-release bracelet round out the package. Four dial options are available, and each colorway is about as distinct from the next as is possible. “Sunrise” features a cotton candy-esque combination of blue and pink, with a gr...

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Traveling In Style - Hands-On With The New Héron Mirabel GMT Fratello
Jun 5, 2025

Traveling In Style - Hands-On With The New Héron Mirabel GMT

Have you ever noticed that most GMT watches are quite sporty? That’s great for many people, but what if you travel for work or simply have a more formal style? Well, Canadian microbrand Héron has got your back! I would like to introduce you to the Héron Mirabel GMT, a dressy travel watch - or, […] Visit Traveling In Style - Hands-On With The New Héron Mirabel GMT to read the full article.

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Introducing – The New Maen x Nico Leonard Jumping Hour Limited Edition Monochrome
Maen Mar 27, 2025

Introducing – The New Maen x Nico Leonard Jumping Hour Limited Edition

For its latest limited-edition watch, Stockholm-based, Dutch-rooted microbrand Maen (known for its accessible watches) has partnered with Nico Leonard – a well-known Dutch YouTube watch man famous for his outspoken style. This collaboration, the Maen x Nico Leonard Jumping Hour, blends familiar design elements while making a historically significant complication accessible to a broader audience. […]

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Craft is Everywhere: How Statera Brought Old World Watchmaking to Brazil Worn & Wound
Dec 26, 2024

Craft is Everywhere: How Statera Brought Old World Watchmaking to Brazil

When I first met Rafael Guimarães a few months ago, Statera hadn’t crossed my radar in a big way. The small brand, which has a fair claim to being the first watch brand born and built in Brazil, had already sold through a few production runs of nice-looking watches, but the brand had yet to make a real splash or to break out from the typical microbrand mold. Their first few releases certainly showed evidence of an eye for quality and detail, but for Rafael and his longtime friend and co-founder Antonio Almir dos Santos Neto (the two have known each other since they were five), it wasn’t enough. “For the first watch, the ST01, we made the design, and then the watch was fabricated in France… it was more like a [proof of concept] to see if we are able to sell watches,” Rafael explained. The obvious next step was to turn inward, to move away from external manufacturing and create what would be (and now is) the first independent watch not only conceived in Brazil, but made there as well. The result is the ST02 Esmalte Grand Feu, a handsome take on the everyday watch born out of a unique perspective paired with a generation’s worth of accumulated knowledge. How We Learn The path to the ST02 was neither short nor simple. Reaching the next level when you live and work in a part of the world with no history of watchmaking isn’t easy, and it’s not made any easier by Brazil’s restrictive tax structure. “We are fascinated by métier d’art. and we are fascinated ...

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Baltic Prismic Stone Dial Review Teddy Baldassarre
Baltic Sep 17, 2024

Baltic Prismic Stone Dial Review

I’ve been covering and getting to know the team at Baltic watches for about half a decade now, and in those five years I have watched the brand – with founder Etienne Malec at the helm – transform itself from “microbrand,” playing in the vintage-inspired sandbox, to venerable player in the game, full stop. Where we once heard the Baltic name and immediately thought of watches like the Aquascaphe or Bicompax chronograph, the intervening years have seen launches like the MR-01 micro-rotor model, and the Prismic (foreshadowing) with sprinkles of appearances at Only Watch thrown in for good measure. Returning to the Prismic, that watch debuted earlier this year and represented a venture into fresh territory for a company mostly known for producing tool watches (the MR-01 being the lone prior exception). So when I walked into the Beau-Rivage Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland during Watches & Wonders this year to say hello to my pals at Baltic, I expected to see the entire current catalog and get my hands on those Prismics which I did not yet get a chance to see in person.  Little did I know that they would have three surprises on hand… in April… nearly six months before they were et to be released. I am, of course, talking about the three new limited additions to the Prismic lineup which launched this week. They take the same case construction as the existing models – 36mm wide by 9.2mm tall – but pack a real punch by way of the dials. Where the standard Prismic ...

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A New Chronograph From Xeric Celebrates the Upcoming NASA Artemis Missions Worn & Wound
Aug 20, 2024

A New Chronograph From Xeric Celebrates the Upcoming NASA Artemis Missions

Xeric is a watch brand with a cult following based on a reputation for creating some of the most ingenious and affordable statement watches in the microbrand world. Their pieces are often conversation starters, featuring unusual time telling displays and lots of color. If you’re familiar with some of their avant-garde designs, it’s perhaps not a surprise that they have an entire sub-collection of NASA branded watches. It just kind of makes sense that watches with a decidedly futuristic, sci-fi inspired look would connect to the space agency. Their latest NASA piece, however, is almost subdued in comparison to prior efforts, and if you’re interested in jumping into Xeric but not ready for a watch with complex satellite time telling mechanism, the new Artemis Chrono might be your speed.  The Artemis Chrono is named for the NASA program that will bring human beings to the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo missions over 50 years ago. Returning to the moon is an important space travel milestone so it’s no surprise that Xeric would celebrate it with a limited edition release. The basis for the design, according to Xeric, is an updated take on the tachymeter equipped chronograph, which of course is exactly the type of watch that has become famous as the space watch over the last five decades.  For the new Artemis Chrono, the bezel has become a focal point and is highlighted with bold colors and has been glass coated to aid in legibility and make the whol...

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Hands-On With The J&Berg; B2 - A Genre-Busting Titanium Sports Watch Fratello
May 19, 2024

Hands-On With The J&Berg; B2 - A Genre-Busting Titanium Sports Watch

I love watches that refuse to stick to a genre and offer a clean-slate perspective that doesn’t look back in time. Going hands-on with the J&Berg; B2, I see both of these qualities and put Finland on the map of microbrand cool. Titanium is very much the material du jour, but I have a conflicted […] Visit Hands-On With The J&Berg; B2 - A Genre-Busting Titanium Sports Watch to read the full article.

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