New watch brand

Sinn paved their own way with their technical instrument watches, were successful in that niche and grew to become a successful manufacture. They have kept their tool watch heritage even though they have expanded beyond it. OK, they started in 1961 so it is a fair while ago but they are still a "young" brand in comparison with most other horological marques around today.

NOMOS is another successful young brand, started in 1990, that produce watches with their own unique minimalist design and they too have become a respected brand and manufacture.

I think these companies illustrate that, if a start-up can find an under-served niche (as opposed to homages), it may be possible to build a successful brand even in the smartwatch era, I wouldn't write off the possibility but nothing's easy.

I believe it is possible but really hard. Car industry is similar but Tesla did it didn't they? The trouble in the watch industry is, consumers buy into this whole "Since 18XX" too much. The only way to beat that is to come out with a value proposition that those boys cant. Anordain is a great example IMHO. They found a way to make enameling (something that the traditional watch industry kept for their high end pieces) economical. That is a start. Maybe a brand to add to that list @Foo2rama ?

That's a great point! Explains the love Miyota and Seagull are getting from these brands. No one would take the trouble to send the watches back to wherever they came from.