I first came across Protocol’s profile on Instagram, and their early sneak peeks at the design language immediately caught my attention. There was something about what they were showing that made me curious to see where they were going with it. But before diving into the watches themselves, I wanted to learn more about the people behind the project.

So I reached out and had the pleasure of speaking with Carlos Jimenez, one of the two people behind Protocol Watches. Together with his cousin, Victor Hernandez, Carlos is building a brand that aims to do things a little differently, bringing their own ideas and creative vision to a watch industry that, in their eyes, could use a bit more experimentation.

And the more I heard about how they got here, the more I felt that the story behind Protocol was just as interesting as the watches themselves.

So, before we get into the designs, the materials and the ideas behind the first collection, let’s meet the people who started it all.

Just to be clear, this isn’t a paid feature. I genuinely find what you guys are doing with Protocol interesting, and I wanted to give you a chance to tell your story and introduce the people behind the watches.

Founders of Protocol watches

So, who exactly are they?

As I mentioned, the brand is the work of two cousins, Carlos Jimenez and Victor Hernandez. Carlos is the CEO and, perhaps not the person you would immediately expect to find behind an experimental watch brand, an orthopedic surgeon who still actively practices in Germany. Victor, the COO, is an engineer and continues to work in his field, currently based in Mexico.

Neither of them came into Protocol after spending their entire careers making watches. Their connection to horology came from a different place, and in Carlos’s case, it started surprisingly early.

When I asked him how he first got into watches, his answer was pretty simple:

“For as long as I can remember, I have loved watches.”

As a kid, he was already fascinated by them. He enjoyed having inexpensive watches from the local market, learned to read both digital and analogue displays at an early age, and apparently wasn’t shy about asking his parents for more.

But there was one watch that turned that childhood fascination into something more.

His father’s Citizen Bullhead chronograph.

Carlos still owns it today, and it was this watch that made him realise he wanted to start collecting watches himself.

I love little stories like this because, looking at Protocol today, there is something almost fitting about where that journey began. The Citizen Bullhead isn’t exactly the kind of watch you would describe as ordinary, and years later Carlos is creating watches with that same willingness to stand out and do things differently.

Sometimes, you can probably trace where a passion is going long before you realise where it will eventually take you.

From collector to creator

Of course, loving watches and actually deciding to build your own watch brand are two very different things.

For Carlos, that passion grew over many years. He attended shows and forums, read countless articles, watched videos and spent plenty of time discussing watches with other enthusiasts. He immersed himself in the hobby, learning as much as he could and, naturally, collecting along the way.

And then there was Victor, his cousin and partner in all of this. Having grown up knowing each other, they already had a relationship built on years of familiarity, which probably helps when you’re about to embark on something as ambitious as creating a watch brand together.

The idea for Protocol started taking shape a few years ago, and when I asked Carlos what ultimately pushed them towards it, his answer caught me slightly off guard.

Boredom.

Not exactly the word you expect to hear when someone explains why they started a watch brand.

But the more Carlos explained it, the more it made sense.

He felt that much of the traditional watch industry had become stagnant and overly conservative. The same familiar formulas kept coming around: another dial colour, another bracelet, another variation of a chronograph, diver, pilot or dress watch. Change, but not necessarily much real experimentation.

For the cousins, that became the itch they couldn’t ignore.

They didn’t want to create another brand that simply followed an established formula. They wanted the freedom to explore ideas without having to fit them into a predefined design language or worry about what a watch brand was supposed to look like.

They wanted to experiment.

“That is Protocol: a purely experimental watchmaking brand.”

And that idea of freedom seems to be at the heart of Protocol. Not experimentation for the sake of being different, but the freedom to take an idea, push it as far as it can go, and see where it leads.

The Phantom Frog

Two sides of the same brain

Although Carlos and Victor make most decisions together, they naturally bring different strengths to the project.

Carlos handles marketing, social media, design and the overall aesthetic direction of the brand.

Victor takes care of the technical side, including 3D design, materials, packaging and logistics.

Carlos describes them rather nicely as being like the left and right sides of the brain.

And I think that is probably an important part of Protocol’s identity.

One side can dream up something completely wild, while the other has to figure out whether it can actually be built.

Because experimentation is one thing. Making something that works is another.

And Protocol seems very conscious of that distinction.

Their experimentation hasn’t involved simply throwing ideas at the wall and hoping something sticks. Carlos spends a lot of time drawing, building up a collection of ideas and designs over the years, while both founders have researched materials, tolerances, compatibility and, perhaps most importantly, whether their ideas can actually be manufactured.

Some of those drawings eventually became the first Protocol collection. Others are still waiting patiently in the background, perhaps to see the light of day in a future release.

The Steel Frog

The watches that shaped Carlos

But those designs didn’t come from nowhere. They are also a reflection of Carlos’s own journey as a watch enthusiast, and I was curious to know what actually sits on his wrist when he’s not working on Protocol.

Because perhaps the best way to understand where a watchmaker is coming from is to look at the watches they choose for themselves.

And Carlos’s taste has changed quite a bit over the years.

About a decade ago, he was drawn to traditional luxury names such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Girard-Perregaux and Jaeger-LeCoultre.

But eventually, the classic approach stopped scratching the itch.

He became more interested in watches with personality.

Today, his collection includes his father’s vintage Citizen Bullhead, a military-style Bell & Ross, which happens to be his favourite brand, a Mido Commander Pixel Edition and a Ciga Design Eye of Horus.

He also has a soft spot for the Graham Vintage Nose Art collection and follows independent creators such as Toledano & Chan and Kollokium.

There is a common thread running through all of them.

They have character.

For Carlos, a watch’s value isn’t determined by the number on the price tag. It’s about originality, personality and, perhaps most importantly, what the watch means to the person wearing it.

And listening to him talk about his own collection, that philosophy makes a lot of sense. It also starts to explain where Protocol comes from. If you’re naturally drawn to watches that have character, eventually you might start wondering why there aren’t more of them.

Carbon Frog

A Different Way of Doing Thing

Carlos is pretty blunt about what he thinks is wrong with the industry.

He sees too much repetition and too much playing it safe. Brands changing colours, swapping steel for titanium, recycling familiar designs and, increasingly, drawing inspiration from the same handful of iconic watches.

For someone who had spent years collecting watches and watching the industry evolve, it became increasingly difficult to ignore.

And then there is the price.

He questions the ever-increasing prices of watches when the underlying product doesn’t always seem to justify the increase.

Protocol’s answer isn’t simply to make another unusual-looking watch.

They want to approach the entire process differently.

No recycling designs simply to avoid tooling costs. No cutting corners on materials just to save money. No forcing every watch into an established design language because that’s what the market expects.

If something needs new tooling, they’ll do it.

If an idea is more expensive to produce, they are willing to accept that.

Creativity comes first.

Even when creativity is expensive.

That is a pretty bold position for a new brand to take.

Where Nature Comes In

And then we get to the first collection.

If you’ve seen Protocol’s philosophy, you may already know that the watches are inspired by dangerous creatures and rare phenomena found in nature.

For Carlos, the connection is quite personal.

He’s always been a huge animal lover and has a particular fascination with venomous species.

And when you think about it, the choice makes a lot of sense.

Venomous creatures don’t exactly try to hide what they are.

Quite the opposite.

They often use their unusual colours, patterns and physical characteristics as part of what makes them so striking.

Carlos sees that as a perfect representation of what Protocol is trying to achieve.

Beautiful, unusual and sometimes intimidating but never trying to disguise what makes them different.

Nature, in other words, doesn’t need to play it safe.

Why should a watch?

More than just making watches

What I liked most about this part of the conversation was Carlos’s answer when I asked what he and Victor wanted people to take away from their story. Interestingly, it wasn’t really about watches at all.

It’s about having the courage or perhaps the madness to step away from the comfortable path and make something that genuinely speaks to you.

And importantly, they didn’t feel they needed to become millionaires or take on massive debt to do it.

Protocol has been a long process.

They have taken their time, built it at their own pace and tried to avoid compromising the creative principles that brought them here in the first place.

There is something quite refreshing about that.

In an industry where everything seems to move faster and faster, there is value in being patient.

In building something because you believe in it rather than because you need to hit the next release cycle.

In defending an idea long enough to see whether it can actually become something.

Carlos summed up that philosophy with a line that feels almost like the unofficial Protocol motto:

“If you don’t like something, get up and change it!”

And maybe that is the best way to understand Protocol.

It isn’t simply two people trying to make unusual watches.

It’s an orthopedic surgeon and an engineer, two cousins from different parts of the world, taking years of collecting, curiosity, frustration, drawing, research and experimentation and turning it into something they would actually want to wear themselves.

They’re still at the beginning of the journey.

And perhaps that’s what makes it interesting.

I’m looking forward to seeing where they take it, I have a feeling this is going to be one hell of a ride.

Additional information about the launch

The first Protocol watches are expected to launch through a Kickstarter campaign, probably towards the end of November. I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on what comes next.

For those who want to follow the journey from the very beginning, there are also some perks, including priority shipping, the best available price, a free strap, and behind-the-scenes access to the brand. A nice way to get closer to the project and see how it all comes together.

VIP Kickstarter Reservation for 1 Euro

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Link to the brand:

https://protocolwatches.com