A Legacy You Can Wear

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A wristwatch with a brown leather strap, round silver case, and a beige dial featuring two colorful hot air balloons, the brand name "Velarde," and Spanish text about a tour. The watch has black hour and minute hands and a blue second hand, with numeral markers and minute/second markings around the edge.

The Field Series

A handcrafted introduction to the spirit of the Southwest.

A wristwatch with a round face, brown leather strap, and blue and black details on a black background.

The Collectors Series

Southwestern design paired with Swiss precision.

A wristwatch with a cream face, featuring an illustration of red and green chili peppers and the word 'Velgrade' on the dial, with a dark brown leather strap, displayed on a white cushion against a black background.

The Legacy Collection

Built in honor of a New Mexico legacy and those who built it.

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Graphic icon of a human hand with fingers pointing upwards, enclosed within a circle, with horizontal lines extending outward on both sides.

Timepieces Rooted In New Mexico

Field watches shaped by family, place, and purpose.
Designed to be worn for generations, with every collection giving back to the communities and traditions that inspire it.

The Velarde Story

John’s Blog

Blog
A New Dawn for the American Field Watch
John Velarde Brandt
A New Dawn for the American Field Watch
John Velarde Brandt

Short On Time?

Watchmaker Velarde begins in New Mexico.

Inspired by the life and legacy of Rodolfo Velarde, a northern New Mexico rancher and community leader, each watch draws from the places, symbols, and stories that have shaped this region for generations.

From red and green chile set against adobe brown, to the Zia and Albuquerque’s unmistakable balloon-filled skies, the details are familiar by design.

These are watches made with a sense of place.

Built to be worn. Made to carry a story.

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John Velarde Brandt
The Colors We Come From
John Velarde Brandt
The Colors We Come From
John Velarde Brandt

The Colors We Come From

Anyone who has spent time in the Southwest knows how much color belongs to this place.

Adobe brown. Turquoise. Sun-washed yellow. Silver. Earthy reds and greens.

They are colors shaped by the land, the architecture, the food, and the enormous skies overhead. When we began developing the first Watchmaker Velarde watches, we did not have to look far for inspiration.

We looked home.

Those colors became the starting point for the first collection.

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John Velarde Brandt
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An older man with glasses wearing a dental surgeon's headlamp and a white apron, standing in a room with a ceiling fan and a decorated wall in the background.

John “Juan” Velarde

Before building watches, Juan Velarde-Brandt worked with tin and leather—materials that taught him to value the mark of the hand. Today, at his watchmaking bench in New Mexico, he brings that same patience to the intricate work of mechanical timekeeping.

A self-trained watchmaker, artist, tinsmith, and leather craftsman, Juan created Watchmaker Velarde as a tribute to the people, places, and traditions that shaped him. Each watch begins there: with memory, material, and the belief that what we carry should mean something.

Meet the Maker