microbrand
Boldr Safari GMT Hands-On Watch Review
Boldr Safari GMT Since the Miyota 9075 and the Seiko NH34 movements were unveiled, the latest microbrand trend has been GMT watches. Boldr has released quite a few GMT watches in the past, like their Globetrotter series, but those were much more expensive, and also much larger watches. The 9075, which is referred to as a “true” GMT has been quite popular, and is also a way for brands t...
Vaer D5 Tactical Diver Hands-On Review
Vaer D5 Tactical Diver Vaer Watches have become extremely popular and this Vaer D5 Tactical Diver is very popular as well. How do I know? Well, at the time of this publication, this watch in both the 42mm shown here and the 39mm variant is sold out. This review got pushed back a little, mostly my own fault and as such if you want to get your hands on one of these, you will have to wait for a resto...
Marin Instruments Skin Diver Hands-On Review
Marin Instruments Skin Diver Allow me to introduce a new brand and model, the Marin Instruments Skin Diver. I love being able to review new brands such as this, especially when they have hit a home run their first time at bat, which is not easy to do. Marin Instruments has two versions of this model, the Standard shown here and the Polar, a white dial, and both are limited in production, 300 and 2...
Charlie Paris Concordia Hands-On Review
Charlie Paris Concordia The Charlie Paris Concordia is available in many different colors, sizes, and movements, and this Tundra version is unique and special in a few ways compared to the rest of the collection. Charlie Paris hails from France of course and has been operating since 2014. Almost 10 years ago, yet someone they have flown under my radar up until recently. The French brand makes both...
Marloe Sceptre October Hands-On Review
Marloe Sceptre October The Marloe Sceptre October is one of the latest watches from Malroe Watch Company, a British-based microbrand that popped on the scene in 2015. Since then, they have created quite a few models and have their own distinct style, and have created their own niche. You see, Marloe doesn’t really have a standard dive watch most brands produce, they make watches that can go ...
RZE Ascentus GMT Hands-On Watch Review
RZE Ascentus GMT The latest Microbrand to release a GMT, and I have a feeling this RZE Ascentus GMT is going to be quite popular. Available in 4 colors, azure blue, black, white, and medallion yellow, this 40mm GMT is attractive, has a beautiful and easy-to-read dial, and an all-new bracelet from RZE, that they dub the HEX links. It is all titanium again as well, keeping this watch svelte and ligh...
Nodus Retrospect III Hands-On Watch Review
Nodus Retrospect III If you have been looking for a watch that is not an homage, is affordable, attractive and of course, built well, all for under $500, the Nodus Retrospect III might be one to check out. That does come with a caveat though, as, at the time of publishing this review, this watch is, unfortunately, all sold out. At the time this watch was sent for review, it of course was still ava...
RZE Resolute Super Compressor Hands-On Watch Review
RZE Resolute Super Compressor Continuing their success with the Resolute line, RZE has released a new watch, another titanium piece, this time a super compressor, the RZE Resolute Super Compressor, which is possibly the first, or maybe the second titanium super compressor in history. Or so I believe. The story there is, RZE touted this watch as the world’s first titanium super compressor whe...
Straum Opphav Hands-On Watch Review
Straum Opphav The Straum Opphav is the first model from the new microband, launched in 2021. Unlike a lot of new brands, the Norwegen microbrand did not go the way of using catalog parts and sticking its brand and logo on the dial. No, in fact, it took them 5 years to bring this model to fruition, with a few designs and bumps in the road along the way. What they ended up creating is a fantastic bl...
Zelos Aurora Hands-On Watch Review
Zelos Aurora The Zelos Aurora is not the Singaporean brand’s first field watch, but this is an all-new case design and a new model collection. Built from Grade 2 Titanium, with a hard coating, Miyota 9039 Movement with an antimagnetic cage, a choice of quite a few dial colors and materials, and comes in two sizes as well, 42mm as shown here but also a smaller size at 38mm. As usual, Zelos ha...
About Vintage 1926 AT’ Sea Diver Hands-On Review
About Vintage 1926 AT’ Sea Diver The About Vintage 1926 At’ Sea Diver is, of course, a vintage style watch, from a brand out of Denmark, with what they describe as Scandinavian style. I wouldn’t exactly put About Vintage into the microbrand category at this point in time, they have been around 5-6 years and the brand was started by two friends, but nowadays they have a marketing ...
Nautage Diver Hands-On Watch Review
Nautage Diver The Nautage Diver or the Nautage DA221 as it is labeled has been receiving a lot of buzz on social media and for a good reason. The introductory model from this young brand, based out of Denmark, is quite attractive, comes in a few different finishes, and boasts a Miyota 9039 No Date movement for about $430. The design has some similarities to other brands which I will get into short...