Do you consider Christopher Ward a micro?

I think it's hard to call a brand with a manufactory and an in-house movement a micro-brand.

Particularly when they ship 20,000ish watches a year.

Why does it matter?

Not any longer, purely on reputational standing at this time.

It doesn't matter but most of the sh1t we talk about on here doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. I'm all for talking nonsense whilst I creep towards the grave buried with 63 watches while they lower me to the ground 😜

Not sure if @kvasiir or @BizarroIceCreamMan are newer to WC, but basically it’s just a place to bounce pointless ideas and questions off of fellow watch nerds. I mean, in the 21st century, wristwatches don’t even matter. We’re all here just to chat watches.

It does bring up an interesting question though.

At what point does a microbrand move into the macro arena?

I’d say making your own movements, or finishing/modifying third party movements is the first and necessary step from moving from microbrand to at least independent. Volume shipped annually moves one from micro to macro

Christopher Ward is a Micro like Sam Adams is a microbrewery. By that, I mean that they function somewhat like a micro but are so big as to raise the question every time.

I think they've transcended micro status. I think that changed with the Bel Canto.

Good point. I think that the front-facing modifications on top of the movement were a very strong statement.

They're a middle brand.

Not a micro and this article doesn’t seem to think so either https://www.gearpatrol.com/watches/a46181219/watch-predictions-2024/

If CW is a micro brand, how big would a small or medium brand be? Is a newly started one man company, an "ultra nano brand" then?

I think it's fairly obvious CW is not a micro brand, and haven't been for years.

Thanks for sending this! Excited to see what CW does in 2024.

I don’t think a company that knocks out tens of thouands of watches per year is a micro brand.

Welp, at least there’s a plan!

I think of them as an independent brand.

Helm! Is a micro-brand. Two year plus waiting list and never bombards watch forums with ads and “drop” dates, doesn’t need to. 🌈 Cranks out about 200 extra ordinarily high quality watches a month for an actual real not doubled or tripled retail price. This is what I think of as a micro-brand.