Lets talk about microbrand in our country
lately it is hard to make watch content without owning a new piece. so last night i got an idea to talk about watch industry from my country, a microbrand. watch industry in indonesia isnt really a popular subject, i believe the watch industry its still on their early stage here. but there are a few brand that is worth mentioning and i want to share with a fellow watchcrunch buddies here.
mw timepieces
its a brand from a indonesian watch youtuber horrology story. he started the project from late 2018 via kickstarter. currently they have one model which is legatodiver, it is a well design diver watch with a concept of combining guitar element and a dive watch. why take a guitar element as a concept for the dive watch you ask? it is because the creator is passionate about music and wristwatch.
product are actually looking good 39,5mm diver watch with sw200 movement, sapphire crystal, 316 stainless, leather strap as a bonus for 500$ which is very affordable if you ask me. he even sent some prototype to be reviewed with a fellow watch youtuber like time teller, just one more watch, etc. unfortunatelly from the time i write this thread the product isnt delivered yet, and a few people are pretty angry about it. i just hope the problem would be solved soon.
soldat watch
created by an individual mr jesse j probably from 2018 or 2019 (they didnt mention it in their site). their concept influenced heavily on the vintage sportcar from my perspective, they also mentioning to be foccused on built quality so thr product actually manufactured in japan. currently they produced only one model, but unlike the mw timepieces this model is ready stock so no need to worry if you ordered one.
the current model which they had is promessa series with 3 different colour. it is a 42mm chronograph (case design remind me of the old seiko speedtimer) with seiko ne88 automatic chronograph movement, sapphire crystal, and genuine calf leather rally strap. from the product photo i think it is a well made watch with nice built quality, it has a vintage vibr in it. the only problem is the price, it is 1250$. probably because they choose to manufacture in japan. i hope all the best for them and hope they continued to make awesome watch.
limawatch
this brand is the oldest microbrand from the other that i mentioned 2014 to be exact. they started to produced a wood watch with quartz movement in their early time. i think the word "funky" and "dare to be different" when i look at their design. it is not perfect but i appreciate their originality also i admit some of their design is beautiful. until now they have 5 models.
most of the early models consist of wood watch, stainless steel with seiko quartz movement. its a beautiful funky minimalist watch but not my cup of tea to be honest.
but as the time goes they try to develop a mechanical watch with their mecha lineup. to be honest im not really a fan of their early mecha models especially the case design. it looks like their case shape isnt 3d enough for me, much like unfinished case to be honest. for the dial it is fun enough and match with mecha theme
their last model is the mecha revolt 38mm, 200m wr with miyota 82s0 movement. it is like an improvement from their last mecha lineup, if mecha is more like field / everyday watch the revolt is more dive style watch. why dive style? because it is not a rotating bezel but interchangeable fixed bezel, its a strange decision and unfamiliar in my opinion. so you can change 2 different style bezel in your watch, so i guess they prioritize funky design than a function. but still i like this model especially the teal blue dial. pricerange about 260-300$ which is still fair in my opinion. i hope they do well and develop more interesting piece near in the future.
so i think thats all from indonesia and what do you guys think? what is your favourite microbrand in your country? let share some thought on the comment. cheers
(all image is taken from their official website or instagram page)
Considering myself as a man of culture and taste
Great to learn about a watch brand from unusual parts of the world (regarding watch brands)! I always comment about a brand here in Brazil named Technos, not exactly micro-brand (maybe there are some micro brands in Brazil I don't know of yet), but it's a brand that has been around since the 1960s in the Brazilian market.
Maybe I might research a bit and see if I can find some interesting microbrands in Brazil as well
For American Made, I think my favorite would have to be Weiss Watches!
I am not quite sure what qualifies as a microbrand in this case, but I figure that pretty much anything Finnish is a microbrand as our local watch brands aren't all that popular worldwide. As a whole, I don't think we have a super rich horological history, but there are some cool watches in there. Here are some brands that I am familiar with:
Leijona
The most popular one that I know of is Leijona. They have been around for over 100 years by now, so they have some history to them. Their watches are Chinese made and don't really stand out as particularly desirable in any way. Most use cheap Miyota quartz movements and the designs aren't anything special.
They also have a collaboration thing with Voutilainen, which has some decent looking watches, but they look expensive for what they are.
However, they have a few nice models. I have their Järwi, which I think has a really nice dive watch design.
Aarni
I don't own any of these, but that's for a reason. Their whole selling point is wood watches, but there are wooden watches available from other sources for far cheaper. The movements are generic cheap Ronda quartz movements and they don't even use sapphire crystal on their watches despite most of them costing 150-200€.
They do have sapphire on their automatic model, which costs 400€, but I don't see how that model is worth as much. It has an unadjusted Miyota 8215 and the sapphire, but is otherwise pretty much identical to their cheaper watches from what I can see.
Maybe their watches are good, but I don't see them offering much above aliexpress watches. It's not like they have much horological stuff behind them.
Other miscellaneous brands
There are also a bunch of store-specific brands like o.n.e and oma, but these are generic cheap watches from what I can see. Not much to add there.
Great to learn about a watch brand from unusual parts of the world (regarding watch brands)! I always comment about a brand here in Brazil named Technos, not exactly micro-brand (maybe there are some micro brands in Brazil I don't know of yet), but it's a brand that has been around since the 1960s in the Brazilian market.
Maybe I might research a bit and see if I can find some interesting microbrands in Brazil as well
wow 1960 is a long time. do they still exist in the modern time?
For American Made, I think my favorite would have to be Weiss Watches!
thats a pretty cool watch with vintage military aesthetic sir 👍
I live in Thailand so the only microbrand I can think of is WISE.
Their work is quite solid with the price point around $300-500
Solid endlink bracelet with 904L Stainless Steel Case - market movement (NH35,Miyota 9 series) - superlume
I have never owned one, but seem like a pretty nice brand
wow 1960 is a long time. do they still exist in the modern time?
Yes they do!
This is an early to mid 70s watch they made during the Quartz era;
And this is one of their recent models. From around the 2010s (bracelet is an aftermarket, not original to the watch).
I wouldn't say they are a micro brand because they are everywhere in Brazil, and even own some sub brands. From what I could research, they were originally a Swiss brand from the 1900s but decided to open business in Brazil mid 1960s and somehow they decided to stay here, and eventually they became a fully Brazilian brand.
Thanks for sharing. Learned about MW Timepieces. That Legatodiver seems like a steal! If only I were into the music theme
I am not quite sure what qualifies as a microbrand in this case, but I figure that pretty much anything Finnish is a microbrand as our local watch brands aren't all that popular worldwide. As a whole, I don't think we have a super rich horological history, but there are some cool watches in there. Here are some brands that I am familiar with:
Leijona
The most popular one that I know of is Leijona. They have been around for over 100 years by now, so they have some history to them. Their watches are Chinese made and don't really stand out as particularly desirable in any way. Most use cheap Miyota quartz movements and the designs aren't anything special.
They also have a collaboration thing with Voutilainen, which has some decent looking watches, but they look expensive for what they are.
However, they have a few nice models. I have their Järwi, which I think has a really nice dive watch design.
Aarni
I don't own any of these, but that's for a reason. Their whole selling point is wood watches, but there are wooden watches available from other sources for far cheaper. The movements are generic cheap Ronda quartz movements and they don't even use sapphire crystal on their watches despite most of them costing 150-200€.
They do have sapphire on their automatic model, which costs 400€, but I don't see how that model is worth as much. It has an unadjusted Miyota 8215 and the sapphire, but is otherwise pretty much identical to their cheaper watches from what I can see.
Maybe their watches are good, but I don't see them offering much above aliexpress watches. It's not like they have much horological stuff behind them.
Other miscellaneous brands
There are also a bunch of store-specific brands like o.n.e and oma, but these are generic cheap watches from what I can see. Not much to add there.
thx for sharing i think leijona with automatic movement it still proper, but aarni? not so much lol. i got a wood watch as a gift from my girlfriend a few years back, not really a fan. case and bracelet feels flimsy and cheap miyota quartz movement feels meh, i believe kherbolz is the brand. for me it is more like fashion watch than proper microbrand. limawatch also start as a fashion watch but lately they tend to become more serious into develop a proper watch
I live in Thailand so the only microbrand I can think of is WISE.
Their work is quite solid with the price point around $300-500
Solid endlink bracelet with 904L Stainless Steel Case - market movement (NH35,Miyota 9 series) - superlume
I have never owned one, but seem like a pretty nice brand
thx for sharing man, design looks pretty safe. but from what you mention built quality, specs, and price are very solid. good job thailand 🍺
Thanks for sharing. Learned about MW Timepieces. That Legatodiver seems like a steal! If only I were into the music theme
from the paper and photo yes, but for now just dont buy it yet. there are some problem with the shipment or manufacture process from what i know, all of the people who pay for the kickstarter still dont receive the product yet.
thx for sharing i think leijona with automatic movement it still proper, but aarni? not so much lol. i got a wood watch as a gift from my girlfriend a few years back, not really a fan. case and bracelet feels flimsy and cheap miyota quartz movement feels meh, i believe kherbolz is the brand. for me it is more like fashion watch than proper microbrand. limawatch also start as a fashion watch but lately they tend to become more serious into develop a proper watch
Fair. I would count Aarni as a microbrand personally, but it's not one I would consider as a good one from what I have seen.
Great post! Bookmarked this for future reference (despite seeing this post 5 months late 😅). And also, hello fellow Indonesian!
Great post! Bookmarked this for future reference (despite seeing this post 5 months late 😅). And also, hello fellow Indonesian!
halo bang apa kabar wkwkw. welcome to watchcrunch