The kickstarter adventures of Sólás - solaswatches.com

This is it wrote: »

Maybe it's me not paying enough attention but I think adding the blue screws and different strap complicated thing's somewhat. Now with the rotor, I don't even know the difference to be honest, I'm not sure what the watch is coming with, what screws, strap, etc.

I will definitely be letting people know what the final piece will be - it is very likely to be what you have seen in all the recent reviews - with the addition of blued screws. The salmon straps will be 41.25 euro add ons if people prefer to add on a salmon strap in black in addition to the Horween strap (and that's pretty much at cost too) - some people have been asking about purchasing individually without backing the campaign and the price then would be 58 euro (without VAT currently).

I've taken a few snaps of the movement so people can see absolutely clearly what is being made for them (apart from blued screws):







Not touching the photoshop in case people take issue with any "touching up" - they have been cropped however!

For a 339-389 euro full package (including shipping and depending on when backed) I genuinely think it is pretty good what you are getting (and even better if the blued screws get slotted in).

Of course things can always be better though - Pierre may not have seen the reviews as he is a French native so that is something I should have considered too - while most are English speakers there may be some people who just didn't bother checking out English reviews etc. and relied solely on the studio photos (which again was down to circumstances - we just didn't have a signed rotor to give to the photographer - it was either circular or no logo at all). That's on me though for not planning the timing correctly on the photos.

The really big push will come at 48 hours before the end of the campaign - every follower of the campaign (700+) will get an email from Kickstarter reminding them that the Sólás campaign is about to finish. While I obviously can't control the narrative of what people are saying on the comments I understand that prospective backers will often be checking out the comments and updates to see how the campaign is going...

As such - it would be good if things like "fraud" isn't at the top of the comments pile - so I would love it if people could post some generally positive comments to the KS page too (if you feel like the campaign warrants positive comments) - keeping in mind that prospective backers probably won't enjoy seeing fighting/angry posts on comments either - it's why I hope I've been seen to answer any backers' questions calmly, thoroughly and helpfully

After all the talk of fraud, sleight of hand and so on (which has affected me more than I thought it would and seeing 2k of backers withdraw over the last few days) I'll take this minor win...

It may be the bottom of page 1 but darn it Sólás Watches has made it onto page 1 of Google's search results for microrotor watches (funny that the worn & wound news article is placed ahead).

Made sure to use private mode so google shouldn't be able to identify it as me.

Oh and even further up the page in Bing search...but no-one uses Bing anyway :P

This is it wrote: »

Did they definitely drop out due to that? I'd imagine you'll have the odd one drop out close to the end when they check their funding again the closer we get to actually paying.

Yeah I had gotten in touch to see why they decided to leave. In a sense it was good because if someone told me after receiving the watch that they had never looked at any picture of the Starlight except for the studio shots (lesson definitely learnt there!) and don't like the rotor design (superior rotor design btw in my honest opinion as it allows for laser engraving over pad printing) - I would have given them a full refund. At least it's super, absolutely, extremely clear now what people are getting - I just wanted to stem the negative mood asap on the comments page before we got to that 48 hour email.

And definitely - there will be others who decide that ultimately the watch isn't for them or funds would be spent better elsewhere, or expected funds didn't materialise (had some good conversations with people who unfortunately had to back out due to circumstances largely out of their control). It was very touching that one backer had backed for a watch but decided they really couldn't afford such an outlay at the moment but then donated $50 for no reward just because they really supported the idea behind Sólás - left me a very supportive message too

(edit) As for changes - I've tried to minimise the potential for people to not get what they were expecting because no-one wants that, though it is exactly that risk people do take with Kickstarter when you're not buying a finished product and have it ready to ship a day later. I've seen first hand the horror stories of a movement(!) being changed and announced to backers a month before delivery - but quite a few campaigns changes small things as they go. With the Starlight I was trying to prevent changes occurring and making it as much as "click and (pre)order" as possible but womp womp - nothing will go perfectly smoothly - it's how to deal with it that is important.

I'll say it publicly here on boards.ie - Hangzhou has told me that the screws will be thermally blued... I am NOT saying that on the KS page as I can imagine all hell will break loose if it turns out that isn't the case - I am proceeding on the basis that they will be chemically blued - until I can get the screws in hand for testing. I really don't like the fact that this perk is being offered without me being able to inspect the product in hand but I think the potential benefit is great enough to take this risk (I suggest imagining asking a lawyer to "just take a chance" on something ha :pac: )

^ due to the above discussion with Hangzhou I am quite confident that the screws won't be "painted" blue at the very least. They couldn't possibly(?) confuse thermally blued with painted blue - chemically though is possible (perhaps?) - under promise and over deliver is the aim here.

Hopefully people can see the heart is definitely in the right place with what I'm trying to add on here (but then I do realise I probably have a more sympathetic audience on boards).

edit: changed

^ this would be a weird post to leave as a the last one before we finish up the campaign so for people who haven't seen it up on Instagram here are some new photos my factory partner sent me of everything that is lined up and ready to go:








I've never seen so much aventurine in one location.














The blue material on the crown is there to protect the engravings from my understanding. MsThirdfox thought I was going for blued crowns too :pac: - but hey who knows - a cabochon might not be crazy a la Cartier...

I was planning on hand delivering in Dublin - but you're right that fingers crossed by May of next year things will have gotten significantly better - it would be great to get a boardsies meet up and deliver all of them together.

I'd be happy to pool the boardsies' postage fee into hiring a room or at least finger food in a hotel or something similar in a location that suits most people and deliver the watches then.

That will have to be played by ear of course - "2021 super spreader event with Sólás" :pac:

You're not on the "list of shame"

From reading into this apparently you can expect around 3% of backers to drop off at this stage too. Currently speaking to the 7% whose payments didn't go through (could be funds, could be change of card details, suspicious transaction flag etc. - looking back, a transaction on the stroke of midnight on Halloween should probably be flagged as suspicious ha!)

colm18 wrote: »

Hey Diyu,

great to see that message re the salmon straps - I assume there's no colour options with these? Also, just curious whether you got any pics of the 'standard' Solas with the purple salmon strap? I assume it wouldn't work as well as it does with the eagrán bradán feasa edition but would be interested to find out..

Hey Colm - at the moment we'll only be offering the standard black - my understanding is that the cost is such that ordering multiple skins from Iceland for Turas wouldn't be great financial sense for one-two straps etc (Iceland being non-EU incurs custom duties/VAT on import).

I would be pretty hesitant to offer the purple with opened scales in any case as it is something that requires a bit more care to look after - it played a large role in deciding to go with closed scales salmon for the extra durability. The open scales requires pretty careful treatment to avoid tearing of the leather (salmon leather is very thin - relatively tough for its thinness - but I think from a "mass consumer" product point of view it's just much safer to offer closed scales to avoid potential negative customer feedback).

As for the purple with the silver - you're right in that it might be a little too overwhelming for the standard silver indice.

fat bloke wrote: »

Is there a time limit on the strap upgrade?
Also, is the salmon strap in addition to or instead of the tan horween one?

Batesy wrote: »

Another quick one on the strap option, will backers still receive the standard strap and the salmon ones as an extra or does the upgrade basically replace the standard?

Yeah - it would be in addition to the Horween strap - so you'll get both (though I'll mount it on the salmon by default if you get the two).

There'll only be one clasp though (to avoid confusion) - so to switch between the two you'd need to unmount the clasp from one strap and attach to the other (or get a second unmarked clasp) - Aliexpress/ebay have cost effective options

I'm going to leave the first salmon leather order numbers till after this weekend when hopefully most people will have looked and decided. It will be possible for additional backers to add on salmon straps later too I imagine - it will take around 1-2 months for Robin to get all the straps finished for this round (around 300 Horween and 30 salmon) - so after he is done anyone on the fence can take a look and see if they want it - we have 29 salmon straps ordered so far so it's definitely going ahead and more photos will be provided once completed.

Effectively I plan to have two batch of orders - one at the start of next week - and one final one to pick up anyone who wants it at the end of February (to give Robin ample time to make the straps).

njburke wrote: »

Thirdfox.
Best overall for me would be a bungee strap, only thing that really works with a drysuit.
I tried to get maratec nitrox nato straps, 330 mm nato's, sold out no longer available.
My orange monster or citizen are fine in warm water on the bracelet/put strap. I usually roll back the wetsuit sleeve.
The spring bars are the single failure point. For my suunto computer, I use a bungee fed through both sides of the strap, if the strap goes, the bungee keeps both together and you've a chance to recover.

I also thought that stainless end links should be available with just say 3 off 4 mm holes in them. Run three bungee chords through the endlinks, works for wet and dry suits, forearm.

I also thought of epoxying a PU strap to make a divers extension, works best with two of the same strap, one normal, the other glued to act as an extender, bungee through the lot.

The pelagos solution is nice, but maybe over engineered. Ideal for desk diving when the air con shrinks your wrist.

Just wanted to thank you again for giving me this idea - it's something I really think will be appreciated by any divers who buy the watch - or at least give people an idea of the utility of bungee cords for their own dive computer/watch.

I really, really love the simplistic idea of bungee cords - it really ties into what I've designed for the Equinox - solid endlink with three 4mm holes drilled in - simplistic and effective instead of faffing about with Pelagos springs (their system is definitely "over-engineered" - but we watch collectors usually love that ha!)

One thing I can reveal about the Equinox now - the caseback screw in design will be using the Vostok system - it's the simplest, most effective system I've encountered that preserves WR rating. It even allows for easy caseback changes (if you don't want to buy a new watch ) - solid or sapphire can all be easily done. I've loved the Vostok system but just wished it wasn't in such a "brutalist" soviet/russian watch - I think it would be nice to have it in a watch that could be compared to a Seamaster in terms of refinedness.

I am speaking to my factory partner about the solid endlink with triple bungee now (they're going to hate me by the end of this - always asking for things that no-one has ever asked them to do).

And as you rightly say - springbars are the biggest failure point - so drilled lugs and non-quick release for the bungee "strap" whereas the metal bracelet could(?) come with QR springbars (in two minds about that).

I better start practising my fisherman knots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on8llx3z59g

Hopefully the bungee strap will be recognised as something being built specifically to cater to them (I wonder if it should be offered as an option just to cut down on wastage - I expect 90%+ of people won't be using the watch to dive with - maybe even to just offer the solid endlinks with holes and the divers will already have their 3mm/4mm bungee cords to make their own straps?)

banie01 wrote: »

I've never dived with an internal bezel
I can totally see the advantage to it, it makes knocks and nudges far less likely to screw up your timings.

As another PADI AOW/Rescue Diver I've been really intrigued by the bungee strap idea.
Sheer genius from NJ, simple robust and effective.
Like most great ideas, one of those "I can't believe I never thought of that!" ones.

On the bezel, yes some sort of captive/lock is the ideal but having only ever used rotating bezels.
I'll be following the developments here with interest.

Unidirectional on a dive watch is IMO a safety feature that shouldn't be overlooked, tho.
It prevents accidentally going over your time and gives a degree of security I've bi-.

Edit: NVM, just realized you mean crown action and not bezel.
My bad.

No it's actually interconnected - since a unidirectional crown would be a unidirectional bezel too and vice versa.

I'm leaning towards unidirectional for the diver use/office diver split - since people can still "fiddle" with the internal bezel without needing to unscrew the crown while it maintains the safety feature for actual divers. I know most people will be using the bezel for timing pizzas in all likelihood and in that case I think people would prefer not needing to unscrew crowns to get to the bezel action.

njburke wrote: »

I'ld go with an external unidirectional bezel. The internal is over complex,additional seal, fiddly to operate with wet or gloved hands. It also takes up dial space under the crystal, space better used by hands and markers.
A domed crystal is the way to go for better reading angle with TIR, so distortion might by an issue round the dial edge.

If you want a style of a second crown, put it in as an option for manual helium release.

In my experience, the bezel doesn't get nudged forward.

I'ld mark the bezel, with a few no deco stop limits, at the PADI OW and AOW depth limits, just a reminder that the diver may have stepped over the line.

There are several design reasons why we moved to internal bezel:
1: tungsten carbide won't be something that takes to bezel scallops - it is an extremely hard material that for practical purposes won't scratch (it's roughly the same hardness as sapphire) - conversely because it is so extremely hard making small etchings needed for bezels isn't possible (or may be very cost intensive):
2: we are using tritium as the illumination source - as such I'd (and my factory partners especially) like to put as much distance between the tritium and the wearer and having the tritium pip under the crystal makes my factory a lot happier than having it on a bezel pip:
3. It allows for greater design flexibility with bezel colour/design - since we know that the bezel won't be scratched it allows greater design choices for what we can put on the bezel.


From what I've found is that a flat crystal is more readable underwater except for that one angle where it reflects the water's surface - for domed you get greater distortion except when looking straight on?
See the comparison here:
https://watchlords.com/viewtopic.php?t=30654

Very interesting about the no deco limits - I'll have to think about how to incorporate this - makes good sense to incorporate it (18m = 20min) (30m = 56 (I can use 55min) - make do it with tritium markers in place of 20min/55min markings for better visibility underwater.

I put some more details and pics up on the KS site's update:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/solaswatches/solas-starlight-an-irish-affordable-micro-rotor-watch/posts/3040706

A month ago an enterprising 17 year old artist from France contacted me expressing an interest in the Starlight and asked if I would like to commission him to create a drawing of the watch. Checking his previous works I was quite impressed by what I saw and so while the December update was originally intended to be rather short and sweet as no new information besides "everything is proceeding smoothly" was to be reported to everyone - I'm happy to share with you the artist's rendition of the Starlight - now with the added blued screws!

The creativity and entrepreneurship of this young gent quite astounds me - you can find more of his drawings on the website he has set up where he also sells his prints: https://www.horoart.com/products

I can say for certain, back when I was 17 I certainly wasn't setting up online stores or doing anything half as creative. Just to clarify too - I'm not being paid to promote Sylvain's work - I'm just genuinely impressed that someone still in school has the wherewithal to set up his own website and reach out to brands for business opportunities. I certainly wish him the very best.

I hope everyone has a fantastic December - in January I should be able to provide some more progress updates on the movements and straps.


You can see his step by step photos of the drawing coming to life here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIYssVrL2sG/

Thought it was better to respond here rather than the watch pics thread

Cyclingtourist wrote: »

Don't want start an argument but are the public (customers) clamouring for a tourbillon? It always struck me as a solution to a problem that no longer exists and as such is an interesting but utterly useless complication in this day and age.
I'm probably missing the point but to me it's like all those people who want to climb Mount Everest even though it's been done numerous times already and is now just an item on certain people's bucket list.

The public weren’t clamouring for a micro-rotor either - nor really a more diver orientated diver watch either.

I think one reason why people enjoy tourbillons nowadays when you have things like the calibre 9100 with far superior accuracy (besides the price issue) is that it looks visually interesting. It’s why there are still watches with open hearts that show the escapement mechanism - a tourbillon is a more interactive open heart and has some “technical” reasons for existing too.

On the watch timer it is interesting because I can see the movement sway from +2 s/d when the carriage is in one position to -1 s/d in another - seems like my sample movement is a “good” example of the advantages a tourbillon can give you in timekeeping accuracy.

And yes - tourbillons from China have been done many times already - you range from 300ish euro to 2000 euro for standard ones and then you can reach silly money levels of tourbillon too with things like gyrotourbillons, double tourbillons, minute repeater ones etc.

Eclipse won’t “just” be a tourbillon though - there’ll be a very interesting concept behind the watch - something like I said - will be a foundation stone for the Lir repeater model too.

Oh and you’d be right to point out a repeater is also a nonsensical complication in an age of lume/torches on phones and...well mobile phones - but the watch is something that can appeal to the heart more than the head I guess!

As I’ve been quoted elsewhere as saying - I’m not interested in doing what has been done before - so rest assured the tourbillon model won’t “just” be a tourbillon (you can even look up Hangzhou tourbillon models on aliexpress to see what’s out there now )

redlead wrote: »

I think that releasing your own Tourbillon with the Solas S incorporated into the co axial cage would quite possibly be the biggest horological F you to all the "comic sans" naysayers out there!

On a side note, when are we going to get to see the dive watch thats number 2 or is that on hold until delivery of the starlight?

Ha yes - putting it front and centre (but not really too - this is the twist I’m going for) - a tourbillon that somehow can be understated (there’s a hint in the name of Eclipse too after all). My requirements on the tourbillon model gives both my factory partner and Hangzhou kittens in terms of my asks of them - on the other hand the factory partner has said that my request to get the bungee cord “strap” version of the Equinox diver strap shows them that I’m serious about putting consumer/backer/buyer experience first.

As for when the Equinox is getting some public unveiling - this will be after the Starlight has been delivered - this isn’t even purely down to “doing one thing at a time” - but tungsten moulds apparently need a 5 month lead time to get done. I’d only be happy to reveal designs that I know can work and have been prototyped properly. CAD is great in principle but I’m old school in wanting physical examination of products - you just don’t know how that bezel action will feel until you’re wearing diving gloves twisting the crown etc.

I think right now it could be like describing an elephant to someone who’s never seen one before - I’ve already revealed it’s:
A tungsten carbide case/bracelet (clasp will have to be stainless steel - though we may pvd coat it for hardness)
Tritium lume
Micro-rotor movement
Vostok-like caseback
Internal bezel
Dial material will be “special” again - in this case onyx or malachite - two whole dial options!

So you can let your imagination run wild with those parameters... the design is pretty much finalised - I’m fighting with the tungsten factory on what level of finishing we can put on the bracelet - I want round bevelled edge links which they say they’ve never done before (it’s harder to do in tungsten too) - but currently I don’t want to compromise and go with straight edges - round bevelling really makes a difference in comfort in my experience.

^ as almost everything in that list above is being custom made - you can see where the Starlight profits/extra funds have been spent