When you think of microbrands, a clear picture starts to form in your mind pretty quickly. A vintage-inspired diver, powered by a Japanese NH35 movement, perhaps? Not only is this formula wildly successful, it’s become somewhat of a trope. Its popularity is justified, and it’s a wonderful way to bring fresh blood into the watchmaking world, however it perpetuates the notion that innovative, technical achievements in both design and function are reserved for the mighty brands with wealth to spare and centuries of experience. CODE41 are here to reassure us that trends aren’t taking over the industry, and there is still room for smaller brands to prove that they can be as clever as the big boys, without the exorbitant price tags. Their Anomaly-01, which is still available to order, used the well-established crowdfunding method to generate hype and brand awareness for an affordable, albeit visually striking watch with a Japanese Miyota movement. However, where most microbrands would build on that success slowly, the Swiss innovators have gone all-out on producing several variations of an exhilarating, tech-focused wristwatch, complete with a proprietary automatic movement. Within the last decade or two, an obsession with in-house movements has crept up on watch…
The post MICRO MONDAYS: Meet CODE41 and their X41 AeroCarbon, this is a Swiss brand with big ambitions appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.