Teddy Baldassarre
The Best Watches From Micro-Brand Watch Show District Time 2025
I recently had the chance to drop in to the District Time watch show in Washington, D.C., a microbrand-centric watch expo that has grown steadily over the years, with this year’s edition featuring more than 50 brands. Loren Sciurba and his team from The Time Bum blog, along with co-sponsor McDowell Time, did a fantastic job bringing the horological heat to a traditionally underserved Mid-Atlantic market, and based on the wall-to-wall crowds over two days, the event was a resounding smash. I had a blast on this run-and-gun road trip, getting to spend the day with our intrepid media maestro, Danny Milton, connecting with old friends and making new ones in this celebration of watch culture at its absolute finest. Even with a larger space this year, lines at the booths were stacked, with queues for brands such as Christopher Ward extending halfway through the length of the hall. There was plenty to see and try on, with Danny having way too much fun posing with the Heisman Trophy at the Axia Time booth. And if you didn’t get the chance to check it out yourself, we’ve got you covered. Some of these watches are brand new, and some new to us with our first in-hand impressions, but it was fantastic to experience a lot of these microbrands up close, given the difficulty in seeing many of them first-hand before clicking the “Buy It Now” button. So here, in alphabetical order, are ten standouts that really won our hearts and minds, and will likely be lightening our wallet...
