The Microbrands Thread
Discussion
Getting away from all the Rolex threads, there are a whole universe of unknown and interesting tiny brands out there that are out there to tempt us.
I read recently there are something like three thousand watch related projects on Kickstarter.
What are your views/favourites etc.?
Have come quite close to pulling the trigger (been dying to type that phrase
) on these:
The rather lovely Straton Synchro
Stopped myself from pre-ordering this E.C. Andersson last night after too many glasses of wine.
Over to you.
I read recently there are something like three thousand watch related projects on Kickstarter.
What are your views/favourites etc.?
Have come quite close to pulling the trigger (been dying to type that phrase
) on these:The rather lovely Straton Synchro
Stopped myself from pre-ordering this E.C. Andersson last night after too many glasses of wine.
Over to you.
Edited by vixen1700 on Thursday 4th October 10:03
It depends what you call a micro brand.
Dan Henry watches are great. I have a 1970 diver which is outstanding value for money.
I'm also a huge fan of Magrette and own two - a Kara and a Bronze.
Then there's Mühle Glasshütte. They only employ 59 people but do have a dealer network so do they qualify as a micro brand? The quality of their products is quite astonishing and easily the equal of bigger more established brands such as Tag, Omega or Rolex for far less outlay.
Dan Henry watches are great. I have a 1970 diver which is outstanding value for money.
I'm also a huge fan of Magrette and own two - a Kara and a Bronze.
Then there's Mühle Glasshütte. They only employ 59 people but do have a dealer network so do they qualify as a micro brand? The quality of their products is quite astonishing and easily the equal of bigger more established brands such as Tag, Omega or Rolex for far less outlay.
lostkiwi said:
It depends what you call a micro brand.
Dan Henry watches are great. I have a 1970 diver which is outstanding value for money.
I'm also a huge fan of Magrette and own two - a Kara and a Bronze.
Then there's Mühle Glasshütte. They only employ 59 people but do have a dealer network so do they qualify as a micro brand? The quality of their products is quite astonishing and easily the equal of bigger more established brands such as Tag, Omega or Rolex for far less outlay.
Indeed, am thinking about one too, the Muhle Glashutte. Dan Henry watches are great. I have a 1970 diver which is outstanding value for money.
I'm also a huge fan of Magrette and own two - a Kara and a Bronze.
Then there's Mühle Glasshütte. They only employ 59 people but do have a dealer network so do they qualify as a micro brand? The quality of their products is quite astonishing and easily the equal of bigger more established brands such as Tag, Omega or Rolex for far less outlay.
Edited by vixen1700 on Friday 5th October 10:20
To be honest I feel that a lot of the recent Kickstarter brands play too much on their quirkyness and on too-big/too-bright design. There is little out there that seems to focus on quality, even though they talk it up a lot in the marketing spiel.
Having said that, I really like the recent Newmark 6BB someone shared a few weeks back.
Having said that, I really like the recent Newmark 6BB someone shared a few weeks back.
The uncertainty of Kickstarter offerings doesn’t tend to do much for me, but of the more established microbrands I recently picked-up an ‘Italian’ Unimatic dive watch (one of a limited-run of 600) which attracted me with its strong design aesthetic.
I was also very tempted by the recent Halios Seaforth ETA GMT release – Jason Lim really seems to go that bit further than typical microbrands in his approach to thought-out design, manufacturing quality & customer focus.
I was also very tempted by the recent Halios Seaforth ETA GMT release – Jason Lim really seems to go that bit further than typical microbrands in his approach to thought-out design, manufacturing quality & customer focus.
I'd avoid the crowd funding brands popping up at a fair old rate. The quality is not there. Most are fly by. I had a couple - one was an MVNT and sold it on as it didn't resemble the pre manufacture videos or have any quality about it.
I did buy a £300 Tisell and am hugely impressed with it. Plenty of decent stuff out there for great prices.
I did buy a £300 Tisell and am hugely impressed with it. Plenty of decent stuff out there for great prices.
vixen1700 said:
Hmm, I like the look of their sports watch, but not at that price. Magrette are at a similar price point but have a more distinct look (personal opinion) en an ETA movement over a Miyota iirc.
ZesPak said:
vixen1700 said:
Hmm, I like the look of their sports watch, but not at that price. Magrette are at a similar price point but have a more distinct look (personal opinion) en an ETA movement over a Miyota iirc.I picked up a Geckota recently and I really like it
https://www.geckota.com/the-geckota-c-01-racing-ch...
https://www.geckota.com/the-geckota-c-01-racing-ch...
lostkiwi said:
Magrette now use an STP movement.
Thanks!I just checked their website and a number of their watches also use a Miyota movement apparently. Like my Leoncino.
Interesting writeup about microbrands and movements here:
https://www.noduswatches.com/blog/stp-1-11-vs-eta-...
Edit: Had an Anniversary Edition Leoncino, which apparently does use the STP movement
Edited by ZesPak on Friday 5th October 11:43
Juicetin1 said:
I picked up a Geckota recently and I really like it
https://www.geckota.com/the-geckota-c-01-racing-ch...
Like that, but does it have a sweeping second hand? It's what put me off the Straton.https://www.geckota.com/the-geckota-c-01-racing-ch...
Never paid any attention to Dan Henry, but the 1970 seems rude not to get at the price.
ZesPak said:
lostkiwi said:
Magrette now use an STP movement.
Thanks!I just checked their website and a number of their watches also use a Miyota movement apparently. Like my Leoncino.
Interesting writeup about microbrands and movements here:
https://www.noduswatches.com/blog/stp-1-11-vs-eta-...
Edit: Had an Anniversary Edition Leoncino, which apparently does use the STP movement
Edited by ZesPak on Friday 5th October 11:43
Atlas 12v said:
Like the look of some of the Helgray products but having bought a MVNT and been pretty disappointed I'm cautious of the new wave of brands.
Sooner spend £300 on a Seiko than some random watch off kickstarter...
Ditto. I bought a MVMT and was very disappointed with the quality. Looked great, then broke.Sooner spend £300 on a Seiko than some random watch off kickstarter...
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