Like so many Canadian success stories, the Momentum Sea Quartz 30 watch had to make it big in Hollywood first. Created in the 1970s by Chronosport, a Canadian-owned pioneer in quartz (or battery-powered) sports watches, the Sea Quartz 30 was sold in dive shops throughout Canada and the United States. Its real claim to fame, however, was a supporting role on Tom Selleck’s wrist during the first season of Magnum PI. Forty-some years later, Chronosport has rebranded as Momentum. A modern reproduction of the Sea Quartz 30, complete with all of the hairy-chested swagger of the 1970s original, remains one of the brand’s best-selling designs.
The scale of the Canadian watch industry doesn’t compare to that of juggernauts such as Switzerland or Japan, but the Sea Quartz 30 is just one example of many covetable watches on offer from homegrown brands. On the crunchier end of the spectrum is the Tense Hampton II, with a case and bracelet crafted from reclaimed wood in the brand’s Vancouver workshop. In Montreal, Solios turned a successful crowdfunding campaign for a minimalist solar-powered timepiece into the world’s first B Corp-certified watch brand.
Despite the growing movement to buy Canadian products in the face of U.S. tariffs, none of these brands makes its case to consumers purely on patriotic grounds. “Our identity is much more Canadian than, say, a Swiss brand or a Japanese brand, but I’m not saying you should buy from us simply because we’re Canadian,” says Simon Pennell, Momentum’s founder. “I’m happy to sit our products next to watches from anywhere, and dollar for dollar, compare the features offered. I think we offer a lot of bang for the buck.” It’s a sentiment captured by the brands below, and as good a reason as any to shop Canadian for your next timepiece (with or without a maple leaf stamped on its dial).
Momentum
MomentumWill Gilles/Supplied
Momentum’s parent company, the St. Moritz Watch Corp, employs about a dozen workers in its Vancouver office split between operations, assembly and repairs. While most of the components for Momentum’s watches are sourced from Japan, China and Switzerland, the brand assembles small runs of watches and offers customization services in-house.
Héron
Created by a successful 2020 crowdfunding campaign, this indie brand has two full-time employees handling design and operations out of its Montreal headquarters, and a network of local watchmakers who assist with repairs. Héron’s watches are assembled overseas using Japanese Miyota movements, but co-founder Nathan Elkaim is working to bring more production and assembly to Canada.
Marathon
This third-generation family-owned watchmaker is known for the rugged military-spec watches it makes for search-and-rescue teams and recent collabs with global brands such as J.Crew and Jeep. Marathon has 50 employees at its Vaughan, Ont., headquarters and another 20 at its production facility in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
Solios
A specialist in solar-powered watches with slim cases and clean, unadorned dials, Solios employs a team of six to handle operations, packaging and customization at its Montreal headquarters. Solios’ watches are assembled overseas, but the company has ambitions to bring more production onshore – and further reduce its carbon footprint – with an assembly facility in Montreal.
Bradley Taylor
This Swiss-trained watchmaker is singlehandedly holding down the high end of the Canadian watch industry with the timepieces he painstakingly crafts by hand in his Vancouver workshop. Taylor imports his movements from Switzerland, but his is the only brand on this list that does all its assembly and finishing in-house.
Ferro & Co
This family-owned watch brand launched in 2014 with a timepiece inspired by a Porsche Tachometer and has since sold thousands of watches to over 70 countries. Ferro & Co.’s watches are manufactured and assembled in Asia, with movements sourced from Switzerland and Japan. Warehousing, quality control, shipping, repairs and customer service take place in Vancouver.
Redwood
This indie brand was created in 2014 to provide classic military-style timepieces at affordable prices and has since become a favourite among the r/watches crowd on Reddit. Custom-designed components and movements are made overseas, and a full-time staff of three handles design, operations, quality control and testing in Montreal.
