As watches get smarter, and lives ever faster, there is a movement embracing the slow-living counter culture; going back to the simple things, celebrating tradition.

This couldn’t be more apparent than in the slow-food movement - a global, grassroots organisation with the aim of defending regional traditions, good food, gastronomic pleasure and a slow pace of life. In a world of fast-food, microwaves and ready-meals, this movement embraces an alternative approach, which celebrates the craft as much as the result. Now, the words ‘home-grown, home-baked, home-brewed, foraged or slow-cooked’ are as, if not more likely to be uttered by a modern, fashion-minded urbanite as by your grandmother.

This philosophy is also echoed in the coffee industry, where passionate coffee connoisseurs reject the convenience of instant coffee in favour of slower, more labour-intensive processes that require skill and craftsmanship. From the careful selection and preparation of the raw materials, to the carefully finessed brewing techniques such as Aeropress, slow-drip and cold brew, the slow-coffee trend is a helping more and more people discover a new passion and new flavours in coffee. 

My first real exposure to slow-living was in 2013 whilst living in Stockholm, Sweden. The Scandinavian way of life is epitomised by simple, slow-living. Parents get 480 days’ maternity leave to share between them for each child, to encourage them to spend time with their children and not at the office, and working over-time is positively discouraged. Holidays are all about slowing-down and enjoying family time, from Sportlov (Sport Week) in March, where all swedes brave the bracing cold for winter sports, to summertime when the cities and most workplaces shut down for 4-6 weeks so that families can celebrate Midsommar (mid-Summer) and enjoy the beautiful Scandinavian countryside together. Most families retreat to their deliberately simple (I’m talking outdoor toilets and showers) and secluded second homes where life slows down almost to a halt and no one knows what day it is. Even in the capital city in spring, the pace is decidedly and refreshingly slow - Swedes rarely rush anywhere.

When my wife and I arrived in Sweden we were lucky enough to eat at a local up-and-coming restaurant called Gro. I say lucky as they were only open 3 days a week and were exceedingly popular. As we were enjoying our post-dinner coffees (a must in Scandinavia) we asked the owner why only open 3 days a week when their food was so incredibly sought-after, to which the owner explained they took 4 days off to balance their lifestyle and to forage for ingredients.

This way of life was a revelation to me, having spent the previous couple of years working in the hustle and bustle of central London, where no matter how fast you run and how successfully you can multi-task, you somehow feel that you’re never quite keeping up. Experiencing such a balanced lifestyle and embracing a slower pace was genuinely eye-opening, and motivated me to make my own changes.

Marloe Watch Company was one of the products of this slow-living inspiration. As the technology brands fight it out over who makes the smartest watch, Marloe is proudly going against the grain to create the most traditional of all watches - the hand-wound timepiece. Inside all our timepieces is a manual mechanical movement that is powered by the marriage of your own touch and the timeless beauty of mechanical craftsmanship; as each turn of the crown sets up the power of the mainspring to be steadily released over the hours that follow. Though the act of winding a watch is unfamiliar to most of us at first, it soon becomes an enjoyable daily ritual -  a moment of perfect peace and harmony that literally connects you with time.

We embrace the values of slow-living throughout our business, whilst also using the best of modern technology to ensure optimum product quality and to stay connected to each other, our families and to the business where and when it suits our rural lifestyles. As with the slow-brewing of beer or the slow-baking of homemade sourdough bread (two other passions of mine), we take pride and pleasure from the care we put into the process just as much as the end result.  We hope you get as much enjoyment from owning, wearing and using your Marloe watch as we have had creating them.