Like many watch enthusiasts, Jason Hutton can trace his earliest timepiece memories to his father. “He had a dressy gold rectangular face Seiko watch,” recalls Hutton. “He would wear it to work and on special occasions when we would go out.  I have memories of when I was four or five years old playing with the watch and placing it across my very small wrist.”

From those modest recollections, Hutton would go on to found ZENEA Watches in 2020—a Canadian designed, Swiss Made brand. ZENEA’s first release, the Ula, is a 300m dive watch, available in four different colourways. A special fifth iteration—the Time and Space—features a dial crafted from the one-million-year-old Muonionalusta meteorite.

Hutton, who did not grow up in a family of means, worked a number of part-time jobs while attending university. It was with those early savings that he purchased his own first watch—a TAG Heuer Formula 1. He wore that watch for more than a decade before finally investing in a second TAG, a white-dial Kirium. Hutton was already in his thirties, however, before he fell down the rabbit hole of mechanical watch collecting. “I have about 80 watches in my personal collection,” Hutton posits.  “It’s a very eclectic mix of older vintage pieces found in thrift stories to much more elaborate timepieces purchased from ADs around the Toronto area.” 

Hutton did his best to offer all his pieces wrist time, but admits that since he has founded ZENEA, he prefers to sport various iterations of the Ula. “But I still enjoy changing things up.”

Hutton’s background is mostly in science and business, but he owns up to a creative side, as well.  “I am a visual artist working mostly with painting and other mediums of creativity.”  It was this creativity that he channeled when delving into the idea of founding his own watch brand. Hutton began his research as early as 2017 in a pre-pandemic world but was unfortunately blindsided by the onset of COVID during the early months of his launch. “This created many unique challenges,” he recalls. But despite early struggles, the sight of his watch on wrists around the world makes it all worth the while.

ZENEA’s motto is “Appreciate Every Moment.” This is, of course, a play on the idea of time and a reference to watches; however, the philosophy runs deeper than that for Hutton. “For me personally, when I am wearing a wrist watch and during the day I become aware of the weight of it on my wrist, it is a poignant reminder to be grateful for all the incredible experiences and beauty I have had the opportunity to witness in my own life. Time is such an incredible gift.”

This ideology is reflected in the very watches Hutton produces. The first colourway created for the Ula was “Japanese Gardens Blue.” This custom colour is a reference to the coral reef in Koh Tao Island in Southern Thailand, which is called Japanese Gardens.  “It was the most beautiful dive site I have ever been on as a Scuba Diver,” says Hutton. “I wanted the blue to be a reflection of what my experience was like there that day.” Incredibly, Hutton looked through 400 different pantone colours before he found one that recreated the emotional connection he felt on that dive.

“For me the creation of the ZENEA brand itself is something that brings me a lot of joy,” Hutton asserts.  In some respect, he feels as though he has become a small part of his clients’ lives by creating something that also brings joy to them.  ZENEA timepieces are often purchased to mark milestones, such as birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, and promotions. “I absolutely love that they have chosen a timepiece that I created…I have made many friends as a result of the creation of the ZENEA brand.”

One of the biggest challenges Hutton faces with ZENEA is finding that balance between creating the watch that appeals most to him and the one that also speaks to a large enough audience to make it a viable venture. But this also provides him with opportunities to engage other members of the watch community—a process Hutton enjoys more than anything else in his role at ZENEA.

If he were to offer advice to someone about to embark upon the same watch journey, Hutton would caution them to take it slow. Do research and understand your market. “Building a beautiful timepiece alone is not enough usually; unless someone feels connected to the brand in some meaningful way—or the owner of the brand—you are going to struggle to differentiate yourself from the thousands of other brands out there.  Build a plan to be in it for the long haul and create plenty of flexibility for unexpected challenges because they will always come up.”

Outside of watchmaking, Hutton likes to give back to his community, particularly its youth. “Where I grew up was very rough and I saw a lot of heartache and people and friends go down paths that were not good for them or those who cared about them…for this reason I am very passionate about providing support to youth—where I can—and being a positive role model for young people if opportunities present themselves.” He is also an avid long distance road cyclist and alpine skier with a penchant for travel.  

In the near future, ZENEA will be launching a line of silicone quick release watch straps which should be available on the website in short order. Hutton is also in the final stages of completing ZENEA’s next line of watches—a robust, dress-style. “We are very excited for the prototypes to be completed…as they have been in the planning stages for over a year now.”

Like diamonds, we all need patience and time.

---

About the author

Brent Robillard is a writer, educator, craftsman, and watch enthusiast. He is the author of four novels. You can follow him on Instagram.

---

Other Watchy Bits include op-ed pieces and articles of general interest. We’d love to hear your opinion in the comments section below.

Please understand that using any links to products on this site may result in us making money.