What Does It Mean to Be an Independent Watch Brand?
Hey there. If you've been shopping for a watch lately, you've probably run into the phrase "independent watch brand." It gets used a lot, and it can mean a lot of different things. Since we've been an independent watch company for over ten years now, I figured I'd explain what it means to us, and why I think it matters when you're picking out something you'll wear for decades.
So, what is an independent watch brand?
A lot of the biggest names in watches belong to a handful of large luxury groups. That's not a knock on them. Some of those brands make incredible watches. But decisions about design, pricing and production get made a long way from the people who wear the watches.
An independent watch brand isn't part of one of those groups. It's usually small and run by the people who started it. Independents range from one-person shops to some of the most respected watchmakers in the world. What they have in common is that the people making the decisions are close to the watches, and close to the folks who buy them.
Why it matters when you're buying a watch
- The details come from people who wear them. At Oak & Oscar, every design choice gets argued over at HQ, from our sandwich dials to drilled lugs that make strap changes easy.
- You can talk to the people who made it. Want to see a watch on your wrist before you buy? Book a visit to HQ or a video chat and you'll talk to us, not a call center.
- Service stays close to home. Every Oak & Oscar gets a final quality check at HQ from our in-house watchmaker, who is SAWTA-certified, before we pack it up and ship it. And when your watch needs a service, it comes home to Chicago, not to a service center somewhere.
- Small batches, real attention. We make watches in small runs, and some limited editions sell out fast. That's the trade-off for doing it this way, and we think it's worth it.
How we do it at Oak & Oscar
Our current watches are the Olmsted, our everyday field watch; the Atwood, a remarkably trim, hand-wound flyback chronograph with a blued column wheel; and the Humboldt GMT, built for adventure and travel. We name our watches after curious people who went out to explore, learn and discover, and each watch's page tells the story of its namesake.
Every one is designed here in Chicago and powered by a Swiss movement. Each watch comes through HQ for its final quality check, final assembly and packing before it ships, and every service happens here too. Our Horween leather straps are hand-sewn right here in Chicago, and if you want something truly one of a kind, our dial artist can hand-paint a dial just for you.
The best part is the people
Here's something I didn't expect when I started: the watches turned out to be the beginning, not the end. We call the folks who wear our watches Owners, and they're a big part of why we do this. Every fall we host Owners Weekend here in Chicago, and Owners fly in from all over the country to hang out, swap stories and talk watches. A lot of them showed up as strangers and left as friends.
That kind of community is hard to build from a corporate office. It happens when the people who make the watches are the same people who answer your emails and pour you a drink at HQ.
How to tell if a brand is really independent
If you're shopping around, here are a few questions worth asking:
- Who owns it? Is it part of a larger group, or run by the folks who started it?
- Who checks each watch before it ships, and where?
- Who services the watch when it needs it?
- Can you actually talk to someone who works there?
Come see for yourself
The best way to understand what we do is to see it. Book a visit to HQ or a video chat, and we'll show you around. And if you're curious what other people have said about us, check out what the press has said.
Thanks for reading, and for supporting independent watchmaking.
Chase