COMMITMENT TO IMPACT
Places have been transformative forces in my life. I've experienced them at their best — and also on their worst, disaster-stricken days. I believe not only in the power of places, but in the power of service. That’s why I’m building Lōcī from the ground up as an impact business. When you wear a Lōcī watch, you're taking action to protect the places we love.
Together we can make sure the Spirit of Place endures for our kids and for generations to come.
— Trip Henderson, Founder
THE POWER OF PLACES
Lōcī was born from the realization that places have power. Maybe you’ve felt it, too — the Spirit of Place.
Why do people travel to the other side of the world for vacation, or walk a favorite path in the park every day? Why does a swim in the ocean feel so different from a backyard pool? Why hike up a mountain or through the woods when you could just hop on a treadmill at your gym?
Because places have the power to affect us. Challenge us. Inspire us. Maybe even change us. They have something to tell us. We all know places that recharge and energize us, awaken our senses, clear our heads, or change our perspective. These are just some of the ways the Spirit of Place speaks to us.
THE SPIRIT OF PLACE
The Spirit of Place is at the heart of everything Lōcī does. The phrase has a double meaning.
Today people use “Spirit of Place” to encapsulate all the things that make a certain place unique or memorable — the people, culture, sights, sounds, and smells, it’s overall energy or vibe. How we feel when we’re there. This is what Lōcī aims to capture in the design of our watches.
The Spirit of Place is why Tokyo hits different than Telluride, and Maui feels different from Machu Picchu. It distills every aspect of a place’s past, present, and future. The natural environment, geography, history, and culture, the impressions and echoes left by everyone who’s been there before. They’re all part of the remarkable alloy we experience as the Spirit of Place.
What will you add to that alloy? The relationship between people and the places and environments we inhabit is always evolving. Everyone leaves their mark on a place, just as the place leaves its mark on us.
The two-way relationship with the Spirit of Place connects us to something larger than ourselves. It’s a conduit to the people and communities who’ve been there before and those who’ll be there in the future. To what’s happened there and what’s still to come. This sense of connectedness, perspective, and meaning is our gift from the Spirit of Place.
The special places that inspire our watch designs have the power to move us — but they also have also vulnerabilities that put them at risk.
That's why Lōcī is a purpose-driven, impact business. We're the only watch company in the world contributing 10% of all sales to top-rated non-profits that protect and preserve endangered places and fragile environments.
When you buy a Lōcī you join a movement to protect and preserve special places, today and for generations to come.
THE BRAND NAME:
FOUND IN TRANSLATION
The ancient Romans had a deeply held and more specific belief about the Spirit of Place, or genius loci as they called it in Latin. To them the genius loci was an incredibly powerful guardian spirit of a special place.
Just as the Spirit of Place inspires our watch designs, the Roman genius loci inspires our company's purpose. Because if places are worth traveling to, living in, fighting for, and painting pictures of — then they’re also worth protecting.
The Spirit of Place is an invaluable gift. One that connects each of us to the land and sea, to history and future possibilities, to the lives and experiences of people and communities stretching back through the past and forward into the future. Such a profound gift creates more than just gratitude in those who receive it. We also have a responsibility to ensure the Spirit of Place endures for others to experience.
But today special places and fragile environments everywhere are increasingly under threat — of being thoughtlessly altered, irreparably damaged, even completely lost. Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity. Forces like environmental pollution, higher temperatures, deforestation, and rising sea levels…All these and more threaten to permanently damage or destroy some of the most fragile, beautiful, and meaningful places in our own backyards and around the globe.
The places we love reflect who we are and what we value. They become a part of us. Who will protect them?
We’re stepping up for places that matter. Join us.
DISCOVERING THE SPIRIT OF PLACE
IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
Lōcī is built on a passion for watches; more importantly a belief in the power of places; and most importantly the drive to create positive impact in the world. If you’re curious why I chose to build a brand around the Spirit of Place concept, read on.
HOW IT ALL STARTED:
SEEING STARS.
I was out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Navy frigate USS Moinester (FF-1097) the first time I remember experiencing the Spirit of Place. It was the first night of my first-ever deployment at sea and we were a few hundred miles off the coast of Maine, steaming south to patrol in the Caribbean.
I came off watch in the engine room at midnight and made my way up to the ship’s flight deck to grab some fresh air. There were a couple other sailors there doing the same. They greeted me with silent head nods, but no one spoke.
I found a spot where I could lean on the lifelines and relax a bit...and then I looked up. As a kid from suburban Philadelphia, I’d never seen the night sky completely unspoiled by light pollution. Here, out at sea hundreds of miles from so much as the nearest candle, the clear sky was filled with millions of stars for the naked eye to see. Even the spiral arms of the Milky Way were visible as broad fog-like brush strokes across the darker patches of emptier space. Every pinpoint of light was a star orbited by its own set of distant worlds. How many stars? How many planets? It took some time to really register the perspective of what I was seeing. But I knew immediately why no one was talking.
Maybe I should have felt alone out there at sea staring up at the galactic vastness of that view. But instead I felt completely connected to the sailors on deck with me, the ones who’d been here over the centuries before us, and those who’d follow someday in the future. This place left — and would always leave — its mark on us all.
The Spirit of Place there, even though “there” was an ever-changing patch of ocean, transcended time and all the differences between us. It offered me an experience and a realization about connectedness that changed my life for the better.
That unexpected moment was the start of a lifelong fascination with the power of places and our relationship with them. So far I’ve made it to five oceans and seas, five continents, and 49 US states (...North Dakota!) to learn what the Spirit of Place would say to me and who it would connect me with. But a more recent chapter of my professional career brought new and again life-changing encounters with the Spirit of Place.
A NEW MISSION:
CONNECTING PLACE WITH PURPOSE
Natural disasters happen all the time. Most of them receive no media attention at all beyond the local level. In today's media environment human interest stories don't drive ratings or clicks, so even catastrophic events struggle to stay in the headlines for long. One example: In 2017 Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico as a Category 5 storm, killing 3,000 people and causing over $90 billion in damage. The story was effectively gone from the national news cycle in 72 hours.
From 2016 to 2020 I served as chief marketing officer at Team Rubicon, a nonprofit disaster response organization founded and led by military veterans for the purpose of serving communities before, during, and after natural disasters and other humanitarian crises.
During my tour at Team Rubicon we launched more than 400 global operations in response to hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, refugee situations, and other crises. I got out from behind my desk for numerous deployments to disaster areas, not as an executive but to work alongside Team Rubicon volunteers.
We “mucked out” mud-filled homes flooded by hurricane storm surge and cleared away the debris fields that are all a tornado leaves behind when it levels a string of homes or a school. We slept on the floor in high school gyms, showered at YMCAs, ate dinner in church dining halls, and set up our operating bases in shopping center parking lots.
Working in disaster-affected communities and getting to know the people there gave me a ground-level view of the human cost of natural disasters, which data and research show are accelerating in both frequency and intensity.
Through this new humanitarian lens I came to see how absolutely central places are to peoples' lives and livelihoods. And I learned that too many places are highly fragile and persistently at risk. They have so much to offer us — but they also need our help to survive and thrive.
That’s why I’m building Lōcī from the ground up as an impact business. When you wear a Lōcī watch, you're taking action to protect the places we love.
Explore the PCH Collection
Lōcī’s Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) watch is built for anything an outing on the world’s most iconic road, or anyplace else, can throw at it. Sporty and durable enough to hit the beach, take a swim, even catch a few waves (and wipeouts). Compact and comfortable for a long day behind the wheel or taking in the sights. Relaxed but easily stylish enough for drinks and dinner at the end of the day.
The case features Lōcī’s signature contemporary design language, a bold mix of straight and curved lines combining both mirror-polished and carefully brushed surfaces. The dial's color and yellow lines are inspired by the best driving road on earth, and "Pacific Coast Highway" is printed in the same font you'll see on California's road signs.
Powering the watch is a reliable Swiss-made Sellita SW200-1 movement, precision-manufactured with 26 jewels and featuring automatic winding.
Your PCH watch does much more than just tell the time. 10% of every PCH sale goes to the Surfrider Foundation, a California-based nonprofit dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches — the same places that inspired this watch.
So...Are you ready to hit the road?
Lōcī’s Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) watch is built for anything an outing on the world’s most iconic road, or anyplace else, can throw at it. Sporty and durable enough to hit the beach, take a swim, even catch a few waves (and wipeouts). Compact and comfortable for a long day behind the wheel or taking in the sights. Relaxed but easily stylish enough for drinks and dinner at the end of the day.
The case features Lōcī’s signature contemporary design language, a bold mix of straight and curved lines combining both mirror-polished and carefully brushed surfaces. The dial's color and yellow lines are inspired by the best driving road on earth, and "Pacific Coast Highway" is printed in the same font you'll see on California's road signs.
Powering the watch is a reliable Swiss-made Ronda 715 quartz movement, precision-manufactured for high accuracy and durability.
Your PCH watch does much more than just tell the time. 10% of every PCH sale goes to the Surfrider Foundation, a California-based nonprofit dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches — the same places that inspired this watch.
So...Are you ready to hit the road?
Lōcī’s Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) watch is built for anything an outing on the world’s most iconic road, or anyplace else, can throw at it. Sporty and durable enough to hit the beach, take a swim, even catch a few waves (and wipeouts). Compact and comfortable for a long day behind the wheel or taking in the sights. Relaxed but easily stylish enough for drinks and dinner at the end of the day.
The case features Lōcī’s signature contemporary design language, a bold mix of straight and curved lines combining both mirror-polished and carefully brushed surfaces. The dual-layer, blue wave pattern dial evokes the 12,000-foot depths of Monterey Bay, and "Pacific Coast Highway" is printed in the same font you'll see on California's road signs.
Powering the watch is a reliable Swiss-made Sellita SW200-1 movement, precision-manufactured with 26 jewels and featuring automatic winding.
Your PCH watch does much more than just tell the time. 10% of every PCH sale goes to the Surfrider Foundation, a California-based nonprofit dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches — the same places that inspired this watch.
So...Are you ready to hit the road?
Lōcī’s Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) watch is built for anything an outing on the world’s most iconic road, or anyplace else, can throw at it. Sporty and durable enough to hit the beach, take a swim, even catch a few waves (and wipeouts). Compact and comfortable for a long day behind the wheel or taking in the sights. Relaxed but easily stylish enough for drinks and dinner at the end of the day.
The case features Lōcī’s signature contemporary design language, a bold mix of straight and curved lines combining both mirror-polished and carefully brushed surfaces. The dual-layer, blue wave pattern dial evokes the 12,000-foot depths of Monterey Bay, and "Pacific Coast Highway" is printed in the same font you'll see on California's road signs.
Powering the watch is a reliable Swiss-made Ronda 715 quartz movement, precision-manufactured for high accuracy and durability.
Your PCH watch does much more than just tell the time. 10% of every PCH sale goes to the Surfrider Foundation, a California-based nonprofit dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches — the same places that inspired this watch.
So...Are you ready to hit the road?
Lōcī’s Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) watch is built for anything an outing on the world’s most iconic road, or anyplace else, can throw at it. Sporty and durable enough to hit the beach, take a swim, even catch a few waves (and wipeouts). Compact and comfortable for a long day behind the wheel or taking in the sights. Relaxed but easily stylish enough for drinks and dinner at the end of the day.
The case features Lōcī’s signature contemporary design language, a bold mix of straight and curved lines with mirror-polished and carefully brushed surfaces. The dual-layer, matte textured dial is inspired by the subtle color range of sand on Surfrider Beach — from almost white to a dark tan hue representing the wet sand where the beach meets the water. "Pacific Coast Highway" is printed in the same font you'll see on California's road signs.
Powering the watch is a reliable Swiss-made Sellita SW200-1 movement, precision-manufactured with 26 jewels and featuring automatic winding.
Your PCH watch does much more than just tell the time. 10% of every PCH sale goes to the Surfrider Foundation, a California-based nonprofit dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches — the same places that inspired this watch.
So...Are you ready to hit the road?