Entrepreneurship rarely follows a straight line. For Francisco Moreno Jr., the founder of Ibarra Watches and Moreno Watch Studio Tokyo, the journey began not in a design studio or business school—but in a physics laboratory.
Moreno trained as a physicist with a specialization in materials science. At first glance, that background might seem far removed from watchmaking. But for him, the connection was natural.
“My degree was in Physics, with a specialization in Materials Science — so perhaps the transition was less dramatic than it sounds,” Moreno says. “I was always drawn to how things are made, how materials behave under stress, how structure and function can become one.”
In many ways, he never really left science. Instead, he simply found a different way to apply it.
“A mechanical watch is, in many ways, a materials science problem solved beautifully,” he explains. “Spring equations, magnetism, energy transfer, friction — these are all science.”
What began as an academic interest in how things work would eventually lead Moreno to create one of the first Filipino watch brands assembled locally.
A fascination with vintage watches
Moreno’s interest in watches began long before he started a business.
His father introduced him to the world of vintage timepieces through a Bulova watch—an understated brand with a quiet reputation among collectors.
“My father first introduced me to Bulova — a brand with a quiet, knowing elegance. Not expensive, but if you knew, you knew. Frank Sinatra wore one,” he recalls.
That early exposure sparked a fascination that stayed with him. Over time, Moreno began collecting vintage watches himself. But collecting also revealed a problem.
Maintaining vintage timepieces proved difficult. Repairs were unpredictable, and service quality varied depending on the technician. Instead of simply accepting the inconvenience, Moreno became curious about how watches worked internally.
He began observing watch technicians during repairs, studying the craft from the sidelines. Slowly, an idea began to form.
“What if there were a Filipino watch brand built on timeless design but with modern, serviceable components?” he wondered.
The concept was simple: create a watch that people could wear daily without worrying about fragility or complicated maintenance—while still preserving the elegance of classic designs.
The quiet moment that changed everything
Unlike many startup stories that begin with a dramatic “aha” moment, Moreno’s decision to build a watch brand came quietly.
At the time, he was working in manufacturing. The demanding schedule often left him disconnected from family and friends.
“Breakfast was dinner; dinner was breakfast,” he recalls of that period in his life.
During that time, he found himself reflecting on how he was spending his own time.
“If I am struggling with my vintage watches, others surely are too,” he thought.
Instead of rushing into a business immediately, Moreno gave himself a structured window to explore the idea.
“I gave myself seven months to research, study, and test the idea,” he says.
By the end of that period, the decision had already been made.
Entering a market dominated by giants
Starting a watch brand anywhere in the world is difficult. Starting one in the Philippines is even harder.
The global watch industry is dominated by heritage brands from Switzerland and Japan—companies with decades, sometimes centuries, of reputation behind them.
Moreno understood the odds.
“The entry barrier is high, capital requirements are significant, and the competition has decades and sometimes centuries of heritage behind them,” he says.
Yet he also saw an opportunity.
“Confidence came partly from the absence of anyone else doing it,” he explains.
Rather than viewing the lack of Filipino watch brands as a warning sign, Moreno interpreted it as a space waiting to be filled.
He also discovered something surprising during his research: Filipino watchmakers had existed much earlier than most people realized.
“I studied history and discovered that Filipino watchmakers existed as far back as the 1870s, with local jewelers private-labelling European pocket watches,” he says.
That discovery gave him a deeper sense of purpose. Building a Filipino watch brand was not just about starting a business—it was about continuing a story that had largely been forgotten.
Building the brand from the ground up
Launching Ibarra Watches required far more than a good idea.
Moreno began with research. His scientific training proved useful as he studied watchmaking techniques, spoke with technicians, and analyzed how established brands solved engineering challenges.
“The theoretical foundation came relatively naturally,” he says.
The real challenge came later.
“The harder part was execution: acquiring the right tools and finding technicians skilled enough to use them properly.”
In watchmaking, theory and practice are very different disciplines. Bridging the two required patience, experimentation, and persistence.
Like many entrepreneurs, Moreno also faced the challenge of earning credibility in a crowded market.
“Market recognition was the central difficulty,” he says. “As a Filipino brand, I often felt that we had to be twice as good just to be considered equally worth the price tag.”
Building trust among customers, collectors, and institutions took time.
A brand rooted in Filipino identity
From the beginning, Moreno wanted the brand to carry a deeper meaning.
He chose the name Ibarra, a reference to José Rizal’s famous novel Noli Me Tangere.
Rizal, Moreno says, represents something profound about time and purpose.
“I have always deeply admired Dr. José Rizal — I would call him the first truly global Filipino,” Moreno explains.
But it was Rizal’s short life that influenced him the most.
“Rizal died at 35. And in those 35 years, he accomplished what most people could not do in several lifetimes,” Moreno says.
For Moreno, the name Ibarra serves as a quiet reminder of a bigger question.
“What are we doing with the time we have?”
Turning passion into something lasting
Today, Moreno continues to expand his work through both Ibarra Watches and his independent craft practice at Moreno Watch Studio in Tokyo.
But his journey also carries lessons for anyone thinking about turning a passion into a business.
The first lesson, he says, is that passion alone is not enough.
“A brand is an extension of yourself — and you must take care of yourself if you want the brand to endure,” Moreno says.
Entrepreneurship demands internal discipline.
“No one else will motivate you on the days when motivation fails,” he adds. “You have to learn to be your own source of energy, your own standard, your own honest critic.”
That mindset, perhaps more than any strategy or product design, is what ultimately determines whether a brand survives.
“The brands I most admire did not survive because they were protected from adversity,” Moreno says. “They survived because the people behind them refused to stop.”
For a physicist who once studied how materials behave under stress, the lesson feels fitting.
Sometimes the most important test of strength isn’t theoretical—it’s simply whether you keep moving forward.
