One of the most consistently interesting things I’ve observed following the ever-burgeoning micro-brand segment of the watch world has been the democratization of materials and processes once exclusive to the high-end. It’s changed how I understand the loaded notion of luxury, and it’s certainly redefined how I perceive value. With that, let’s talk about Bleau.

Bleau is an up-and-coming watch brand out of Australia right on the cusp of ending a successful Kickstarter campaign for their first line of timepieces. The Modest collection consists of three watches—watches that, I should say, at first glance belie their complexity and in-person charm. So, why did I begin this review musing about micro-brands and value? It’s because of what’s in each watch. Founder Daniel Trajanovski really packs it in here. From the dial (there’s an enamel option) and custom hands (there’s a heat-blued set) down to the alligator band, there’s a lot of bang-for-the-buck here. But I’ll save the price for the end of the review. First, let us take a closer look at each watch.

(Editor’s note: the watches shown here are prototypes. You’ll notice some imperfections, primarily tooling marks on the indices and some inconsistencies on the dials. I have addressed these issue with Mr. Trajanovski, who in turn assured me that these problems will be remedied on the final production run.)