Steamboat Student Launches Wood-Face Watch Startup

The air in northern Italy smells of history and damp stone, but for Liam Gebauer, it smelled like a problem waiting to be solved. He was standing in Milan, a fifteen-year-old with a backpack full of books and a mind full of visions, and he realized something fundamental about his generation: we are drowning in screens. He wanted to check the time without pulling out his phone, without the dopamine hit of a notification, without the distraction of a thousand other messages vying for his attention. So, he spent 300 euros of his own money on a Seiko. It was a small purchase, a simple transaction, but it sparked a larger idea. When he got back to Steamboat, he decided to start building a watch brand to mark the moments that matter.

Now, as he heads into his sophomore year at Steamboat Springs High School, Gebauer is turning that spark into a startup. He isn’t just selling timepieces; he is selling a way to step away from the digital noise that defines so much of modern life. His company, which he launched this summer, focuses on elegant, analog watches with classic looks and wood faces. It’s a tactile experience, a return to something physical and tangible in a world that has become increasingly virtual.

The idea didn’t come from a boardroom or a business class. It came from a moment of frustration in a foreign city. "I think I’ve always had that in the back of my head," Gebauer said. "Being an entrepreneur, and creating my ideas, doing my own thing." That sense of independence is palpable in the way he describes his product. He was tired of checking his phone and losing ten minutes to notifications every time he looked for the time. "Boom, 10 minutes have flown past," he said. It’s a relatable struggle for anyone who has ever been trapped in the scroll.

To solve this, Gebauer reached out to manufacturers, eventually settling on a Japanese company that is currently crafting samples. The watches will feature stainless steel wristbands and faces made from specific woods: hinoki, ebony, or padauk. Hinoki, native to central and southern Japan, offers a tan-to-white hue; ebony is a dense black-brown hardwood; and padauk is an exotic hardwood known for its vibrant red-orange color and durability. These aren’t just materials; they’re stories. They’re choices that reflect a desire for beauty and permanence.

The next step is a Kickstarter campaign this fall. Gebauer hopes to generate enough capital to complete an initial run of 300 watches, with delivery expected in early 2027. That’s a long wait, but it’s a wait for something meaningful. The watches are designed to be gifts for landmark birthdays, graduations, holidays, and anniversaries. They are meant to be passed down, to be worn, to be felt against the wrist.

If you look closely at the renderings of the first three models, you can see the attention to detail. The hinoki is soft and pale, the ebony is deep and rich, the padauk is bold and striking. Each one tells a different story, but they all share the same purpose: to help you keep time without losing yourself to the noise. It’s a small rebellion, this decision to wear a watch instead of checking a screen. But in a town like Steamboat, where nature and technology often collide, it feels like a necessary one.

The samples are arriving later this summer. The Kickstarter is coming in the fall. And Gebauer is just getting started. The watches will be available for delivery in early 2027, a date that feels far away but is close enough to keep the excitement alive. It’s proof of the power of a single idea, born in a store in Milan and nurtured in a bedroom in Steamboat. The wood is real. The hands are traditional. And the time is right.