The kickstarter adventures of Sólás - solaswatches.com

banie01 wrote: »

Hey TF,

Just want to drop a note and wish you all the very best and honestly every success with the new relaunch plan.

The watch and the effort you have put in deserve every success.
Your openness and responsiveness are a thing rarely seen in what is after all a personal vision.

Apologies again for my moments of tetchiness and over sensitivity at times on this thread, my ego likes to think I'm far more important than I actually am :P

Will have everything possible crossed for you for the KS launch and it's successful funding.

hammerdub wrote: »

Very well said banie01, agree with you and wishing TF every success and I'm looking forward to one of the watches on my wrist .

Thanks guys - just being realistic - sometimes things don't work out in the end. ...having said that getting another 49 followers (and ultimately hopefully at least 200, ideally 300+ backers) should be quite do-able with 12 more reviews on the way.

Definitely starting to get butterflies now - because despite all the planning/calculations etc. you still never know what might happen on the day.

But as of today - it's t-minus 30 days to launch.

Here are some of the dials in uncut form already in the factory ready to be processed:


Oh and Banie - don't worry about it - I've been trying to practise what I said about positive interpretations too and it's helpful (as long as I remember to do it!)

Eoin wrote: »

Did you look into casting them with the holes already in the moulds? I think that's what AnOrdain do with their enamel dials

Fitz II wrote: »

In my work, we use a lot of ceramic and zirconia. When you want something very thin, we generally cast or mill it thick, drill the holes and then lap it down to thickness, the yield is much higher

Good ideas - the problem with that is you guys may be thinking of the wonderful world of Swiss in-house manufacturing where the elves are casting and moulding and drilling all close to one another and for mutual benefit :pac: .

Here as the dial material supplier is different to the dial finisher/indice installer there isn't that sort of vertical integration that we can control each and every aspect of operations unfortunately. The ideas do sound good and I'll definitely raise it but it could be a case of the dial supplier thinking (thicker dial means more cost to me) and dial finisher thinking (I don't want to need to train our technician on a different procedure vs just drilling as carefully as possible and taking acceptable (to them) losses). That's all presupposing what they are thinking but it's just an example of how sub-contractors may prefer to do things.

From my perspective - I've paid an agreed price - so it doesn't affect my bottom line as we get the delivery of the agreed dials, in agreed quality and by the agreed time - any savings won't be passed onto me (though I certainly don't want any more wastage than necessary) - it could even be that they figure that the thicker dial and lapping down wastes more material overall than cracking (potentially they can ship back the cracked dials and reform them into new dials)? Glass and copper both sound like things that can be recycled... lapping into fine ground dust may lose more material than having a few cracked dials getting shipped back to the materials factory.

Shamrock92 wrote: »

Looks great TF. Can't wait to see some reviews and ultimately get one in hand. Without trying to offend anyone, I have never seen any Irish watch reviewers, can you share who they're going to?

There are two reviewers who are based in Ireland who got back to me and while the size of the channels may not be as big as say a Relative Time/Just the Watch/24 Hours at a Time/AverageBros/Scottish Watches (some of the reviewers getting the production unit for review being shipped out tomorrow) I think it's good to support Irish reviewers too and give them an opportunity to give their impressions on the watch (and maybe a micro-rotor watch review might help them grow their channels too).

The two are:
https://www.youtube.com/user/dulameagica - Watches with George
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCPbvLaMx8P-ccHDKWQ2agw - Wonder of Watches

Both really nice guys and who enjoy reviewing for the pleasure of seeing interesting watches.

Shamrock92 wrote: »

We're also lacking some sort of watch club in this little country of ours.

I've only just heard about Redbars - these are watch club discussion meet ups right? Is there no such one set up for Dublin?

I have to say - one thing I am quite proud of in the end is that all reviews are absolutely non-sponsored/paid for - in every single one (some needed slight negotiating) I have promised them only return/onward postage being covered.

I'm very happy to support channels via giveaways, samples, sponsorship etc. - just not as part of a review - as I do feel that this affects neutrality if people are allowed to keep watches/get paid to review a watch. I might be weird like that and I see plenty of people who are happy about a reviewer keeping the watch (as long as its disclosed) or getting paid to do a review - I just find it's hard to reconcile providing very biting/objective views with payment from the brand - but obviously some people definitely feel that it can be done - I'm just happy I didn't need to compromise my principles in the end and will be getting all review units back.

So with 25 days to go here's another video - hopefully one day I become as dexterous with my tweezers like this technician here:
https://i.imgur.com/YNnvjYj.mp4
(Sólás Starlight hand installation video)

Just to let people know that after brainstorming over the past while model 4 and 5 are being drawn up too (crude handdrawn designs currently) - quite exciting and expanding into some pretty daring designs I think - different but for good reason (in my opinion) and not just the sake of different - at least in the microbrand world.

Having 5 models in the pipeline will hopefully get me to around halfway to the ultimate goal of that minute repeater microbrand affordable.

Shamrock92 wrote: »

Very much looking forward to what's next. A GMT would go down well Just sayin'

A GMT isn't actually on the roadmap currently - the head says I should switch over to Swiss movements if I want to convince people to back higher priced (and valued) pieces in the future but I really want to show people that Chinese movements have great potential too and not just in fakes.

Some of the new ideas involve a degree of mechanical engineering that even got my wife pretty excited as far as novel/useful concepts go.

Grounded on Starlight currently still - the first big batch of review units should arrive at reviewers' doors tomorrow

Ah but most of them (the base movements at least) can be had for roughly 500 dollars on Aliexpress too (QC will probably be a lot more suspect).

The 5k tourbillons are using similar cost movements - but the movement might not be the main cost in a 5k watch - you'd hope there are other elements that make it worthwhile to pay that price (i.e. full sapphire case - and yes that is very expensive - cost price is in thousand+ not hundred+ arena). I saw one which had a wandering hours mated with tourbillon and exotic dials etc. - up to each individual to consider if that's worth the asking price or not.

And while I can understand to an extent some brands wanting to "hide" their Chinese movement origins "Check out the Sólás calibre S-01A5!!!" instead of just saying yeah - it's a Hangzhou 5000A (due to some biases against Chinese movements) I want to it to be out there quite clearly that it's a Chinese movement and the quality is still there. That's not to say I won't be asking for a heavy ebauché for the next model - so that it won't be off the shelf from Hangzhou.

@Blue - yeah probably less Chinese movements for now (especially since Soprod/Sellita/ETA are still providing access/cost effective movements) but bracelets, crystals, cases? I say a lot of people are wearing Chinese made components on their Swiss watches...and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that! I was a keen photographer previously and there was a kerfuffle when Nikon moved some lens manufacturing to Vietnam/China etc. from Japan - but the lenses were produced to the same specs - once QC, training and the machinery was there - what difference does it make where the actual components were made?

^ Because this could be interpreted in a few ways - 1) you want to make it a lot cheaper to make i.e. beyond a cost of labour issue and yes quality will fall if you use lesser components, don't do as much QC etc. - but that's something that should be reflected in the end price i.e. you get what you pay for and that's not the fault of the Vietnamese workers or 2) there's a potential hint of racial undertones in suggesting the Vietnamese/Chinese etc. workers aren't "smart/good" enough to know how to make good products which I consider crazy - especially in quite automated industries like camera lenses or watchmaking (bar doing hand engraving and other such delicate tasks) it's not rocket science (mostly) and there are plenty of people who can be trained up to fantastic standards.

...of course it could be 3) - people will start wondering why are they paying "Swiss prices" if a lot of components are being made in China - but that's not fair as stated before - if you want to have the high level of QC, components etc. - you have to pay for it (up to a certain extent when you start paying for the brand's value).

@Fitz - if you're thinking of getting a Chinese 5k tourbillon (and there are ones that are very much worth the asking price) I'd suggest looking at Beijing Watch's tourbillons - in-house movement and pretty unique design:
http://www.beijingwatch.com/item/312 - it's 3.6k euro and discounts are of course available (free sprung balance, flying tourbillon).
grey market - 2.2k euro - https://www.good-stuffs.com/Beijing-city-and-moat-subject-tourbillon-BG080503-BG080505_p_509.html

Or this gyrotourbillon which at 65k euro new (before discount) is less than half of the cheapest 2nd hand JLC gyrotourbillon at 150k euro:
http://en.beijingwatch.com/item/45
https://www.chrono24.com/search/index.htm?QOr=1&accessoryTypes=&dosearch=true&filterAliasIds=113&functions=1014&manufacturerIds=127&query=Jaeger-LeCoultre+Gyrotourbillon&replacedQuery=Jaeger-LeCoultre&searchexplain=true&showpage=2&sortorder=1&watchTypes=U&SETLANG=en_US&SETCURR=EUR

^ just that most Western audiences have no idea that people in China are making (and buying) these sort of watches - and if you show the average person that BJWAF gyrotourbillon they might still say something like "looks like a Walmart watch" :pac:

We have climbed over the 600 follower mark (what I regard as a "safe" number for success based on our MOQ that the project is likely to meet its funding goal - which I've recalculated somewhat too and set at the truly absolute minimal level I think is needed to get out of the red for Sólás) - as stated this time it will be all or nothing so the absolute full efforts will be made in relation to the re-launch.

One super exciting thing I can share now with 18 days to go is the revamped KS launch page (this is a preview and can be accessed but obviously you can't make any pledges until the actual launch of the campaign) - feedback can be left via this link too:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/solaswatches/solas-starlight-an-irish-affordable-micro-rotor-watch?ref=477wto&token=61b96c43

Things may be subject to change but it is likely to be minor tweaks now. Little over 2 weeks to go to launch

Edit: just to say I've checked the site on my mobile and there will be more photos of the watch added to the launch page definitely.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/ENLOONG-Customized-Luxury-Mechanical-Movement-Automatic_62424696260.html

Interestingly the movement is available for retail purchase now online.

$170 for one movement shipped to the US vs €329-399 for a full watch - (retail price can't be compared to the bulk costs of course) - but people can get an idea of what kind of limited profits Sólás is looking to make with the Starlight.

The example is just used to give people an idea what a seller considers a "commercial profit" individual movement should be sold for

A new written and video review is out - https://www.beansandbezels.com/reviews/solas-starlight-watch-review/

Shreyas had interviewed me too for an article a few weeks back.

Just to say that one fibre on the backplate issue is something that 1) shouldn't have passed factory QC in China (and they state this unequivocally); 2) definitely wouldn't have passed my QC in Ireland and 3) if it was something that somehow managed to get through 3 sets of QC (Hangzhou, my factory partner and myself) then it would be absolutely grounds to return the watch to me to get a replacement/repair. Though I'm almost 100% certain I would not have let that movement go out with the fibre on it like that if the watches had passed through my hands before going on to the reviewers (which was skipped due to time constraints).

Shreyas was actually pretty understanding when I was speaking to him on the issue - but I want to set a level of standards/expectations that would absolutely rule out something like the fibre on the backplate (especially as we aim to produce even higher quality watches moving forward and standards will be raised further).

Answering your question first - suede and leather should be kept away from water in general. Now humans will naturally sweat so the suede will darken over time (it starts as a light brown, will end up being coffee/dark brown) - but it will be very comfortable as the leather will conform to the wrist shape and generally maintain that shape too over time.

The suede has almost no "breaking in time" - that you'd need with the stiffer salmon strap. The salmon strap will take longer to conform to one's wrist shape but the Horween one is just super pliable.

As for the review - ah no - Shreyas is a good 'un - the review was very fair - macro shots will give all watches a tough time (Rolexs, Pateks etc. included) - and once you zoom in you'll see that the geneve style striping is only geneve style rather than hand finishing... though I doubt anyone is truly expecting hand finishing at the prices of a Starlight. The same thing as guilloche stamping versus true guilloche on a rose engine - very few people can afford to pay the prices to have someone spend hours to finish movements by hand (Rolex certainly don't do that for their mass produced watches and we don't expect them to either).

I did say to Shreyas that as we want to go up the value chain (as this will give me ability to do even more interesting things) QC and the level of finishing on the micro scale will be very important to me too - so at the current price point that fibre is unacceptable. By the next price point hopefully the marks on the hands will disappear too. The marks on the hands/indices are unlikely to be seen by eye already but it is all about paying for that next level standard of QC and standards (i.e. you need to pay quite a bit more to get just a tiny bit of improvement) - but if we are to be trusted to produce proper tourbillons and repeater watches then the QC levels has to match those complications too. Things like rhodium coating of hands, micro facets of polished indices etc. - the little things that you might spot when you compare watches side by side.

636 followers as of tonight, 2 weeks to go and around 10 reviews left to be published - all very positive metrics

Just finished a 1.5 hour interview with the guys at 40 and 20 podcast (see here):
https://the40and20podcast.podbean.com/

Apparently this will be out next Thursday - some highlights include me explaining how syphilis influenced court dress codes, seeing if the Starlight "will blend" in a Tec Blender (famous for their "will it blend") advertorials on Youtube, and cannibalism on greyhound buses...oh and some watch talk too

Will be sure to link up their podcast once it comes out - I think it does go a little further into the "why" I went ahead with the Starlight and Sólás.

We're at 680 followers now and KS has a new feature which allows add-ons so if people want to get a second Starlight model they can do so easily.

I had a think about what a second model should be priced at and ultimately decided to go with €339 for a second model (and €5 increased postage for rest of world, no increase for Ireland) as I feel that if people want to support Sólás immensely by getting a second, or third, or 10 (that's the limit I think ) then it would be best that for the vast majority of backers that this would represent a discount. For the 50 backers who got the €329 price hopefully it won't cause too much gnashing of teeth if a second unit is €10 more as hopefully they can see that €329 is a *really* low price for what they are getting already.

And just to expand on what €549 means in reality - after the kickstarter finishes we will need to start charging VAT on sales - so that €549 to Irish/EU customers means it's a €446.35 (ex VAT) price for non-EU customers and €549 after adding on 23% VAT. Currently VAT rate is 21% so it would mean the Starlight would be €540.08 after VAT.

It kinda also shows what a good deal Irish/EU backers are getting as a once off because if VAT needed to be charged on the Starlight it would make it €399 at the lowest to €482 at the highest pledge level. For all future models VAT will need to be accounted for too.

The reviews are coming thick and fast now - here's the Time Bum's review:
http://www.thetimebum.com/2020/10/solas-starlight.html

Sólás set out to do what hasn’t been done since about 1975: bring a micro-rotor to market at a sub-luxury price and they have 100% succeeded. Not only that, they did it with an aventurine dial. The Starlight is well constructed, great to wear, and absolutely unique in the crowded microbrand market place. This is a lot of watch for the money and those who chose to back the Kickstarter are unlikely to be disappointed with their choice.