Pinoy Watches from The Philippines!
Recently I had the good fortune to spend a whole month visiting the beautiful country of The Philippines. Truly a wonderful experience with beautiful weather and beautiful people! If you ever get a chance to travel there, I highly recommend it!
So while I didn't make a watch purchase while there, I've learned that The Philippines does in fact have a couple of domestic brands that I'm sure aren't well known, particularly here in the West. There may be other domestic brands, but the two I'll mention are the only ones that I know of. If any fellow Crunchers have any further insight into these or other Pinoy domestic brands, please comment!
Ibarra Manila
Ibarra Watches tend to the more "dressy/casual" end of the spectrum & offer several different models featuring in-house automatic movements. Former president Duterte has been known to promote this brand and wears one regularly.
DeGuzzman & Co.
Home | De Guzman & Co. | Philippines (deguzmanandco.com)
DeGuzzman watches are sporty/casual and offer several models as well. The one pic'd below is from their Diver Collection, featuring the "California" dial and ancient Filipino "Babayan" script at the 1, 2, 10 & 11 hour markers. These watches also feature automatic movements.
I am a middle-aged watch aficionado from "Kanuckistan", who also enjoys motorcycles, guitar, European beer, cheap whiskey, and Road Trips!
There's also Makina Watches:
https://www.makinawatches.com/
That Baybayin dial on the De Guzman is awesome, btw. Absolutely love that they came up with the idea to use the ancient Filipino script. I may just pick up a GMT on my next trip home...😊 Any feedback you can share about the Hangzhou 6460 (2836-2) Independently Adjustable Automatic 24-Hour GMT movement?
lol, the Pepsi bezel could be interpreted as a representation of the colors of the Philippine flag, and as such, could conversely be rotated to reflect the country's current state of conflict - blue on top for peace or red on top for war.
While my partner is from the Philippines I should sponsor their economy a bit more. Would be very nice to wear one coming Independence Day picnic.
Argos watches are also worth mentioning. They have a very nice textured dial.
https://argos-watches.com/
Thanx for the positive feedback folks! My GF is also Filipina and I feel so fortunate to have been able to visit her home country on a couple of occasions ... I have fallen in love with the place and the people. Next time back, I am definitely going to purchase a Pinoy-made watch! 😎
Can you plz post up a pic of the Philippine themed Seiko?
I have an Ibarra Salvador Worldtimer
Love the tonneau cased Seiko SPB345J1! 😎