The kickstarter adventures of Sólás - solaswatches.com

btkm8unsl0w5r4

sorry if this has been up before, but boards is so slow to load faster to ask....whats the price going to be on these watches?

banie01

Thirdfox wrote: »

By way of interest - would anyone know of any free auction sites that could facilitate something like this - i.e. eBay without the fees? Would probably need something to keep the trolls out too "I bid...1 million dollars" (Dr. Evil voice).

Glad the idea struck a chord and has made ya smile

I don't have any charity/fundraising experience but, Boards do run a very successful Santa Strike Force fundraising effort and given that boards also run adverts and a few other news sites?

Perhaps a tie up with boards, a PR push on their platforms and an audition type sale on adverts?

I'm sure Niamh or Mark could give a better outline?

Thirdfox

Nylah Red Pope wrote: »

sorry if this has been up before, but boards is so slow to load faster to ask....whats the price going to be on these watches?

349/369/399 depending on speed of backing (currently there are going to be 20/25/151 of each in the first tranche). A lot of info will be on the solaswatches.com website too.

banie01 wrote: »

Glad the idea struck a chord and has made ya smile

I don't have any charity/fundraising experience but, Boards do run a very successful Santa Strike Force fundraising effort and given that boards also run adverts and a few other news sites?

Perhaps a tie up with boards, a PR push on their platforms and an audition type sale on adverts?

I'm sure Niamh or Mark could give a better outline?

Very interesting idea - might give them a bell (or DeVore) tomorrow.

Thirdfox

Currently doing some photos of the various prototypes on my desk - expect to see some up close photos soon (might upload them elsewhere and link here )

hitemfrank

With the speed Boards is working at, we might get to see them by the time the Kickstarter happens

Thirdfox

hitemfrank wrote: »

With the speed Boards is working at, we might get to see them by the time the Kickstarter happens

I'll be using Imgur links this time

The prototype successfully passed an overpressure water resistance test btw (8 ATM handled without issue) - not that the Sólás Starlight should be taken diving

Thirdfox

Ok - finally finished with the shoot. Please keep in mind these are the prototypes/rejects so I haven't gone all out with getting the glamour shots since that will be reserved for the actual production model. I still wanted to give people an idea of what the dial looks like in sunlight/flashlight (keep in mind if you think the starlight is too "flashy" this starlight popping only occurs in the most direct of direct flashes) - I think it is definitely something that could work as a daily wearer and not just a special occasion dress watch.

Imgur links work well it seems with boards at least

So starting off - here is a wide shot of the "tools of the trade" along with all the prototypes commissioned so far over the last few years - this was taken with sunlight coming in from the side - so what you might normally see day to day. You'll find an enamel dial on the first dial from the left - but it was decided early on to go to aventurine for the starlight effect.



Now with flash on - if you click through and see the large version of photo you'll see the starlight effect from the aventurine - something the enamel lacks:



Close up of the dials in natural lighting:



Full on "POP"! :eek: :cool: :



Close up of the movement (sans logo) - this has the standard geneve stripes and nice to see even at this price point there is perlage on the visible base portion:



And aventurine is a stone/glass that needs to be carefully worked with - here you see on one dial there was a crack in the dial due to too much pressure being exerted. It means that when we're manufacturing these dials extra care has to be taken in order to get each dial perfect - beauty comes at a cost (compared to stamped metal dials etc):



To finish off here's a prototype front dial (before the fada indices), the movement sample from Hangzhou and one prototype assembled piece:



I can promise you the dial's starlight effect is even better than what the photos show - there's a depth from the stone/glass that you don't get with enamel - I'm a biased parent but find it mesmerising (without being overpowering).

Hope everyone is having a good bank holiday

Lorddrakul

I love the fact that each dial will be unique.

The stainless one looks just right to me, in a 39mm or so.

The movement looks plain enough but then what you see through the display back looks better, with the frame concentrating attention on the detail.

All in all, that is a well integrated design.

Eoin

Damn, that looks stunning - well done on everything so far, really hope the KS campaign goes well.

893bet

The blue!!!! I want!

Thirdfox

Heard back from DeVore and he is supportive of the charity idea. Now just need to pick a charity and set up the procedure - I wonder would open bidding via comments on adverts.ie work? I'd like to match the contribution by the winning bid (just to ensure there is something substantial donated to charity) but am also worried if something crazy goes in as the bid, like 5k (yay for the charity!), then matching that would be a bit more onerous on finances - maybe a wait and see approach - if something like 250 is the winning bid (ouch to my heart) I'll definitely match it... Or maybe say something like I'll add 500 euro onto the winning bid no matter what happens...

Any suggestions for a charity/organisation?

I'll have to get in touch with my factory partners to see if they can send me on some better renders of the Starlight eagrán bradán feasa since we do not have those made yet.

banie01

Regarding the charity, I've long been a fan of the SvP, but given the nature of this fundraiser it should skew towards the HSE maybe?
The HSE does AFAIK still have charity status?

On donation matching or similar, look into maybe charging a euro per bid or something? Put all that into the kitty too?
That way anyone bidding also contributes even losing bids?

Thirdfox

I'd worry that people would be discouraged from bidding at all then - you could do all sorts of fun things like "lowest unique bid" wins the watch but I think collecting funds from one person on a winning bid is a lot easier than trying to arrange a collection of €1 from tens or hundreds of bidders.

893bet

I don’t think the “HSE” will gather enough support personally.

I would think smaller. No idea who to suggest.

This is it

Cards on the table, I volunteer with them but Alone is a fantastic organisation and worthy of donation in my opinion. It's times like this when you realise how important they are to the elderly. Although most can't visit right now they still provide support over the phone, deliver shopping and bring people to appointments, etc.

I would do the wait and see approach. If it's €250 you can match or add whatever you want. If it's €xxxx then you could just add, no need to match.

This is it

There's also the likes of Do it for Dan, smaller and more specific. I know nothing about that one bar the name to be honest but it's an idea

oxocube

This is it wrote: »

There's also the likes of Do it for Dan, smaller and more specific. I know nothing about that one bar the name to be honest but it's an idea

I can think of loads of worthy causes in Ireland. For frontline donations I would go with Brother Kevin at the Capuchin Day Centre.

With the incoming recession there are bound to be more families needing assistance.

banie01

oxocube wrote: »

I can think of loads of worthy causes in Ireland. For frontline donations I would go with Brother Kevin at the Capuchin Day Centre.

With the incoming recession there are bound to be more families needing assistance.

That'd be why I'd lean towards the SvP too.
Nationwide rather than predominantly Dublin too.

The Capuchin day centre does trojan work in fairness.

Thirdfox

Alone being supported be solace? I think that is one that really makes a lot of sense (of course lots of awesome organisations out there) - FLAC is actually pretty awesome too (cards on table - I'm a volunteer solicitor there) - you can still get free legal advice over the phone right now btw.

"Supporting Alone through Sólás (Solace) - an Irish watch charity auction" - has a nice ring to it I think

This is it

Fantastic

banie01

Thirdfox wrote: »

"Supporting Alone through Sólás (Solace) - an Irish watch charity auction" - has a nice ring to it I think

1st off kudos on the volunteering for FLAC, very altruistic of you and a worthy cause.

Alone, and in particular the blurb above have a lovely ring and resonance to it IMO.

fat bloke

Pieta House are another (of many) worthy cause. Their darkness into light campaign has a ... timely quality to it.


(The Bradán Feasa idea is go diail ar fad! )

I must say actually, mar fhocal scoir. I know that everyone has their own angle of interest - the technical, the aesthetic, the backstory etc. Personally speaking I love the Irish connection, and I don't just mean nationalistically, I really mean the Gaeilge. It's not solas, or solás, or sólas, but sólás . It's a very strong and vibrant community as I'm sure you well know, though I've no idea of the horological overlap, but it could be a great market for the watch too. - An uaireadóir Shóláis could be the new "Fáinne" (remember those?) i measc na Gaeilgeóirí

MAJJ

I was going to say SVP or Barnardos. But I think Alone would be perfect now. You have my support on this and it was a great idea. Also, absolutely limit your risk , it's a nice gesture.

Thirdfox

Hi everyone,

While the current plan is (and it's not an ideal scenario of course) that watches will need to be sent to China to be serviced/repaired (and this is what has been budgeted for). For full on servicing down the line I would like to get in touch with a professional Irish (preferably Dublin) based watchmaker who would be interested in servicing movements and collaborate with the brand on a long term basis.

Would anyone have suggestions for people I could contact in the Dublin area for large scale movement servicing?

I'm well aware after saying on the chitchat thread how we should appreciate the fine work that goes into servicing a movement it can be regarded as churlish to concentrate on pricing - but sadly these are 399 watches and not 3999 ones and so I'm realistic about servicing costs - it could even end up (and I would personally hate this) that there could be an offer of a €120 for a movement replacement (if a service will cost €200) - on personal principle I'd take the service but I can imagine customers baulking at doubling the price for a service over a fresh movement.

Maybe I'm thinking too negatively/positively - maybe many people who buy at this price point won't even consider getting their watches serviced. I would like to give an Irish watchmaker a chance to provide servicing locally though.

Suggestions/recommendations welcome!

blue5000

It's a tough one, last watch I got serviced was 220, that was outside Dublin. I expect Dublin prices to be higher. After how many years do you expect the movement to be serviced? I know it's going to vary with how much the watch is worn.

Thirdfox

blue5000 wrote: »

It's a tough one, last watch I got serviced was 220, that was outside Dublin. I expect Dublin prices to be higher. After how many years do you expect the movement to be serviced? I know it's going to vary with how much the watch is worn.

While I would love for people to treat the watch as "merely keeping for the next generation" I guess at this price point people probably don't - so I may be overworrying. How many people service their Seiko 5s? Jazzmasters?

I would imagine that the movements should provide a long long time without absolutely needing a service - similar to the Seiko/Miyotas whom some never have serviced and can plod along. Maybe sadly by the end of 5-10 years people will feel like they've gotten enough out of the watch without investing more money into it.

Actually Blue - while wearing the watch certainly does affect longevity/period between services it affects it far less than you might think. The lubricants wear down with age too - so even if a watch was never touched and left in a box for years on end - after 10 years I'd definitely be looking at having a full service in any case if you value the watch. Operating a watch without any lubricant is possible - but will just wear down the parts much quicker than if properly lubricated.

But if a new movement is cheaper than a service - I guess many people won't care about pre-mature wear on the geartrain (hurts me though to think about watches as disposable items... and especially my watches ).

Thirdfox

Ignore the Chinese standard straps but here's what the Salmon of Knowledge and the standard edition look like beside one another.



The SoK version will have the salmon leather goodness too as the upgraded strap. Not that Horween leather can be considered low quality goods

DavyD_83

Thirdfox wrote: »

I'd worry that people would be discouraged from bidding at all then - you could do all sorts of fun things like "lowest unique bid" wins the watch but I think collecting funds from one person on a winning bid is a lot easier than trying to arrange a collection of €1 from tens or hundreds of bidders.

I'm not sure about the legalities, sounds like you'd be better positioned there Thirdfox, but would a raffle be an option?
Or even could be a secondary option for one of the standard watches to increase charity contributions alongside an auction for teh super special edition (it woudl be a shame for taht to go to somebody who didn't truly appreciate it)
- ~€20 per ticket; 100 tickets; ~1,700 for charity.
I know you wouldn't want it to draw away from the main sales, and it may end up with somebody who wasn't committed to the watch, but willing to throw in €20 on the off chance. Maybe there are ways of mitigating this.

I don't know, just thinking out loud.
I'm really intrigued to see the final final item, and hoping cashflow will allow me to pick one up when they go live.

banie01

DavyD_83 wrote: »

- ~€20 per ticket; 100 tickets; ~1,700 for charity.
I know you wouldn't want it to draw away from the main sales, and it may end up with somebody who wasn't committed to the watch, but willing to throw in €20 on the off chance. Maybe there are ways of mitigating this.

Just on this option, I know that Reddit runs a quite successful watch hybrid of an auction and a raffle at r/watchuraffle that could offer a model for this type.

Over there a fair value is usually divided by sufficient spots to give a $10/20 dollar buy in and the raffle takes place when all spots are filled.

With the Sólás, I suppose determining value would be step one in that type of approach.
Easier to sell unlimited tickets at a fixed price probably, but it would need decent payment processing and tracking.

Thirdfox

Some new updates on the eagrán bradán feasa - well the strap at least.

Here's a look at our prototype assembled. We've discussed it and will be using a thinner thread for the production version (and it won't be a white leather colour - but rather a dark mauve/lavender with black stitching).

The topside will be Atlantic salmon leather, bottom is Italian full grain (best) leather. This prototype doesn't use the Atlantic salmon but we've ordered in the Atlantic stuff - just seeing how it looks together currently.