ARES Watch Co and The Sketchy Boyz Watch Club
History and Headquarters Tour
Where do I begin? ARES Watch Co and the SBWC officially met up at the Toronto Timepiece Show back in October 2024. Yes, that is not that long ago but our history goes back much further. Our founder and Team Leader of the SBWC, “Rico”, has known Matt Graham and his brand ARES Watch Company for quite some time originating from Rico’s podcast days. This relationship, and eventual meet ups have been years in the making. Jump forward to Fall of 2024 we meet in person, finally shaking hands and breaking bread. Immediately upon meeting Matt and Jonah (one of Matt’s sons that also works alongside him at ARES) I knew this was going to be one hell of a friendship and partnership.
I have been a member of the SBWC for two years, joining shortly after the founding of the SBWC. Through messaging back and forth with the leadership of the club, I was welcomed with open arms and like a valued team member right from the on set. Something I noticed immediately about the SBWC was the professional, non tribalistic environment that they fostered within their team, communities and interactions. There was none of the negativity and bravado that is often seen in other MIL/LEO hobby groups. The SBWC has always decided to focus on the adage of “a rising tide raises all ships” and a culture of respect and professionalism. It made me happy to see this sort of club environment and gave me pride to be a member.
After becoming a club administrator on the team, I began to focus on content creation in the form of watch reviews and Instagram posts. Since then, I have shifted focus strictly to maintaining the SBWC website and ensuring articles like these get put up at a weekly frequency. Today we are doing something a little bit different. Today is about the relationship and friendship of like-minded individuals that will take on the world regardless of what stands in front of them.
Now I mention all of this because I apply the same principle to watch companies when I research them. I am not going to affiliate with any run of the mill company that focuses on sewing division within the community. I look for those brands that exude the spirit of the “Quiet Professional”. One that has solid morals and a clear code of conduct. ARES fits that bill concisely. Exactly what this club is about. Everyone does their part, uplifts others, challenges each other, pushes boundaries, innovates, designs, and produces what they say they will. There is no smoke and mirrors when it comes to ARES as a company. You are going to get exactly what they say they will provide. The SBWC collaboration with ARES Watch Company is an example of iron sharpening iron. Iron forged in the crucible of professionalism, heated by the flames of respect and fuelled by friendship.
Matt Graham
ARES from the very beginning has been forward thinking, bold, decisive, and unapologetic about their well calculated designs and band identity. Having served within the United States Government for over 20 years, Matt was faced with a tough question upon retirement. What to do next? Matt's response after microseconds of intense well thought out risk assessments and detailed vision was, “I'd like to start a watch company”. This decision would mark the inception of ARES. With the value and determination that Matt had honed from a lifetime of service amongst the world's most impressive individuals, he set to work on creating his vision of what ARES Watch Co was going to be and in doing so, changing the face of American watchmaking in the 21st century. Matt’s ambitious vision for the brand coupled with the strong blend of family and great team members have lead ARES to become something really impressive. You can feel it as soon as you step foot in ARES HQ in Stanwood, Washington.
The Tour
From being in team lines before in my previous career, It was a familiar feeling stepping into ARES HQ. After meeting up with Matt and his boys at the Vancouver Time Piece show (the second watch show like it in Canada) we developed a plan to do a site visit on Saturday after the public show had come to an end. After packing up our stuff, Rico, Matt, Jonah and I hopped into Matt's car and headed south to the US Border. The drive was roughly an hour and forty-five minutes with zero issues at the border. To be quite honest with a Porche full of Sketchy Dudes I was shocked we weren’t pulled over for our explanation of why we were crossing international lines. To my relief both border guards on the way down and trip back seemed to be watch guys themselves. One rocking a classic Casio on the American side and one donning a Citizen dive on the Canadian side. You could say being a part of the watch world has its rewards.
We reached ARES HQ around 5 PM local time, after a ton of laughs and deep discussions surrounding a myriad of topics such as Matt’s family history, former operational experiences (heavily redacted), to current state of politics and even plans against tariffs. We stepped out of the car and walked into the industrial office building through the double glass doors up the stairs into a hallway leading to a very ominous but welcoming door with an ARES Crest on it
Stepping into the space you get an immediate feeling that this place is a labour of hard work, commitment and strength. The area was spacious with everything you need to showcase their relationships with certain film productions, brand and individual partnerships, and just a little bare in certain areas to leave room for stories only to be spoken about or those yet to be told. For example, Matts Desk, behind a pool table in front of a massive bay window that is adorned with different objects ranging from glasses with magnifiers attached, gifts sent by fans of the company, multiple models and prototypes, to his computer facing a wooden American Flag. It is the sign of a truly passionate person who takes inspiration from the little things most would overlook.
To the flanks of the American flag are bookshelves loaded with challenge coins, souvenirs of a past life, books, Nikes and (Redacted). With books from authors like Vickers and Jack Carr you have this underlying message of service and finger on the pulse of a community most don’t know exist or only see through Hollywood. Something I must mention is a small Black framed picture sitting across from Matt's computer at the base of the shelf. It's of himself and his wife at the (Redacted) Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Just a simple no flash picture of a couple who have sacrificed years of their lives and relationship for the greater good of their country and the world. Matts CV reads like a Clancy novel and that’s no joke.
Stepping back from Matt's corner office I strolled around just taking in the ambiance of the showroom/team room. With fast ropes strewn through the rafters, cargo netting and pelican cases he uses both for display and shows. It's tastefully decorated with a combination of impressive wall art and functionality like the whiskey and coffee bar. ARES branding adorns the walls along with SKUNK WORKS Logos and a pair of massive, crossed Tomahawks from Jack Carr’s: The Terminal List.
Walking down a corridor you’re met with a room to your right. Referred to as a clean room, this is where watch makers work assembling, regulating, testing and fine tuning each and every timer that leaves the shop. Each desk speaks to the personality of its respective watchmaker. It reminded me of a cleaner subdued tattoo shop where the artists place little trinkets of their journeys beside their workstation to keep in the mindset of passion and positive energy. The room had abundant natural light and on the wall was a set of guidelines created by Matt that he feels needs to be the guiding code for the artisans making his watches.
Heading back to the bar to grab a glass of whiskey, Matt kindly welcomed myself and Rico into his “mug club” which was an honour to say the least. With callsigns on the bottoms of these cups that are synonymous with individuals from many occupations and backgrounds that are friends of Matt’s and Ares. I could not be more humbled for being allowed to share some bar top with these men. Having a stiff pour of Special Forces Whiskey and inspecting a zip lock bag that held a Diver 1 inside that was hit by a Ricochet bullet somewhere on the frontline, we continued our conversation of watchmaking and stories of end users taking the fight to the enemy.
After our short break, we resumed our tour of the facility. First we headed behind the coffee bar to Jonah's office. Which is quite a spacious room with his desk set up in the corner facing the door with a laser engraving machine beside it. One could tell this place is all about fun and function. Jonah had set up a Golf simulator in the middle of the room which I thought added a nice sense of a work hard and play hard sentiment to the environment. Around the room is what the youngsters would call SWAG. Shelves with watch straps, stickers, T-shirts, a T-shirt press, Gun Safes, and wall art. Everything about the tour screamed mission focused. There was no big box company logos, no amazon boxes piled high, no strict office only vibes. The whole place was and felt like a “Team” room in every sense of the word. I was even able to assist Jonah in centering our watch club logo to be lasered on the back of the field watch that has since been released and he even put my callsign on the back! Another honour. As I finished my whiskey, I continued to take pictures for the club and this article. Swapping stories of a past life well lived and discussing club business in that environment was an experience I'll never forget.
Post Tour
After the tour was complete, we retreated to the bar to discuss the future of ARES (which will be redacted for the time being). I'll leave that to Matt’s team to inform the world of their next endeavors. What I can say is that those plans are BIG, and I am so immensely proud of Matt and his team and excited for their future as a watch company. From a Conex box / Sea can scale to where they are today is a formidable battle that most independent watch companies do not survive.
ARES will always have a home at SBWC, and we are beyond honoured to work with them on our most recent collaboration. Head on over to their website and check out the SBWC Diver 1 and The SBWC Field collab. Two mission capable pieces that are ready for anything life throws your way. I hope you have enjoyed this article.
Note: Upon leaving ARES HQ, we attended the aerospace manufacturing shop down the road from them where all of ARES’ cases are cut and manufactured. This blew me away as this is an achievement that virtually no brand in America can say they have accomplished. ARES is doing it right and those in the community who haven’t already should take notice.
As Always.
Stay Sketchy,
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