Home | The Watch Brief

A Tale of Two Kuoe Watches

Both of us at The Watch Brief own a Kuoe. Founded in 2020 by designer Uchimura, the brand debuted with the Old Smith 90-001. Today, Kuoe operates from a stylish boutique in the Nakagyo Ward, while also selling watches at retail locations worldwide. The Kuoe Old Smith 90-002, which is a bronze field watch featuring a lightly textured black dial, a tan NATO strap, and powered by the workhorse NH38 movement. I've had it for several months now, and it's a comfortable wear.

Jilliano & Bryan

3 hours ago6 min read

A Tale of Two Kuoe Watches

Vertex M36 Review: The Ultimate Historical Timepiece

There are two types of military watches in the world. The first are “military” in name only. Created with faux patina, pretend ruggedness, and a price tag that can make eyes water. The second are the real deal: built for purpose, unpretentious, and about as glamorous as a spade. The Vertex M36 sits firmly in the latter camp. It’s not here to dazzle the office accountants or win Instagram likes. It’s here to tell the time. It’s unapologetically simple. It’s designed with pu

Doxa Sub 200 Professional Review: No One Needs a Diver, but...

Doxa was founded in the famed Le Locle region of Switzerland by twenty-one-year old Georges Ducommun in 1889. I guess that’s impressive. When he was 21, he was a true watchmaker, and created a brand that would outlive him by almost an entire century. When I was 21, I was pushing a car up a mountain during a blizzard, but hey, it’s fine. Maybe in the next life, Georges can reach my level. Doxa initially distinguished itself through alarm watches, anti-magnetic watches

Vacation Watches: Why Did We Choose Them?

It’s that time of the year, where a new year starts and we all venture back to the office for the classic 9-to-5. However, the weather is warming, the sun is out longer, and spring is just around the corner, and with it, the potential for a new vacation, if, of course, we have enough vacation days left. It can be a surprisingly fun activity to choose watches specifically for your holiday, even if your non-watch collector friends think you’re completely insane. Going on a

Winter Watches: More Important than Summer Watches?

It is important for a winter watch to be slim, so that it can easily fit underneath a sweater sleeve or a thick jacket without protruding outward like you have something on your wrist that is very excited to see your significant other. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have a dress watch, but it does rule out a lot of great, somewhat thicker divers like a Seiko Monster, Seiko Tuna, Seiko Arnie, Seiko - wait, I promise this isn’t an Anti-Seiko article! The next is

Friendzoned Watches: It's Not the Watch, It's Me.

Imagine the “friend zone.” We’ve all been there. It’s that awkward place where you adore someone’s vibe, you laugh at their jokes, you even gush about them to your friends, and yet you know, deep down, they’re never making it past “platonic brunch buddy.” Watches have their own friend zone, too. These are the brands and models we admire from a safe distance.