Interview with MINIM: A Rising Star in the Watch Industry

I had the privilege of interviewing Chloe Chan, the Founder of the newest and hottest UK-based microbrand, Minim Watches. With its debut model MN01 featuring a fantastic 36.5mm case size, heritage-inspired design language, and a fantastically thin handwound Swiss movement, there is almost too much to be said about this brand. However, when I sat down to write this article, I was instead reminded of a quote by Tony Soprano - portrayed by the late James Gandolfini - in the Pilot episode of The Sopranos. 

"It's good to be in something from the ground floor, and I came too late for that, I know. But lately [...] I've been getting a feeling that I came at the end. The best is over.” 

Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) wearing a solid gold Rolex Day-date

Over two years after I started working in the watch industry, I started to feel like I had joined the hobby too late. There were no more Steve McQueens, Paul Newmans, or Sean Connerys, and even the major brands had seemingly stopped innovating, based on the fact that so many brands seem to default to an integrated sports watch or a re-release of an older, more iconic model. But, every now and then, there’s a new watch or a new brand or even a new watch tool that’s released which makes me think, “Ah, I’m not too late. There’s still something left.” 

I felt this way when Echo/Neutra released their Rivanera. I felt this way when Christopher Ward released their Loco. Now, I feel that same way after seeing what MINIM is offering with the MN01 collection. 

Intentional Design

Like many other microbrands, Minim was created from an enthusiast’s desire to create watches for the most important customer of all - oneself. Chloe has a career she loves in Finance, so creating the brand is not a money grab. After all, if making an abundance of money was the ultimate goal, Chloe - and any other watch enthusiast - could probably tell you that starting your very own brand from scratch is not a great idea. But, it was about more than that from the very beginning. When I asked Chloe if she ever felt like an outsider in a predominantly male hobby, however, she clarified that she’s never felt excluded by any person and / or brand. The only thing that excluded her was, unfortunately, her wrist size. 

"I know there are diverging views on this, but I do think that there are some watches that are too small, and some watches that are too big."

Although sub-40mm watches have become more and more popular in recent years, many brands - mainstream, independent, and independent alike - simply have watches that are too big for anyone with a wrist size under 6 inches. Chloe, whose grail watches include classics from A. Lange Sohne, Breguet, and other haute horology brands, purposely chose a 36.5mm case size because - as long as it doesn’t have long Nomos-esque lugs - it can look just as good on the wrist of someone with a 5.8 inch wrist or a 6.75 inch wrist. This was the first intentional design choice that I noticed, but as our conversation progressed, it became clear to me that there were layers upon layers of intentionality behind each facet of the watch. This intentionality can be seen in the trio of variants of our flagship model - MN01. These models are the zing1 (blue with Chinese numerals), laan4 (purple with Roman numerals), and bik1 (green with Chinese numerals). 

In the various social media posts and even the information on the website prior to launch, Chloe referenced the blending of “East and West through design cues like the Ming Dynasty-inspired hands and guilloché patterns.” Naturally, this piqued my curiosity, and I asked her how she can decide what element to take from her background in the East, and what to take from her current life in the West. Not to simplify it too much, but it essentially came down to what looked good, and what didn’t, although this went deeper than I expected. For example, after creating numerous design drafts, Chloe realized that the specific shade of purple used in the laan4 (which features classic Roman numerals) seemed to clash or become incongruent when paired with Chinese numerals like the zing1 and bik1. 

Another nice touch, in my opinion, is the fact that the CNC guilloché patterns on each variant are not exactly the same as another. This means that if you are a fan of one variant, there is just enough to differentiate the other two models so that a collector can justify getting all three variants*.

*Warning: Do not use this article when explaining why you bought three watches in one day to your spouse.

Community without Crowds

By now, you must be thinking: These watches look great! But what’s the catch? 

After all, the watches come with a SW-261-1M (D1 Elabore grade) movement, the watches are all assembled in the UK, and each dial has beautiful, not-by-any-means-cheap CNC guilloché finishing, so what’s the problem? Are they overpriced? Well, that depends entirely on you. With everything that the brand is offering, I honestly expected that they would be a hair below 2,000 CHF. Imagine my surprise when I learned that each watch would be 999 pounds / 1200 USD (including tariffs). 

So, of course, I had to ask the Mind behind Minim how all of this was possible. Once again, the answer was deceptively simple: Collaboration. As anyone who has worked in a business can tell you, inefficiency is a waste of time and money. Although Chloe is clearly an accomplished watch enthusiast, that doesn’t mean she has the knowledge or capability to assemble each and every watch (sorry for revealing this, Chloe!). This is why each watch is assembled and QC’d by Horologium in the UK. This also means that they would be handling any servicing needs or after-sales. Naturally, you can assume that this will take a hefty chunk out of the bottom line, but like I wrote earlier, no one starts their own brand as a get-rich-quick scheme. 

The collaboration doesn’t end there. For straps, Minim has partnered with HasNoBounds, a well-regarded strap company based in Hong Kong, and in Chloe’s own words, this was an important decision, as it ensured that each watch would have higher quality straps, and it could also tie into her roots in Hong Kong as a bonus. 

"From movement choices to strap choices, it was important to make decisions that don't cut corners."

As the interview came to a close, I asked Chloe my final question: Why didn’t you launch Minim on a crowdfunding site like Kickstarter? 

Many microbrands such as Studio Underdog and Xeric Watches got their big break on Kickstarter, and even a French independent like Yema used this popular crowdfunding platform to manufacture and launch their slim Superman model. In fact, even my own microbrand used a crowdfunding platform to launch one of our flagship collections (we used the Japanese equivalent of Kickstarter, Makuake). However, there are two significant problems with going the Kickstarter route, which Chloe pointed out.

"It was really difficult for me to justify adding another 10% [to the price] for Kickstarter. With the Kickstarter timeline [...] it will be a really long wait, and I know - having been on the other end - what it feels like [...] to put down money and wait for 6 months, which then turns into 9 months[...]"

One is that Kickstarter will take a percentage of your earnings. Another more important consideration is fulfillment time. Kickstarter projects can essentially only begin production once the project has reached its funding goal, and if you are in the business of making high quality watches, then that will most likely take six or more months. Instead, Chloe decided to quietly begin the production process well before the launch date.

"I wanted to make this experience as personable as possible [...] so I committed my own capital into this."

Is this as profitable as launching a Kickstarter project? Probably not. Is this the best financial decision? Well, she’s the finance expert, not me. Is this a refreshing move that I didn’t expect from a microbrand in this day and age? Yes, absolutely.

What’s Next for MINIM?

With such a self-assured, confident debut model like the MN01, it was clear to me from the beginning that Chloe had more in mind. She admitted that she definitely has some new ideas cooking in the oven, but her priority - rightfully so - is making sure that all of the people like her fellow enthusiasts, colleagues at work, and even the founders of small blogs can get the chance to enjoy a well-made, beautiful watch. 

I thought I came into this hobby when it was at its end, but clearly, I was dead wrong. 

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Place your order for a MINIM - MN01 on October 25 by checking the following link: Minim.

The MN01 Specs

Diameter	36.5mm
Thickness (incl. Sapphire crystal)	9.5mm
Lug-to-lug	43.5mm
WR	5 ATM
PR	38 Hrs
Movement	Selitta SW 261-1M (D1 Elabore grade)
Frequency	28,800 vph (4 Hz)