Worn & Wound
The Science of Colored Ceramic Through Three New Hues in Earthen Company’s Summit MK II
It started with a topic that’s readily on watch collectors’ minds over the past few years in particular – a topic we even discussed on a recent podcast: watch prices are climbing and pricing younger collectors out of the hobby. Jonathan Chan, a collector himself and co-founder of The Horology Society (a Hong-Kong based global collector community), decided to create the brand he wanted to see in the market. After two years of conceptualization, research, development, and prototyping, he founded Earthen Company in 2025 with a mission to democratize watches with a focus on high-tech ceramic and a goal to keep price tags below $1,000. The brand’s inaugural offering, the Summit Collection, presented a mix of old and new, past and present with dichotomy of vintage pilot and field watch design codes rendered in modern ceramic. Over the past year, Earthen Company’s offerings have continued to expand with an evolution of the original line called the Summit Mark II and a totally new addition with the Aventurine Collection. The Summit MK II refined the composition of the collection that started it all. It retained the original proportions and signature ceramic build while upgrading the finer details like dial symmetry and legibility. Now, we get the latest additions to the MK II lineup with a trio of new colors.As a journalist in this industry for the better part of almost 15 years, I’m often a bit underwhelmed when the headline of a new release is simply a new colorway. ...