WATCHES & WONDERS 2024
This Japanese microbrand's latest piece would be right at home in Neo Tokyo.
Boasting a familiar octagonal form housing an innovative in-house movement, it's a bold first attempt from a brand (and country) little known to the world.
Montoir's design brief was simple - classic dive watch, Swiss movement, affordable price - and they delivered.
Like many new microbrands, Bōken was created from a desire to do good in an industry that has only recently become interested in conservation efforts,…
The new Manime La Fidèle vies to be the ultimate minimalist integrated bracelet watch that doesn't skimp on specs.
Industrial watch design comes up a lot when discussing brands such as Hublot and Ball Watch Co, but any fan of Rammstein can assure you…
For as many watch enthusiasts as we have here, Australia is lacking somewhat when it comes to home-grown brands. Of course we have Bausele, Galvin,…
Back when everybody wore a watch to keep their lives organised, most people only needed something that indicated the time and date. Nothing truly fancy…
When you’re contemplating buying a watch that is so clearly an homage to an established model, you have to be absolutely sure that you’re getting…
Sometimes, hearing about a new brand named after someone you’ve never heard of, some alarm bells ring. It’s a fairly classic trick used by companies…
We are bound to follow certain trends no matter which industry we look into. Whether it be fashion, cars, music and, for what concerns us…
Formex can be seen as an independent brand, but is one of the few that borders the independent and regular watch markets. Independent because it…
South Korea is not typically a country associated with watchmaking, despite a strong culture of manufacturing that has leapt in quality over the last two…
There is a crucial moment in the existence of an independent brand when it adds mechanical movements to their core collections. This change seems to…
We don’t need more dive watches. According to some anecdotal data, divers are the most popular type of watches because they are robust, versatile, and…
Vario are one of the most beloved microbrands, and despite the fact that they may not receive as much hype as others, they still hold…
For those who were into scuba diving in the 1960s/70s and did not care for the professional-grade dive watches from Rolex and Blancpain, skin divers…
Some of the most iconic models in the history of horology became so because they offered something unique. A new case design or a new…
You know how action movies sometimes include sleeper agents that nobody noticed and that can wreak havoc should they wish to? Well, we can also…
Over the past 10 years, French brands have been making real waves in the horological world. The country has seen a resurgence of fine watchmaking…
What is great about the independent watch market is that there is more room to do things differently. By offering more value for less money or…
For the last few years, watchmaking has really been throwing off the shackles of stylistic repression across independent and large-scale manufacturers, leading to some of…
Starting Micro Mondays was originally about shining a light on some of the great independent watchmakers who have been able to be supported through the…
Designing a new watch from the ground up is always going to be a difficult task, given that there’s over a century’s worth of designs…
The watch microbrand game has become incredibly alluring over the last few years, with some examples rising from humble Kickstarter origins to sky-high profits and…
The most popular watches at the moment are often surrounded by a contextual suffering. Military watches have quite a dark theme, and you could make…
There’s little that can beat a field watch when it comes to day-to-day wear. Divers are often too chunky, and dress watches too delicate, but…
As a microbrand, Hemel have very much found their niche and stuck to it. Regarding military watches as the forefront of horological development throughout history,…
With a name like Orator, you would expect this brand to have a good story behind it. Thankfully it delivers, as one of watchmaking’s forgotten…
For those who buy watches to wear in different situations, what context best suits the Olto-8 Infinity II? It could be in the seat of…
It’s getting harder and harder to stand out as a microbrand as dozens seem to pop up every week, but the most distinctive examples are…
During my time at Time+Tide, the flow of curious timekeepers coming across my desk has been constant, yet, the CIGA Design Blue Planet stands out…
Vintage military-inspired watches can sometimes seem like an easy path for microbrands to go down, but there are plenty of pitfalls and traps along the…
There are plenty of watch brands that have been resurrected from the past. But Circula set themselves apart with their authentic German heritage and the…
You’ve heard of square watches and rectangular watches. Even octagonal watches are essentially common these days. With around a century of experimentation since wristwatches were…
Eschewing the influence of diving or sports, the pure military inspiration behind the new York & Front Burrard is pretty close to being the perfect…
Few watches can claim to be truly unique designs, except for those within the wild west that is Kickstarter. Instead of massive brands guessing at…
The popularity of microbrands is predominantly down to two main reasons. Firstly, there is the fact that they’re often far more affordable than established watch…
Audric launched their first watch in 2020, deep in the throes of the global pandemic. The SeaBorne stood out from the crowd of Kickstarter-funded dive…
In case you haven’t received the memo, stainless-steel, integrated-bracelet watches are white-hot. Scratch that: more like a Texas-sized asteroid flying straight into the centre of…
How on earth can anyone be expected to choose their next watch these days? It almost seems like there are hundreds of new Kickstarter microbrands…
Editor’s note: Big news today out of Australia today. The hard border closure (in place since March 2020) will be removed as of February 21!…
EDITOR’S NOTE: We have been advised by readers that this watch has allegedly not been sent to consumers despite repeated promises. We have contracted the brand…
What is it about pilot watches that makes them so popular? Is it their historically superior legibility? Maybe it’s the incorporation of aeronautical elements into…
It’s easy to forget that this hobby we love had its origins in life-changing situations. These watches we wear were once more than just physical…
How many times have you ever turned to a buddy and said: “We should start our own watch brand”. Picture this: two childhood friends on…
The Nordic region has only a small clutch of watch brands and they just seem to have a different air about them. Brands like Bravur…
At Time-Tide, we have a history of covering the new releases of Elshan Tang, the owner and designer behind Zelos Watches in Singapore, and he…
In some ways, the boom of microbrands in the past few years has reignited the golden age of suppliers from the 1950s. Leaf through a…
Let’s not beat around the bush, I can see it too. The Gerald Genta influence is strong here, but in a somewhat butcher presence than…
The vintage vibe already seems strong this year as we clearly see in new releases from Big Box brands and microbrands alike. So what’s happened…
Melbourne isn’t known as a hotbed of horological activity. Indeed, Patek Philippe was founded more than a decade earlier than Melbourne was even recognised as…
Brellum has just released a resolutely modern, yet classic take on a pilot’s chronograph, with the sharpest of details – and shows how much colour…
