The Christmas season is now behind us, the New Year is almost here, and frankly, not a damn moment too soon. So, what’s a watch blog to do? Why, a “Best of” article, of course! I asked The Time Bum’s assorted horological hobos to choose their favorite microbrand releases of the year.
Here were our rules:
- The watches had to be from micro brands only. That can be a rather squishy category, but we pretty much went with the criteria established by the Microbrand Watch Facebook Group: the brand has a small number of full-time employees, most of the production is outsourced, movements used are not produced in-house, and sales are done primarily online with no more than a limited brick and mortar presence. That means no Seiko, but also no Nomos or Christopher Ward. Yes, I know CW is a “legacy micro” on the Microbrand Watch Group database, but we are purists here at The Bum.
- The watches had to be available in 2020, so watches pre-ordered in 2019 and delivered in 2020 were eligible, but watches announced in 2020 for 2021 delivery were not.
- These had to be watches we actually laid hands on – no judging on photos or press releases. With no in-person watch shows this year, we were limited to what we bought, borrowed, reviewed, or were lucky enough to sample at the 2019 shows and sadly, this knocked out a few real contenders. It was tough, but you’ve got to draw the line somewhere.
- No more than $2000. We are Bums after all.
- Each contributor could choose no more than five favorites.
Quite an assortment of watches variety of watches made the list, but four stood out. GUTuna and I both chose the Visitor Duneshore Shallows for our lists, noting its magnificent case design. The two of us also put an Undone Basecamp model on our lists, although we each chose a different variant. The Feynman Cove attracted a vote each from Mike and GU Tuna.
Finally, three of us (Mike Razak, Watchmakers Daughter, and myself) chose the Traska Summiteer, citing its clean dial, slim proportions, and all-around wearability. So congratulations to Traska on being chosen as the first Time Bum Watch of the Year!
The following are all of our picks, arranged in no particular order. Enjoy.
James Lambert – Writer
Visitor Watch Company Duneshore Shallows – I have always been smitten by Phil Rodenbeck’s work. His brand has a true style and design vernacular and still develops models with unique touches within that. A lovely sharply angled case combined with a concave case back that cradles the top of your wrist. His dial color combinations are never standard fare with the “Sharkside” a particular standout for me.
Feynman Cove – Did someone say dress diver? A dial with super depth, but it doesn’t feel busy at all. I especially love the small running second hand in a wave shape. The pick of the colors is the Founders Edition teal with deep gold hands and Feynman nameplate.
Lesablier Sport Classic – I tend to favor watches that have their own distinct look. With a sharply angled case combined with an octagonal bezel, this second Lesablier release fits the bill for me. My favorite is the Moonlight colorway, which shows a hint of the Miyota 8N40 below, through a glass, darkly. Bergman’s take on the typically overdone skeleton dial.
Swiss Watch Co. Sport – Nothing about the utterly conventional company name prepared me for their first model. It’s the ultra-modern indices, raised on a single piece of ceramic, that define the watch. The dial is deep and beautifully textured. And the standard silicone strap is itself a unique design.
Undone x Simple Union Bronze Limited Edition – I generally have no interest in sub homages nor in brand design collaborations. So I hope that underscores how much I like the finished product here. The unity of theme, colorway, dial, indices, case, and strap are lovely and not too on the nose. I daresay it is even hip looking. It kills me that I did not get my hands on one permanently.
Nathaniel DeNicola – Writer
Nodus Sector Field Marina – So many blitzes of blue! In any given wrist check you catch navy to teal on a fume dial complemented by light blue accents on the second hand, cardinal numerals, and peaking through the inventive 24-hour sandwich sector center cut. This play with light is accentuated by a domed underside to the flat-top sapphire crystal that creates a welcome distortion at the margins. Coming in at 38 mm wide and sub-13 mm thick this Sector case may be the best of the Nodus lineup and it’s trending all the right directions headed into a more restrained “sub-40 sweet spot” 2021.
Mr. Jones Watches “All this will pass” – If there’s one wrist shot that perfectly encapsulates 2020 for me, this is it: using telehealth to remotely conduct virtual visits for COVID-19 patients, trying to tell myself “all this will pass” while reflecting on how on the F*** we got here?! In 2020 they rose to the occasion as well as any in creating a COVID-19 themed watch: bonus points for the Agar culture styled dial, 10% contributions to the World Health Organization COVID-19 Solidary Response Fund, and the final flourish — case back engraved with Winston Churchill’s marching orders, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Aloha GMT 40 Gradient Dial – Is it possible for a watch to overwhelm you with subtlety? At first glance, the Aloha GMT 40 Gradient Dial is a classic sporty-dressy blue dial GMT, but interesting watches always ask you to look closer. Perhaps you’ve already noticed the moon and sun icons at midnight and noon along with the 24-hour dial — which provide a playful, intuitive orientation and add a fun effect as the lollipop second hand perfectly silhouettes a lunar and solar “eclipse” each minute. As you scan the rest of the 24-hour dial for markers you might be a bit surprised to see only 4 total numerals, freeing space for 17 dots which, paired with the moon and sun icons, create a starry-night appearance against the dial’s horizon. The heavenly body allure is completed by an ever-so-slight navy to royal gradient — placing evening GMT hours in the darker shade, daylight in the lighter blue sky, and the entire watch in a new dimension.
Orion Hellcat Burgundy – Nick Harris follows up the delightfully deprecating Calamity model with an equally macabre Hellcat that practically growls on the wrist. A rich burgundy dial uniquely paired with copper-colored minute track and handset accents pierced by a sharp custom white font already made this an obvious Fall favorite — but as 2020 unfolded with a more visceral hellish landscape each week a deeper existential bond emerged. If you ascribe at all to the “fight fire with fire” mentality this Hellcat was pouncing on your wrist routinely. On that note: pictured here against the Silverado Canyon Fire, one of the numerous Southern California fires in Fall 2020.
Lorier Gemini Worn & Wound Limited Edition – This watch sold out in the blink of an eye — which is, fittingly, its unique design code too. With that cyclops wink, fully expanded cobalt dial (cleverly achieved by quarantining the minute track and bumping the hours to the bezel), and retro Space Ace bracelet this was one Limited Edition that sent ripples through the Microbrand zeitgeist. Worn & Wound has gone into great detail explaining these design choices so no need to recap — though I will mention a favorite feature not often highlighted: the rotating bezel makes this dual-time chronograph exceptionally useful when traveling (back in those days). This Limited Edition was a true rock star, eliciting the same excitement of stalking a “hot ticket” for an anticipated concert – the one you knew would be gone in a few feverish seconds. That’s what this watch re-connected in 2020, in a way that really nothing else did.
Watchmaker’s Daughter – Writer
BOLDR Venture Automatic – I had the chance to handle this watch at possibly one of the last pre-pandemic watch meetups and was very impressed. If I didn’t already have a dedicated field watch, the BOLDR Venture would have gone in my shopping cart right then. The titanium case is a fantastic combination of svelte and rugged and the lume made the dial very readable in dark restaurant conditions (remember those?). My one complaint was that the included NATO made the watch sit too high on my wrist, but slap a two-piece Perlon or seatbelt strap on it and it’s the ultimate adventure watch.
Hager Pheon GMT and Small Seconds – When I got to try this watch on at District Time 2019, it didn’t yet have a name. But I was extremely impressed by the wearability of the 38mm case and the quality of the bracelet. The blue fume sandwich dial was gorgeous and complimented the overall aesthetic of the watch. With a 200m WR rating, it’s definitely a watch that could go from work to play and back again.
Traska Summiteer – Another watch I got to handle at District Time 2019, the Kickstarter for this watch sold out lightning quick. All three dial variations are clean, distinctive, and readable. I especially loved the strong taper (20mm to 16mm at the clasp) of the bracelet as it definitely kept the watch from feeling like a weight on my 6.5” wrist.
Mike Razak – Senior Writer
Badger Islander – This one completely surprised me. I knew I was going to like it, but not as much as I did in the end. The grooved sunray dial, the subtle branding, the hands, the sharp tonneau case–everything hit for me. The straps were excellent and it paired surprisingly well with many of my own. This 2019 pre-order delivered early this year and is sadly no longer available (as far as I know). The good news is that the brand is hard at work on a new design.
Alkin Model Two – Crisp. Clean. Simple. The Alkin Model Two, like the Model One, presents the wearer with a no-frills, rugged tool watch. I love the idea of a dual crown but practically, they aren’t extremely useful as I don’t dive and use my bezels for timing food more often than anything else. That said, I really enjoyed the Alkin. The fully lumed dial is a neat trick, but what got me was the layers and the cleanliness of it all.
Biatec Leviathan – This is probably my favorite watch of 2020. I own a Biatec Corsair (as does GU Tuna–the only other person I know who has one) and was excited when the Leviathan came out (I spent months hounding them to try it out). The watch is a gorgeous and unique diver, finished impeccably and resolving the lume issues that were present on the Corsair. My friend put it best when he described it as “modern medieval.”
Traska Summiteer – The Summiteer is an easy-wearing, near-perfectly executed, go anywhere, do anything watch that scratches that Explorer itch for those of us who can’t afford a Rolex. Frankly, it stands on its own merits just fine.
Feynman Cove
The Cove is an exceptionally cool watch with engaging colorways, layers, textures, and creative lume all in a sleek case. My only regret is that it didn’t come with a bracelet, but as James said, it’s a dress diver, so a bracelet really isn’t needed.
Loren Sciurba – Editor-In-Chief
Undone Aero Scientific – I’m a big fan of the Undone Basecamp series, and like James, I too was smitten by the Simple Union Limited Edition, but for me, the standout Basecamp release was the Weems-inspired Aero Scientific. I have been waiting ages for a micro brand to turn out a solid Weems homage and this one absolutely nailed the spirit of that icon and delivered it at a bargain price.
Direnzo DRZ 03 Eclipse – There was no shortage of retro divers this year, and there is nothing at all wrong with that. Still, I love it when a brand can take a familiar style and then deliver something unexpected. Direnzo is particularly good at that and I believe the DRZ 03 Eclipse is their best yet. It may echo a 1960s diver, but every aspect has been reimagined and updated to create a stunning, cutting-edge timepiece. Especially in red. I mean, damn! That red! Should have bought it when I had the chance.
Visitor Duneshore Shallows – I feel like I’m cheating by including the Duneshore Shallows because I first tried on the prototype all the way back in 2015, but it was not available for purchase until earlier this year. Some things are worth the wait. I am a big fan of Visitor, and was amazed at how well the Duneshore’s Baroque design translated into the dive watch genre, giving us such tasty details as the pen nib plongeur hand and the Visitor lion reimagined as a sea lion on the artfully sculpted case back.
Traska Summiteer – I’ll try not to repeat Mike and Watchmaker’s Daughter above. I’ll just say that the Summiteer won me over the minute I placed that slim, 1960s-in beauty on my wrist. At 38mm wide and just 10mm thick on a 20mm bracelet that reduces to a 16mm clasp, the proportions were period-perfect. Combine that with 100m water resistance, a scratch-resistant coating on the steel, and a tastefully updated Explorer dial and you have a watch that could happily grace your wrist every day, in almost any situation.
Neucarl Sept Mai – I’d been watching this one for most of the year before I got it in for review and I was not disappointed. Neucarl took elements of early 1960s modern architecture, a touch of early 1970s futurism, and a fresh take on the iconic Omega Dynamic eyeball dial, and served up a sleek beauty that could pass for a prop from 2001: A Space Oddysey. The polished two-piece floating case is marvelous. I hesitate to call anything “my favorite” because that is such a moving target, but the Sept Mai showed that even in 2020, very good things could still happen. ⬩
