Veteran-Owned Watch Brands You Need to Know

On this Veterans Day, we highlight independent watchmaking brands founded by current and former service members from the United States & the United Kingdom 

By Benjamin Lowry 

Established as Armistice Day on 11 November 1919, commemorating the end of the First World War, what is now known as Veterans Day came into its current form in 1954. Where Memorial Day is dedicated to those who perished in combat, Veterans Day more broadly honors everyone who has served in the US Armed Forces. 

For the almost two million US service members from our generation who deployed and fought in the Global War on Terror, Veterans Day can be complicated, conjuring images of service, solidarity, sacrifice, and valor in a conflict spanning two decades, marked by a less-than-satisfying conclusion. While my service in the US Coast Guard involved fighting in precisely zero foreign wars, my experience working in military search and rescue was a driving force in what made me who I am today, a sentiment shared by many veterans, for better or worse. 

Despite its challenges, one shining light to have emerged from this period is the rise of veteran entrepreneurship, from former Special Operations Forces founding high-end consulting firms to grunts with t-shirt or coffee brands; many veterans have taken their military experience into the world of business with great success. A select few have also taken on the unique challenge of creating timepieces. In this Dispatch, we’ll do our part in giving not only these brands and watches the attention they deserve, but also their veteran founders, many of whom avoid the limelight. 

Sangin Instruments

(Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.)

One veteran-founded watch brand that has managed to develop its own subculture within watch collecting is Sangin Instruments, the brainchild of Jacob Servantes, a former Marine Raider. After serving extensively in the Middle East, including Sangin, in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, Servantes left the military to pursue business school at Stanford. Having worn a Breitling Chrono Avenger (sketchy) and several Digital Tool Watches (D.T.W.) while operational, he had ideas about a collection of tool watches balancing refinement with utility, all informed by his experience. 

Servantes, in his Marine Raider days, wearing a Digital Tool Watch.

Sangin Instruments was officially born in 2016 and has developed a passionate following within the military and national security communities. In addition to custom unit watches based on core models like the Kinetic and Atlas, there are special versions of certain watches that are available only to members of specific communities, such as special operations or law enforcement. Since the beginning, Jake has been clear that you don’t have to be a special operator to wear a Sangin, but even if you are, these are watches that are up to the task, relatively attainable, and a lot more interesting than many competitors from major brands. 

RESCO Instruments 

(Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.)

In this arena, the original gangster is RESCO Instruments, which was founded by Robert Smith back in 2009, long before the biblical flood of startup/micro watch brands that have crowded the market in recent years. Rob served a lengthy 22-year career in the SEAL Teams, with nine deployments, and has been a passionate watch enthusiast throughout. According to legend, RESCO’s earliest watches were tested by being strapped to the belts of BUD/S students while Smith was working as an instructor in First Phase. Today, Rob is retired from the Navy and dedicated to watches full-time, and each RESCO is assembled and tested in the United States by the brand’s full-time watchmaker at its Coronado headquarters. 

It’s lesser known, a testament to the few special operators who can still keep a secret, but RESCO also has a robust unit watch program, and virtually everything in the RESCO catalog is a tool dive watch capable of being used for even the most extreme examples of the Use Your Tools lifestyle. Like Sangin, there is a wide variety of customization options as well as both quartz and automatic options for many of RESCO’s models. RESCO is also an approachable small American business, and pretty much anyone can call to chat with Rob and/or his wife, Nicole, who was in the Coast Guard for ten years, about watches or to place an order. 

Pagoda 

A Pagoda Tactical 1 unit watch produced for Delta Force. (Photo Credit: Ed Hicks/Warpath Military Collectibles)

Moving across the pond, we have Pagoda, which was founded by a 31-year veteran of the British Armed Forces in Hereford, England. If Hereford sounds familiar to special operations fanboys, that is because the modest West Midlands town has served as the home base for the Special Air Service (SAS) since 1960. The Pagoda name stems from an elite counterterrorism unit set up within the SAS in the wake of the 1972 Munich disaster. While the watches are designed in Hereford by the founder, Pagoda’s watches are built in Switzerland by a dedicated watchmaker. 

A more recent arrival to the scene, Pagoda currently only offers two models, the simply named Tactical 1 and Tactical 2, both of which live up to their names in terms of design. Still, for the one to two-thousand-dollar price points they command, the specifications and backstory are compelling, and the brand is known for having already produced collaborations with military units around the world, including the US Army’s Delta Force. Since its creation, it sounds like the Pagoda leadership team has grown to include US veterans, but as you might expect from people with this type of background, no one is throwing their names around. 

Stirling Timepieces 

(Photo Credit: Stirling Timepieces)

Another UK-based brand with significant military roots is Stirling, which was founded around 2021 by Thomas Stafford, a former British Army soldier with over thirteen years of experience, including acting as an instructor at the Infantry Battle School (IBS) in Brecon, Wales. Like many of the other brands listed here, Stirling concentrates on tool watches informed by the founder’s experiences and intended for end users working in austere conditions. In a relatively short period of time, Stirling has developed a customer base in the military and national security communities both in the UK and the USA, with a collection that is broader and also more attainable compared to many other brands. 

Models like the Durrant, a 42mm automatic dive watch powered by a Seiko NH35 caliber, start around $500, impressively affordable for a watch bolstered by solid specs and Stirling’s military connections. In addition to interesting ambassadors, including the GBRS Group’s Jay Cal, formerly of the SAS, Stirling produces custom unit watches for military and government organizations around the world, such as the Green Beret Foundation. With a minimum order quantity of only ten pieces, Stirling presents a solid alternative to major brands like Tudor and Omega that are also active, and a lot more expensive, in this space. 

Winfield Watch Company 

(Photo Credit: Winfield Watch Co.)

Winfield was established in 2019 by Mark Miller, a former US Navy Intelligence Officer who worked extensively with Naval Special Warfare and Naval Aviation, supporting tactical missions in Iraq and other far-flung locales. The brand’s first outing was the Mission Timer One, a vaguely Sinn-like military watch with a surprising price point of under $500. Since then, the brand has expanded to include custom unit watches, GMT models powered by Miyota’s “true” GMT 9075 caliber, mecaquartz chronographs, and a broader range of field and dive-style watches, with certain models coming in under $300. 

The most affordable of the options in this Dispatch, Winfield seems poised to create an intriguing alternative to brands like Seiko, Citizen, and Orient, specifically tailored to those coming to watches from the military and national security communities. There are certainly easier ways for a former Navy Intelligence Officer to make a buck, and we have the utmost respect for any veteran who swaps the safety and comfort of an established military career for the perennial uncertainty of the watch industry for passion’s sake. 

Straps & Accessories 

The W.O.E. - Z.A. Straps 5.0. (Photo Credit: Brock Stevens)

ZA Straps: In addition to complete watches, many veterans have also dedicated themselves to creating straps and accessories for watches and the broader watch community. Our friend Darren is a Royal Navy veteran who founded ZA Strap Company in Liverpool, England, back in 2018. Today, in addition to our collection of collaborative W.O.E. x ZA straps, Darren’s company produces numerous straps, belts, leather goods, and other lifestyle accessories in-house in the United Kingdom, while also supplying certain webbing goods to the British Ministry of Defence. 

(Photo Credit: Soturi)

Soturi: Another strap brand close to our community is Soturi, which was founded by a former Marine who later went on to work in the world of intelligence. Each Soturi strap is handmade from US camouflage materials. If you’re looking for something different to pair with any of the brands listed above, Soturi is an interesting option with legitimacy to spare. 

(Photo Credit: Zane’s Handmade)

Zane’s Handmade: Made by hand by its former Marine founder in North Carolina, Zane’s Handmade is another accessory brand specializing in leather goods, from watch straps to tote bags to holsters to wallets. There’s not much out there about the founder, but given how nice some of their stuff looks, we wanted to call out the work they’re doing. 

Final Thoughts 

As the years since 9/11 and the end of the Global War on Terror stretch further into history, the meaning of service and what comes after continue to evolve for millions of veterans around the world. The veteran-founded brands highlighted here are more than just businesses; they are extensions of their creators’ experiences, values, and desire to keep building beyond their EAS. Whether it’s a Marine Raider designing a mission-ready dive watch, a SEAL perfecting a tool built to survive BUD/S, or a British infantryman crafting a rugged infantry timepiece, each brand represents a quiet continuation of service and dedication to craftsmanship and community. 

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