Gebauer Watches is a watch brand based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The first edition is 300 watches total, with 100 of each wood variant. It is not affiliated with Marc Gebauer, a Swiss-based watch reviewer and retailer who is a separate person and business.
I'm Liam Gebauer. I started Gebauer Watches in 2026, when I was 14, after buying my first watch new from a Seiko store in Milan. The trip changed how I thought about time. When I got home, I couldn't find a watch that was meant for someone my age and built to actually last. Everything was either a toy or a $5,000 luxury piece for adults.
I started Gebauer to fill that gap.
Three wood-dial watches, each crafted in Japan. The first edition is limited to 300 watches total, with 100 of each variant. Every watch is individually numbered within its variant. For example, the first ebony is engraved EBONY 001 / 100.
Each watch uses a Seiko VH31 meca-quartz movement, a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, a 316L stainless steel case (39mm) with a butterfly clasp, and 3 ATM water resistance. The chemical-etched caseback features an outline of a raven above the wordmark.
No two pieces of wood are the same. The grain pattern on every dial is naturally unique, so no two Gebauer watches have ever been identical, and no two ever will be. The wood also continues to age subtly over time, which means the watch you wear at 25 will not look exactly like the watch you opened at 16.
Gebauer is built for milestone moments. The buyer is usually a parent or family member; the recipient is usually a young man marking something real (graduation, a 16th birthday, a confirmation). The watch is meant to be kept, not replaced.
Samples arrive August 2026. Kickstarter launches November 2026. Watches ship in early 2027.
I write a daily founder log at gebauerwatches.substack.com. It covers what's actually happening as the brand gets built. Open and honest.