The company describes its philosophy as centred on global reach, attitude, distinctive design, ambition, quality, and making a statement.

Before TW Steel

The story of TW Steel begins with Ton Cobelens, who had already been involved in watches and advertising before the company was established.

According to historical brand material, Ton entered the watch business in the 1980s, including work as a distributor for brands such as Raymond Weil and Maurice Lacroix in the Benelux region. He also became involved in designing private-label watches for airlines including KLM and Martinair and subsequently worked in advertising and promotional activities connected with the Swatch Group.[3]

His son, Jordy Cobelens, developed an interest in the commercial side of the business at a young age. Jordy’s experience in sales and distribution eventually complemented his father’s design background.

Foundation in 2005

In 2005, Ton and Jordy Cobelens combined their respective strengths and created TW Steel.

The original idea was relatively straightforward: there was a perceived gap in the market for large, expressive watches at a more accessible price point. Rather than competing by making traditionally conservative watches, the father-and-son team decided to make size itself part of the product’s identity.[2]

The original launch consisted of only four models. The concept was developed around four steel cases, which also contributed to the “TW Steel” / “The Watch in Steel” identity.[2]

The first major design language would eventually become particularly associated with the Canteen collection.

The Canteen is arguably the most recognizable design associated with TW Steel.

Its defining characteristic is a large, round case combined with a distinctive crown protector attached to the side of the case. The protector gives the watch a rugged, almost instrument-like appearance and became an important part of TW Steel’s visual identity.[4]

The design helped distinguish TW Steel from conventional dress watches and traditional Swiss-style timepieces. Instead of attempting to make the watch disappear beneath a shirt cuff, the Canteen was designed to attract attention. That philosophy became central to the brand.

TW Steel’s most important contribution to its market positioning was its focus on oversized watches.

During the 2000s, large watches were becoming increasingly fashionable, but TW Steel made extreme case dimensions a fundamental part of its brand rather than simply following a trend. Historically, many TW Steel models appeared in dimensions around 45–50 mm, substantially larger than the traditional 36–40 mm watch sizes associated with classic dress watches.[3]

The result was a distinctive proposition where the watch itself becomes part of the wearer’s visual identity. TW Steel’s own branding reflects this philosophy. Rather than presenting its watches simply as instruments for telling time, the company describes them as a statement and emphasizes individuality and confidence.

TW Steel’s identity can essentially be reduced to several core ideas:

Boldness

TW Steel deliberately avoids understated proportions. Large cases, strong bezels, prominent crowns and substantial straps are recurring characteristics.

Individuality

The company positions its watches as accessories intended to express personality rather than merely fulfill a practical function.

Dutch Design

TW Steel describes itself as “Dutch by design”, emphasizing its Dutch origins and its willingness to depart from traditional watch-industry conventions.

Accessibility

The brand historically positioned itself below the price levels of traditional high-end Swiss luxury watches while attempting to retain a premium appearance and strong construction.

Motorsport

Speed, racing and automotive design have become major components of TW Steel’s identity.

Motorsport has been one of the most important marketing platforms in TW Steel’s history. The company became involved with racing relatively early in its development and subsequently established partnerships and sponsorships across Formula 1, MotoGP, rallying and other motorsport disciplines.[1]

Historical associations have included:

• Renault F1
• Sahara Force India Formula 1
• Lotus F1
• Yamaha Factory Racing / MotoGP
• World Rally Championship-related activities
• Dakar Rally

TW Steel describes this motorsport heritage as part of the brand’s DNA, connecting speed, precision, performance and bold design. This was strategically important because motorsport provided a natural environment for the brand’s oversized, aggressive designs.

TW Steel has also used celebrities, athletes and racing personalities as part of its brand-building strategy. Over the years, its ambassador and collaboration history has included figures such as:

• David Coulthard — Formula 1
• Mick Doohan — MotoGP
• Dario Franchitti — IndyCar
• Emerson Fittipaldi — Formula 1
• Kelly Rowland — music
• Various racing drivers and motorsport personalities

The company’s 20th-anniversary material specifically highlights Coulthard, Doohan, Franchitti and Fittipaldi among the personalities who helped shape its story.[1] This reflects an important aspect of TW Steel’s strategy: the watch is marketed not merely as a luxury object, but as an accessory connected with performance, celebrity, lifestyle and personality.

TW Steel’s range has expanded substantially beyond the original four watches. Some of the important families associated with the brand include:

Canteen

The foundational TW Steel design, typically characterized by large round cases, prominent crown protection, strong industrial styling, leather or metal straps, and chronograph or three-hand configurations. The Canteen effectively established the visual DNA of the company.[1]

CEO

The CEO family represented a somewhat more refined interpretation of TW Steel’s oversized philosophy. The collection was introduced as a more formal direction while retaining the brand’s characteristic large proportions. Historical references also identify the CEO Goliath as an important development in this direction.[3]

Volante

The Volante family has explored a sportier, automotive-inspired interpretation of the TW Steel formula.

Diver and Sport-oriented Models

TW Steel has also expanded into watches with more explicitly sporting and diving-oriented designs, moving the brand beyond its original lifestyle-chronograph formula.

ACE

The ACE family represents a newer generation of TW Steel designs, including the ACE Genesis, which was highlighted as part of the company’s 20th-anniversary program.[1]

TW Steel has historically used a combination of Japanese and Swiss movements, depending on the model. Older references include Miyota/Citizen Japanese automatic movements, Ronda Swiss quartz movements, and Swiss-made models within selected collections. For example, the historical CEO Goliath range included Swiss-made watches using Ronda movements.[3]

It is worth emphasizing that TW Steel is not primarily a traditional manufacture movement company in the way that brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet are. Its primary differentiation has historically been design, scale, styling, marketing and lifestyle positioning, rather than proprietary mechanical movement development.

Steel is fundamental to TW Steel’s identity. The brand states that steel has been part of its design architecture from the first timepiece, while describing its watches as being produced to Swiss quality standards.

Depending on collection and model, TW Steel watches have incorporated materials and finishes such as stainless steel, leather, textile straps, carbon-related materials, various dial finishes, mineral or sapphire crystals, and water-resistant cases. Modern collections have expanded the material and construction vocabulary considerably compared with the original four-watch range.

One interesting aspect of TW Steel is that being a Dutch brand does not mean every TW Steel watch is Dutch-made. The company is fundamentally a Dutch-designed and Dutch-founded watch brand, while production and movements have historically involved international suppliers and Swiss components or production standards.

This makes TW Steel different from a traditional Swiss manufacture. Its identity is closer to that of an international lifestyle watch company with Dutch design roots than a vertically integrated Swiss haute-horlogerie manufacture.

TW Steel occupies a distinct position within the watch industry. It is generally not positioned as haute horlogerie. Instead, its proposition is based on large size, distinctive design, recognizable branding, motorsport and lifestyle associations, and comparatively accessible pricing.

This strategy allowed the company to differentiate itself from both inexpensive fashion watches and expensive traditional Swiss luxury watches. A contemporary industry profile described the brand as making large watches aimed at a broad market, with prices historically reaching around the low four figures rather than traditional ultra-luxury levels.[2]

In other words, TW Steel’s selling point has traditionally been that one does not need to spend luxury-watch money to wear something that looks dramatic and substantial.

Jordy Cobelens

Jordy Cobelens is the commercial and entrepreneurial force behind TW Steel. He became CEO and was instrumental in transforming the original four-watch idea into an international brand. TW Steel describes him as responsible for driving the company’s commercial development and global network.

His background is particularly unusual for a traditional watch executive: he gained practical experience in sales and business from a young age and became heavily involved in selling watches before TW Steel was created.[1]

Ton Cobelens

Ton Cobelens is the creative figure behind the brand. TW Steel describes him as the person responsible for visualizing the brand’s design language from its beginning. His earlier experience in advertising and watch-related businesses gave him a combination of marketing and product-design experience.

The father-and-son relationship is therefore fundamental to TW Steel’s story, with Ton providing the creative and design vision and Jordy handling business and commercial execution. That combination was one of the defining characteristics of the company from its beginning.

TW Steel marked its 20th anniversary in 2025, celebrating two decades since its 2005 launch. The anniversary collection included three limited editions, with the brand using the occasion to revisit its core themes of oversized watches, motorsport, bold design and independence.[1]

The anniversary material also presents the original Canteen as the design that helped establish the company’s identity and says TW Steel has spent the intervening two decades developing its reputation around boldness and expressive watch design.

TW Steel’s position becomes clearer when compared with traditional watch brands.

TW Steel became particularly recognizable during the 2000s and early 2010s, when oversized watches were extremely prominent in fashion and popular culture. Its watches were designed to be immediately recognizable from a distance, giving TW Steel an advantage in a market where brand recognition and visual identity were extremely important.

The trade-off is that watch enthusiasts looking primarily for in-house movements, traditional finishing, horological complications or centuries-old Swiss heritage are unlikely to view TW Steel in the same category as haute-horlogerie manufacturers. Instead, TW Steel’s strengths are its strong visual identity, distinctive proportions, motorsport associations, recognizable case architecture, broad lifestyle appeal, accessible positioning, and consistent brand personality.

In short, TW Steel sells the experience and visual impact of a large statement watch as much as it sells traditional horological craftsmanship.

Today, TW Steel continues to describe itself around the same fundamental principles established in 2005: Dutch design, oversized proportions, bold attitude, quality and individuality. Its current product strategy has broadened considerably. The brand now combines its classic oversized identity with sport, diving, carbon, chronograph and more contemporary designs, while continuing to draw heavily on motorsport.

The company therefore has not abandoned its original philosophy; rather, it has expanded the “big watch” concept into a wider design language.

TW Steel is a Dutch watch brand founded by Ton and Jordy Cobelens in 2005 that built its reputation by turning oversized, stainless-steel watches into bold lifestyle statements, combining distinctive design with motorsport culture and relatively accessible pricing.

If Rolex represents traditional luxury and status, G-Shock represents rugged functionality and street culture, and Hublot represents modern high-end fusion design, TW Steel occupies a more accessible niche centered on oversized proportions, attitude and visual impact. Its fundamental philosophy has remained remarkably consistent since the first four watches: do not make a watch that blends in—make one that gets noticed.[1]

1. TW Steel 20th Anniversary Collection
2. From Big to Bigger – A Conversation With Jordy Cobelens of TW Steel – Revolution Watch
3. TW Steel
4. Buy Tw Steel Watches online • Fast shipping • hollandwatchgroup.com