Micro-Brand Digest: Windup Watch Fair Edition

This edition of Micro-Brand Digest will be focusing on some of the brands that exhibit at our Windup Watch Fair. Every year upon walking into the fair during setup, the editorial team often gets their first look at many of the exhibiting brands, as we are a separate entity to the event and commerce components of Worn & Wound, so each fair we discover some of the brands right alongside you. 

In addition to discovering these new brands, we get the added benefit of meeting the people behind them, which adds a depth to the brand that otherwise may not be immediately apparent. This is the beauty of a show like Windup, connecting with the passionate people making these watches, and hearing their stories first hand. So in this edition of Micro-Brand Digest, we’re putting a spotlight on some of these people and the watches they’re creating.

Vieren

Vieren is a fashion watch brand, but maybe not in the way you’d expect. The watches are indeed chic, and present a fashion forward design language that embraces clean lines, stark whites and blacks, and textures you’d often see on the runway. That’s because the creative head of the brand, Sunny Fong, is a fashion designer for the womenswear label, VAWK, and even won Project Runway Canada. Sonny brings this sensibility to Vieren watches, eschewing typical watch industry trends in the process.

Vieren’s founder, Jess Chow, brings a passionate energy to the brand, and is one of our favorite people to see at Windup. Jess has brought the entire vision to life, and takes the watchmaking component seriously, using a watchmaking studio in La-Chaux-de-Fonds to execute the unorthodox designs. The results are striking, and while they won’t be for everyone, they offer a distinct point of view, which we love seeing represented at Windup. Vieren. 

Duckworth Prestex

At our latest Windup Watch Fair in San Francisco, Duckworth Prestex had their history on full display, with a representation of what the brand was doing back in 1939. The modern incarnation of the brand picks up many of the same notes, but nothing feels vintage or heritage about the watches. They feel perfectly modern, even while preserving that historic brand DNA. Their latest watch, the Belmont, is a 300 meter cushion case diver with a lovely aesthetic that doesn’t quite feel like anything else. 

Duckworth Prestex offers a few collections of interesting watches, and they’re all tied together with a similar cushion shape case design, which seems to work equally well across the board for the brand. With British roots that run deep, you’ll also find watches like the Coronation 2023 in their catalog, a particular point of pride for the brand’s proprietor, Neil Duckworth, of the same lineage of the brand’s original founders. Duckworth Prestex.

Momentum

Momentum is a brand you may recognize, and it wasn’t until the Sea Quartz 30 release that I fully connected the dots back to the watch that Tom Selleck wore in his portrayal of private investigator, Thomas Magnum, in the television series, Magnum P.I. from the ‘80s. It’s a fantastic looking diver with loads of personality that’s presented in a highly approachable manner, with a quartz movement and sub $300 price tag. 

Looking elsewhere in the Momentum catalog you’ll find plenty of other approachable tool watches that look to be pretty easy to get along with. The Sea Quartz certainly strikes a very of-the-moment tone however, and I’d expect a follow up along these lines in the near future. Here’s hoping. Momentum.

Atlantic

Atlantic Watches has been around since the late 19th century, so is certainly in the running for Windup attendee with the greatest longevity. From humble beginnings in Bettlach, Switzerland, they have amassed a long history of tasteful, traditional watches that offer a ton of value at a range of price points and styles. Like other heritage brands, they have become adept at mixing classical elements with the modern. An example: their recent Worldmaster Limited Edition, featuring a traditional pilot style layout (the type that has been used for decades across various makers and brands) and a sleek, black PVD coated case. Flipping it over reveals a gorgeous hand wound ATL-1 manufacture movement. 

One of the keys to Atlantic is the variety they offer. They make watches in just about every style you can imagine, but always in an aesthetic that has midcentury style at its core. Their catalog has everything from midsize sector dials, to nautical inspired open heart models, along with gold plated art deco designs with sunburst dials in black, gold, and a vibrant red. Along with nearly 100 mechanical watches in their current catalog, they also offer a wide range of quartz timepieces with the same wide ranging variety. Atlantic.

Bruno Söhnle

Bruno Söhnle is a German brand based in the watchmaking haven of Glashütte, but they take a very different approach to watchmaking than some of their counterparts who also call the region home. With a mix of quartz and mechanical watches in their catalog, Bruno Sohnle takes traditional German design notes from every era of German watchmaking and updates them through a contemporary lens. 

There are elements to these watches that will feel familiar if you’re well versed in the collections of brands like A. Lange & Sohne and Glashutte Original. There are plenty of watches in the Bruno Sohnle collection with off-center displays and dial layouts that easily fall into a minimalist category. But they’re tweaked just a bit, with contemporary accents, colors, and inventive complications. You’ll also find watches like the Stuttgart Handaufzug II, with a dynamic gold tone striated dial that looks like it time traveled from the 1970s. Like so many brands at Windup this year, they offer a surprising variety and impressive character for the money, and show that looking beyond the usual suspects pays dividends. Bruno Söhnle.