The kickstarter adventures of Sólás - solaswatches.com

24 carat copper - very apt - Pateks get you gold - Solas gets you bronze(ish) (copper zinc alloy = bronze).

Copper is still quite a bit denser than stainless steel though.

I think brass is copper and zinc too - to be honest it's not something we can easily change i.e. we just get the rotors as made by the manufacturer, it would be quite expensive to have your own rotors cast and made instead of the default one that is chosen by the manufacturer. Even when you say we're putting in a 500 order - to them that may be peanuts and not worth the mold/casting time - for example speaking to An Post business their MOQ for a business account is 1000 packages

I haven't dissected a movement yet - they are pricey - similar to swiss movement pricey so I'm reluctant to trash a movement for curiosity's sake (because I don't trust my level of watch engineering to put together this movement once I've taken one apart) - a $10 ebay/aliexpress watch? Sure - it's good fun to disassemble the movement - for the Starlight I'll leave it to the professionals.

My hope is that by late 2020/early 2021 and when the watch is shipping worldwide the issue will be resolved by then. Some of the watch factories in Guangzhou have shifted into PPE production actually - capitalism 101 - follow the market demand I guess (watch demand has fallen off understandably).

edit: and just to add then so it's a balance of deciding where you want to spend more for customised items or things that are available off the shelf (economies of scale) - so for example for the box I said give me something that will protect it in transit and be recyclable once opened - I don't think people will want to add on another 20-50 euro for a fancy box for a 399 watch (I know I prefer simple recyclable packaging with all the watch boxes I have lying around). More money was spent on the strap as I decided (rightly or wrongly) with this new economic climate the average American who may be interested in this watch before might not be if there wasn't more of an Irish connection to the watch. The proof will be in the pudding though - let's see if it gets funded or not

...Though even then the box isn't completely barren - it even has foam(!) padding inside and embossed logo outside - very luxurious cardboard

Eoin wrote: »

The watch is smaller than I typically wear, and I am not one for the dressier watches. But I am absolutely going to back the campaign when it's live and get me one!

It looks absolutely class. I hope that people recognise the uniqueness of the dial and the movement etc.

Thanks for the support! - I think you might find that on the wrist it will wear larger than 38mm - I think it's down to the bezel/dial ratio - this isn't a dive watch so the dial is almost all of the 38mm. When I first got one of the 38mm samples I had to remeasure to make sure it wasn't a 42mm width - I think you would get similar amount of dial "real estate" on this 38mm as you would on a 42mm diver.

colm_mcm wrote: »

That looks great. Sorry if it’s been covered on thread, but what does the name mean?

There was quite a bit of thought put into the name actually - the story is up there on the website solaswatches.com but here's an expanded background to it - sólás is Irish for "solace" - lawyers love word play - sol "sun" ace "no.1" was one (minor) subliminal consideration/easter egg :pac: - the key factor was that solace to me represents something that is warm, nurturing, yet with a tinge of sadness (I mention on the website that this was a project that I started when a family illness prompted me to start trying out a "dream" of mine - having my own watch design made that I could be proud of and share with others.) I feel that Irishness (at least our cultural music/poetry/literature can often be classified as a solace of sorts - there's just that tinge of sadness to songs/dances etc.)

As Gaelige it still preserves the "sól" portion which ties in with the celestial theme. My family knows of the various other models I have in mind if the first one succeeds - Sólás Starlight, Eclipse, Twilight - my wife did remark that those names sound like a vampire love story (coincidence I swear!) - she said I just need a Sólás "Breaking Dawn" model

It works doubly well in my eyes since solas (without the fadas) means "light" as Gaelige - so the website/average person typing/searching for the brand can still find it and it still makes sense in a watch context.

Having the model name in English is more down to ease of searching - people can search for "solas" easily - but if you start asking them to look up starlight/eclipse/twilight as Gaelige you'll be asking too much I think. For example starlight is "Solas na réaltaí".

Deep Thought wrote: »

Noticed the website still has the gmail account

Are you going to change that to info@solaswatches.com etc

As previously mentioned it would instil more confidence and be more professional.

I was going to go into why having a gmail address might be better for people in realising it is a "true" Kickstarter project as in a 1 person part time show - but in the end bit the bullet and got info@solaswatches.com

Managing expectations will be key for me (especially when I look at how poor Ross is doing with the Hamtun H2 (and now H3 starting off too with Nanok, H2 all with still outstanding issues) - due to work from home I've been able to have a closer look on the Sólás front but normally I definitely won't be able to respond to 30-40 individual emails a day. I think it'll be helped by the fact that the Starlight is hard limited to around 360 units - can't sell more due to tax reasons.

So it was also why I thought I could convince 360 people to have confidence in a gmail address - but yeah - even better now that there is a info@solaswatches.com address now. Thanks for that push!

blue5000 wrote: »

You're going to try squeeze 360 watches into a suitcase aren't you:D:D?

Now I know why the boxes are re-recyclable! They'll all be folded flat on top:cool:

No no - this will be MsThirdfox:

fat bloke wrote: »

That's deadly man. When will you be in a position to, if how best to phrase it... shut up and take our money?!

The first round of kickstarter backing is aimed at start of June/July-ish - depends on when I can get reviews etc. done by people and build awareness of this watch's existence.

People here are getting a sneak peek - since I guess officially the campaign to get this watch off the ground only officially starts when the pre-launch page on Kickstarter is set up. That is still waiting on the photos/videos/reviews - those should be done over the next month or so.

Last post on this today I swear - the guys in China don't seem to sleep... got the 1080 version from them just a few moments ago. So here is the hi-res version of the video (and yes I do realise I am saying it's an automatic micro-rotor watch ) but I don't think it'll just be a WIS that might be interested in the watch.



Volume lowered to non-headphone busting levels too :pac:

Felt the info text in custom font wasn't the best on legibility so switched to calibri (tried arial too) happy to hear other thoughts on font (except for comic-sans )

Cienciano wrote: »

I think the video is perfectly functional. But it could be slicker. The intro scenes with to name are good. But I don't think the first shot of the watch rotating is good for the first glimpse of the watch. And the text appearing on screen is fine, but not slick. I'd go dark background. Some close up shots of the hands and face. Then cut to a screen with one of the features in text, like micro rotor. Then close up of the rotor. Go through the features and show the whole watch at the end. I'd go with slower more haunting music. Not leprechauns on a picnic stuff :pac:

But that's me, and I know shooting a video of a watch can be difficult so it may not be worth your while. But I'd definitely change the music and maybe cut the text in as separate scenes rather than overlay it. For music I'd go for haunting, but not Enya. On a final note, I have no idea what I'm talking about, so don't take offence.

Not the first person to say to go with dark background - however my issue is that the videography isn't really up to me (the factory is doing this for me as a freebie after some delays on their part) so I'm not in a position to be dictating exactly what can be done.

As I'll have full creative control over the photography portion of this (and it won't have music overlaid :pac:) I'll try to show off the watch (with the correct Irish strap) to the best effect.

MsThirdfox had said to me "why don't you go with a merry jig as b/g music" (she thought this song was too slow ) so that just shows you the cultural divide between what we consider twee and what foreigners enjoy about Ireland(!) My in-laws knew Riverdance before they knew about Dublin

And no offence taken at all - comments on this thread are gold - some things I'll take on board, some I might not but unless it's absolutely non-constructive it'll all be considered! I'm sure there'll be plenty of people who don't find this watch to their taste (for whatever reason) but it's all about finding 300ish people who would like to back it. It's the primary reason I'm sharing all the behind the scenes stuff with you guys - better you guys say "isn't a dedicated email really ;) worth considering" than the day after I launch and I'm wondering why no-one is interested at all

"Haunting not Enya" - love it ha...so Björk is out of the question then?

Yeah it's not Patek/Omega levels of slickness but this is expanding way beyond my general competency as a law person and as a watch person - maybe I should put in at the end - "you don't own a Sólás, you merely take care of it for the next generation"

Here's what the video editing looks like when cutting in the images/sounds/text - Like with photoshop - I'm sure I'm only touching the basics of what the software can actually do.



edit: and doing all this (and another separate video previously) has made me appreciate all the hardwork proper content creators on Youtube do (I like history and science videos) - hours of editing must go into making minutes of content. It's made me stay around and not skip the ads for creators I like.

hammerdub wrote: »

Not too sure I've registered, but think I have ??

I can't see who's registered (strange by Kickstarter) - but 9 people so far so I'd assume most of the boards people who were interested are on it now.

I'd say if you went on the page:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/solaswatches/solas-starlight-an-irish-micro-rotor-watch

And it doesn't have the "notify me on launch" button then you've already registered to be notified on launch.

For boards I might be giving a heads up on when launching happens in case people would like the sár-luathphraghas (super early bird) prices

C0N0R wrote: »

Registered, following with interest, haven’t made my mind up yet!

No worries at all about that - for those on the fence about if it appeals or not I think waiting for reviewers to get it in hand and present videos of the watch up close will help people decide if it's for them or not.

I'm just slightly excited about the step - seems like the years of (on/off) work is finally coming to fruition.

I'll probably do a video feature run through of the watch myself just to go through all the elements of the watch also - so people can understand just what a micro-rotor is, aventurine, what I mean by the clasp being more comfortable than ordinary deployants etc.

Edit: anything else people think I should cover in a self-introductory video?

Thanks for all the interest guys - and here's something I've had kept in store (was examining the feasibility of this but I think we've got it in a state that I'm happy to go forward and reveal on boards) - not revealed anywhere else yet

The "eagrán bradán feasa" Starlight version..."salmon of knowledge edition" - only one will be sold, two made - I know I said model T for the first watch and that holds true for all of them... but I wanted to make a "halo" version too - something that has an eye towards what I hope to create with the brand in the future. After discussing with the Irish strap supplier we are in the process of creating this 2 of a kind version of the Starlight - using rose-gold indices, a specially decorated golden micro-rotor movement with cotes de geneve en arabesque (similar to those found on Omega 8900 movements) and salmon leather straps (Italian leather full grain backing).

This hasn't been assembled yet - we're still concentrating on the main watch of course - but there will be one available once the campaign launches - but here are some sneak peaks at what Steve Jobs would have described as "oh and one more thing":

Salmon leather:


Movement photo:




And then here are two up close photos I took of the signed crown and clasp deep etching when I visited the factory back in January (you can see other pieces in the background too):

Crown:


Clasp:



Happy Sunday all

893bet wrote: »

Oh nice! 2 is too small a number.

A limited run of 10-20 perhaps and charge a large premium.

Is the “normal one” going to be limited? Or numbered?

It's effectively one - since the other I'll be holding on to as a memento of the brand. More a situation that someone who wants to support the idea of Sólás and have something pretty much unique can get.

The standard one is limited - not by numbering but by tax/VAT reasons. Sales are limited to 390 standard ones and 1 of the rose gold. Reason being at this number I don't need to charge anyone VAT on the pieces sold.

Any more than this and I'd really need to incorporate as a company (rather than sole trader) and register for VAT, hire an accountant to process VAT returns and start filing annual returns. This would all add cost onto the final product.

As for numbering - I definitely get the appeal for many people of having a numbered edition (especially when it truly is "limited" compared to say your X version Speedmaster variant ) - but again for this run I'm really leaning towards learning how to handle backer info organisation/protocol/scheduling - if I'm not confident of not making a dog's dinner of this (and once you get numbered versions it's completely understandable that people will then want certain numbers, drop out - does that mean you move up the list? The new backer drops into the old number? Swap numbers? Send out the right numbers to the right backers?) - It adds a lot of complexity to fulfilling rewards (or at least it seems like that to me).

An alternative is to post out random numbers to people if they are numbered...which isn't necessarily what I think collectors would want (as in, the people who care about the numbers might not be satisfied, the people who don't care about numbers didn't care in the first place). This is what Ross did with the Hamtun H2 btw - just send out random serials to the various backers (and it wasn't necessarily limited either - just serialised and sent out randomly so people have different numbers). I don't think it necessarily was of huge benefit to people who want "1/500", "500/500" to just randomly get "213/500".

Instead my intention is:
1. Monitor this run to see how efficient I can make record keeping (200-391 people should be a good dry run of my tracking system) - and at the same time stress test having options for people (future colour, potential strap and serial number/limited numbers options);
2. The standard watch will instead have "céad eagrán" inscribed on the back to mark that this is the inaugural run of watches - future Starlights won't have this ever again obviously so for the backers who think a Sólás may be worth collecting for "future investments" at least there'll be a clear indicator you have a "first edition" version;
3. Depending on success - will look at formalising the brand into a company so that VAT can be reduced at least on imports and absorbing some VAT costs so won't need to hike prices for customers (rather than backers) in the future - while Kickstarter is ok for the 1st/2nd project, I think brands shouldn't be reliant on it once it's "started" and should eventually look at striking out on their own.


Oh and as for why 10-20 won't really be an option - the movements are custom ordered - even more so than the standard micro-rotors - even getting 3 movements (1 to be held in reserve) was difficult - instead, normally you need hundreds of movements ordered and a 4 month lead time before they can be delivered. Having that much stock left on hand wasn't viable for a brand starting off. So that's why this one is intended to truly be a "halo" rather than just another backer option. Pricing will be at premium but still less than what I had put as rrp for standard models.

blue5000 wrote: »

I think the strap supplier should have first dibs on the salmon one, just my 2 cents.

Hope he isn't following the thread on boards but I was intending to give him a standard Starlight model just as a token of appreciation for the work he's put in to the straps...and I think I'll stick with that idea because...

banie01 wrote: »

The halo/unicorn version is a great idea IMO.

Could even be of marketing use maybe?

Solás as knowledge and a homonym for light, and the training of medical staff keeping Ireland safe could surely lend its way to a fundraising auction perhaps?

I wish I could thank this post more than once - that is a bloody FANTASTIC idea! :eek: I'm just sorry I didn't think of it first.

Now there will probably be some organisational things to determine but I am 100% behind this idea - let me have a think of how this can be done.

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).

Another thing would be to determine how to determine what organisation/charity Sólás would be giving the funds to - some options:
1. I decide at the start X organisation;
2. I decide at the start a list for winning bidder to choose from; or
3. Winning bidder gets to decide - as long as it's not something crazy like the "enrich myself charity" (I could see this option being problematic :pac: )

Sólás as "solace/comfort" couldn't be any more apt to contribute something during this time. That suggestion's really brightened up my day.