The kickstarter adventures of Sólás - solaswatches.com

So... Today is the official launch of the push to get people registered on the kickstarter website in terms of getting notified on when the campaign launches.

Hopefully I've shown my bona fides in trying to get this project off the ground and people trust I'm not a fly by night "cute hoor" trying to sell a $20 watch for thousands or even hundreds...

In which case - because of the various forum rules on self promotion being (rightly in my opinion) banned generally - I would be grateful if people could perhaps post a thread on various watch forums they are involved in to share this story with others who may be interested.

For example - some of the ones that would come to my mind would be:
r/watches on reddit.com
affordable watches forum on watchuseek.com
TZ-UK's forums

I'm not asking that people advertise it as something that's the best thing since white pan. But rather mentioning that here's something from Ireland that looks interesting... if other posters show any interest in the watch I could always answer any questions they may have.

It isn't naked self-interest by my part either - currently we have 80 people expressing an interest on
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/solaswatches/solas-starlight-an-irish-micro-rotor-watch - of course this is before youtube/blog reviews go up and I haven't really been pushing this yet - realistically it would need a minimum of 200 people to be a viable campaign - so promoting it elsewhere for people who are interested in backing this campaign means it's more likely the watch will be made.

So... I would be really grateful if people could help me spread awareness of the campaign on those forums I mentioned above (and any others they think might be relevant) - the kickstarter site and www.solaswatches.com site could probably be mentioned too and feel free to use any of the images/video I've produced.

Thanks for all the support and words of encouragement over the last 7 months - I'm really excited to see where we can go from here

If you do put up a thread elsewhere could you please perhaps put a link here so I can know too and have a look to see if it has any interest from other posters on those forums and jump on the thread if needs be.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh!

893bet wrote: »

Might need some attention.....

thanks for the prompt - was waiting to see if some more positive ones came in beforehand but yeah now would be a good idea to say hi thanks for feedback :pac:

I'm a big boy though - those comments aren't going to put me off. I would be concerned about it putting off people who may be interested but see a "consensus" forming and get swayed by that.

Despite what many of the comments say on that thread on the kickstarter page followers have gone up by 13 already so there is "silent interest" at least

david wrote: »

I really love the attention to detail with these watches and would love to support your campaign.

Please don't take this in a bad way but the one thing I will echo is the font is turning me off. I love the name 'Solas', I love the 'deartha in Eirinn' just can't get past the execution. Is that something you would re-visit pre-production? I fully respect the intention and it may appeal to a certain market. To me it's a blend of Comic Sans and the font on Inis perfume you get on Aer Lingus flights.

I'd love to see a mock up options with smaller text, maybe in a celtic style fine line calligraphy and a then just a plain non-serif font for comparison.

Don't worry about it - it's the internetz so there'll be people who end up saying "this looks like typical Chinese junk"...or an Argos Citizen :pac: (though Citizen make nice watches too - especially their Campanola line). I'm not putting your comment in with those kinds of comments at all btw - just saying that I did steel myself to be ready to get that kind of feedback

You see - I don't necessarily dislike that Inis perfume text either - the font was something that I liked but I can tell you that indeed at the beginning I did explore a variety of fonts - the sans-serif "standard font" didn't appeal to me - to me it felt too cold. I know that there is a good reason that most watch brands just use a plain font (though I imagine Patek still paid oodles of money to a typographist to work on the minutiae of the typeface for any brand refresh).

Here's a defence of comic sans btw - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUCcObwIsOs

From various fonts (again that were free for commercial use) - the Celtic "book of Kells" typeface just didn't work - they were beautiful on the page but unreadable on a dial (especially as we are working in a mainly horizontal or curved plane and not a vertical one and we are dealing with small text on the dial already).

The custom one I used here after trying a variety of ones was one that spoke to me in terms of going beyond mere "statement of name" and embodies what this brand aims to be. The stylised S is one that I quite like actually and maybe someday I can pay a typographist to design a custom font for the brand but currently this is what I've chosen.

I do hear your concerns though - it kinda goes back to the date/no-date - if I have to choose between the two I'll choose what "I" want to see and trust in my own taste. If we go with a simple arial/helvetica font then what is Irish about this watch at all or different to the Argos Citizens? - I know the more "marmite" you go the more likely you will have people who don't share the same view on aventurine, choice of movement, date, indices, font etc. - so while trying to please many, I do need to please myself too.

david wrote: »

You know what you're dead right. Put in your position I would do exactly the same. Do what you love, you can't be all things to everyone.

For the record, that Inis stuff smells very decent. Missus David is a graphic designer and swears by their lotion :P

If you were to get in with Dublin Airport retail, the Kilkenny's and Avoca's of this world, you'd be onto a winner. My job means I do business with a lot of higher end North American-Irish clients who love nice things, this I reckon would be an easy sell.

Thanks - and yes I do agree - it's a "do what you love" project, not necessarily "most commercially lucrative" etc. - if it was I'd be using a cheaper (and much less controversial) dial , a quartz movement and generic case and trying to nab US tourists in the duty free (in terms of maximising revenue). I wouldn't have the energy to spend two years of my life (part time of course) doing something like that for no pay - that sounds like pure work, rather than a project of love and I'd probably hate watches by the end of it all

It's funny since actually I think us watch lovers are a pretty niche group of people - many/most people would baulk at spending 100 euro on a watch, never mind 10,000. And then trying to educate people on how aventurine is different to "glitter sprinkled on blue glass" or a micro-rotor vs a NH35a or even a quartz probably makes most people's eyes cloud over... so if they see a €549 watch in a store or that €99 quartz Irish souvenir watch I suspect Avoca and the likes will sell more of the €99 specials (nothing wrong with that either - customers should buy what they like )

Who knows though - maybe if this project goes well I can always show this to Avoca and their ilk and see if they might be interested in testing it in their stores.

...if nothing else I can always contact Argos too :D:D

Eoin wrote: »

The way I see it is that strong opinions both ways means that you have a strong design. If everyone likes it then you either have a design masterpiece, or more likely, something fairly bland and generic. You need a niche on KS, and I think the movement should attract watch people, the Irish connection seems pretty unique - and the dial too of course.

I am trying to approach your site again but from the POV of a randomer, not somebody who came across it from boards - where a lot more detail and Q&A is possible.

I do kinda understand the negative feedback on mentioning Patek.

"Usually these types of micro-rotor movements are only found in Swiss brands costing in the thousands to tens of thousands of euro.".

I know what you're getting at, but Kickstarter is full of campaigns that name drop big brands, because they too have an automatic movement or whatever. This does read a bit like the standard "why spend so much on a Swiss watch when you can just buy the same thing direct from us?" that is all over KS.

A bit nit picky, but should "Dial diameter: 38mm" be the case diameter? And maybe include lug to lug measurements too. The latter is prob less important for the average buyer.

I had to google what Horween leather is - seems to be named after an American company? Might be worth being more specific here.

I do understand the Patek comment - I'd like to think that it is one of my only concessions to "marketability" (and perhaps the Irish music element) - I know it will raise a WIS's heckles to see that language - but as in my post to David above - for the average consumer looking at kickstarter we just don't have time to go through Buren/Universal Geneve micro-rotors (here's a new one released by them apparently):
https://www.ablogtowatch.com/universal-geneve-microtor-ug-101-is-every-mans-micro-rotor-watch/

https://www.chrono24.com/universalgenve/microtor--id9441373.htm

...but they may have heard of Patek (probably not even Piaget ha) - and may think "oh, that's a posh brand - well why does that brand use it then?"

I'm counting on the fact that people who are looking for an affordable microrotor watch do not need to be told why it's special/different. People who don't really know much about watches have to be told quickly - because they won't stay around while I lovingly go down through details that are of interest to us WISers but of no interest to them besides potentially "huh it's pretty". So name dropping Patek is the shortcut to that. The link to the blog goes into further detail into the history for people who are interested.

The website I think really is more aimed at watch newbies who might want a pretty watch. I am confident I'm not compromising myself like those tourbillon watch projects which compare their 500-1000 euro tourbillons to 20,000 euro ones while ignoring the plethora of other 500-1000 euro Chinese movement options available. Right now - there really isn't much out there in the affordable microrotor watch category other than the Starlight - I believe it was going to be the only one available until a Chinese company released a 500 euro model (using the Hangzhou 5000A too) at the end of 2019 :mad::pac::eek::o

I've updated the info on the dial/lugs - thanks for picking that up - actually someone else mentioned it to me that they thought the case size at 40mm would be too big if dial is 38mm.

Updated the Horween info too - the Americans will love that it's a US/Irish piece

Eoin wrote: »

This kind of thing should appeal to any buyer, and sets you a bit apart from the watches that have a display case back to show a bog standard Miyota or Seiko movement, that is not all that pretty.

You are correct - Patek out and rationale in... In fact in the original draft copy of the text I had longer and more in-depth paragraphs going through each feature differentiating between what is "manual wind" (the beautiful ALS 3/4 plates), "automatic" and how micro-rotors are an amalgamation of both.

On writing up the website I found putting in all the explanation to be a bit too long/a slog for non-watch enthusiasts to get through so cut it down. Looking at it again I think you're right that I cut out the wrong bit (the rationale) and left in the name dropping which doesn't impress the type of person I actually am trying to attract with the watch.

banie01 wrote: »

I'd agree with Eoin''s points there.
I'd also add more info on the finishing and machining of the movement, the plates and machining on show in the Starlight are the likes I've which I'd expect to see on a Geneva movement.

The love and attention to detail underneath the back sapphire more of a draw to me on this watch than the dial, altho I must say that's a draw too

Hangzhou do really good finishing for their price point I have to say. Now the Geneva high-end stuff will all be hand finished etc. But visually I agree that it looks nice.

You're right that this is a key selling point of the movement/watch - if the point of the microrotor is to get the rotor out of the way so the movement can be seen you better make sure the movement looks nice then...

But to be honest - while the perlage and cotes de geneve you find on the Hangzhou is pretty - those would be the only two finishing elements you can name - unfortunately at this price there are no blued screws, chatons, anglage, black polish to speak of - I've decided to let the photos speak for themselves for now rather than give a whole section over to finishing.

...and in a way it's because I know I can do better (just need funds and seed money from a successful campaign to improve on the next one). I don't necessarily want to ever compete with Patek - but I want to be looking more at the Omega's of the world (in terms of purely finishing) and maybe even beating them.

DeVore wrote: »

Love the look of the watch, slim always works better than chunky imho!

I'm afraid I fall into the group that doesnt care for the typeface. The "irish" typefaces never look sophisticated to me especially shrunk down. If it were me I would look at some of the "elven" fonts (available for free online) as they share the slim sleekness of the watch's design while being elegant and also very celtic looking.

The salmon strap doesnt look great in those pics, but the horween does!!

I know from other crafts I'm involved with that taking pics that close up of anything will show every crazy tiny imperfection like it was a huge error... so I'm mightily impressed with the workmanship on the parts! Really impressive.

The thing with thin fonts is that often they can become hard to read when it's already small text on a dial/caseback (in my opinion).

See Glashutte O here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=glashutte&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=ALeKk03NLJxYtLlX5SPw3Z5veRiTbV5HvA:1590428304667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjruY-Rx8_pAhVoRhUIHaUeDXoQ_AUoAXoECBQQAw&biw=1920&bih=966

I wanted the text to be legible (since I'm using Irish words here - one of the selling points of the watch) while retaining an Irish flavour. You missed my wife saying she hoped the Irish jig music I used should be faster to be more fun (cultural differences on what it means to be Oirish or Irish )

Nylah Red Pope wrote: »

I think the next watch you make should be call the "iománaí ar an díog"

The main thing at this stage is to produce a product and not just go round in an endless cycle of redesign to appease everyone. I didnt like the font initially but it grew on me an does suit the aesthetic, it grows on you.

Grows on you...hopefully not like some kind of fungus. :pac:

I actually haven't heard of a hurler on the ditch before - that's an idiom to keep in the backpocket (where wallets are not stored ).

Oh yeah - the product itself can't really change at this point now - it will be minimal things like removing the date window completely (I felt the frame was too thick and they couldn't make it thinner) - so removing it should make the "no-date" crowd people happier potentially as it'll be the blue/black dial dissolving into the black date wheel...while the date people will still have their date feature.




Non-public information (until now) - I am trying to squeeze another 0.2mm out of the watch though in terms of height - 9.6mm rather than 9.8 - but that can't be guaranteed yet. But yes we are reworking the custom case mould for the watch one last time to push for this.


On the flip side - now that it's starting to go public I've gotten my first review request from an instagrammer/Youtuber

I did see that comment - thought it was a little strange though - on the sólás website isn't the youtube video of the watch just halfway down the page along with a gallery full of photos of the whole watch (those are the same photos I put up on instagram).

Hangzhou 5000A isn't a secret (especially if they check the Chinese Mechanical forum where I've been discussing it already and it's on the front page there ) Hangzhou are a watch movement manufacturer - they do so many movements for various microbrands, mushroom brands and bigger brick and mortar brands too.

edit: though I'll add in a photo at the very start and build it into the opening photo.

*smacks head* - you know what I've realised? people saying they can't see the photos of the watch...are probably viewing the website through their mobile browser (which makes complete sense)....

...all this time I've been working on layout on the desktop version - of course most people nowadays use their mobile. I see on the mobile version the photo gallery doesn't immediately show you a thumbnail of the full watch... the fact that I put the full size watch up in background image doesn't really matter because on a mobile screen it's still too small to see the watch clearly

Need to revamp the webpage I think to help mobile users accessibility.

Btw - this is what I mean by the desktop/mobile divide:

What I see on my desktop - (how can the watch be missed now )


What others see on their mobile



As a result of people saying they're scrolling too far without seeing the watch I've bumped up the youtube video and photo gallery directly up to the top. I guess I had initially thought that people would want to hear about the background, my ideas, inspiration, history...and fair enough - they just want to see if the watch interests them or not - that's absolutely fair.

And a big thanks to the people who posted the threads up on the other watch forums - not saying it's definitely related - but a reviewer who had last been in touch with me back in February talking about reviewing the watch (and to whom I had been sent 2 emails over the last two month without reply) suddenly contacted me yesterday saying "so if you're happy to send it over, please do so".

So from an initial worry that I wouldn't have enough people interested in reviewing the watch (at least for free) - I've now got a somewhat tricky backlog of people who all want to view it. I guess a tip for the future is to produce more review samples (but these are expensive - a review sample costs more than the Kickstarter cost of the watch).

Strategically as I think the reviews will hopefully be starting to hit youtube/blogs etc. in June/July I was thinking of shifting the campaign start to 1 July - since Kickstarter campaigns can be 60 days in length max - so still hitting the end of August targetted date but it's not a problem to add another 30 days to the start.

The only thing is that often these campaigns are about "funded in the first 5 minutes!!!" - and psychologically if support is sluggish potential backers can look at it "10% of funding goal" (say at 7th July) and wonder - "well if this is so great why isn't it completely funded???"

Another "strategic" decision to make in terms of when to start the campaign (for example if I had reached 900 followers on the page prior to 1 August I might have launched at that point - since apparently it's around a 5-15% conversion rate from followers to backers.) - I'm just concerned if the product is mentioned on Youtube etc. but people don't see the Kickstarter page in an active mode they may lose interest.

edit: seems like my hunch about slow ramp up is probably correct - "Getting as many pledges in the first 48 hours is key to maximizing the funding potential of a crowdfunding project. Setting up the Pre-Launch page and gaining followers becomes an important part of the pre-live marketing strategy. "
https://www.backerkit.com/blog/take-full-advantage-of-kickstarters-pre-launch-page-to-promote-your-upcoming-project/

So rather than launching early and getting a few pledges a day it seems that to be successful you generally want to be funded close to 100% on day one. Meaning it really isn't about launching and attracting people afterwards...

RMDrive wrote: »

Both the design and the business parts of your journey are facinating to track.

Keep us up to speed here ... if we can be strategic with how we support your kickstarter then I would certainly have no issues with that.

Thank you! - I would definitely only ask things that I would be comfortable myself doing - i.e. shills (paid for promotion) is not my intention at all but I certainly really welcome people who are genuinely a fan of the concept and want to spread that info to others (in the hopes of getting it across the line and made).

Will let posters here know if anything else would be helpful promotion-wise.

And... here's something else that has been brewing in the background too (since these things take at least a year to execute, even after finding a reliable partner to work with etc.) - efforts are primarily on the Starlight now of course - but Eclipse has entered R&D phase too (won't be revealing it elsewhere though) - I think most people can figure out why a ratcheting clasp is needed

I would be hoping that word of mouth would be enough with the dedicated website, instagram and the forum engagement (will want to probably have a reddit r/watches presence eventually - after some reviews come out at least - would be hoping for a slightly warmer reception from the reddit crowd than the TZ/WUS (if they can see what the reviewers think of the watch already).

It's a double edged sword having too many groups I think - if you don't spend time to update content constantly then people who pop over and see a dead space will find that off-putting. I do have my day job to look after too - I think having instagram as the media channel that is updated regularly, the website as the go to for all info, and forum engagement *should* (fingers crossed) be enough. It'll move onto Kickstarter eventually too once the project is launched there.

Good news from Alone - This Is It who suggested them got in touch with the organisation and they're happy to let people know about the auction too - I'll let DeVore know and perhaps something can be arranged shortly (or at least some kind of plan as to how this could be run/promoted for the charity). I was thinking of doing something like a mini-20-30 second video of something like "An bhfuil tusa ag labhairt liomsa?" - it's always good to have someone to talk to - supporting Alone through Sólás (solace) - charity Irish watch auction details on *link to adverts.ie*/solaswatches.com

For those who don't know - that phrase is one of the key ones from the Yu Ming is Ainm Dom short film I was in - (I'm speaking to Patrick Kavanagh on the grand canal at 7:32 here - https://www.broadsheet.ie/2012/03/30/an-bhfuil-tusa-ag-labhairt-liomsa/ )


...finally, would any of the people who are potential backers be interested in providing some discreet feedback on my ideas for the Sólás Equinox (name changed from Eclipse as that model will be pushed back further) ? Send me a PM if so

https://youtu.be/5TrwAeh95T0

A preview of the video I made about the charity auction - I've gotten clearance from the Director behind Yu Ming to use that clip too. Currently it's still unlisted so not officially published yet.

Hopefully it's tastefully done in people's eyes? If you have any suggestions let me know.

Am awaiting clearance from Alone too that they are happy with how it's presented.