A timeless piece, Ibarra Watches is locally-assembled and of Filipino craftmanship. See how their founder sought his passion and the story behind Ibarra Watches as we interview Nico Moreno.
How would you like to introduce yourself? Tell us something about yourself.
My name is Nico Moreno. I am the Founder and CEO of Ibarra Watches. I am 28 years old and I am a scientist by training. I finished with a degree in BS Physics with specialization in Material Science and I have a couple of publications in the field. I first went corporate and spent two years in a management training program at a multinational company before I decided to take a leap of faith into entrepreneurship and follow my passion in watches and horology.
Can you tell us a little something about Ibarra Watches and how it started?
I embarked on this passion wanting to create a brand that does not just think about what watches to launch but rather put importance to the process on how is came to being. Being a physicist, I care greatly about processes and how things come into being. It’s about learning what capacities exist and are within reach and slowly building up on them. And it’s also about learning about the things we are yet to be capable of doing and finding a way to get there.
Watches really became a passion of mine. I love history a lot and I was engrossed in the science and the engineering that comes in watches. So when I realized I was starting to spend more and more on this passion of mine, just astonishing at the work of others, I thought to myself that it would be a wonderful life purpose to create this brand and to attempt to establish a watchmaking industry in the Philippines. It became a bold dream that I decided to take on.
As the great poet Virgil would say, “”Audaces fortuna iuvat!””. Fortune favors the bold!
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Where do you get inspiration from in designing the watches?
I usually get inspiration from either my personal watches or vintage pieces. I love going with classic pieces and I strongly believe that if you want a brand to last, you must be universally-appealing and timeless.
What advice can you give to budding entrepreneurs?
If you’re looking to be an entrepreneur, be bold. Do something that is hard and don’t expect things to be easy. Because nothing comes easy in life. Find something that you are passionate about, try to see how you can turn it into a business or your life’s work. Persevere, work really hard, and never give up. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. So prepare well and prepare hard and be courageous enough to try and make those shots. Again, fortune favors the bold.
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Any future plans?
Interesting pieces are coming in 2019. One in particular is the Marawi Initiative we are part of. We collaborated with Beebeelee and Bughaw Digital to help provide aid to our fellow brothers and sisters affected in Mindanao due to the siege. It will be available in January 2019.
And also, we will be introducing a wonderful tool watch within the year and a watch that has historical significance for Filipinos. Really something to look forward to.
Nico has highlighted tradition and heritage into each of Ibarra Watches’ timepieces. They hope to establish an industry which prides in Filipino pursuit. And just like time itself, Ibarra Watches believes in crafting great quality watches to last a lifetime.
Check out Ibarra Watches on their website and social media sites
- https://shop.ibarrawatches.com
- www.facebook.com/IbarraWatches
- www.instagram.com/ibarrawatches
- As well as visit their placements in selected Kultura Filipino Stores in Metro Manila, Cebu, and in Davao. Do support their Marawi Initiative through the the One Box One Marawi program at www.beebeelee.com.
