Our favourite microbrands of 2024

Jamie Weiss

One of the reasons I joined Time+Tide was to be able to spend more time writing about microbrands. While it’s undeniable that the big box brands are still putting out amazing stuff, I’m often most excited about the up-and-comers: the passionate, crazy people who’ve decided to take on the established players and hundreds of years of watchmaking history to put out plucky, innovative, and just plain different watches. With 2025 almost in sight – the supermarkets have long since started putting Christmas decorations up – I thought I’d put together a shortlist of the microbrands that particularly spoke to the Time+Tide team in 2024 (in no particular order).

Serica

When I’ve been chatting with watch enthusiasts over the last 12 months – whether that’s been in Melbourne, Geneva, or elsewhere – there’s one brand and question that’s come up in conversation more than any other: “when are you guys going to stock Serica?” I think that’s one of the biggest compliments a brand can get… And it’s also something I’m pleased to say we’ve finally been able to make happen, as we’re now stocking Serica in our new London Discovery Studio. It’s easy to see why there’s so much love for this French brand: boasting sepia-soaked, quirky vintage-inspired designs that are devoid of branding but are nevertheless distinct, Serica’s dapper tool watches are elevated microbrand fare.

Venezianico

In a watch landscape filled with cookie-cutter designs, Italy’s Venezianico is a refreshing change of pace. Inspired by the artistic legacy and style of its home of Venice, Venezianico’s oeuvre is impressively broad for a brand that’s only seven years old. Beautifully engraved cases, affordable regulator designs, stone dials, NOS Lemania movements, and using interesting materials like tungsten, Vantablack and 3D printed art… Venezianico stands out as a distinctly creative brand with a lot to offer that, at the same time, hasn’t fallen into the classic microbrand trap of offering too many same-y watch families.

echo/neutra

Another Italian brand that really caught our eyes this year, echo/neutra flies the flag for Italian style. Without devolving into stereotypes, its watches just ooze sprezzatura: measured but not quite minimalist, echo/neutra gets design right. Its commitment to making designs that last is admirable, especially when many microbrand watches feel almost disposable. The brand’s new Rivanera dress watch, which combines a classic rectangular dress watch form with almost brutalist finishing techniques in a titanium case, notably piqued Andrew’s interest at Windup Watch Fair New York 2024… As well as mine. I think this might be the next watch in my collection.

Galvin

You might accuse me of bias for putting an Australian brand on this list, but I firmly believe Galvin Watch Company was one of the best microbrands of 2024. The first female-led watch brand in Australia and one of only a handful of female-led watch brands in the world, Susan Galvin’s designs pay tasteful homage to her birthplace of Finland and offer great bang for one’s buck. While the Suvi collection that launched this year is compelling thanks to its tonneau form, the recently released Loimu Frozen Salmon stands out to me as a particularly yummy prospect.

Lorca

If there’s a theme to be found in this list, it’s that it features brands that combine refined, sophisticated design aesthetics with a bit of horological heft. Lorca’s offerings describe that to a T. Its Model No.1 GMT caused an absolute stir when it dropped last year thanks to its combination of quiet NYC style and impressive specs – it was easily one of our favourite microbrand releases of 2023 (with owners having received their watches this year). It’s a tough act to follow, but Lorca’s Model No.2 Chronograph proves that sequels aren’t always worse than the originals. I’m a fan of its guilloched bezel and surprising thinness. Three for three in 2025, Lorca?

Toledano & Chan

While the team and I agreed that we would only include microbrands with more than one model in their range on this list, it would seem remiss not to include Toledano & Chan in any wrap-up of our favourite or best microbrands of the year. The brainchild of automotive/watch designer Alfred Chan and conceptual artist/entrepreneur/raconteur Phil Toledano, the Toledano & Chan B/1 utterly captivated the watch cognoscenti this year with its design that, as D.C. put it, screams “late-’70s coke dealer, but with an architect’s eye”. More than any other timepiece or brand in 2024 (and there’s been fierce competition in this regard), the B/1 epitomises the current shift in watch culture towards shaped watches, asymmetrical design and a greater appreciation of form over function. I’m just curious to see where Toledano & Chan go next.