Inside AXIA Time’s limited-edition England World Cup watch

Read the original article in Something about Rocks.

As England prepare to face Argentina in the World Cup semi-final, AXIA Time has created a limited-edition watch designed to capture the tournament through the colours of the national team. The England model forms part of a collection of official FIFA World Cup 2026 licensed timepieces spanning 14 countries, three price levels and a potential World Champions edition for whichever nation lifts the trophy.

We spoke to AXIA Time founder and CEO John Kanaras about becoming FIFA’s first official licensed watch partner, designing around national identity without using federation logos and why a commemorative watch should offer more than conventional football merchandise.

Something About Rocks: How did the opportunity to work with FIFA come about?

John Kanaras: AXIA makes ultra-custom watches designed to commemorate the significant moments in people’s lives. Until now, we’ve primarily been a US brand, creating watches for universities, championship teams and government agencies.We’re the official timepiece of the College Football Playoff and the Heisman Trophy, and a mentor of mine who was involved in global football saw what we had done in the college sports space. He felt football supporters would connect with the same idea and offered to introduce us to FIFA. FIFA was looking for a watch partner. We’re a small business, so becoming the official timekeeper wasn’t realistic, but we agreed to enter the category as an official licensed product.

Something About Rocks: What is the distinction between being an official licensed product and the official timekeeper?

John Kanaras: The official timekeeper is a much larger sponsorship requiring a very different level of capital. We sit within FIFA’s official licensed products programme. Historically, the watch category has been occupied by high-end brands. We offer Swiss Made automatic watches below $2,000, as well as a more accessible entry-level model. That allows us to reach a broader group of supporters. It was also an opportunity for AXIA to begin entering the international football space. We’ve had success with American sport, but the World Cup introduces the brand to a completely different global audience.

Something About Rocks: You signed the agreement in January. How did you create the collection in time for the tournament?

John Kanaras: It was an all-out sprint. We had to create around 45 different designs in a matter of months. There wasn’t much sleep, but it was extremely rewarding. The compressed timetable also meant we couldn’t create watches for all 48 competing nations. We agreed to focus on the three host countries, the previous World Cup winners and several other internationally significant football nations. We initially included Italy but removed it when they failed to qualify. The final collection covers 14 nations, alongside a separate FIFA tournament design.

Something About Rocks: How did you approach the England watch without a licensing agreement with the Football Association?

John Kanaras: We don’t use any marks or intellectual property belonging to the individual federations. The England watch doesn’t feature the Three Lions, for example. Instead, we looked at what supporters visually associate with the team. England’s flag is red and white, but the team’s identity is also connected to the navy, white and red found across its kits. We used those colours as the design reference. Nobody owns the colours themselves, and they create a much stronger emotional connection with supporters than simply reproducing the national flag. As the relationship develops, we would like to work with individual federations too. That would allow us to incorporate elements such as the Three Lions into future designs.

Something About Rocks: Was the collection originally based more closely on national flags?

John Kanaras: Yes. Our first designs were mainly inspired by the flags, but I didn’t love them. A colleague suggested bringing blue into one of the watches because it was associated with the team’s kit. That changed our approach completely. I realised that, as a supporter, I would want something that resembled the colours worn by the team rather than simply the national flag. We redesigned the entire collection around the kits. For countries such as England, Italy and the Netherlands, the colours associated with the team can be quite different from the flag.

Something About Rocks: The England design is relatively understated compared with some of the collection. Was that deliberate?

John Kanaras: The structure of the watches is broadly consistent across each country, but the different colour combinations create very different personalities. The England watch has a white dial, so it feels clean and subtle. The stronger colours naturally have more immediate impact. Mexico’s green came out beautifully, while Japan, Uruguay and Portugal are also particularly striking. As a watch enthusiast, I’m naturally drawn towards some of the bolder colours, but the England watch has a restrained quality that makes it very wearable.

Something About Rocks: Who is the customer? Is it a football supporter or a watch enthusiast?

John Kanaras: It can be both. There is a natural intersection between people who love watches and people who love football. Watch enthusiasts can look at the movement, the construction and the specifications and quickly understand the value. They then decide whether they trust the brand and connect with the design.The football supporter often arrives through emotion. They fall in love with the idea first but may visit the website six or seven times before buying. They want to understand whether the price is fair and whether the company is legitimate. For someone who attended a match, it can also become a record of a bucket-list experience. We offer custom engraving, and customers have been adding the games they attended and personal messages they may eventually pass down with the watch.

Something About Rocks: Why does AXIA place so much emphasis on commemoration?

John Kanaras: The company began with a watch I received after winning a championship while playing lacrosse at the University of Pennsylvania. I loved what the watch represented, but the quality and design didn’t match the importance of the memory. I had a tortured relationship with it. I valued it because of what it meant, but I disliked it as an object. For around 30 years I searched for a better watch that could commemorate that season. When I turned 50, I decided to create one myself. That became AXIA. The idea is to make something subtle and wearable that keeps an important memory close. When you look at the watch, it should bring you back to that moment.

Something About Rocks: How are the watches manufactured?

John Kanaras: I design the watches and source the individual components, which are produced by specialist manufacturers around the world. The components are then shipped to Switzerland and assembled by a watchmaker there. You could describe us as a virtual manufacturer. I don’t come from a traditional watchmaking background. Before AXIA, I worked in vaccines and pharmaceuticals, where I developed a detailed understanding of supply chains. The products are very different, but many of those skills were transferable.

Something About Rocks: How involved was FIFA in approving the watches?

John Kanaras: Very involved, but also very collaborative. FIFA wanted to make sure its marks were treated correctly, that the tournament was properly represented and, above all, that the quality was consistent with the event. We submitted initial designs, complete renders and then physical prototypes, which were sent to Switzerland so the team could see and handle them. FIFA’s standards are extremely high. It was a rigorous process, but I respected it.

Something About Rocks: What is the World Champion Guarantee?

John Kanaras: It came from asking what I would want as the customer. We want supporters to buy the watch now, wear it during the World Cup and build memories around the tournament. But they might hesitate because they wonder whether they should wait in case their country wins. The guarantee removes that decision. Customers who buy an eligible country watch will receive store credit equal to its full value if that nation becomes world champion. They keep the original watch and can use the credit towards the World Champions edition or another AXIA watch. It allows them to enjoy both parts of the experience.

Something About Rocks: What will distinguish the World Champions edition?

John Kanaras: It will introduce a fourth and more elevated model called the Diasimos. The World Cup trophy will sit at 12 o’clock on the dial, with the colours adapted for the winning nation. FIFA was understandably protective of the trophy because it is such an important part of its intellectual property. We produced a physical prototype to demonstrate the level of detail we could achieve. FIFA was impressed with the quality and approved the design approach. The first three versions will use a gold-plated brass trophy. For the top model, which will cost more than $3,000, we are exploring the possibility of creating the trophy in 14-carat gold.

Something About Rocks: Which watches have been the strongest sellers?

John Kanaras: Morocco is currently our number-one-selling country watch, with the United States and Mexico close behind. One of the biggest surprises has been the FIFA tournament watch. It is currently around our fourth bestseller, and I honestly didn’t expect to sell many. The black and gold design works well visually and is subtle enough that it doesn’t immediately read as a FIFA watch. It also gives supporters an option if their country isn’t among the 14 nations represented in the collection.

Something About Rocks: How difficult has it been for a relatively small brand to build awareness around such a large global event?

John Kanaras: That has probably been our greatest challenge. Because the agreement was completed so late, we missed the buying windows for major platforms such as the FIFA online store and Fanatics. They responded positively to the collection but told us they would have needed the catalogue around six months earlier. Most of our marketing has therefore been through digital advertising, public relations and relationships within the watch industry. We hope to build on the experience and are already beginning conversations about the 2027 Women’s World Cup. With more time, we would be able to approach distribution and awareness very differently.

Something About Rocks: After beginning AXIA as a personal project, what does it mean to see the brand working with FIFA?

John Kanaras: I’m still pinching myself. This began as a hobby and a passion project and unexpectedly became a business. I recently turned 60, and I’ve never felt younger. To be creating a collection around the World Cup at this point in my life is incredibly exciting. The tournament is built around moments people remember for the rest of their lives. That is exactly what AXIA was created to celebrate.