Help me build this.

A Gebauer doesn't just remember. It refuses to forget.

Gebauer Watches is a watch brand founded by Liam Gebauer in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Every watch has a dial cut from a real tree, so no two grains are alike. The first edition is limited to 300 watches, individually numbered.

I'm Liam. I bought a watch in Milan.

Walked into a Seiko store with 310 euros. No notifications. No swipes. Just the time. My three siblings saw it. They wanted one too.

Then I started getting gift cards.

I spent one on pants I grew out of. A plant that sits in my room doing nothing. My middle school graduation gift card bought a snack at the airport. None of it stuck. None of it marked anything.

Then I put it together.

A watch. Made from wood, not plastic. Doesn't beep. Doesn't expire. Ages with you. The literal opposite of a gift card. So I started designing it.

Three woods. Three stories. No two have ever been the same.

Each dial is cut from a real tree. The grain is the design. First edition, 300 only, numbered.

Hinoki, $299

Japan's sacred cypress. Used to rebuild the Ise Jingu shrine for 1,300 years. Gets stronger as it ages.

Black Ebony, $339

Rarer than gold in ancient Egypt. Used for Tutankhamun's chair. Razor-thin grain, nearly black. Permanent.

African Padauk, $375

Bleeds orange when cut. A wood that lives. And it doesn't stop changing.

How each watch is made

Seiko VH31 meca-quartz movement. 316L stainless steel case, 39 by 44 by 10mm. Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. 20mm lug width, butterfly clasp. 5 ATM water resistant. Assembled and inspected in Japan. Boxed in northern Italy. Designed in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

More about Gebauer Watches