Brew is Jonathan Ferrer's Brooklyn brand of espresso-machine chronographs, 36 mm meca-quartz cases about 10.5 mm thick under sapphire, with one 30 mm automatic beside them. The decision it forces is whether to buy without a lug-to-lug, since the maker quotes its cases as two figures, 36 x 41.5 mm for the Metric, and neither of them is one.
Checked 20 September 2026 · list prices on the maker's site that day unless marked street
Brew is Jonathan Ferrer's Brooklyn brand, founded in 2015 on Kickstarter and drawn from the espresso machines its chronographs are named after; the Digital Blend's module runs a 30-second espresso countdown. The Seiko VK68 meca-quartz runs the Metric and Super Metric, the Retrograph is meca-quartz on a calibre the page does not name, and the Metric Lite is the only automatic, a Miyota 6T27 in a 30 mm case. Every model with a stated crystal has sapphire and every one with a stated rating is 50 m, so none of them is a swimming watch. Case dimensions are given as pairs, 36 x 41.5 mm for the Metric, 38 x 41.5 mm for the Retrograph, 30 x 34 mm for the Metric Lite; the second figure is the case's other dimension rather than a lug-to-lug, which Brew publishes for nothing, so the table shows a dash where the maker has not measured.
Under $500 the meca-quartz Metrics meet the Vaer RS1 at $279 and the Dan Henry 1962 and 1964 at $290 and $310, all on the Seiko VK63 and all with a published lug-to-lug, and the Brew premium of $65 to $196 buys sapphire on every stated crystal, the smaller case and the design. The Metric Lite at $375 stands alone at 30 mm; the Timex Marlin at $259 and the Traska Commuter 34 at $630 are the nearest small mechanicals either side of it.
Brew sells direct from brew-watches.com and through the retailers on its stockists page, with a warranty of 2 years from the date of shipment. Assembly is not stated on the brand's own pages; a third-party profile in NJ Monthly says Ferrer designs and assembles in Brooklyn, and that is reported here as the magazine's claim rather than the maker's. Two products sit outside the table for want of a case size on the fetched page, the Metric Digital Blend at $425, an analogue-LED hybrid, and the Retrograph Cobalt, a leather-band variant at $375 whose page carried no specs (the Retrograph page lists the Cobalt dial as sold out). The Metric Titanium at $495 is in the table and was sold out when we looked.
Founded2015
BasedBrooklyn, New York, USA (designer Jonathan Ferrer; Kickstarter-funded 2015)
AssembledNot stated on brand pages; third-party coverage (NJ Monthly) says Ferrer 'designs and assembles watches in Brooklyn'
Read the table by case. The Metric family is the 36 mm one, taking in the Metric in its dial colours (Chromatik, Bloom, PVD Black, Teal and Yellow, Star, Gold and Black, Retro, Steel, all $475), the Super Metric at $475 with an anodised aluminium pusher, and the Metric Titanium at $495. The Retrograph is the 38 mm case at $375, on a 22 mm leather strap. The Metric Lite is the 30 mm automatic at $375 on an 18 mm bracelet. Thickness where published runs 10.4 mm to 10.75 mm, which for a chronograph is thin, and the movement is why: a meca-quartz module is flatter than an automatic chronograph, and Lorier's automatic Olympia at $999 is 13.8 mm.
Ø30 mm · automatic · 50 m · $375 · Cheapest · 30 mm · the automatic
Brew Metric Lite (Tiger Eye)
MovementMiyota 6T27 automatic
Case30 mm
Lug to lug—
Thickness10.55 mm
Lug width18 mm
Water resistance50 m
CrystalSapphire
BezelFixed
LumeNot stated
Case material316L steel
Price$375
The only automatic Brew makes, at $375, and a 30 mm case is possible because the Miyota 6T27 is Miyota's small automatic. The Tiger Eye has a genuine tiger eye stone dial; Tahitian Pearl, Mother of Pearl, Gold/Black and Silver/Black are the same price, all on an 18 mm steel bracelet with quick-release. Timex's Marlin 34 mm hand-wound at $259 is the other small mechanical under $400, 4 mm larger and 30 m. Buy the Lite for the size and the stone; a 30 mm watch is a choice, and a deliberate one.
Ø38 mm · mecaquartz · 50 m · $375 · Full lume dial · 38 mm · thinnest
Brew Retrograph (Lumint)
MovementMeca-quartz chronograph, caliber not stated
Case38 mm
Lug to lug—
Thickness10.4 mm
Lug width22 mm
Water resistance50 m
CrystalSapphire
BezelFixed
LumeFull luminescent dial
Case material316L steel
Price$375
The Brew with the full luminous dial, and the cheapest chronograph the brand makes at $375. It is the thinnest Brew by 0.35 mm and the widest at 38 mm, 2 mm over the Metric, on a meca-quartz calibre the page does not name. Espresso and Technicolor dials are the same price; the Cobalt was sold out. Dan Henry's 1962 at $290 is the meca-quartz chronograph for $85 less, on a named Seiko VK63 with a K1 mineral crystal and a published 45.9 mm lug-to-lug; the Brew has the sapphire and the lume, and no lug-to-lug at all.
Ø36 mm · mecaquartz · 50 m · $475 · The Metric · Seiko VK68
Brew Metric Chronograph (Chromatik)
MovementSeiko VK68 meca-quartz chronograph
Case36 mm
Lug to lug—
Thickness10.75 mm
Lug width19.85 mm
Water resistance50 m
CrystalSapphire
BezelFixed
LumeNot stated
Case material316L steel
Price$475
The Metric proper, and the reference for the range at $475, on the Seiko VK68 by name. The 19.85 mm lug is the figure to note before buying a strap. Bloom, PVD Black, Teal and Yellow, Star, Gold and Black, Retro and Steel are the same $475, on a steel bracelet with a folding clasp and micro-adjust. Against the Retrograph the $100 buys the VK68 by name, 2 mm less width and the bracelet. Against the Vaer RS1 at $279 the Metric is $196 more for a 36 mm case and the espresso-machine design.
The Metric in its Retro Black dial, reference METRIC-BLK, at the same $475, and the one model where the maker's product feed gives less than the product page; the Shopify listing states a 36 mm size and a price, and nothing else. The movement in the table rests on the product being a Brew chronograph rather than on the fetched text, so read it as the Chromatik in another dial and check the product page first. The Super Metric at $475 is the same money with every figure stated. Same case, same price, different dial, thinner paper trail.
Case material316L steel, anodised aluminium pusher
Price$475
The Metric with the pusher done in anodised aluminium and a quick-release bracelet, at the same $475, and on the sheet it is the Chromatik to the decimal. The $0 difference is the point; choose between them by dial and by whether the bracelet's quick-release matters more than the Metric's micro-adjust clasp. Royal Blue and Burnt Orange were in stock when we looked; Lumina Yellow and Electric Blue were sold out. The Dan Henry 1964 at $310 is the 38 mm meca-quartz alternative, with a mineral crystal and 2.15 mm more thickness.
MovementMeca-quartz chronograph (VK68 per Metric line)
Case36 mm
Lug to lug—
Thickness—
Lug width—
Water resistance—
Crystal—
BezelFixed
LumeNot stated
Case materialTitanium, +40% lighter than steel, gun-metal tone
Price$495
Sold out when we looked, listed at $495, and the only Brew whose case is not steel, titanium in a gun-metal tone the maker says is 40% lighter than steel, on a titanium bracelet. The $20 over the Chromatik buys the material and, for now, a wait. Thickness, water resistance and crystal are not in the feed text, and the table does not assume they match the steel Metric. RZE's Valour 38 at $399 is titanium with every figure published, 38 mm by 45 mm and 100 m, if titanium is the reason and a chronograph is not.
Brew is for the buyer who wants a chronograph under $500 that is 36 mm to 38 mm and about 10.5 mm thick, on a meca-quartz movement, in a design that is Brooklyn's rather than Geneva's; and, in the Metric Lite, for the buyer who wants a 30 mm automatic and has few other places to find one. Wrist size cannot be advised from the sheet, since no lug-to-lug is published; the 41.5 mm case figure is the nearest guide and suggests a short watch. Look elsewhere if you want a mechanical chronograph, since the Lorier Gemini at $499 is hand-wound; if you swim in your chronograph, since every Brew is 50 m and the Vaer RS1 at $279 is 100 m; or if you want the specification complete, since 4 of the 8 products are missing a case size or a water-resistance rating on the page we fetched.
Where it sits against the field
Under $500 Brew's meca-quartz chronographs meet the Vaer RS1 at $279 and the Dan Henry 1962 and 1964 at $290 and $310, all on the Seiko VK63, all with a published lug-to-lug, and the Brew premium of $65 to $196 buys sapphire on every stated crystal, the smaller cases and the design. Above it the Lorier Gemini at $499 is the hand-wound alternative and the Unimatic U3 at $840 the meca-quartz one with 300 m. The Metric Lite at $375 stands alone at 30 mm; the Timex Marlin at $259 and the Traska Commuter 34 at $630 are the nearest small mechanicals either side of it.
Questions people ask
Where are Brew watches made?
Brew is based in Brooklyn, New York, and its own pages do not state where the watches are assembled. A third-party profile in NJ Monthly says founder Jonathan Ferrer designs and assembles them in Brooklyn; that is the magazine's statement, not the brand's. Movements are Seiko (VK68 meca-quartz) and Miyota (6T27 automatic), both Japanese.
Are Brew watches automatic or quartz?
Mostly meca-quartz. The Metric, Super Metric and Metric Titanium run the Seiko VK68, a battery movement with a mechanical chronograph module; the Retrograph is meca-quartz on an unnamed calibre; the Digital Blend is an analogue-LED hybrid. The one automatic is the 30 mm Metric Lite on a Miyota 6T27, at $375.
Brew Metric vs Super Metric: what is the difference?
Nothing on the spec sheet. Both are 36 x 41.5 mm, 10.75 mm thick, 50 m, sapphire, on the Seiko VK68 with a 19.85 mm lug, at $475. The Super Metric has an anodised aluminium pusher and a quick-release steel bracelet; the Metric's bracelet has a folding clasp with micro-adjust. Choose by dial and by clasp.
