This is not a new topic as many people have already spoken about it, many of whom much more knowledgely and eloquently than I could ever hope to, this is very much an ignorant novice’s take on the subject. So having got that out of the way I feel it’s important that I try to explain what I mean by an independent watch brand. Quite simply I mean a watch brand that is not a part of a larger group; whether it’s the smallest of microbrands such as: Clemence Watches based in Edinburgh Scotland run solely by Tom Clemence with just (currently) two watch lines to their name; to a larger independent such as Christopher Ward, who have just recently won the prestigious GPHG award with their Bel Canto and have been successfully, shipping worldwide for a number of years now, to Oris the Swiss independent who’s watches are sold in authorised dealerships everywhere.
Now back to the original question. Why independents? I’ve always been interested in watches, as someone born in the mid 80s watches are how I was brought up to tell the time, and I’ve always worn one since then, mostly cheap swatches and Casios, with a definitive preference for analogue dials. Then in 2014 my beautiful wife gifted me, knowing my interest in timepieces, a beautiful 125th anniversary Certina DS Powermatic 80. A truly beautiful watch, that opened my eyes to the different levels in watches, but I still wasn’t made aware of the watches in the title.
Than we fast forward to 2020; the pandemic hits and I catch covid in August of that year. We weren’t sure what had happened, I’d dropped 10kg in a week and my weight continued to drop, I had problems breathing and suffered from debilitating migraines. Over the next 2 years I couldn’t work full time, going into emergency a few times and the doctors didn’t want me to do much of anything, especially the first year as I kept testing negative for Covid and they didn’t know why. After the second year I’d gone from 105kg to 75kg and was just feeling miserable, I needed a hobby, something to stop me from driving my family crazy, and I turned to (after a few missteps) watches. I got even more into watches and started purchasing the standard ”entry level” brands: Seiko, Orient etc, liking them but wanting more.
And then I came across microbrands, a more affordable brand that looks great and works well, sign me up. The more I went down this rabbit hole the more I liked what I saw, and the more I bought. Now in my collection of 22 watches I have 15 from independent brands. I decided a while ago that watches were not something I’d try investing in. I like my watches, I like wearing them, and with 2 kids and being admittedly quite clumsy, I don’t want to worry about it. And now as I’m on my way to recovery I thought I’d put my thoughts and feelings on this out there. Like I said I’m a novice and do not buy these with the goal to invest, there are plenty of experts out there who can help with that, I’m just looking to start a discussion.
Please take a look at my instagram or Watch Crunch profile to see more of my collection and use the contact form below to let me know if there is any particular watch you’re expecially interested in. This is just a blog for fun and therefore I’ll only be posting about watches I currently or have owned, and unless stated otherwise you’ll have to suffer through my poor photography.
So how about you what drove you to click on my blog? Have you an interest in independent watches generally or are you interested in a specific watch? Please let me know via the form below, I’ve had experience with a wide range of different independent brands including the ones pictured here, Bertucci, About Vintage, Boldr, Dan Henry and many more.
Please follow me on social media and click on the links below to see more of my collection and let me know if you’d like to see a review of sone of my other watches.
Independent Watch Brand Addict 