The Best Microbrand Watches to Buy in February 2025

Ember Rocket

After spotting some rather fetching prototypes back in late 2024, Ember’s Rocket is finally ready for launch and, with a few subtle design tweaks, the production version’s looking brighter and better than ever. The bead-blasted, multi-faceted case has more wrist presence than its 40mm measurements suggest, while the mix of funky colours and sandwich-style cut-outs around the periphery ensure it’s as bright at night as during the day. It’s also almost unfairly tempting, priced as it is at £359, powered by a workhorse Seiko automatic movement. Not a bad debut at all.

More details at Ember.

Toledano & Chan B/1.2

The sophomore album can always be a bit tricky, but Toledano & Chan’s follow-up to the insanely successful B/1 amps up those brutalist angles to new degrees. While the case is the same industrially cool beast as the original, the dial has been changed to mother-of-pearl rather than lapis, equally semi-precious. The bigger change, however, is the crystal, which rather than being flush, is instead an almost prismatic piece of sapphire. There was already nothing quite like the B/1; now it’s doubtful there ever will be.

More details at Toledano & Chan.

Aeronom Aero One Big Panda

Forget all those vintage-style Daytonaesque Panda chronographs living off Paul Newman hype. With their industrially machined planes and asymmetrical look, Aeronom’s take on the high contrast colourway is a must-have for any would-be engineer. Throw in some hand-written numerals on the panoramic date window and you have the ingredients of a classic racing chronograph reformulated into something much, much cooler. Backed by a Miyota movement, it’s also slightly more affordable than your standard Paul Newman. But then, so’s my mortgage.

More details at Aeronom.

Belhamel Contra A39 Charcoal Blue

It’s hard to build a modern dive watch without leaning on what the Submariner or Seamaster did before – at least without adding a second crown – but Belhamel’s Contra A39 does an enviable job of just that. With its minimalist steel rotating dive bezel and 39mm steel case it borders on the cooly utilitarian, while flashes of orange elevate the otherwise pared-back dark (but not navy) blue of the dial. With professional standard 300m water resistance, it’s rugged, accessible and a little bit sexy.

More details at Belhamel.

Wayforth Voyager

Fun, practical adventure watches are one of the things the microbrand world has no shortage of, so standing out among that eclectic crowd of ruggedly handsome timepieces isn’t easy. Canadian brand Wayforth does so by combining two elements that you don’t normally see in one watch: a chronograph and a second time zone. The bi-compax Mechaquartz chronograph is relatively straightforward, complete with a tachymeter bezel, but the integration of the second time zone is a masterstroke. Rather than a GMT hand, Wayforth have instead added a 12-hour rotating inner bezel, operable via the 10 o’clock crown. That means it’s a clear and easily readable as you could want from a chronograph, but with the added functionality of a travel watch. The result is the perfect watch for clocking your speed across timezones.

More details at Wayforth.

DeMarco The Pistachio Green Chronograph

While we’re not huge proponents of quartz here at Oracle Time, there’s a time and place for everything – such as DeMarco’s debut chronograph. The angular grip to the rotating bezel, the pump chronograph pushers, and the gorgeous pistachio green dial (a colour I fell in love with courtesy of Breitling) mean there’s a lot to love here. As a mechaquartz watch, it’s that perfectly practical mix of electronic accuracy powering a mechanical complication and, priced at (for now) just $344, it’s an incredibly tempting piece of colourful wrist real estate.

More details at DeMarco.

DUG Purist

As a rule, you can expect Glashutte-based brands to come at a bit of a premium. It is, after all, the home of Lange & Sohne, Moritz Grossman, Glashutte Original, and more. And yet the DUG Purist offers something built in that cradle of Saxon watchmaking at under £800. Granted, that’s largely down to a Sellita-based movement, but in terms of style the Purist hits that utilitarian nail on the head, especially in the Typ 1 variant. Streamlined and eminently readable with a cool, three-stick 12 o’clock marker and a vintage fluted crown, it’s a good-looking everyday wearer for a well-priced taste of Germanic style.

More details at DUG.

​Oracle Time 

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