what's your favorite under the radar brand?

[jm111]

This is a great thread, so I'll chime in. I've been lurking mostly for a while, but still a relative newbie. So for me, I've discovered several great brands that I'd never heard of before until browsing here. Many of them are German, like Sinn, Stowa, Dornbluth, and GO. I plan on getting a U1 in the not-too-distant future, and it's only a matter of time before I get a Stowa of some kind (and hopefully a GO some day). I've still never seen a Sinn or Stowa in the wild, and am really glad I've discovered them here because they seem like great values--can't wait to buy a U1, which would be much preferable for me than a Tag (not bashing Tag, just find the U1 and other Germans much more unique and interesting).

JM

[AbsoluteMustard]

Stowa



Christopher Ward

[Janne]

Sinn. Laco. HMT.

My watches are like my family. Love them all.
I know the saying is "like my children", but I only have one child, as far as I know.

[MINIDriver]

Junghans.

[Stonechild]

Fortis and Ball - gotta love them:

[Popoki Nui]

Most of us know the brand, but they get mentioned/discussed almost never. I rarely see them mentioned in iW or WT magazines, except almost in passing.
Yet they produce manufacture movements and have a host of horological firsts and innovations reaching back 150 years. And don't forget where ETA came from.
Totally underrepresented IMO.

[V8]

Mido, Fortis and Seiko.

Why Seiko? ask anyone outside of this forum what Seiko makes and the answer will probably be "discount quartz watches" when we all know about the monsters, sammys, sumos, etc, etc...

[Francois Boucher]

H. Moser & Co.

Just the very best Swiss quality and tradition, and some innovation, with understated classic elegance. No BS…

I really love the Heinrich Watch (named after the company's founder), with its Straumann double hairspring escapement: that is a great idea, and a beautiful, simple watch. (More detailed information here).



If I had any "real" money, that is the one I would get!

[resipsa99]

Epos.

For me, I'm tempted to say Longines vintage pieces. Even though everyone knows the name, not many realize they were one of the best back before the quartz revolution. Pre-1960, they were even above Omega and Rolex.

Speaking of vintage Longines, after seeing the book Underworld by Don DeLillo on numerous "best books" lists over the years, I bought it about six months ago. It's been sitting on my bookshelf unread until recently because, at 800+ pages, it always seemed like too much of a commitment. I started reading it a few weeks ago and the first chapter is a "reenactment" of the third game of the 1951 National League pennant series between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers (the game that ended with the "Shot Heard 'Round The World"). The chapter describes various parts of the Polo Grounds (the name of the Giant's stadium at the time), and mentions the Longines clock above the scoreboard. Had I started this book a few months earlier (before I stumbled upon WUS and got interested in the world of watches), I would have had no idea what "Longines" meant. Anyway, the description caught my interest, so I searched and found this photo of the clock:

[alpine003]

Most of us know the brand, but they get mentioned/discussed almost never. I rarely see them mentioned in iW or WT magazines, except almost in passing.
Yet they produce manufacture movements and have a host of horological firsts and innovations reaching back 150 years. And don't forget where ETA came from.
Totally underrepresented IMO.

Very true and it wasn't until I got interested into Porsche Design watches made by Eterna that I really knew anything about them.