Power List: The Microbrands

It has been a phenomenal year for the watch world. To round off 2022, we are celebrating the hits, the wonders, the visionaries and all the people in watchmaking who have made it so memorable in our annual Revolution Awards and Power Lists.

Microbrands, as a loosely defined category, have come a long way in the last decade, and today we look at the big fish in the microbrand pond.

What justifies the Microbrands category on Revolution’s 2022 power list? Firstly, it’s because these promising upstart brands created or relaunched by young entrepreneurs and designers are, in many ways, tapped much more into the zeitgeist of the current generation of watch collectors. And with good reason — because the creators behind the brands are the same age as the customers they are creating their watches for. Secondly, while it might have been unthinkable a decade ago that these individuals and their brands could have a huge impact on the watch industry, thanks to the advent of online platforms such as Instagram and Kickstarter, many of these brands have gone on to achieve great success. Even more importantly, as the majority of their founders are in their 30s, they represent the future of our industry.