Where It Began.
The EMPIRICAL Watch was designed and conceived by Melvin Poh, a philosopher and lifelong collector of the arts, on a simple observation: the objects we wear every day say a great deal about how we live, yet almost none of them are made to mean anything. The EW01 is his answer, a watch designed the way a philosopher thinks, with every element there for a reason.
A belief underlies the foundation of the EMPIRICAL Watch. It brings together three things rarely found in one place: philosophy that shapes the design, craft that makes it real, and art that makes it worth looking at. The EW01 is the pure expression of it. The instrument is built the same way: considered, limited, and made for people who want the things they own to mean something.
“I set out to do something simple and almost impossible: combine philosophy, art and technology in an object small enough to wear. A watch is the one thing we look at hundreds of times a day. I wanted every one of those moments to remind us that life holds more than the hour. That is the Empirical Watch.”
Melvin Poh / Founder, EMPIRICAL
Where It Began.
The EMPIRICAL Watch was designed and conceived by Melvin Poh, a philosopher and lifelong collector of the arts, on a simple observation: the objects we wear every day say a great deal about how we live, yet almost none of them are made to mean anything. The EW01 is his answer, a watch designed the way a philosopher thinks, with every element there for a reason.
A belief underlies the foundation of the EMPIRICAL Watch. It brings together three things rarely found in one place: philosophy that shapes the design, technology that makes it real, and art that makes it worth looking at. The EW01 is the pure expression of it. The instrument is built the same way: considered, limited, and made for people who want the things they own to mean something.
“I set out to do something simple and almost impossible: combine philosophy, art and technology in an object small enough to wear. A watch is the one thing we look at hundreds of times a day. I wanted every one of those moments to remind us that life holds more than the hour. That is the Empirical Watch.”
Melvin Poh / Founder, EMPIRICAL
EMPIRICAL Philosophy.
EMPIRICAL exists to bring meaning back into the things we live with. In a world that produces more than ever and means less than ever; we aim to make fewer things, each one built around an idea worth carrying. Explore the EMPIRICAL Lab for other tools designed for philosophical living.
The EMPIRICAL Watch has one task beyond keeping time: to turn an everyday habit into a moment of reflection. It puts the cosmos, deep time and a lifetime’s philosophy on the wrist, so that the most ordinary object you own becomes the most thoughtful.
Melvin Poh‘s mission is to prove that philosophy can live outside books and lecture halls, in modern objects, technologies and choices that define daily life. EMPIRICAL is where he puts this conviction to the test.
Philosophy, Not Privilege.
Meaning should not be a luxury and reserved for the few. Melvin’s aim is to keep EMPIRICAL as affordable as craftsmanship allows, in the same spirit as Empirics, his publishing company, which has democratised knowledge for over a decade.
Analogue Defiance.
Digital life moves fast and leaves little behind. A well made object stays, ages with you and gathers meaning over years. Melvin believes the things we create by hand matter more than the code we write.
EMPIRICAL Philosophy.
EMPIRICAL exists to bring meaning back into the things we live with. In a world that produces more than ever and means less than ever; we aim to make fewer things, each one built around an idea worth carrying. Explore the EMPIRICAL Lab for other tools designed for philosophical living.
The EMPIRICAL Watch has one task beyond keeping time: to turn an everyday habit into a moment of reflection. It puts the cosmos, deep time and a lifetime’s philosophy on the wrist, so that the most ordinary object you own becomes the most thoughtful.
Melvin Poh‘s mission is to prove that philosophy can live outside books and lecture halls, in modern objects, technologies and choices that define daily life. The EMPIRICAL brand is where he puts this conviction to the test.
Philosophy, Not Privilege.
Meaning should not be a luxury and reserved for the few. Melvin’s aim is to keep EMPIRICAL as affordable as craftsmanship allows, in the same spirit as Empirics, his publishing company, which has democratised knowledge for over a decade.
Analogue Defiance.
Digital life moves fast and leaves little behind. A well made object stays, ages with you and gathers meaning over years. Melvin believes the things we create by hand matter more than the code we write.