District Time may need a new home. The Washington, DC watch fair was held for the sixth time at the start of March, and its record attendance made the District Architecture Center feel more cramped than it has in the past. Every bit of wall was lined with a booth showcasing an independent watch brand. Some are big enough or popular enough you might recognize the name–Christopher Ward, Formex, Rado–while others are true microbrands.

“It’s grown a bit every year, minus the COVID years,” said Nate DeNicola, a contributor to one of the event’s organizers, the Time Bum. “One of the cool things about this year is there are a few established microbrands that are here for the first time. Bourbon out of New Orleans; Foliot out of New York; Dufrane from Austin, Texas. So it’s really become kind of the east coast watch show for a lot of these micro and independent brands.”

DeNicola was there not just representing the Time Bum, but running the booth for another one of those microbrands: Bremoir, an Art Deco-inspired watch brand that takes design cues from 1920s American architecture. Watch fans are familiar with the major brands and their offerings, but events like District Time allow enthusiasts the chance to discover watchmakers they’d never heard of who are still providing high-quality products but have the flexibility to experiment more with their watches. Bremoir’s vintage design is unlike anything on the market right now, and it was difficult to even get the opportunity to talk to Nate with the Bremoir booth getting a steady stream of traffic.

Smaller brands like these comprised the bulk of District Time participants, giving them a unique opportunity to put their watches in front of enthusiasts who otherwise might only see them on Instagram or brand websites. 

“When I was a collector, I wanted to see the watches in person before I pull the trigger on it,” Eric Yeh, founder of Taiwanese watch brand Havaan Tuvali, told me. “You have to try it on to know if it fits you. It’s always better to see the watches in person.”

There were plenty of opportunities to do just that over District Time’s two days, with brands also running deals just for the fair to encourage people to pull the trigger on the watch that caught their eye. A lucky few were even able to win watches and accessories in giveaways. In all, something like 50 companies were represented at the event, giving DC watch nerds the chance to get hands on with hundreds of different watches. It also gives smaller watchmakers the opportunity to meet their customers in person and see how their audience has grown.

“In the beginning years, people would be like ‘oh, I never knew you guys existed,’” said Alan Tsao, founder of Tsao Baltimore and the lead sponsor for District Time. “Then I started getting ‘oh, I’ve seen you,’ then ‘oh, I’ve been following you.’ And now people tell me they actually own pieces of mine.”

This is especially rewarding for Tsao, who is based not far from DC, in Baltimore, Maryland. He has some hometown pride in District Time, something he has injected into his watches as well. Tsao Baltimore’s latest offering, for example, is a moonphase watch that features the famous mustachioed mascot of Baltimore beer company National Bohemian in place of the moon. Hometown pride is a common theme amongst microbrands, which often pay tribute to their city of origin for their watches. Bourbon is another great example of this, with its watches inspired by life in New Orleans, like the brand’s Rue Canal Streetcar Dial, named for the shade of green the dial borrows from old New Orleans streetcars. Such watches give watch enthusiasts another reason to get into these brands: microbrands are often true hometown businesses and give you a chance to rep your city on your wrist.

This year’s District Time didn’t just attract a record number of brands–the place was also swarmed with watch fans. 2024 marked the first year that District Time co-sponsor Christopher Ward participated, and C.W. brand director Michael Pearson said he was struck by how excited District Time attendees were to engage with the brands that were there and see the watches in person.

“I was really impressed,” said Pearson. “We had fifty people in line consistently for the first five hours that first day. People waited up to an hour to see our watches.”

In all, Pearson said more than 1,600 people came out to District Time this year.

“They said that this year was double the year before,” said Pearson. “If they do that again, they’ll have to find a bigger space.”