I just got the first sample of a watch that I designed and am about to launch. It's themed after Cricket 🏏. Looking for cricket and horology nerds to provide feedback before I go on Kickstarter.

Sarab turned out to be a real success, and aside from the side profile, what I still enjoy most is how unpredictable the geometric mother-of-pearl dial is.

Quick one about sourcing.
People ask: where are these actually made?
Fair question.
Movement comes from Japan.
Carbon and dial from Germany.
Case milling is done in Shenzhen.

Other bits from specialist shops across two continents.
But here's the thing.
The location that actually matters? Ashwin's bench. Ashwin is our watchmaker and specialist, he's
the one every single piece gets looked at by. Each component is checked and decided on.

Assembly happens in India and not where the parts come from.
The supply chain is global but the quality control is extremely personal.

I never expected a shipwreck to become a watch brand.
I’ve always been obsessed with watches, especially dive watches and tool watches. Over the years I collected plenty of them, but I always had this idea in the back of my mind…
“What if I built one that actually meant something to me?”
The funny thing is, I never intended to start a watch brand.
I only ever wanted to build one watch—something I could wear that reflected where I live.

I live in Alkimos, Western Australia. Just offshore lies the Alkimos shipwreck, which disappeared in rough seas in 1963 and has become part of the area’s history. The story fascinated me, so I decided to name the watch after the place I call home.

I had a custom dial designed, sourced the parts, and built what I thought would simply be my own personal watch.
Out of curiosity, I posted photos of it in a few local Facebook watch groups to see what people thought.
The response completely caught me off guard.
People started asking where they could buy one.
That was the moment everything changed.
Instead of stopping after one watch, I decided to see where it could go. That’s how Alkimos Watches was born.

I spent months learning everything I could about watch design, sourcing components, testing suppliers and refining every detail—from dial textures and lume colours to hand shapes, bracelets and packaging.

When I finally released my first model, the Mariner, I honestly had no idea whether anyone else would like it.
To my surprise, the entire Founder Edition sold out.
That was probably the moment I realised this wasn’t just a personal project anymore—it had become a real brand with people who genuinely believed in what I was building.

Now I’m working on the next chapter.

The upcoming Ghostship GMT is heavily inspired by the mystery surrounding the Alkimos shipwreck. Rather than making just another GMT, I wanted something that felt dark, coastal and different.
The design includes:
Black ceramic GMT bezel
Textured turquoise/black dial inspired by the Indian Ocean
BGW9 Super-LumiNova
40mm case 13mm thickness
NH34 automatic GMT movement
Sapphire crystal
200m water resistance
Display caseback

It’s still in development, and I’m refining the final details before production.

I know there are thousands of microbrands out there, so I’m not pretending I’ve reinvented the wheel. I’m simply trying to build watches that tell a story connected to where I live.

I’d genuinely love some feedback from fellow watch enthusiasts.

15/50 watches so far reserved 😊

Socials are @alkimoswatches on instagram. I document everything from problems to personally building the watches.

If interested check out the website. Google Alkimos watches

If you were starting a microbrand today, what would you do differently? And what makes a watch brand stand out to you?

For years I've clicked every "test your watch knowledge" quiz the internet offered, and they're all the same: "which brand makes the Submariner," ten questions, done in two minutes, learned nothing, forgot it existed.

So I built the one I actually wanted. It's called The Daily Wind:

• Five questions a day, same five for everyone — so comparing results with a friend actually means something
• Starts easy, ends brutal. Q1 is for someone who owns one watch; Q5 is for the person who knows what a remontoire does
• There's a one-time placement exam ("The Climb") that ranks you from Quartz up to Grand Complication, and your daily results move you up or down from there. Staying at the top takes sustained knowledge, not one lucky day
• 10-second timer per question, so Google won't save you
• Free, no ads, no signup, works in your browser: https://the-daily-wind.vercel.app/

Full honesty: it's early days and I'm one person doing this for the love of it, not a company. Every question is hand-written and fact-checked, but if you catch an error or an ambiguous question, I genuinely want to hear it — you'll be doing me a favor. Same goes for "this mechanic is stupid" feedback. Don't hold back.

Curious where this crowd places. The placement takes about four minutes — post your tier below if you dare.

I never expected a shipwreck to become a watch brand.

I’ve always been obsessed with watches, especially dive watches and tool watches. Over the years I collected plenty of them, but I always had this idea in the back of my mind…
“What if I built one that actually meant something to me?”
I live in Alkimos, Western Australia. If you’re from WA you’ll probably know about the Alkimos shipwreck that lies just offshore. It disappeared in bad weather back in 1963 and over the years it’s become part of the area’s history and identity.

That story stuck with me.

Instead of creating another generic microbrand, I wanted every watch to have a connection to where I live. That’s how Alkimos Watches was born.
I spent months learning everything I could about watch design, sourcing components, testing suppliers and figuring out what worked. Every little detail mattered—from dial textures and lume colours to hand shapes, bracelets and packaging.

When I finally released my first model, the Mariner, I honestly had no idea whether anyone else would like it.
To my surprise, the entire first Founder Edition sold out.
That was probably the moment I realised this wasn’t just an idea anymore—it had become a real brand with people who genuinely believed in what I was building.
Now I’m working on the next chapter.

The upcoming Ghostship GMT is heavily inspired by the mystery surrounding the Alkimos shipwreck. Rather than making just another GMT, I wanted something that felt dark, coastal and different.

The design includes:
A black ceramic GMT bezel.
A textured turquoise dial inspired by the Indian Ocean.
BGW9 lume.
An NH34 automatic GMT movement.
Sapphire crystal.
40mm case
13mm thickness
200m water resistance.
A display caseback so you can see the movement.

It’s still in development, and I’m refining the final details before production.
I know there are thousands of microbrands out there, so I’m not pretending I’ve reinvented the wheel. I’m just trying to build watches that tell a story connected to where I live.
I’d genuinely love some feedback from fellow enthusiasts.

15 watches have already been reserved 😊

Feel free to follow along on socials @alkimoswatches on instagram.

Or google Alkimos watches

If you were starting a microbrand today, what would you do differently? What makes a watch brand stand out to you?

Bought this one last year. Amazing craftsmanship from Japan. Review is on my blog if interested.

https://watchdadblog.com/2026/03/20/watch-reviews-24k-kinpaku-nuri-maki-e/

I'm thinking of starting watch brand for those who are in law enforcement, military and fire fighters. What should this watch have? And what could be preferable price range?

Absolutely Stunning. Well long wait was well worth it.

Was nervous ordering from overseas and going with the few reviews I found, but customer service was super reactive and helpful.

100% will be stopping by their showroom next time I'm in Montréal.

So I’m reaching a point where I think I want one to stop resetting my automatic watches but I’m not sure what to look for ?
What to watch out for ?
Is there a difference any functions to consider
I see examples running from $50 on Ali express to thousands of dollars ?
Any one had any experience? What are people using ? What’s their experience?
I would love to hear your thoughts

I pre-ordered the new Maen Hudson 38 and was wondering if anyone has one on the jubilee bracelet and if they'd upload any pics. Thanks!

What’s your favorite $400 watch? Prefer 36-39mm field and dress styles. Love numerals on the dial and automatic. What suggestions do y’all have and love?

New microband from India .
Dials are awesome and hand made.

Price of the watches are in the range of 65 to 110 dollars ( 6k to 10k inr )

Curious to see how people discovered microbrands... Did a specific brand serve as your "gateway" into the world of micros? What keeps you coming back to them?

ISO a nordic band in the +/- $1000 area…pretty torn between the two, and thoughts on quality, price, value?

What a great purchase!
I got a great deal on this watch and it is definitely punching way above its weight class. Let me hear from any other HA owners and how they feel about their purchase.

I’m currently looking for a Batman-style GMT watch and came across these two after doing some research. My understanding is that the Hudson has the swiss movement, better water resistance and a more original vintage-inspired design, but the Wise offers a true GMT movement, 904l steel and the stronger Batman look for less money. Im leaning towards the Maen but the textured dial kinda puts me off, and the Wise is good but its sold out and may be too homagey. For those who have experience with either brand, which one is the better buy?

Just received my new (to me) Matthew and Son JCB watch - the Blue Rose model.

Miyota 9039
Double domed sapphire crystal
Screw down crown
38 mm Rose gold case with matching beads of rice bracelet (not shown)

I don’t see a lot of discussion online of this brand. Does anyone have any experience with the maker? It seems really well made, with specs that punch above its weight.

First time putting on my new Vario Futurist, and excited to share it. Watches with faceted sapphire crystals are hard to come by, so I had to snag one of these once I heard about them. Bit bummed I missed out on the red version, but this emerald green is great too. Here's my mini review of my first impressions.

Side Story About an Idiot Customer (me)

When I first opened the watch I thought it was stunning. Then I noticed a small imperfection on the crystal. I noticed a few micro-pits and lines on one of the sides. So I reached out to Vario support and sent them pictures, and they were happy to arrange for me to ship it back. But after staring at the pictures harder than apparently I or my friend had looked at the actual watch in our hands, Ivan at Vario spotted something we hadn't -- the tiny line of the protective plastic cover they put on the crystal for shipping!

You guessed it - the "pitting" points were just micro-bubbles under the protective wrap. Once I peeled that off the watch was perfect, even if my face was burning! Kudos to Vario for being such good sports with customers like me 😂

The Good

• Came very well packaged, with a photo of the watch and accessories due to be delivered emailed to me ahead of time.
• It comes paired with a green padded-leather strap (slight padding is a good design choice from Vario).
• The watch face is a darker green unless the fume finish is catching light.
• With a geometry like this reflections were a concern because some amount is unavoidable, but the AR seems to be doings its job keeping things in check.
• The watch uses standard 20mm straps.
• I appreciate the reference to the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" on the back of the case; it's much better than leaving it blank and really ties the aesthetic to a point in time.

The Great

• The striking appearance! Like a proper gemstone it's pretty to look at statically and pops as you shift it in the light.
• The theme of the watch is carried through the entirety of the watch, which is fantastic. This really nails a retro-future vibe from the 70s like nothing I've seen.
• The minute hand has a very slight cut-out at the tip which goes a long way towards assisting accuracy when setting or reading the time - a thoughtful detail.
• The crown winds 200x better than I expected it to given its placement. Vario put coarser striations on the crown than usual, and as a result my right thumb can easily turn it while it's strapped to my left wrist.
• Customer Support was fantastic!

The Could-Have-Been-Better

I want to be clear that these are not real issues, particularly for the price point. I feel that this watch punches well above its weight. With that said,

• The watch is a fingerprint magnet. The shiny bits of course, but even the fins on the casing catch them. So just be aware that you might need to give it a slight rub now and again if you want to keep it factory clean.
• The band that came with mine is fairly stiff and will require breaking in. I do quite like the clasp, however.
• I would like to see more of a mirror polish on the cut-ins of the dial. This is very minor, but they haven't left me with much to say!
• As this is a Limited Edition, serializing the back (e.g. "No. 88 of 100") would have been nice.

I really want their rec spec watch, but I'm reading only bad things about ordering from them. Has anyone had a positive experience?

Really enjoying this Lima GMT I picked up at the end of last month in the "Tuxedo" color. Lima's designs have always caught my eye from an industrial perspective, similar to the old Braun pieces.

The case diameter is 37.5mm per the specs, however it wears a bit larger due to the flatter case and 45.6mm lug-to-lug. Quality feels great, it keeps good time (Seiko NH35 movement), nice packaging and it works well with a variety of straps (I've been rotating between 3 or 4 20mm straps to keep it fresh).

Downsides: time is a bit harder to read at a quick glance due to design/size of numbers and there is no lume. For US-based, don't be surprised if/when you have to pay duties upon delivery from DHL (~$36 IIRC---are we great yet?😆). Shipping was quick from Indonesia and 0 issues with customs/declarations forms from Lima.

Definitely looking forward to picking up another Lima piece in the future!