Kollokium Projekt 02
I first discovered Kollokium in early 2024 when I wrote a piece about exciting microbrands to watch out for, and since then, they’ve released some stunning watches. The Kollokium Projekt 02 is the brand’s second release, following a successful first outing that explored insane 3-dimensional lume plots which made up the dial.
The 02 model iterates upon the 01, refining its case shape and swapping columns for a topographical layout for the dial, made up of 67 different plates which are similarly topped with lume. The stainless steel case is die-cast rather than machined, giving it a unique, technical appearance, and it also features a large, box-shaped crystal up top that stretches over the sides. So far, the 02 has only been available as a friends and family release: I hope 2026 sees a wider release.
Studio Underd0g 01 Homage Series
Upon finding out one’s life’s work had been plagiarised and ripped off all of a sudden, most people would be horrified and not know what on earth to do, spiralling into a world of panic and lawyers’ letters. But Richard Benc from Studio Underd0g is not most people. After having had enough of seeing his 01Series Chronograph being faked and copied, he took matters into his own hands with the “Homage Series”. Starting with a brilliant teaser video of popular watch influencers’ faces deepfaked onto his body, he prepared to pull the ultimate uno reverse card: creating homage colourways of the fake Underd0g watches he’d discovered on sale.
The result was the Av0cado & Guacam0le, a limited-edition release that went down a storm. This approach was not only hilariously funny but also a testament to Studio Underd0g’s nature of not taking itself too seriously, and it created another storyline in the brand’s short but successful story so far.
Nezumi
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.
Sherpa Ultradive
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.
Autodromo Group B Series 2
The marrying of watches and cars seem to be a match made in heaven, given the mechanical undertones of both. Of the many brands that aim to harness the inner spirit of motorists in their watches, many struggle to do it as well as Autodromo. The brand was founded by Bradley Price, an industrial designer that aimed to develop a brand that could embody the golden era of motoring while offering pieces with modern components and has become one of the most respected boutique watch brands. The designs evoke dashboard instruments of vintage cars, like the Group B model pictured that calls to mind the eponymous rally cars of the 1980s with its minimalist aesthetic. Its titanium case integrates into a steel bracelet and contains the Japanese Miyota 9-series automatic movement from Japan. See more about the brand here.
Brew Metric
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.
Christopher Ward The Twelve
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.
Farer Segrave Monopusher
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.
Formex Reef GMT
Formex is one of those brands that are certainly on the cusp of being classified as an „independent“ — which one could make a strong argument for, as the company has been around for a considerable amount of time by microbrand standards — founded in 1999 — and is today producing some fantastic pieces for the money. Many Formex watches are COSC chronometer-certified. Based in Biel, Switzerland, Formex has become increasingly popular thanks to the Essence model and its stylish and sporty dive-watch companion, the Reef, GMT version pictured above. See more about the brand here.
Massena LAB Uni-Racer
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.
Oak & Oscar Olmsted
Chicago-based microbrand Oak & Oscar hit the scene in 2015 with the launch of the Burnham, a time-and-date model named for American Beaux-Arts architect Daniel Burnham, designed of many iconic Windy City skyscrapers. (Subsequent models have taken their names from other architects, like the Olmsted, pictured, and have included a two-register chronograph and a GMT.) The company’s own name comes from its team members’ love of good bourbon (“oak”) and the name of founder Chase Fancher’s dog, Oscar; dogs, particularly rescue dogs, play a large role in the brand’s mission statement, which includes donating a portion of sales to Chicago-area rescue dog charities. Oak & Oscar watches are hand-assembled, tested, and regulated in Chicago, with Swiss-made movements and mounted on U.S.-made Horween leather straps. See more about the brand here.
Serica 5303-1
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.
Spinnaker Bradner
As a member of Dartmouth Brands Ltd., which also offers brands such as AVI-8, Spinnaker Watches are made to resurrect vintage designs in a modern and affordable package. In its production of price-competitive timepieces, Spinnaker has positioned itself as a go-to option in a segment of the market that is constantly dominated by larger brands and is one of the more popular microbrands out there for those that are looking for vintage-inspired divers. See more about the brand here.
Weiss Standard Issue Field Watch
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.
Yema Urban Traveller
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.
Bausele OceanMoon II
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.
Ollech & Wajs M-110
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.
Straum Jan Mayen Glacier White
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.
Xeric Scrambler
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.
YEMA Urban Traveller
YEMA is positioned in an interesting position and one of our favorite microbrands. They technically produce their own movement, which adds an elevated value proposition. Our favorite model is the Yema Urban Traveller. Very few brands, especially in the affordable price category, have been able to execute a unique and interesting integrated bracelet stainless steel sport watch. But with the Urban Traveller, YEMA has a winner. The YEMA Urban Traveller retails for $890 USD.
Wren Diver 38 Seafoam
If you are looking for a well made Swiss dive watch, for under $2,000, look no further than the Wren Diver 38 Seafoam. Yes, Wren is Wrist Enthusiast’s house brand. But the specs speak for themselves. The watch is a well-proportioned 38 mm in diameter by 45mm lug-to-lug. It is also just 10.7mm thick, including the box crystal. It has a sandwich dial with BGW9 Swiss SuperLuminova, a fully luminous bezel scale, 200 meters of water resistance, and not to mention a beautiful seafoam to black gradient dial. Running on an ETA 2892 movement with display caseback, custom rotor and microadjust, the Wren Diver 38 Seafoam retails for $1,595 USD.
Maen Manhattan 37
Maen has long been a brand we’ve truly appreciated. They’re designs are always on point, and the various vintage influences make their watches truly stand out. Their most recent design takes the cake. The Maen Manhattan 37 crams every bit of 60’s NYC vibes into a compact and well made case and integrated bracelet. The watch is an elongated porthole share with vertical striping on the dial. It’s bezel has polished edges will the rest of the watch is brushed steel. It looks like the set of a swanky movie set again Manhattans backdrop, and we are in love with it. Price for the Maen Manhattan 37 is $785 USD.
Laventure Sous-Marine
Laventure is a unique little company out of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Laventure has found its unique DNA in it’s ultra-textured dials and colorways. In fact, the Sous-Marine has become one of our absolute favorite dials, both in texture and configuration. It comes in a number of different colorways in a brushed steel case. As refined as the dial looks, the raw steel case gives the watch a more rugged look, and we absolutely love it. The watch was extremely successful with a , and sold out almost immediately. If you can find one, it’ll be at a fairly large premium, but retail price was around $2,500 USD.
Monta Triumph
Monta has become a real staple in Microbrand collectors circle, and it’s deserved. Monta came on the scene in early 2016 with some really cool and affordable designs. Since then, they’ve expanded their catalog into all sorts of high-quality pieces, of which, we love the Triumph. It’s a 3-hand steel sport watch with a date window. It melds some sporty nature with an almost field watch configuration with splashes of red. The bracelet is high quality and comfortable and we find it’s 38.5mm size absolutely perfect. Price for the Monta Triumph Black is $1,700 USD.
Brew Metric Retro Dial
If you’ve been around the industry for any amount of time, you’ll probably recognize the Brew Watches Metric. The quirky little piece from a quirky little brand. The coffee inspired Brew Watches has truly succeeded in that we rarely see a model get released without selling out in a short period of time. The Metric became an instant fan favorite with it’s bright colors, unique case shape, and straight link bracelet. We love it, and we think you should too. Price for the Brew Metric $450 USD.
Norqain Wild One
Norqain has come on the scene with some bold designs and unique construction to their watches. The Wild One is purpose built for the outdoors or extreme circumstances. While we don’t have time to get into it here, Norqain utilizes a unique case construction that gives their watches some robust specs – Especially under extreme circumstances. The Wild One is built out of a carbon fiber material, making it extremely light and comforfable on the wrist. The watch comes on cool inlayed rubber and textile strap that doesn’t make it heavy or uncomfortable on the wrist when galavanting the outdoors. Price for the Norqain Wild One is $5,490 USD
Code41 X41
Code41 has dome some really cool fundraising to provide a lot of added value for their client base. One, each watch has a unique movement that’s crowdfunded and insanely transparent, and the X41 is one of our favorites. While you can read our full review here, the Carbon case is very comfortable, and the dial is actually really legible considering the oversized bridges and skeletonizations. The watch comes on a variety of straps that can be mixed and matched. Price for the Code41 X41 starts around $13,000 USD.
Farer Lander GMT
It’s rare to find a good automatic GMT that isn’t exorbitantly priced. In fact, I’d say there are few out there that really fit the bill. Farer, however has created a really unique GMT watch with the Lander GMT. The aqua blue dial is paired with a unique orange tone and a red GMT hand – Making it a bold statement without being “too much”. The dial is a triple step dial, meaning that the center is recessed with the date underneath of it. It adds a lot of texture you don’t typically find in a watch at this price point. Price for the Farer Lander GMT is $1,450 USD.
Straton Yacht Racer Automatic
One of the more create brands that we’ve seen pop up on our radars in the last few years is Straton Watches. The brand does a really good job of classing up vintage designs with more contemporary aesthetics, and the Straton Yacht Racer is a perfect example of that. The watch is colorful and fun, like a yachting watch of old, and feaetures a lovely 7-link bracelet to keep the vintage look, while still opting for the more modern integrated bracelet. Overall, it’s hard to go wrong at the price point of just $1,299 USD.
