It should be well-known by now that good watchmaking doesn’t have to come out of Switzerland or Japan only, but I’d hazard a guess that Singapore perhaps isn’t on everyone’s horological bingo cards. And yet, it really shouldn’t be surprising that the city-state is ramping up its concentration of brands, as it is famously a common point of congregation for some of the world’s most enthusiastic collectors. Some of these brands you’ll undoubtedly know from their success in the microbrand space, but Singapore has plenty more to offer than just the affordable when it comes to watches.
Atelier Holgur
Founded by a Danish-Dutch duo and headquartered in Singapore, Atelier Holgur is the amalgam of cultures akin to the one making up the microstate. Unlike many other micro offerings, the Frømand (Danish for Frogman) is an ultra-limited, high-end take on a dive watch, sporting a Schwarz-Etienne micro-rotor movement and a titanium case resistant to a depth of 300 metres. A diver isn’t an unusual first foray for a budding micro, but one with such a high attention to detail and such a unique movement? Well, that’s just the beauty of microbrands’ independence in the first place.
Azimuth
Being founded in 2003, Azimuth is the oldest brand on this list by some margin, and has spent the past two decades creating everything from classic three-handers to avant-garde, MB&F-esque pieces like the Twin Turbo. Production is mostly based in Switzerland, but interestingly, Azimuth also makes use of some vintage movement to sidestep the incredible R&D costs that some of its most quirky designs would seem to command, with their tiny diameters fitting into the confines of the flowing case shapes.
Benjamin Chee Haute Horlogerie
Founded by Chinese-Singaporean Benjamin Chee, BCHH collaborates with legendary Swiss watchmaker Svend Andersen to and other Swiss and Singaporean artisans to produce watches truly deserving of the “haute horlogerie” part of the brand name. Andersen’s signature Celestial Voyager is Chee’s most beloved canvas, with resplendent scenes depicted in precious gold wire and vitreous enamel.
Feynman
With little to no branding on their dials, Feynman lets the designs speak for themselves. Their collection began with a focus on going from the boardroom to the boardwalk, but now encompasses everything from geometric, intricate, stone-dialled dress pieces, dual crown divers with more lume than you’d ever need, all with those signature, squiggly hands. Find Feynman in WatchPoint’s Melbourne Showroom and WP Webstore.
Geylang Watch Co.
Named for what was once a famous red-light district, and is now one of Singapore’s most picturesque neighbourhoods, Geylang Watch Co. looks to bring some of that colour to their watches. There’s the cushion-cased Apex chronograph, but it’s the Lorong that stands out the most with its forged carbon case and bracelet, all impressively under A$1,000 despite a decent degree of water resistance and a Seiko automatic movement. Find Geylang Watch Co. in WatchPoint’s Melbourne Showroom
Horizon
The product of a Singaporean-Ukrainian collaboration, Horizon has played with a broad range of pieces, including the colourful, conceptual Spectrum, but their bread and butter lies in the Nemo diver. It sidesteps all the overplayed micro tropes and opts for clever but subtle design quips, seemingly leaving no stone unturned and no corner cut – including a Swiss movement and a micro-adjustable butterfly clasp. Their latest and greatest also opens the avenue of customisations, with the AnoNemo now sporting hand-engraved dials of the customer’s own design, whether pre-existing or created anew.
Loth
Tristan Ho has taken a more artisanal approach to watchmaking, and is one of the few that do so in Singapore. His first watch already does a pretty decent job of showcasing his emerging talent with delectable hand-finishing, much of which is shown off on his Instagram. That’s not super uncommon, as many watchmakers making watches to this level often zero in on the amount of work that is put into each component, but Ho’s take is uniquely fresh and social media-friendly. No bloated egos, sharply angled German silver only.
RZE (and Vostra)
Let’s put it this way – if you’ve not heard of RZE yet, even the rock you’ve been living under is unlikely to do much damage to one of their watches. Built exclusively from titanium and with their proprietary UltraHex hard coating, RZE’s marketing often revolves around having one of their representatives smashing their digital UTD-8000 model against the ground to put their money where their mouth is. If digital isn’t quite your go, there’s a whole assortment of quartz, mechaquartz, and automatic flavours available, all shaped to further the brand’s adventurous intentions. Just be careful, the fact that they’re one of the best bang-for-buck micros out there makes things that much better.
This, however, is a two-for-one deal, as RZE actually has a sister brand in Vostra, taking care of all the things RZE’s founders may think is just a tad too funky for the main brand. If you come from the world of fashion, diffusion lines aren’t always favourably looked upon, but when done well, they look kind of like this. Whereas RZE does all the rugged, outdoorsy heavy lifting, Vostra is tasked with making design, and watch collecting as a whole, a tad more fun – take the Vector chronograph as an example. The boxes are designed to represent collectible figurines, while their newest ring watch is sold as a blind box – talk about keeping up with the times. Find RZE and Vostra in WatchPoint’s Melbourne Showroom and WP Webstore.
Tennet
With their distinct, open handset and teardrop index shape, Tennet’s watches embody the true spirit of a microbrand, being imaginative but affordable, and with a great set of specifications. Between the GADA Somerset and the elegant Argonaut diver, the watches are powered by Sellita calibres, with the latter cased in shiny 904L steel for extra lustre and corrosion-resistance.
Ubiq
The best way to describe Ubiq is as a brand that makes serious watches, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. That’s a good thing, I promise. There’s plenty of colour and ever-so-slightly whimsical design on offer, but that doesn’t make the brand skimp on making a robust, well-designed sports watch. The collection currently houses the classic three-handed Dual diver with its cool, squircle indices and tapered handset, as well as the titanium Trek and its lume block indices that glow insanely brightly. Find Ubiq in WatchPoint’s Melbourne Showroom and WP Webstore
Vario
Vario is a well-established player in the microcosm, with one of the most diverse offerings of any microbrand out there. At any one time, you’ll find nearly a dozen collections on the brand’s website, with a broad range of periods Vario has taken inspirations from. There are oversized, wire-lugged trench watches with cathedral hands and pulsometer dials, pilot’s and field’s models taking after the cult classic A-11 pieces but with solar capability, as well as heartfelt tributes to the 1970s with the faceted crystal of the Futurist, with some Art Deco thrown into the mix for good measure, too. Find Vario in WatchPoint’s Melbourne Showroom and WP Webstore
Zelos
In many ways, Zelos is regarded as the brand that defines the cornerstones of what it is to be a microbrand. Limited drops, funky materials, and an approach to design that you just wouldn’t see from, say, any brand in the Swatch Group. Meteorite dials, bronze cases, and skeletonised movements have become the brand’s defining features, and while they’ve built their church on muscular divers, they’ve also not been shy to follow, and sometimes set trends. The brand has long been working with meteorite dials and Damascus cases, before they began to make their way into the mainstream.
