The “It” Indies: Six of Summer 2025’s Most Instagrammable Microbrands

Love or hate Instagram, it plays a significant role in the watch community because it’s a democratic platform for helping enthusiasts discover timepieces and develop their horological tastes.

We follow thousands of accounts that cover everything from vintage watch spotters (@niccoloy) to tiny watch lovers (@tinywatches). And we learn new things every day, which makes us happy. The downside is that you can spend too much screen time scrolling through the app, looking at other people’s watches.

So, to keep you from damaging your brain (and your bank accounts), here are six of the ’Gram’s greatest hits.

Instagram is a visual medium, and the ArtyA Purity Curvy HMS Mirror Titanium is absolute eye candy.

We’ve written about the beauty of ArtyA’s architecture before, but the use of Grade 5 titanium for this sculptural object makes its unique statement. The shape and the mostly sandblasted finish make it feel very tactile.
 

This case is available with either a transparent or black DLC coating and a variety of colored hour/minute and seconds tracks inside. The watch’s size (38.5mm diameter x 43mm length x 12mm height) also makes it appealing. The specs are equally sexy and visible.

The in-house Purity Curvy Tourbillon movement becomes a hand-wound caliber centered on the sculptural “Stairway to Heaven” escapement, which is completely visible. The bridges supporting the motion works and balance are frosted with cast iron microbeads, then beveled by hand.
 

Launched in July, the ArtyA Purity Curvy HMS Mirror Titanium is priced at $27,900.

Atelier Wen is the brainchild of two close friends from France, Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron. The two shared a passion for historic Chinese, and since its inception in 2018, the brand has sought to bring China’s centuries-old artisanal know-how to the forefront of haute horology.
 

Launched in July, the Maison’s newest masterpiece is the Ancestra Jiāo, a limited-edition luxury watch featuring a hand-engraved “brushstroke” dial that draws inspiration from Chinese ink wash painting. To achieve this heart-stopping effect, the brand employed the enamel workshop of Kong Lingjun to create the piece’s hammered 925 silver dial featuring a cobalt blue Grand feu enamel dial with fumé effect.

There are two variants of Jiāo – one with odd hour markers in traditional Chinese calligraphy (Variant 1), and one with Bamboo-inspired, even hour markers, Western-Arabic numerals (Variant 2). Both editions feature alternating lab-grown baguette-cut diamonds.
 

The aesthetics of the Jiāo are not limited to just the dial. A 38mm stainless steel case houses a Peacock SL-3006 automatic movement, recalibrated and decorated in-house to meet current haute horlogerie standards.

The Atelier Wen Ancestra 蛟 (Jiāo) is limited to 50 pieces and is priced at $5,850.

As the Russian watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin’s second collaboration with Chinese brand Behrens, the Ace of Hearts faces off with a combination of Chaykin’s signature Joker with a Han Dynasty ceramic figurine for one of the most unique watches we’ve ever seen.
 

Like the ArtyA Curvy HMS, the Ace of Hearts’ mechanism is part of the design. Two “eyes” on the dial display the hours and minutes, while a red, heart-shaped seconds hand powered by Behrens’ patented mechanism rotates like a lightweight millstone. A separate power-reserve indicator placed at 12 o’clock keeps you informed of the movement’s full 46-hour autonomy.

The Ace of Hearts comes in three case materials and five colourways. The basic version is limited to 600 pieces in titanium. Then there are 150 each in black or white Spark Plasma Sintered Carbon Fibre (SPSCF), a proprietary carbon composite. And finally, there is a pair of clear sapphire crystal cased timepieces: 80 in sky blue sapphire, and 20 in pink. A further 50 blue SPSCF pieces are reserved for the Russian market.
 

The Ace of Hearts is available directly from the Behrens website and is priced at $8,250 for titanium, $10,120 in SPSCF, and $14,960 for sapphire.

Admittedly, Swedish microbrand Tusenö was not on our radar until this summer, when we spotted the colorful retro Supervintage popping up on seemingly everybody’s wrist shot posts.

Although its oval case shares a silhouette with the Cartier Bagnoire, the Supervintage feels more like an homage to the madcap world of 1960s watchmaking in general (if you want a distraction from spending too much time on Instagram, may I suggest doing an image search for “Old England Watches”).
 

However, unlike the fashion watches of yore, the Supervintage is also engineered for utility. The case curves and bends for ultimate ergonomics. Even the double curvature sapphire crystal is shaped to fit this unusual form. Tusenö is calling the 34.5mm x 40.5mm case “contemporary vintage size,” making it ideal for any wrist. And inside, the Supervintage keeps time with a fully decorated, manually wound, top-grade ETA 700.

The Tusenö Supervintage comes in three colors – the bold red Negroni, the bright green Mojito, and the creamy Espresso Martini featuring a rich, sophisticated brown colorway, complete with a dial texture inspired by the signature creamy foam. Other charming touches include domed leaf hands and tapered quick-change leather straps with a customized curved buckle.
 

The Tusenö Supervintage is available for pre-order for $899 now and $999 when it’s in production.

Most microbrands can’t rely on traditional brick-and-mortar stores to get their watches in front of potential buyers. Platforms like Instagram become essential not only for sharing photos but also for sharing the story behind the brand. Another company that we recently discovered is Schaefer & Companions.

The brand employs a dial crafted by Françoise Remmonay of Donzé Cadran. These faces not only preserve centuries-old horological craftsmanship, but they are also a canvas for her pure artistic expression.
 

Operating out of Le Locle, Switzerland – a region named a World Heritage site for its watchmaking history by UNESCO – Remonnay was inspired by 19th-century impressionists to create the blue dials of the brand’s Solune Antarctica models.

Using layered enamel, fine silver, and crumpled foils, the surface is meant to capture the ephemeral quality of light on polar ice. The most important part of this story is the complete absence of mechanical reproduction in her process, so that each piece is unique. What could be more personal than that?
 

There are two editions currently available: the Medallion Enamel, which starts at $4,526 and has a 12mm enamel motif at 6 o’clock along with your choice of either a star-shaped or hand-painted rotor, and the Grand Art Enamel, which costs $6,537 and features a completely enameled dial.

Not all indie watches show up in the algorithm because of their rarity and haute horology bona fides. Some, like the Vaer R1 USA Chronograph Orange, are dominating the timeline because everyone is wearing them.

The young American watch brand opened for business in 2017 and began domestic assembly in 2018, and quickly built a reputation for affordable, quality tool watches. The brand currently produces about 30 references in its Scottsdale facility, including dive watches, field watches, chronographs, and GMTs. They all use quartz, automatic, and meca-quartz movements from revered Japanese manufacturers Miyota and Seiko.

Its most recent offering (launched in May 2025) is the R1 USA Chronograph Orange. Not only does its brilliant orange dial make it impossible to scroll past, but its durability has also made it popular amongst action-oriented enthusiasts. People are posting pictures of themselves surfing, hiking, or hanging out poolside because its all-purpose meca-quartz movement is ready for any action the summer might throw your way.
 

The Vaer R1 USA Chronograph Orange is priced at $495 on a nylon strap or $615 on a stainless-steel bracelet. It is a limited-edition run and is available exclusively from Vaer.