Vaer
- Founded
- 2016
- Based in
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- In our catalog
- 3 watches from $700 to $990
Vaer makes the kind of watch you can wear surfing on Saturday and to work on Monday. Its field, dive and GMT watches are simple and sturdy, the prices are fair, and the brand is still run by the two people who started it in Venice Beach with their savings.
History
Ryan Torres and Reagan Cook first talked about starting a watch company in late 2015, at a public library on Santa Monica Boulevard. They founded Vaer in 2016, and the first watch, a quartz model called the C5 Classic, went on sale in early 2017. Automatic dive and field watches followed, then GMTs.
Vaer has kept a direct-to-customer model and a close relationship with enthusiasts. It offers some models assembled in Los Angeles alongside others with Swiss or Japanese movements, and in 2022 it released a set of twelve watches inspired by the "Dirty Dozen" British military watches of the 1940s.
Signature models
- D5 Tropic Auto 39: A dive watch on a tropic-style rubber strap, Vaer's take on the 1960s skin diver.
- A5 Atlas Black Auto 38: A plain, legible field watch in a size that suits most wrists.
- G5 Pacific Polar GMT 39: A white-dialed GMT, nicknamed "polar" after the classic white-dial explorer watches.
What it's known for
Vaer cases are steel with sapphire crystals, the designs are uncomplicated, and the brand is known for good customer service and a wide choice of straps.
Price and positioning
Vaer watches mostly cost $500 to $1,000. It sits alongside Lorier, Baltic and Monta's cheaper models, and it's the most "California casual" of the group.
Vaer watches in our library
- Vaer A5 Atlas Black Auto 38 ($700)
- Vaer D5 Tropic Auto 39 ($750)
- Vaer G5 Pacific Polar GMT 39 ($990)