Introducing KNOPF Watches From NYC

I’ve always loved a good micro brand watch startup. Yes, established brands like Omega and Audemars Piguet are famous for a reason. But over time even the most prestigious watchmakers often fall back on re-releases and homages than on truly original timepieces.

There’s nothing wrong with that. If you’ve made a watch as iconic as the Rolex Submariner, you’re entitled to produce as many re-releases as you want. At the same time, I often find myself craving something a little bit more original.

If original is what you’re after, KNOPF is a brand that should be on your radar. Their watches are based on the classic art deco architecture found throughout New York City. These timepieces are the very embodiment of Gotham.

KNOPF was founded in 2019 in Manhattan, by Larry and Gage Knopf, who are a father and son team. The Knopf team is a longstanding fixture of New York, dating back to their ancestor Solomon Knopf, who immigrated from Poland in the 1890s, along with his younger sister.

The original Knopf would become an American citizen in the early 1900s, and spent the next 20 years building a small real estate empire. In the 1920s, he was among New York’s social elite, and even dabbled in the bootlegging business during Prohibition.

Knopf would not leave his fortune to his family. He would unfortunately lose everything in the stock market collapse of 1929. Nonetheless, Larry and Gage Knopf view him as a source of inspiration, and he’s the reason their family lives in New York to begin with.

KNOPF is such a new company that they only have one watch model: the NY-405. I recently gave it a full review on the WatchReviewBlog.com, but here’s a quick preview.

The KNOPF NY-405

The KNOPF NY-405 is a stainless steel watch that’s available in three colors. At 40mm in diameter, it has a medium wrist presence, and it’s a mere 11.5mm thick. It boasts a scratch-resistant, anti-reflective sapphire crystal, along with a matching display back. And with 50 meters of water-resistance, it’s safe for showering and swimming.

One of the most unique things about this watch is that there’s no index on the dial. Instead, the index is inlaid into an 0.25mm bezel with a set of enamel inlays. It has Arabic numerals at the five-minute marks, with Roman numerals at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. A set of white bars runs between the numbers, which makes them look even more retro.

The dial itself is 100% art deco. The main surface is black, but a silver-white diamond takes up a lot of the center area. There are smaller mountain-shaped KNOPF logos, which glow in the dark along with the bezel and hands. The hands, meanwhile, are long and sharp, with lume stripes down the centers.

All of this is powered by an STP1-11 movement, which is virtually identical to the popular ETA 28254-2. It’s accurate to -3/+7 seconds per day, with a 12-month replacement warranty and 5-year repair warranty.