LorierMicrobrand

Lorier was founded in New York in 2017 by Lorenzo and Lauren Ortega, a husband-and-wife team of former teachers; the name is a blend of their first names. For years the two ran the studio themselves, handling design, supplier relations and customer service, and sold directly through their website. The brand takes its cues from the mid-twentieth century, when watches were everyday instruments rather than status objects.

The first model, the Neptune dive watch, arrived in 2018 with a 39 mm case, a domed acrylic crystal and a Japanese Miyota automatic movement, a formula the brand kept for the Falcon field watch, the Hydra, the Gemini hand-wound chronograph, the Safari and the Zephyr. In 2026 the watch publication Worn & Wound acquired Lorier, taking over logistics and customer service; the Ortegas remain part-owners, with Lorenzo Ortega as creative director, and the relaunched core collection of Neptune, Falcon, Astra and Hyperion GMT now pairs sapphire crystals with Miyota automatic calibres.