First Collection · Four Chapters

Drag · Scroll · Arrow keys

Reserve

The founder

Why We Exist

What you wear says something. Even when you don’t.

I didn’t build Positive Empathetic’s because I had it figured out. I built it because I didn’t, and I chose to move forward anyway — through my own seasons of anger, disconnection and numbness, sitting with the shadows I had to learn to face.

Not all at once. Slowly. Until happiness stopped being something that happened to me and became something I chose. Going inward was uncomfortable, and it is where I found out what I was made of. That’s the alchemy.

This watch is what that decision looked like for me. Not a flex. Not a material statement. An object I designed to mean something to the person wearing it and nothing to anyone else.

Ryan Zakrzewski · Founder

Read my story
Sapphire crystalScratch‑resistant glass
38 mm 316L stainless steel5 ATM water resistant
Pre-orderMade in a small run
30‑day returnsWear it, then decide

The First Collection

One design. Four chapters.

I designed the First Collection to be something you can wear every day and make your own. The four chapters come from my story. What you connect with is yours.

The Shadow pairs matte black with lava rock. Alchemy pairs matte gold with riverstone red. The Becoming pairs rose gold with pearl. The Arrival pairs matte silver with opaque brown.

Every watch has a 38mm brushed 316L stainless steel case, sapphire crystal and a 20mm beaded band. There aren’t separate men’s and women’s versions. If you’re unsure about the fit, check our sizing FAQs or contact us before ordering.

Each watch is $145.00.

This is a pre-order, not ready-to-ship stock. Your watch ships when the production run is complete. Free standard U.S. shipping.

Designed in Boston, Massachusetts.

Why I made the collection · See the watches on the wrist · How pre-orders work

1 4

The lume

It keeps going after the light does.

Two photographs, five hours apart. Tap to move between them.

Positive Empathetic's beaded watch photographed at 4:12 PM in daylightPositive Empathetic's beaded watch at 9:40 PM, the lume glowing on the dial4:12 PM

Two watches from the first collection, photographed the same day — one in afternoon light, one after dark.

Man in a black sleeveless tee seated outside a diner beneath a red neon sign, the gold and Riverstone Red beaded watch on his wrist.

Presence That Lasts

I designed this. I’ve worn my own for five years, through everything ordinary life throws at a watch. It’s still here — and so am I.

This isn’t just a watch. It’s where design meets emotion, and where what you wear can carry more than it looks like it does.

Shop the collection

I wanted to make room for something real.

Our place

Positive Empathetic’s is a place for recognition: a pause for what has shaped you, what stays with you, and what you choose to make of it.

Our view

Through the dark and the light, there is no single way to move forward. There is only the honest work of meeting your own life.

Our beginning

We’re starting with four watches. Four chapters. Choose the one you connect with, or simply the one you want to wear.

Our intention

Pain into purpose is the whole of it. We leave room for reflection, and we do not ask anyone to become someone else.

I want to be who I didn’t have when I needed it most.

Ryan Zakrzewski, founder

Pre-order the first collection

Each watch is $145. Production begins once 100 pieces are reserved.

Macro detail of the matte black 38mm dial and black beaded band, The Shadow, worn on the wrist.

Built From Within

Shop Matte Black
Positive Empathetic's Rose Gold Beaded Watch, 38mm pearl stone bracelet — dial and bracelet detail

Showing Up For Yourself

Shop Matte Gold
Positive Empathetic's Matte Gold Beaded Watch, 38mm riverstone red dial — front view of the gold case and red dial

Pain into Purpose

Shop Rose Gold
The polished steel 38mm case and silver dial photographed against a white background.

A Quiet Signal

Shop Silver

The First 500

Founding members of Positive Empathetic’s.

Order from the first run and you become a Founding Member. Founding Members receive FOUNDER10 — 10% off every future order you place, with no expiry.

This is a pre-order. Production begins once the first 100 pieces are reserved. It ships when the production run is complete — cancel any time before yours ships for a full refund.

Not a sale. A founding place among the first Positive Empathetic’s.

Claim your place

This is what showing up looks like

Black and white photograph of a man in a plaid overshirt seated on a bench in a dark room, a beaded watch on his wrist.
Positive Empathetic's Matte Gold Beaded Watch, 38mm riverstone red dial — worn by a woman in black
Woman dressed in black seated on a teal bench in a plant-filled room, one hand at her face, a beaded watch on her wrist.
Blonde woman in a cream coat seated on a teal bench among plants beside a neon sign, a beaded watch on her wrist.