The people
Founders
The independents behind the brands we cover — the designers, tinkerers and obsessives who build microbrand watches.
Etienne Malec
Founder
Besançon, France
Etienne founded Baltic in 2017 after inheriting a box of his late father's mid-century watches — the brief that shaped the brand's vintage-modern style. A heavily oversubscribed Kickstarter turned that homage into one of the microbrand world's best-loved names.
Jason Lim
Founder
Vancouver, Canada
Jason runs Halios solo from Vancouver, designing tightly-focused dive and travel watches released in small, fast-selling drops that have earned a near-cult following.
Lorenzo Ortega
Co-founder
New York, USA
Lorenzo co-founded Lorier with his wife Lauren, building the brand around affordable, vintage-inspired sports watches with acrylic crystals and mechanical movements.
Justin Kraudel
Co-founder
St. Louis, USA
Justin co-founded Monta, a brand pairing Swiss movements and high-end finishing with in-house bracelet engineering at a sub-luxury price.
Elshan Tang
Founder
Singapore
Elshan founded Zelos in Singapore, known for adventurous materials — bronze, Damascus steel, meteorite and titanium — in bold, value-packed tool watches.
Cullen Chen
Co-founder
Los Angeles, USA
Cullen co-founded Nodus in Los Angeles, where the team assembles and regulates its watches in-house with a focus on quality control and accessible pricing.
Dan Henry
Founder
São Paulo, Brazil
Dan Henry is a watch collector and entrepreneur who founded Dan Henry Watches in 2016. With a collection of over 1,500 vintage timepieces, he aims to produce affordable watches inspired by classic designs. He also runs an interactive website, Timeline.Watch, which catalogs vintage watches.
Rick De La Croix
Founder
Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Rick De La Croix is the founder of BOMBERG, a Swiss watch brand established in 2012. With over 30 years of experience in the watch industry, he aimed to create bold and unconventional timepieces that would appeal to a younger audience. Rick has a background in marketing and distribution for luxury brands and is inspired by a legacy he wishes to pass on to his son.