Written by Menswear Style in Brands on the 28th October 2016

Make every day Friday. This is the core belief of the bold, new watch brand – SevenFriday Watches. The brand focuses on making men’s automatic watches, and it is creating quite a stir in the watch world. The brand is quite unique since they're making high-quality automatic watches with bold styles for a fraction of the cost associated with luxury timepiece brand names. In fact, this is the secret sauce behind the brand’s popularity. Even as new brands pop up on the market, very few are willing do what SevenFriday is currently doing.

'Swiss watch aficionado takes Japanese movements and creates a brand which is revolutionizing the industry.'  

There were some twists and turns along the way and Daniel Neiderer had worked in the watch industry for 15 years before founding his own company. A man immersed in a culture known for its iconic timepieces looked towards high-precision movements from Japan to break away from the idea that the only good watch is one with a luxury name.

The brand started when Niederer became bored with the way watches are designed. For those who don’t know, the Swiss watch industry is in a little trouble. Sales have been slowing as the market has turned towards the cheaper precision movements that can be found in Japan, and many of the big brands have failed to adjust their approach. Instead, they found themselves niched by default into the luxury market, and while some labels were recognisable enough to survive the shift, many others suffered.

Starting with the core P Series watches, their original design takes the popular Miyota movement and incorporates it into a modern European design. Responding to the pressures of the market, they priced their P & M Series watches in the 1k - 2k range, stressing the boldness of their design, the quality of manufacture, and the availability of their watches over tapping the luxury market.

Mission accomplished, right? They could probably sit back and sell the same watches for the next 10 or 20 years. But they won’t - Niederer is not one to rest on his laurels. After all, that’s what spurred him to launch his brand in the first place. So, in 2015, the brand launched their V Series watches. Whist there is no doubting that the ‘V Series’ has a distinctive design, he isn’t done. In fact, earlier this year SevenFriday released the Q-Series. This was the brand’s first automatic watch with a date function. Talk about stepping it up a notch.

These watches now have a lot going on. To tell time on the ‘Q Series’ watches you use the regulator offset 24-hour subdial to tell the hour, while the minutes are indicated by the big hand which rotates around the dial. In a surprising twist, the design has the date set at the traditional three o’clock spot, but we expect this will change with future designs. All the watches are stainless steel, but the finishes are unique with many designs sporting a PVD finish. If you are a connoisseur of high-end watches this might not be such a big deal for you. But for a brand in the price range of SevenFriday, this sort of attention to detail raises eyebrows. This finish also allows the options for interesting case colours.

You can also plug and play with straps, and there are multiple options available when you buy your watch. This is something which hasn’t been done since classic Swiss watch brand Revue Thommen, and we wouldn’t be surprised if SevenFriday introduces an interchangeable strap on the heels of their latest watch release. If you are looking for a distinctive watch that will help you to stand out from the crowd, then SevenFriday will be a brand to watch.

Japanese automatic movement watches with Swiss style, Daniel Niederer is the brainchild behind the Bold Styles of SevenFriday Watches.