Oliver Gallaugher

Oliver Gallaugher — trading as O.G, with the brand tagline 'Watches to Another World' — is one of the most personal and genuinely self-made debut stories in contemporary independent watchmaking. Oliver is a British designer with a degree in Creative Writing from university: no watchmaking school, no industry apprenticeship, no inherited tools. After graduating he tried to find work within the watch industry as a designer and was largely unable to, lacking the traditional background the sector expected. His response was to build a website, share his designs independently, and offer his services wherever he could, gradually connecting with watchmaking enthusiasts and manufacturers around the world. He failed several times at founding a watch brand over a decade of attempts. When the first Deep Space series was finally launched in 2023, he was washing dishes and cooking all-day breakfasts in the local café his family was running at the time — a detail he has shared openly and that captures both the absurdity and the conviction of what he was doing. His grandfather Guy Arengo — after whom all O.G movements are named — was a Lt. Col. mechanical engineer who served in WW2, founded two companies, invented pen manufacturing automation tools (patenting several inventions internationally), designed and raced cars, and was once described in a 500 Club magazine as building a race car that 'ran away with a 500cc event at Lulsgate to beat up several Coopers.' His father John was a decorative artist and painter; his mother Sue is a writer and artist. 'They are all independent creatives who took unconventional paths in pursuit of their passions.' The company is registered in Hong Kong as Arengo Limited, the family name, Company Number 79226255.

The Deep Space was the founding series — 10 pieces, launched in 2023, all now sold and delivered. The dial creates an animated shooting-star effect achieved through a combination of decorative processes: as the watch tilts, light is reflected in flashes across the dial's surface, producing different shades with each movement. Hours and minutes only are displayed; a floating chapter ring sits above the dial, and the stars within the chapter ring are individually hand-engraved, making each of the ten watches unique. The hands are constructed in a modular twin-piece format from steel and titanium — sandblasted finish with DLC coating — a subtle innovation that creates a clean line of contrast along the same plane. The 41mm × 10.2mm case (48mm lug-to-lug) is 316L stainless steel with polished and sandblasted surfaces and a dodecagonal caseback — a twelve-sided architectural choice that evokes the golden era of watchmaking.

The movement is the GUY-1, built and assembled in Glashütte, Germany by DK Precision Mechanics (a small team of master watchmakers and decorators that also produces movements for other esteemed brands). The GUY-1 is named for Guy Arengo; it runs at 18,000 bph with a 48-hour power reserve, tested in five positions to ±6 seconds, decorated throughout with perlage, Côtes de Genève, polished chamfers, and mirror-polished steel components; mainplate and bridges galvanised in 3N gold; mainspring barrel and gear train wheels in 4N gold with snail brushing; Glashütte winding click; swan-neck regulator; screwed balance wheel. Watchfinder's Andrew Morgan described it as 'a watch with a level of finishing that makes a £25,000 Patek Philippe blush.' WatchTime: 'exclusive and thoughtfully designed but also attainable.' Time+Tide: 'remarkable polished for a first effort.'

The Deep Space Blue is the second series — 10 pieces at USD 12,800 — and is a significant technical evolution. SJX's Andrew Cavanaugh called it a 'Stellar Sequel.' The dial achieves a dynamic visual effect through fine brushing, a custom blue lacquer coating, precision engraving of an individual star pattern (unique to each watch, based on a specific moment in time chosen by the collector using astronomical simulation of the night sky), and rhodium galvanisation — as the watch moves, a constellation of stars flashes and fades across the deep blue surface. The case is 904L stainless steel at 38mm × 8.8mm (44mm lug-to-lug) — the brighter alloy chosen deliberately for its cooler tone and greater reflectivity against the blue dial. The minute track is engraved directly into the front sapphire crystal — a material almost as hard as diamond — and filled with Grade X1 Swiss Super-LumiNova for a seamless integration of two entirely different materials: in daylight it casts a shadow reminiscent of a sundial; in darkness it transforms to a glowing blue.

The hands are a further innovation: made from 904L stainless steel with curved top surfaces that are mirror polished, the centre pinion hidden to maximise their fluid appearance, and each hand tip moulded in three-dimensional luminous ceramic — claimed as a world first in watchmaking — which radiates a strong blue glow in low light. The movement is the LTM5000-G, developed with Le Temps Manufacturer in Fleurier, Switzerland: 30mm × 3.3mm, manual wind, 28,800 bph, 60-hour power reserve, variable-inertia balance wheel, semi-skeletonised construction with custom wide Geneva stripes inspired by vintage watchmaking. Assembly is 8–12 months from order; 40% deposit required at order (USD 5,120). Delivery comes in a polished metallic sphere that opens at the press of a glowing button. A lifetime warranty covers all mechanical defects. Watchpro: 'the more you look, the more you see and appreciate.'