A couple of points to add, after the huge response - thank you all...even the arm chair experts 😅 1) As this is a youtube video and in the interest of keeping it concise things like my market research and analysis, design specification, how the world time function works (you need a 24h chapter ring!) and other details on the design decisions and changes for future production had to be cut or this video would go on for wayyyy too long. 2) design is ALWAYS subjective - one person loves what another hates. No watch pleases everyone but I genuinely am happy with my initial design, albeit needing significant refinements....but it's all totally irrelevant now as I would design something new if I started again 🙂 3) the crowd funding launch model for microbrands was popular when I started. It's a low cost, high risk strategy - I knew the risks involved when I started. It doesn't cost as much as you might think even with more prototypes...but my frustration was that I never got as far as finding out if it would raise the target funding I needed for the first batch. I was always prepared to fail if the watch didn't attract enough investors, and that's OK with me as I wanted to do things my way for better or worse, that meant more to me than trying to sell something I don't feel strongly about just to sell a lot of watches. 👍 4) I currently have absolutely no plans to re-release this particular design if I do revive the microbrand one day for another go - times and tastes move on, my own included. But there are certain elements I am proud of and would possibly transfer...for now I'm trying to learn youtube and filming watches and that's a big effort 🙂👍
Thank you for your sharing your experience. Could you please share with us the manufacturer that you dealt with 🤔.....I'm sure some of us that are interested in launching watch brands would love to avoid this particular manufacturer. Cheers 🍻 ✌🏽
This is absolutely gold. This is reason why YT exists: for people to share experiences, knowledge, dos and donts. Thank you so much for sharing. I've failed at many things in my life: PhD, corporate career, military career, three failed businesses - not sure I have the courage to share my lessons learned (there have been many).
Thanks, honestly I didn't feel overly comfortable whilst filming and making it but I wanted to see if it might help another person in my situation of a few years ago, and if it does it was worth being frank about how much of an idiot I was with certain decisions 😅 cheers for stopping by and the kind words... It's the failures that make us and all that I guess 😎🙌
It's a very interesting story. I really commend you for seriously attempting to chase your dream without the benefit of hundreds of thousands of YT subscribers! It's brave of you to share your story and I wish you well moving forward.
Thank you - agreed on the sentiment, I'm probably better for it. Onwards and upwards as they say and I hope so too! Cheers for stopping by and taking time to comment 🙂👍
You are courageous in sharing your analysis of your failure! Too often we hear only the story of the successes. Everyone can learn from success and failure. Wishing you great success in your next move. Happy weekend.
Thank you really does mean a lot to hear this - I wasn't sure as I was making it as I felt a bit stupid looking back at my own naivety...I wasn't sure how the video would go down but in the end it felt like a weight off my chest. Hopefully it helps some others too who won't make the same errors. 🤞 cheers for watching and commenting much appreciated, have a great weekend 😎🙌
Good informative video. I knew there was a lot involved when starting a new company, but sheesh. It's enough to make you quit before you start. I admire your ambition, and to be honest, I like the general look and design of your watch. Thanks for sharing.
As an aviator I love your design! It takes some guts to do a micro brand watch, in fact I don't like to call it a micro brand I call it a new brand. Keep at it because that design is beautiful
I think the term 'microbrand' has positive connotations. It's similar to 'micro breweries.' The name suggests a product that's more personalised and has more of a bespoke, individual aspect on a small scale production basis but it's also misleading because all these microbrand watches are just cheap Chinese parts bin specials with a few baubles and stickers added.
You had the minerals to go out there and create this. Well done. Their workmanship has no bearing on your great design of watch. You obviously have great talent. I sincerely hope you chase your dream again one day mate. Thanks for being very candid.
Thanks - too kind with the comments really! ...it won't be for a while as I want to properly master the filming editing and youtube stuff but I will come back to it with significant refinements for sure 🙂👍
I stumbled upon gold. Would love to see a part two to this video with an in depth of design process and negotiations with the designer. I live the design it greatly inspires me being an aerospace engineer too. To add to that, i have a dream of one day starting my own watch brand, 5 years from now if everything goes well save i can secure stability in my life first. Would love to connect with you and learn more. Cheers
I can only really tell you what not to do 😆 as my attempt was flawed in many ways and there's some far better people than me clearly at starting brands - that said, if you want to reach out there's a contact page on the about section in youtube, I'm always an email away for anything to do with watch chat, drop me a message any time! 🙂🍻
I recognize the pain and frustration that this experience generated. That said - this was a very enlightening video. I learned a good bit from it. I will take to heart some of the details of a microbrand start-up.
That's very respectable of you to share your experiences, despite so bitter. Very few people would do that. It's also a rare insight into what's go on before we as customers open a website and see the watches there to buy with just a few clicks. Subscribed & the absolutely best of wishes if you decide to attempt again.
It certainly gave me a new found respect afterwards for how much goes into making a watch, and running a brand - and I haven't even yet had the headaches of importing/shipping in bulk and customer returns etc. Thank you for the kind words, I felt a bit disappointed in my own naivety but if the story helps someone on their watch journey or encourages microbrand appreciation a bit then its worthwhile. Without this failure I wouldn't have started youtube and have been enjoying filming and editing watch videos 🙂
I watch YT videos all day everyday, I have just come across your Chanel today. This video is by far one of the best videos I watched in a long time. Thanks for sharing what must have been a painful time. If possible learn from it (like you have), but circumstances and finances align go for it again, and the very best of luck if you do!!
Thank you, really appreciate the comments and glad you enjoyed it. I'm quite enjoying having a youtube channel for now but if I do resume the brand one day, it'll be very different that's for sure 😅...thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment 😎🙌
Awesome video. I’m a year and a half into the design/prototyping phase of my watch brand and can relate to all your steps. It’s hard - I’m currently on prototype number three.
I appreciate you sharing your experience and foray into creating/starting a watch brand. For all of the ones that succeed vs how many didn't make it like yours really hit hard. Being a fan of watches, builds, and art aesthetics (function, form, etc.) I Have wondered what it takes and what things to look out for. I have befriended and/or have a rapport with a few microbrand owners and in my experience they are accommodating in imparting knowledge and things to consider. Seeing the mistakes and what one would have done differently had they known is incredibly invaluable. I appreciate the transparency, vulnerability, candor, and good spirit in making peace with it. I hope you give it another go down the road if the desire and passion are still there. I like that early jet aviation theme/cues. You were definitely on to something IMO even if the production side of it went awry. I've had passing thoughts of making an attempt and have sketched dials/cases and have some background in CAD along with a background in Fine Art. That said, there is so much more I'm completely clueless about. I assumed a minimum of 10k so I wasn't far off. It seems like a heavily saturated field with new brands popping up daily. I suppose other fields are similar and regardless of that fact, each person possibly has something to offer.
after watching a few of your videos, especially this one, I've realized 2 things: 1) your knowledge is impressive 2) your honesty is refreshing Subscribed. I'd be curious to know your opinion on any titan watch (Indias biggest watch & jewellry brand)
Thank you I really appreciate the kind words. For Titan I haven't had any experience in all honesty but I'll take a look, do you have any experience of their brand? 🙂
@@nextonthewrist i bought one of their watches. It was shyte. It was flimsy & the clasp attaching the watch face to the band kept breaking. To their credit, they kept fixing it for me. But it'd be funny to me to have your opinion on any of their watches. To be fair I bought one of their cheaper watches. I believe they have a model that's one of the thinnest in the world.
Thanks for the very honest review of your failed attempt to launch your own watch brand. Well done for trying, and because it didn't work first time round, doesn't mean it will fail again if you go for round two. Cheers Noel
That is from a design point a beautiful watch! The one with the metal bracelet keeps grabbing my attention. Kudos for trying and love your vision in designing a watch!
Wow. I think the full CAD design and unique manufacturing of 2 prototypes for $6k isn’t that bad. In my head, I always would’ve considered this to be a far more expensive endeavor. Obviously, the quality wasn’t good in your case and that may be part of the lesser price… But, that’s an inspiring low entry point you’ve discussed to allow someone to also follow their dream to make a micro brand.
Definitely. My budget was higher but I couldn't start again at the time as the one off tooling costs were too much. I think if I had doubled my budget and had a bit more in reserve I'd be there or thereabouts with a better supplier 🙂 cheers for the comments 🙌🍻
Thank you for sharing your story with everyone! I'm also working on launching my own microbrand, it has been a very long process with multiple revisions to get my prototypes, straps and watch case. I'm fortunate to be proficient in SolidWorks so the design was a real treat and I learnt a lot of other skills on my journey. My watches are currently with reviewers and I'm hoping for a successful launch this year. I wish you all the best and I hope to see your microbrand launched in the future with great success! Mistakes are only mistakes if you don't learn from them! Best wishes and thank you for sharing your story with everyone!
Hi Derek, thanks for the comments mate - and congratulations on making such great progress yourself! I genuinely do understand what you've accomplished 😅... For now I'm pretty focused on this TH-cam stuff, and rather enjoying it so do free to email me if you're continuing to send out prototypes, showcasing new brands on the channel is something I'm always keen on 🙂👍
You have used the word "fail" more than once, yet we appreciate you gave a go and didn't stop even there was an unforeseen ban on the travel. It might be a business failure (for now, crossing our fingers!), but we admire your pursuit of love of the watches. May Volatus get off the ground some day - and sooner than later!
I've been working on some designs. Thanks for sharing your experience- it'll help me avoid some pitfalls. Hope things go smoother for you the next time!
Fascinating story. I kinda already knew the microbrand method from reading about Helm when I bought one, but it's so cool to hear about it directly, thank you! Your taste/vision is sound and I hope you persevere to create the watch you want. Smashed that subscribe button and I hope many more do.
Thank you really appreciated for you taking the time to watch and the subscription means a lot as a small channel. Helm did a great job back when they launched and they've kept demand high even all these years later - a great example 😎🙌
Great video! I’m on my 4th brand to launch and am still trying. All the points mentioned are valid and personally went through all of this. Here’s hoping to see you actually launch one in the future and be sure to hit us up when you do.
Thank you chief, I'm a long term sub of yours so really appreciated! Not easy but nothing worth doing in life is, hope to send you something much more refined and well assembled one day in the future 😅🍻
THANK YOU for sharing your experience. For those of us watch buyers we don't generally have visibility into this entire process. I guess the Rado Over-Pole is perhaps the closest current commercially available model to your vision?
My pleasure - I'm sure there's a few more headaches with import/export and customs to add on to the list but I never made it that far 😅... Yeah that's a great comparisons - the Over-pole has that similar vibe of vintage inspired world timer, not overly dressy but not a full tool watch. 👌 thanks for the comments bud 🍻
Love to know which company messed up your prototype so badly. That's a shame that had they gone the extra mile things may have been very different for you. Appreciate you telling your story 👍
Unfortunately because of me not dealing directly with the factory and using a middle man to get around covid travel restrictions and the English / Chinese language barrier with the factory I don't really 100% know if it was the factory cutting corners like mad or just the design guy trying to put money in his own pocket and scaling back my demands when he spoke with the manufacturer so they were producing to a lower standard ... Because my guy did a great job on the designs and renders I trusted him when perhaps I shouldn't have. As I said, lessons learnt 😅
Wow. Ths for sharing. I was thinking of the eventuallity of launching my brand as well as everybody seems to do it. 😅. 6000 is not that much but for sure not enough....and as for your protos they doesn’t look that bad if your do not look at them to closlely. I admire you because you went thru the process with confidence and even if you made mistakes you have taken the risk. My hat s off !
Thank you for sharing your very insightful perspective. I suspect there are many microbrands out there that have built their brand on a foundation of a number of failures. Here's wishing you success in your future attempts.
An amazingly video. All we normally see are the success stories. I laud your honesty and willingness to share. The watch market below $1000 is just brutal. Even if you had a successful prototype, this is no guarantee of a bright future. Still, I like your design!
Thank you mate, I agree definitely no guarantees...when I started I was ready to roll the dice with crowd funding and definitely aware that's also a huge risk, I guess I just expected to get that far at least. 😆 In the wider picture at least with such intense competition now the brands succeeding today are innovating more and more with design, color and materials more than ever which is great for all of us as collectors. Really appreciate your comments 😎🙌
Fascinating video, a really good insight into how these things happen. I'm genuinely impressed that you got as far as you did - and as well as you did - first time of trying and dealing remotely with a Chinese manufacturer. You've clearly got it in you to make a success of this in the future if you choose to give it another go. Whatever the quality of your prototypes, I hope you get to wear them with pride sometimes - there's a story on your wrist that's way better and more personal than the overwhelming majority of "interesting stories" about most people's watches...
Sounds like you've learned a lot, I feel like most if not all brand owners may experience what you've been through. Prototypes are always a good indicator of a factory's competence and how easy they are to work with. A little trick I learned is that I'll have them manufacture a lower cost custom component to see how well they handle that before moving onto having prototypes or production done. It's also harder to have a factory revise prototypes if you have no sale history with them or a brand to act as leverage. Additionally, part of why I became a watchmaker was because I wanted technical training on all things watches because I knew going into it that manufacturers will constantly try to pull quick ones on you and being a watchmaker lets you catch these things sooner and more easily (if at all). It also lets you communicate precisely, which helps tremendously. Prototypes though, are never perfect in my experience, you can get really close but its just one of those things. I'm glad you were able to learn so much and eloquently bring it back to the people. I take a lot of pride in really minimizing catalog parts and creating unique watches for nearly all components, but sometimes I think the value of that can get missed. A lot of work and a lot of stress to make something come together how you envisioned!
Thank you - I really enjoyed reading your comments and honestly that's excellent advice regarding getting single components manufactured to separate the wheat from the chaff. For a while I enjoyed assembling watches, it was a side hustle before I even thought about designing a watch.... and this was how I planned to develop the prototypes piece by piece swapping constantly and figuring out the best combinations. I believe if I do anything again for this brand I'd be more inclined to go back to ordering parts myself and assembling small numbers and going much slower 🙂...I have no watch making skills though, my technical limit is regulation and changing a rotor/hands/dials 😆 so props to you for learning it's an awesome skill to have 😎🙌 if you ever have something you want to show via TH-cam and you feel I can help feel free to drop me an email, I love to explore new brands 🙂🍻
You don’t know how it goes before You try it. Great journey it was and tons of experience gathered. Knowing You it’s not the one and only attempt. I am really proud of You my friend. Lessons learnt will help You not only with watches but in other areas as well. Brand name was/is a great selection.
Great looking watches. I love the design choices. Shame it didn't work out that time. Most people sit around and do not even try. You did try and well done for doing so. Now, try again. I hope to see your watch in the future.
Truly appreciate this video and insight. Id love to give you a hard time for comparing yourself with Erebus, but you remained humble and honest. Best of luck on future endeavors.
Haha 😅...Honestly props to all the microbrand owners who have succeeded, I respect them so much - genuinely it's a huge task getting off the ground. Thank you for the comments and taking the time to watch 🙂👍
I cannot believe that Erebus is anything but a cash grab. Whilst the owner might be a good egg, IMHO the design is stale, devoid of anything approaching novelty, utterly mediocre in a sea of competition. Like I say, no ill will to the owner or to the watches, but people are deluding themselves hard.
Your story was TRULY enlightening and opened my eyes to this. I want to start my own as well and this made me rethink some things, but I still want to get started. Would you perhaps do something on a list of steps to get started (other than this video)? It’s my first time seeing a video from you and because of your dream, experience and humility I’m a new subscriber. Thank you for sharing 🙏🏾
To be honest I'm the worst person to ask for a list of steps - as I made a right pigs ear of my attempt 😂... There's a Facebook group - league of watch microbrands with plenty of experienced brand owners who can offer good advice I'd possibly start there. Thank you for the exceptionally kind words and sub 🙂🍻
I like the dial and the plane second hand... Sure you have to up the quality and the finishs, but this watche have is own caractere... don't give up !!!
Thanks mate - you know I'm half tempted next time if I do it to go down the route of getting my own custom dials in small batches and using other off the shelf parts...and starting off assembling a few dozen watches and selling them one by one. I know you're a nifty hand at building watches right so it could be a great way to go without the financial risk? 😎🙌
Great and interesting video man. Sorry it didn’t work out, you were so close. Maybe one day, you had something really good.! Thanks for sharing and as always keep up the great content, I look forward to all your vids 👍
Thanks for coming back week after week 😆 I really appreciate it - and honestly I mean it, I am genuinely happier with this youtube channel I think than stressing with the brand. The door is still open for another go, but I want to feel like I've really got the hang of youtube first. Thank you as always, I really am grateful for your time 😎🍻
I admire the honesty and humility. My thoughts are: Even if the watch made it to production, a watch buyer will make an aesthetic judgement in under 5 seconds so none of your aviation backstory will matter. You also could have test-marketed the watch drawings to a select/target audience to get a sense of aesthetic feedback before committing to prototype expenses - the reason Chinese microbrands stick to homage watches is precisely because it's a safe(r) bet, but even then most become duds sitting on AliExpress as orphans no one wants.
Thanks Michael I appreciate your feedback and comments. 🙂🍻 I did months of sharing and compiled full market research based off renders of the watch prior to spending a single dollar on prototypes, I was happy with the results - the aesthetic tested very well in sample groups - please check my pinned comments at the top of this video. 🙂 Really the main issues were not in design aesthetic at this stage, but what I did next - which was a string of bad decisions and naivety before I even had a chance to refine it. Thanks again and have a good week 😎🙌
fascinating story, thanks for sharing! I think at first glance there were a few details of this piece which were winners. The textured dial, the creativity of the hour markers and the overall inspiration is well thought out. I would pair back the design entirely to a generic case and a good quality leather strap to focus on those details and make them perfect, perhaps incorporate more 60s design inspiration from the era too and a rethink of the branding for sure. I look forward to seeing how this progresses!
Great vid and a real eye opener into the world of product design and launching a microbrand. I really hope that you revisit the project because they look pretty unique.
Thanks for this video. I always wondered what the challenges were in creating one's own watch brand. Lessons learned for everyone watching your review. One definitely needs to do deep research, establish relationships, have patience, be detail-oriented, and have the funds. :) BTW, I do like your design. That textured dial is great as are the indices. I also love 6 O'clock date positions. Why don't all brands do this? A couple of things to consider should you continue the "journey"; maybe explore some different hand-sets. The airplane tipped secondhand is cute, but not my style. Also, consider a logo to replace the script name; it would stand out better, and a symbol can convey many different meanings. Cheers, and again, thanks for sharing your experience. It will help others.
Thanks chief I am glad you enjoyed. More research and more relationships - nail on the head. Actually I really like your suggestion of a symbol and I do appreciate the aircraft seconds hand is a bit marmite - definitely food for thought when the time comes around again. I'd like to think my own tastes have refined over the last few years, but maybe I'm just imagining that 😆
Thank you - honestly no respect really deserved as I sucked 😆 but hopefully it helps someone and it was nice to make the video and get it off my chest. Thanks for viewing and commenting 🙂👍
Thank you for sharing. A very informative perspective on the process. And I do like the design - love the case shape, hands and bezel. Dial texture might be a bit to distracting though for my tastes (not that it matters now!)
Yeah I think my own tastes have calmed a bit in the years since - I'd clean slate the design with a few key elements transferred if I ever picked it up again. Have a great week and thank for the comments and taking the time to watch 😎🍻
Congratulations on your decision to develop a bespoke product. It's a bold move, and I encourage you to stay committed to the process. It's important to note that prototyping specialists often charge more than factories designed for mass production. However, I advise against relying solely on a factory for assembling a prototype without first proving its viability and ensuring there are detailed instructions available. This should include precise tuning and testing guidelines for each step, essential for engineering projects. Your designer should be able to provide this. If they cannot, you might be dealing with a designer who excels in aesthetics but lacks expertise in functional engineering. Given your engineering skills, you might find it necessary to assemble the prototype yourself to confirm its functionality. Selecting the right designer or engineer is critical, and the process involves significant effort. It’s also important to differentiate between an industrial designer and a mechanical engineer, as your project may require the skills of both. Some industrial designers are capable of precise engineering work, but many focus solely on the design aspect, leaving the detailed mechanical engineering to others. I wish you all the best and keep up the excellent videos!
If I go again, I'll definitely assemble myself. 🙂👍.... Everything you've detailed here is really spot on and it's the kind of wise words that were absent in my mind a few years ago when I was exceptionally naieve in my assumptions. Thank you for really proving really thoughtful and informative comments, it's appreciated and taken on board. There's no way I'd go through that all again without total control and a proper strategy and working very very closely with engineering and design rather than through a third party. All the best and thanks again for the valuable input 🙂👍
This arm chair expert does realize than not being emotionally involved can help, the only thing I would say if it's not done, test your ideas on real people not friends or family. Feedback is important. Anyway good luck with the next attempt, every successful entrepreneur has had his fails.
It honestly was, I didn't ask friends and family - market research was done in detail throughout the watch community. 🙂 wise words though - I agree. 🙌. Thanks for stopping by 🍻
very sorry to hear this. my thought is that you should research to find the very best factory (or 2 factories) that other micros have used, and use them. wishing better luck next time...would've been a nice watch.
Honestly, I do not think the end result was that bad all things considered. Actually, quite the opposite. I can see only two failures on your side, not budgeting for more prototypes, ideally from other manufacturers and not specifying details of the leather strap. And even that is speculative considering you tried all that without any prior experience. Otherwise, from what I gathered, the other failures were caused by the manufacturer. It is still amazing where you managed to get on your first try and I admire your honesty. I bet there would have been others who would had masked those failures you pointed out and went to kickstarter anyway. So, although probably very expensive first try, still a valuable experience, hopefully you will succeed next time :) And thank you for sharing, it was an interesting insight.
It's actually polished - but because it's flat in some angles it looks black. I think it your comment makes a good case from champhered seconds hands as a consideration to get more chance of catching the light 🙂 thanks for stopping by! 😎🙌
Good video and good story, I like and appreciate your attitude. A couple things, I like the design and absolutely get the early jet-age vibe. Really like the white dial a lot of the detail is lost in the black. What about partnering with someone who’s done it for your first (second) shot as you sounded like you’re not done.
Very nice watches with excellent use of negative space in the printed dial . I take it you own the IP of the design? Worth bouncing it off San Martin ( Erebus OEM ) ? NH34 could be the way ahead… don’t give up ;)
A brave & Unfortunate case my friend however the process has put you in better stead for any possible future venture & tbf the idea & vision behind the initial watch didn't look half bad at all .
Thank you for sharing, very happy that this was recommended to me, the algorithm works. Hope you get more subscribers and in time will be able to make this project come through. Those who don't take a risk don't drink champagne.. the best of luck to you. I subscribed, hope you get more followers thanks to this vid.
Thank you Greg 🍻... somehow I seem to have hit something in the algorithm with this, much to my own surprise too! 😆...appreciate the subscription massively as a small channel means a lot, enjoy your weekend 🍻
I enjoyed the story. Better to fail than fail to attempt. The first design looks to have been g99d and revisions on further prototypes would have tightened the design. This would now look even better with the nh34.
Could not agreed more, there's a million refinements that could be done and the case needs shaving down..and the nh34 would've been amazing. If I do it again I think I'll go clean slate though. Thank you so much for watching and commenting 🙂🍻
What a fabulous insight into the the world of watch manufacturing from prototype etc but I can only say and it is not once bitten twice shy I would certainly do more research etc but in hindsight it is easy to say in this case well you tried but I would now reset up with the knowledge you have discovered and go for it again and good luck but do keep us updated I would love to be conversing with a young up and coming watch manufacturing company and maybe we will be seeing you at the British watch manufacturers shows .
Thank you for making this video! Just so you know, your brand wasn't a failure, it just needs some improvement. It's only a true failure if you give up. As for the manufacturer that made the janky prototypes, they made the mistake they should have corrected it. Talk about shady business practices. That being said janky or not, you made a pilot's watch that I want, and I don't typically like pilots watches.
Thanks much appreciated your kind words and taking the time to watch the video 🍻🙌 - one day I think it will be back but after I feel like I've gotten good with youtube creation, that's still ongoing 😆
@@nextonthewrist well I'll be going through your back catalogue at some point in the very near future because I really like your content. I used to make videos, but that was a long time ago. Sorry for being a little self-serving but do you have any tips for somebody who's trying to get back into making videos?
Like with starting a watch brand there is a LOT more people better qualified to answer the question and give advice, I'm still only just over a year in and really learning constantly...filming watches is an art form and editing takes me far too long 😆...my only useful thing now is that don't be too bothered if your first video is miles off the quality you want, it takes time with gradual improvements... Like I said I'm still way off where I want to be, and where the best channels sit 🙂👍 sorry I can't be more useful than that 🙃
I like the general design. Sitting here looking at my Momentum Seaquartz I was thinking that it would be nice to have a more premium version of a watch in this style case. Maybe consider the monnin case in the future
Another point: Do never look for the cheapest supplier who makes the biggest promisses. Doing more research is always helpfull. You could also find manufacturer in Japan, Switzerland and Germany. Definitily it takes more investments, but at the end it wil propably safe money and nerves.
Thanks for the comments chief 🍻 - and agreed Zelos is far more established, my point was only to name a couple of successful brand launches as examples. Erebus had a great launch recently so hats off to Jody, he's smashed it 🙂
I consciously chose not to name and shame - I have reservations about my third party I dealt with and how much he did or did not specify to the manufacturer, I can't prove that side of it... And whilst some of it is definitely on the manufacturer (shoddy drilling/machining/stem cutting) I also am not interested in a mud slinging fight as I just want to close this chapter and move on 🙂👍
Which factory did You choosed,Paulareis?😜Cant expect quality from the cheapest factory there.Also the design was flawed since the beggining-Gmt aviation theme using NH35..
$6000 for two completed prototypes is not bad! But of course, if you won't use the manufacturer at all it is a wasted 6k. However, it does show that your budget doesn't have to be too large to try a few manufacturers. I'm sure with what you do now, and a budget of 30 to 40k you could get started.
You can watch Jodi's vid and learn from it. He had gathered contacts of refutable watch makers in China before selecting one. He had a partner and an experienced watch designer
Yeah you're right - actually I heard him on the Scottish watches podcast, if only I'd had that advice 5 years ago 😆 it's great to see an example of how it's done though I agree and nice to hear him also talk openly on it 😎👍
I wonder how many unsold watches Jody still has in his spare room, as once the honeymoon period is over it can go stale and you’ve got to keep the new releases coming, tough gig but hats off to anyone giving it a go here and now.
The perfect exemplification of Chinese tat. Six grand is a lot of money for most individuals but in terms of prototype development it's nothing. You're also in an extremely difficult marketplace. Let's say you retail your microbrand watch for between £300 and £1000; it'd be a gamble for the buyer to purchase an unknown watch with no history over something like a Tissot, Orient or Seiko. I love watches and perhaps the main attraction for me is the horological history. I know most of the cheaper watches from these giant brands are assembled in China and use Chinese parts but the design and quality control is still regulated by Seiko or Citizen etc. Those prototypes would never have been sent to one of the big hitters. So you're operating in a niche market. I suspect most watch buyers are like me and they'll always buy from the watch making giants. The microbrands are all fighting for a small slice of the pie and they're also fighting off the AliExpress customers. A very brave attempt and I admire and respect your entrepreneurial pizzazz. Good luck!
We absolutely love the watches they’re beautiful you😢 it’s great to fail and then pick yourself back up. Wipe yourself off and start again because they are beautiful. Watches the white one, especially beautiful. I would start again use a different manufacturer because these really I look different. The name is great. I’m not a fan of the black one I like the white one, but
MOQ is sometimes insane with factories in China… some asking for high volume for a prototype. anything below 100 pieces sounds fair to me. but anything above 100, is just crazy…
It's a lot isn't it? At the time I was OK with 300x as MOQ in our original agreement, I knew my unit purchase price and retail price and I was in a good place if the prototypes had been half decent...I did plan to carry some stock not to immediately sell 300x units so it was my upper limit but was OK. I also knew how much I'd need to raise post prototype phase but never in a million years did I expect them to say after one round of rough prototypes that now they need a deposit for 300x units making any more prototypes...or make such crappy initial prototypes haha that was just nasty 😩
I feel sorry man. Design is pretty good though. Like other people in a comments, I'd say don't give up, it is an experience anyway. Btw, 6k sounds a lot, is it a normal pricing?
Haha no idea on normal I guess as I've only done it once. Appreciate the comments thank you 🙂🍻.... and hopefully will revisit one day when I master this youtube stuff 🤪😆
Interesting video, thanks. How does one go about finding a manufacturer? Seems like an utter shot in the dark unless you've been guided by someone with experience.
Terrible question for me to answer based on my effort 😂... I honestly think either a recommendation from a fellow brand owner (would be my route now) or to try contact one of the Ali Express factory brands and see if they'd be willing - at least you know the quality of their own watches. That said any successful brand owner can give a 100x better answer than me 🙂
A couple of points to add, after the huge response - thank you all...even the arm chair experts 😅
1) As this is a youtube video and in the interest of keeping it concise things like my market research and analysis, design specification, how the world time function works (you need a 24h chapter ring!) and other details on the design decisions and changes for future production had to be cut or this video would go on for wayyyy too long.
2) design is ALWAYS subjective - one person loves what another hates. No watch pleases everyone but I genuinely am happy with my initial design, albeit needing significant refinements....but it's all totally irrelevant now as I would design something new if I started again 🙂
3) the crowd funding launch model for microbrands was popular when I started. It's a low cost, high risk strategy - I knew the risks involved when I started. It doesn't cost as much as you might think even with more prototypes...but my frustration was that I never got as far as finding out if it would raise the target funding I needed for the first batch. I was always prepared to fail if the watch didn't attract enough investors, and that's OK with me as I wanted to do things my way for better or worse, that meant more to me than trying to sell something I don't feel strongly about just to sell a lot of watches. 👍
4) I currently have absolutely no plans to re-release this particular design if I do revive the microbrand one day for another go - times and tastes move on, my own included. But there are certain elements I am proud of and would possibly transfer...for now I'm trying to learn youtube and filming watches and that's a big effort 🙂👍
Thank you for your sharing your experience. Could you please share with us the manufacturer that you dealt with 🤔.....I'm sure some of us that are interested in launching watch brands would love to avoid this particular manufacturer.
Cheers 🍻 ✌🏽
Too bad. I like world timers and this looks like it could have had potential
This is absolutely gold. This is reason why YT exists: for people to share experiences, knowledge, dos and donts.
Thank you so much for sharing. I've failed at many things in my life: PhD, corporate career, military career, three failed businesses - not sure I have the courage to share my lessons learned (there have been many).
Thanks, honestly I didn't feel overly comfortable whilst filming and making it but I wanted to see if it might help another person in my situation of a few years ago, and if it does it was worth being frank about how much of an idiot I was with certain decisions 😅 cheers for stopping by and the kind words... It's the failures that make us and all that I guess 😎🙌
We humans are always in progress ❤
It's a very interesting story. I really commend you for seriously attempting to chase your dream without the benefit of hundreds of thousands of YT subscribers! It's brave of you to share your story and I wish you well moving forward.
Thanks really appreciated bud, all a good learning curve in the end 😆
Do not buy micro brand watches. It's all bs
Biggest mistake would have been not to have tried. Great design and concept. I hope you give it another go in the future.
Thank you - agreed on the sentiment, I'm probably better for it. Onwards and upwards as they say and I hope so too! Cheers for stopping by and taking time to comment 🙂👍
You are courageous in sharing your analysis of your failure!
Too often we hear only the story of the successes. Everyone can learn from success and failure.
Wishing you great success in your next move.
Happy weekend.
Thank you really does mean a lot to hear this - I wasn't sure as I was making it as I felt a bit stupid looking back at my own naivety...I wasn't sure how the video would go down but in the end it felt like a weight off my chest. Hopefully it helps some others too who won't make the same errors. 🤞 cheers for watching and commenting much appreciated, have a great weekend 😎🙌
Good informative video. I knew there was a lot involved when starting a new company, but sheesh. It's enough to make you quit before you start. I admire your ambition, and to be honest, I like the general look and design of your watch. Thanks for sharing.
As an aviator I love your design! It takes some guts to do a micro brand watch, in fact I don't like to call it a micro brand I call it a new brand. Keep at it because that design is beautiful
Watchrunch? Lol
I think the term 'microbrand' has positive connotations. It's similar to 'micro breweries.' The name suggests a product that's more personalised and has more of a bespoke, individual aspect on a small scale production basis but it's also misleading because all these microbrand watches are just cheap Chinese parts bin specials with a few baubles and stickers added.
You had the minerals to go out there and create this. Well done. Their workmanship has no bearing on your great design of watch. You obviously have great talent. I sincerely hope you chase your dream again one day mate. Thanks for being very candid.
Thanks - too kind with the comments really! ...it won't be for a while as I want to properly master the filming editing and youtube stuff but I will come back to it with significant refinements for sure 🙂👍
I stumbled upon gold. Would love to see a part two to this video with an in depth of design process and negotiations with the designer.
I live the design it greatly inspires me being an aerospace engineer too. To add to that, i have a dream of one day starting my own watch brand, 5 years from now if everything goes well save i can secure stability in my life first. Would love to connect with you and learn more. Cheers
I can only really tell you what not to do 😆 as my attempt was flawed in many ways and there's some far better people than me clearly at starting brands - that said, if you want to reach out there's a contact page on the about section in youtube, I'm always an email away for anything to do with watch chat, drop me a message any time! 🙂🍻
I recognize the pain and frustration that this experience generated. That said - this was a very enlightening video. I learned a good bit from it. I will take to heart some of the details of a microbrand start-up.
That's very respectable of you to share your experiences, despite so bitter. Very few people would do that. It's also a rare insight into what's go on before we as customers open a website and see the watches there to buy with just a few clicks. Subscribed & the absolutely best of wishes if you decide to attempt again.
It certainly gave me a new found respect afterwards for how much goes into making a watch, and running a brand - and I haven't even yet had the headaches of importing/shipping in bulk and customer returns etc. Thank you for the kind words, I felt a bit disappointed in my own naivety but if the story helps someone on their watch journey or encourages microbrand appreciation a bit then its worthwhile. Without this failure I wouldn't have started youtube and have been enjoying filming and editing watch videos 🙂
Excellent vid and philosophy and not a terrible looking watch - here's to version 2 🤞
Thanks mate 🍻... yep I can think of a lot of changes and refinements actually for the next attempts whenever the time comes (still saving $$ 😆)
I watch YT videos all day everyday, I have just come across your Chanel today. This video is by far one of the best videos I watched in a long time. Thanks for sharing what must have been a painful time. If possible learn from it (like you have), but circumstances and finances align go for it again, and the very best of luck if you do!!
Thank you, really appreciate the comments and glad you enjoyed it. I'm quite enjoying having a youtube channel for now but if I do resume the brand one day, it'll be very different that's for sure 😅...thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment 😎🙌
Go outside and walk and get some sun.
Awesome video. I’m a year and a half into the design/prototyping phase of my watch brand and can relate to all your steps. It’s hard - I’m currently on prototype number three.
I wish you the best of luck, I'm sure you'll smash it 😎🙌... and feel free to reach out when you have your final product, it'd be cool to take a look 🙂
I appreciate you sharing your experience and foray into creating/starting a watch brand. For all of the ones that succeed vs how many didn't make it like yours really hit hard.
Being a fan of watches, builds, and art aesthetics (function, form, etc.) I Have wondered what it takes and what things to look out for. I have befriended and/or have a rapport with a few microbrand owners and in my experience they are accommodating in imparting knowledge and things to consider. Seeing the mistakes and what one would have done differently had they known is incredibly invaluable.
I appreciate the transparency, vulnerability, candor, and good spirit in making peace with it. I hope you give it another go down the road if the desire and passion are still there. I like that early jet aviation theme/cues. You were definitely on to something IMO even if the production side of it went awry.
I've had passing thoughts of making an attempt and have sketched dials/cases and have some background in CAD along with a background in Fine Art. That said, there is so much more I'm completely clueless about. I assumed a minimum of 10k so I wasn't far off. It seems like a heavily saturated field with new brands popping up daily. I suppose other fields are similar and regardless of that fact, each person possibly has something to offer.
after watching a few of your videos, especially this one, I've realized 2 things:
1) your knowledge is impressive
2) your honesty is refreshing
Subscribed.
I'd be curious to know your opinion on any titan watch (Indias biggest watch & jewellry brand)
Thank you I really appreciate the kind words. For Titan I haven't had any experience in all honesty but I'll take a look, do you have any experience of their brand? 🙂
@@nextonthewrist i bought one of their watches. It was shyte. It was flimsy & the clasp attaching the watch face to the band kept breaking. To their credit, they kept fixing it for me. But it'd be funny to me to have your opinion on any of their watches. To be fair I bought one of their cheaper watches. I believe they have a model that's one of the thinnest in the world.
Thanks for the very honest review of your failed attempt to launch your own watch brand.
Well done for trying, and because it didn't work first time round, doesn't mean it will fail again if you go for round two.
Cheers Noel
Thank you for putting out this content. Chin up. It takes guts to start a brand.
Cheers mate appreciated 🙂🍻
Well said, Chris. It is claimed that it takes a number of failed ventures in order to achieve eventual success.
Very generous comments and for what it's worth, your designs are equally as good as the other microbrands I've seen.
That is from a design point a beautiful watch! The one with the metal bracelet keeps grabbing my attention. Kudos for trying and love your vision in designing a watch!
Thank you for making this video. It’s a nice reality check for someone that’s currently in the headspace that you were when you started out.
Wow. I think the full CAD design and unique manufacturing of 2 prototypes for $6k isn’t that bad. In my head, I always would’ve considered this to be a far more expensive endeavor. Obviously, the quality wasn’t good in your case and that may be part of the lesser price… But, that’s an inspiring low entry point you’ve discussed to allow someone to also follow their dream to make a micro brand.
Definitely. My budget was higher but I couldn't start again at the time as the one off tooling costs were too much. I think if I had doubled my budget and had a bit more in reserve I'd be there or thereabouts with a better supplier 🙂 cheers for the comments 🙌🍻
Thank you for sharing your story with everyone! I'm also working on launching my own microbrand, it has been a very long process with multiple revisions to get my prototypes, straps and watch case. I'm fortunate to be proficient in SolidWorks so the design was a real treat and I learnt a lot of other skills on my journey. My watches are currently with reviewers and I'm hoping for a successful launch this year.
I wish you all the best and I hope to see your microbrand launched in the future with great success! Mistakes are only mistakes if you don't learn from them! Best wishes and thank you for sharing your story with everyone!
Hi Derek, thanks for the comments mate - and congratulations on making such great progress yourself! I genuinely do understand what you've accomplished 😅... For now I'm pretty focused on this TH-cam stuff, and rather enjoying it so do free to email me if you're continuing to send out prototypes, showcasing new brands on the channel is something I'm always keen on 🙂👍
You have used the word "fail" more than once, yet we appreciate you gave a go and didn't stop even there was an unforeseen ban on the travel. It might be a business failure (for now, crossing our fingers!), but we admire your pursuit of love of the watches. May Volatus get off the ground some day - and sooner than later!
Cheers mate 🙂🍻
I've been working on some designs. Thanks for sharing your experience- it'll help me avoid some pitfalls.
Hope things go smoother for you the next time!
Fascinating story. I kinda already knew the microbrand method from reading about Helm when I bought one, but it's so cool to hear about it directly, thank you! Your taste/vision is sound and I hope you persevere to create the watch you want. Smashed that subscribe button and I hope many more do.
Thank you really appreciated for you taking the time to watch and the subscription means a lot as a small channel. Helm did a great job back when they launched and they've kept demand high even all these years later - a great example 😎🙌
Thanks for sharing your experience! I look forward to the day that your vision comes to life once again!
Great video! I’m on my 4th brand to launch and am still trying. All the points mentioned are valid and personally went through all of this. Here’s hoping to see you actually launch one in the future and be sure to hit us up when you do.
Thank you chief, I'm a long term sub of yours so really appreciated! Not easy but nothing worth doing in life is, hope to send you something much more refined and well assembled one day in the future 😅🍻
THANK YOU for sharing your experience. For those of us watch buyers we don't generally have visibility into this entire process. I guess the Rado Over-Pole is perhaps the closest current commercially available model to your vision?
My pleasure - I'm sure there's a few more headaches with import/export and customs to add on to the list but I never made it that far 😅... Yeah that's a great comparisons - the Over-pole has that similar vibe of vintage inspired world timer, not overly dressy but not a full tool watch. 👌 thanks for the comments bud 🍻
Love to know which company messed up your prototype so badly. That's a shame that had they gone the extra mile things may have been very different for you. Appreciate you telling your story 👍
Unfortunately because of me not dealing directly with the factory and using a middle man to get around covid travel restrictions and the English / Chinese language barrier with the factory I don't really 100% know if it was the factory cutting corners like mad or just the design guy trying to put money in his own pocket and scaling back my demands when he spoke with the manufacturer so they were producing to a lower standard ... Because my guy did a great job on the designs and renders I trusted him when perhaps I shouldn't have. As I said, lessons learnt 😅
Wow. Ths for sharing. I was thinking of the eventuallity of launching my brand as well as everybody seems to do it. 😅. 6000 is not that much but for sure not enough....and as for your protos they doesn’t look that bad if your do not look at them to closlely. I admire you because you went thru the process with confidence and even if you made mistakes you have taken the risk. My hat s off !
Thank you for sharing your very insightful perspective. I suspect there are many microbrands out there that have built their brand on a foundation of a number of failures. Here's wishing you success in your future attempts.
Thank you, I think you're right. It's clichéd but behin every success is a lot of failures and all that... Cheers, have a nice weekend 😎🍻
I learnt many important concepts at b-school. One was: fail fast.
An amazingly video. All we normally see are the success stories. I laud your honesty and willingness to share. The watch market below $1000 is just brutal. Even if you had a successful prototype, this is no guarantee of a bright future. Still, I like your design!
Thank you mate, I agree definitely no guarantees...when I started I was ready to roll the dice with crowd funding and definitely aware that's also a huge risk, I guess I just expected to get that far at least. 😆 In the wider picture at least with such intense competition now the brands succeeding today are innovating more and more with design, color and materials more than ever which is great for all of us as collectors. Really appreciate your comments 😎🙌
I commend you for trying such a venture. Sorry it didn't work out. I really like the overall design you came up with
Thank you for the kind words 🙂👍
Incredible video! Love learning about the production and design side of this industry
Fascinating video, a really good insight into how these things happen. I'm genuinely impressed that you got as far as you did - and as well as you did - first time of trying and dealing remotely with a Chinese manufacturer. You've clearly got it in you to make a success of this in the future if you choose to give it another go. Whatever the quality of your prototypes, I hope you get to wear them with pride sometimes - there's a story on your wrist that's way better and more personal than the overwhelming majority of "interesting stories" about most people's watches...
Sounds like you've learned a lot, I feel like most if not all brand owners may experience what you've been through. Prototypes are always a good indicator of a factory's competence and how easy they are to work with. A little trick I learned is that I'll have them manufacture a lower cost custom component to see how well they handle that before moving onto having prototypes or production done. It's also harder to have a factory revise prototypes if you have no sale history with them or a brand to act as leverage. Additionally, part of why I became a watchmaker was because I wanted technical training on all things watches because I knew going into it that manufacturers will constantly try to pull quick ones on you and being a watchmaker lets you catch these things sooner and more easily (if at all). It also lets you communicate precisely, which helps tremendously.
Prototypes though, are never perfect in my experience, you can get really close but its just one of those things. I'm glad you were able to learn so much and eloquently bring it back to the people. I take a lot of pride in really minimizing catalog parts and creating unique watches for nearly all components, but sometimes I think the value of that can get missed. A lot of work and a lot of stress to make something come together how you envisioned!
Thank you - I really enjoyed reading your comments and honestly that's excellent advice regarding getting single components manufactured to separate the wheat from the chaff. For a while I enjoyed assembling watches, it was a side hustle before I even thought about designing a watch.... and this was how I planned to develop the prototypes piece by piece swapping constantly and figuring out the best combinations. I believe if I do anything again for this brand I'd be more inclined to go back to ordering parts myself and assembling small numbers and going much slower 🙂...I have no watch making skills though, my technical limit is regulation and changing a rotor/hands/dials 😆 so props to you for learning it's an awesome skill to have 😎🙌 if you ever have something you want to show via TH-cam and you feel I can help feel free to drop me an email, I love to explore new brands 🙂🍻
You don’t know how it goes before You try it. Great journey it was and tons of experience gathered. Knowing You it’s not the one and only attempt.
I am really proud of You my friend.
Lessons learnt will help You not only with watches but in other areas as well.
Brand name was/is a great selection.
Thank you boss means a lot, genuinely 😎🙌...I hope one day I'll still get one on your wrist, special discount for ex-colleagues haha! 😉
Great looking watches. I love the design choices. Shame it didn't work out that time. Most people sit around and do not even try. You did try and well done for doing so. Now, try again. I hope to see your watch in the future.
Agree. Stunning designs. Try again!
Truly appreciate this video and insight. Id love to give you a hard time for comparing yourself with Erebus, but you remained humble and honest. Best of luck on future endeavors.
Haha 😅...Honestly props to all the microbrand owners who have succeeded, I respect them so much - genuinely it's a huge task getting off the ground. Thank you for the comments and taking the time to watch 🙂👍
I cannot believe that Erebus is anything but a cash grab. Whilst the owner might be a good egg, IMHO the design is stale, devoid of anything approaching novelty, utterly mediocre in a sea of competition. Like I say, no ill will to the owner or to the watches, but people are deluding themselves hard.
Your story was TRULY enlightening and opened my eyes to this. I want to start my own as well and this made me rethink some things, but I still want to get started. Would you perhaps do something on a list of steps to get started (other than this video)? It’s my first time seeing a video from you and because of your dream, experience and humility I’m a new subscriber. Thank you for sharing 🙏🏾
To be honest I'm the worst person to ask for a list of steps - as I made a right pigs ear of my attempt 😂... There's a Facebook group - league of watch microbrands with plenty of experienced brand owners who can offer good advice I'd possibly start there. Thank you for the exceptionally kind words and sub 🙂🍻
I like the dial and the plane second hand... Sure you have to up the quality and the finishs, but this watche have is own caractere... don't give up !!!
Cool story. We don't hear enough about setbacks in general so thanks for sharing
Absolutely stunning designs. I hope you try again.
Hi! Thank you for sharing your experience. The dial and seconds hand look a little bit like the ÁIGI - Satellite Ground Station.
Haha yes, I'm always curious if the factory I used sold on the dial tooling to another brand afterwards 👀😅
I'm currently on this journey and it is a huge learning experience! The costs are exorbitant at best. Well done though! I'm sure you'll do it again
Stop sticking seiko logos on your dials, or that relax stuff, jeez!!
Thanks mate - you know I'm half tempted next time if I do it to go down the route of getting my own custom dials in small batches and using other off the shelf parts...and starting off assembling a few dozen watches and selling them one by one. I know you're a nifty hand at building watches right so it could be a great way to go without the financial risk? 😎🙌
@@nextonthewrist We should get together this summer and chat.
Great and interesting video man. Sorry it didn’t work out, you were so close. Maybe one day, you had something really good.! Thanks for sharing and as always keep up the great content, I look forward to all your vids 👍
Thanks for coming back week after week 😆 I really appreciate it - and honestly I mean it, I am genuinely happier with this youtube channel I think than stressing with the brand. The door is still open for another go, but I want to feel like I've really got the hang of youtube first. Thank you as always, I really am grateful for your time 😎🍻
Much respect for putting this video out 💪
I admire the honesty and humility. My thoughts are:
Even if the watch made it to production, a watch buyer will make an aesthetic judgement in under 5 seconds so none of your aviation backstory will matter. You also could have test-marketed the watch drawings to a select/target audience to get a sense of aesthetic feedback before committing to prototype expenses - the reason Chinese microbrands stick to homage watches is precisely because it's a safe(r) bet, but even then most become duds sitting on AliExpress as orphans no one wants.
Thanks Michael I appreciate your feedback and comments. 🙂🍻 I did months of sharing and compiled full market research based off renders of the watch prior to spending a single dollar on prototypes, I was happy with the results - the aesthetic tested very well in sample groups - please check my pinned comments at the top of this video. 🙂 Really the main issues were not in design aesthetic at this stage, but what I did next - which was a string of bad decisions and naivety before I even had a chance to refine it. Thanks again and have a good week 😎🙌
Well, although the details of it look a little rough… it looks like a nice design. I hope someday you do fulfill your desire to do it again!
Very interesting video! A lot of courage to let us learn from your mistakes! Thanks!
fascinating story, thanks for sharing! I think at first glance there were a few details of this piece which were winners. The textured dial, the creativity of the hour markers and the overall inspiration is well thought out. I would pair back the design entirely to a generic case and a good quality leather strap to focus on those details and make them perfect, perhaps incorporate more 60s design inspiration from the era too and a rethink of the branding for sure. I look forward to seeing how this progresses!
Thanks for the comments appreciate your input 🙂👍
Honestly your watch stopped me in my tracks when I saw the thumbnail. The design is definitely stunning.
Thank you mate 🙂🍻
Seriously beautiful
Great vid and a real eye opener into the world of product design and launching a microbrand. I really hope that you revisit the project because they look pretty unique.
Thank you for the kind words 😎🙌 here's hoping 🙂
People rarely put up videos about their failures. Thanks!
Thanks for this video. I always wondered what the challenges were in creating one's own watch brand. Lessons learned for everyone watching your review. One definitely needs to do deep research, establish relationships, have patience, be detail-oriented, and have the funds. :) BTW, I do like your design. That textured dial is great as are the indices. I also love 6 O'clock date positions. Why don't all brands do this? A couple of things to consider should you continue the "journey"; maybe explore some different hand-sets. The airplane tipped secondhand is cute, but not my style. Also, consider a logo to replace the script name; it would stand out better, and a symbol can convey many different meanings. Cheers, and again, thanks for sharing your experience. It will help others.
Thanks chief I am glad you enjoyed. More research and more relationships - nail on the head. Actually I really like your suggestion of a symbol and I do appreciate the aircraft seconds hand is a bit marmite - definitely food for thought when the time comes around again. I'd like to think my own tastes have refined over the last few years, but maybe I'm just imagining that 😆
What an honest and interesting admission - big respect to you
Thank you - honestly no respect really deserved as I sucked 😆 but hopefully it helps someone and it was nice to make the video and get it off my chest. Thanks for viewing and commenting 🙂👍
Just one more watch shares same problem with their prototypes. Good to hear your watch!!
Thank you for sharing. A very informative perspective on the process. And I do like the design - love the case shape, hands and bezel. Dial texture might be a bit to distracting though for my tastes (not that it matters now!)
Yeah I think my own tastes have calmed a bit in the years since - I'd clean slate the design with a few key elements transferred if I ever picked it up again. Have a great week and thank for the comments and taking the time to watch 😎🍻
Thanks for explaining the other side of having a watch brand. Best of luck bro
Cheers bud, things are good - youtube is fun and I'm enjoying it and probably better at it 😆 have a great week and thanks for stopping by 🙂
Congratulations on your decision to develop a bespoke product. It's a bold move, and I encourage you to stay committed to the process.
It's important to note that prototyping specialists often charge more than factories designed for mass production. However, I advise against relying solely on a factory for assembling a prototype without first proving its viability and ensuring there are detailed instructions available. This should include precise tuning and testing guidelines for each step, essential for engineering projects. Your designer should be able to provide this. If they cannot, you might be dealing with a designer who excels in aesthetics but lacks expertise in functional engineering. Given your engineering skills, you might find it necessary to assemble the prototype yourself to confirm its functionality.
Selecting the right designer or engineer is critical, and the process involves significant effort. It’s also important to differentiate between an industrial designer and a mechanical engineer, as your project may require the skills of both. Some industrial designers are capable of precise engineering work, but many focus solely on the design aspect, leaving the detailed mechanical engineering to others.
I wish you all the best and keep up the excellent videos!
If I go again, I'll definitely assemble myself. 🙂👍.... Everything you've detailed here is really spot on and it's the kind of wise words that were absent in my mind a few years ago when I was exceptionally naieve in my assumptions. Thank you for really proving really thoughtful and informative comments, it's appreciated and taken on board. There's no way I'd go through that all again without total control and a proper strategy and working very very closely with engineering and design rather than through a third party.
All the best and thanks again for the valuable input 🙂👍
This arm chair expert does realize than not being emotionally involved can help, the only thing I would say if it's not done, test your ideas on real people not friends or family. Feedback is important.
Anyway good luck with the next attempt, every successful entrepreneur has had his fails.
It honestly was, I didn't ask friends and family - market research was done in detail throughout the watch community. 🙂 wise words though - I agree. 🙌. Thanks for stopping by 🍻
Well..Fair Play for Trying at least!.. For what it's worth..I kinda like 'em.. reminds me a little of a Tissot I used to own.
very sorry to hear this. my thought is that you should research to find the very best factory (or 2 factories) that other micros have used, and use them. wishing better luck next time...would've been a nice watch.
Definitely! Lessons learned 🙌 thanks for stopping by 👍
Honestly, I do not think the end result was that bad all things considered. Actually, quite the opposite. I can see only two failures on your side, not budgeting for more prototypes, ideally from other manufacturers and not specifying details of the leather strap. And even that is speculative considering you tried all that without any prior experience.
Otherwise, from what I gathered, the other failures were caused by the manufacturer.
It is still amazing where you managed to get on your first try and I admire your honesty. I bet there would have been others who would had masked those failures you pointed out and went to kickstarter anyway. So, although probably very expensive first try, still a valuable experience, hopefully you will succeed next time :) And thank you for sharing, it was an interesting insight.
Thank you really appreciate the comments bud 🙂🍻
Really interesting video. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing 👍The watches are looking great (but a black second on a black dial 🙈)
It's actually polished - but because it's flat in some angles it looks black. I think it your comment makes a good case from champhered seconds hands as a consideration to get more chance of catching the light 🙂 thanks for stopping by! 😎🙌
gona save up for a Farer...they have some cool pieces and colors
Good video and good story, I like and appreciate your attitude. A couple things, I like the design and absolutely get the early jet-age vibe. Really like the white dial a lot of the detail is lost in the black. What about partnering with someone who’s done it for your first (second) shot as you sounded like you’re not done.
Yes definitely would consider that 🙂
Very nice watches with excellent use of negative space in the printed dial . I take it you own the IP of the design?
Worth bouncing it off San Martin ( Erebus OEM ) ?
NH34 could be the way ahead… don’t give up ;)
Well done, thanks for sharing this.
A brave & Unfortunate case my friend however the process has put you in better stead for any possible future venture & tbf the idea & vision behind the initial watch didn't look half bad at all .
Cheers bud - it's good to learn and life is pretty good like that 😆
Thank you for sharing, very happy that this was recommended to me, the algorithm works. Hope you get more subscribers and in time will be able to make this project come through. Those who don't take a risk don't drink champagne.. the best of luck to you. I subscribed, hope you get more followers thanks to this vid.
Thank you Greg 🍻... somehow I seem to have hit something in the algorithm with this, much to my own surprise too! 😆...appreciate the subscription massively as a small channel means a lot, enjoy your weekend 🍻
Mate you gave it a shot. Well done. Try again if you can.
I enjoyed the story. Better to fail than fail to attempt. The first design looks to have been g99d and revisions on further prototypes would have tightened the design. This would now look even better with the nh34.
Could not agreed more, there's a million refinements that could be done and the case needs shaving down..and the nh34 would've been amazing. If I do it again I think I'll go clean slate though. Thank you so much for watching and commenting 🙂🍻
What a fabulous insight into the the world of watch manufacturing from prototype etc but I can only say and it is not once bitten twice shy I would certainly do more research etc but in hindsight it is easy to say in this case well you tried but I would now reset up with the knowledge you have discovered and go for it again and good luck but do keep us updated I would love to be conversing with a young up and coming watch manufacturing company and maybe we will be seeing you at the British watch manufacturers shows .
That's a nice looking watch. I would've purchased one from you.
Every successful business owner has had failures prior. Even the trust fund types. Don't give up.
Thank you for making this video! Just so you know, your brand wasn't a failure, it just needs some improvement. It's only a true failure if you give up.
As for the manufacturer that made the janky prototypes, they made the mistake they should have corrected it. Talk about shady business practices.
That being said janky or not, you made a pilot's watch that I want, and I don't typically like pilots watches.
Thanks much appreciated your kind words and taking the time to watch the video 🍻🙌 - one day I think it will be back but after I feel like I've gotten good with youtube creation, that's still ongoing 😆
@@nextonthewrist well I'll be going through your back catalogue at some point in the very near future because I really like your content. I used to make videos, but that was a long time ago. Sorry for being a little self-serving but do you have any tips for somebody who's trying to get back into making videos?
Like with starting a watch brand there is a LOT more people better qualified to answer the question and give advice, I'm still only just over a year in and really learning constantly...filming watches is an art form and editing takes me far too long 😆...my only useful thing now is that don't be too bothered if your first video is miles off the quality you want, it takes time with gradual improvements... Like I said I'm still way off where I want to be, and where the best channels sit 🙂👍 sorry I can't be more useful than that 🙃
I like the general design. Sitting here looking at my Momentum Seaquartz I was thinking that it would be nice to have a more premium version of a watch in this style case. Maybe consider the monnin case in the future
It's a lovely case isn't it? Weirdly enough I have mine on today too! Great choice. Cheers for the comments 😎🍻
Amazing story! Thanks for sharing
Another point: Do never look for the cheapest supplier who makes the biggest promisses.
Doing more research is always helpfull.
You could also find manufacturer in Japan, Switzerland and Germany. Definitily it takes more investments, but at the end it wil propably safe money and nerves.
Definitely 🙂👍
Zelos = Erebus? Not yet.
You had a very good idea and backstory. Shame it didn’t pick up..
Thanks for the comments chief 🍻 - and agreed Zelos is far more established, my point was only to name a couple of successful brand launches as examples. Erebus had a great launch recently so hats off to Jody, he's smashed it 🙂
Well officially you got balls to do things, well done for that, a smart person learn from his own mistake. Good luck.
Which is the manufacturing house to avoid?
I consciously chose not to name and shame - I have reservations about my third party I dealt with and how much he did or did not specify to the manufacturer, I can't prove that side of it... And whilst some of it is definitely on the manufacturer (shoddy drilling/machining/stem cutting) I also am not interested in a mud slinging fight as I just want to close this chapter and move on 🙂👍
The design is good even if the watches are not, and you got a lot further with the endeavour than many others have, including myself. 👏
Thanks bud appreciate it, enjoy the weekend 🙂🍻
I‘ll buy it if you get it produced
Too kind 🍻😎
Maybe try manufacturing in Malaysia, which has a long watch making history and industry, instead of the PROC.
Which factory did You choosed,Paulareis?😜Cant expect quality from the cheapest factory there.Also the design was flawed since the beggining-Gmt aviation theme using NH35..
$6000 for two completed prototypes is not bad! But of course, if you won't use the manufacturer at all it is a wasted 6k. However, it does show that your budget doesn't have to be too large to try a few manufacturers.
I'm sure with what you do now, and a budget of 30 to 40k you could get started.
You can watch Jodi's vid and learn from it. He had gathered contacts of refutable watch makers in China before selecting one. He had a partner and an experienced watch designer
Yeah you're right - actually I heard him on the Scottish watches podcast, if only I'd had that advice 5 years ago 😆 it's great to see an example of how it's done though I agree and nice to hear him also talk openly on it 😎👍
I wonder how many unsold watches Jody still has in his spare room, as once the honeymoon period is over it can go stale and you’ve got to keep the new releases coming, tough gig but hats off to anyone giving it a go here and now.
Man it's a shame, that prototype looks really cool despite the manufacturer being very messy.
The perfect exemplification of Chinese tat. Six grand is a lot of money for most individuals but in terms of prototype development it's nothing. You're also in an extremely difficult marketplace. Let's say you retail your microbrand watch for between £300 and £1000; it'd be a gamble for the buyer to purchase an unknown watch with no history over something like a Tissot, Orient or Seiko. I love watches and perhaps the main attraction for me is the horological history. I know most of the cheaper watches from these giant brands are assembled in China and use Chinese parts but the design and quality control is still regulated by Seiko or Citizen etc. Those prototypes would never have been sent to one of the big hitters. So you're operating in a niche market. I suspect most watch buyers are like me and they'll always buy from the watch making giants. The microbrands are all fighting for a small slice of the pie and they're also fighting off the AliExpress customers.
A very brave attempt and I admire and respect your entrepreneurial pizzazz. Good luck!
At present my favourite watch is the Coast Pacific Explorer. It was Coast's only watch, but it failed.
Damn, I wonder what happened to the brand?
@@nextonthewrist If have ten minutes spare watch my review
We absolutely love the watches they’re beautiful you😢 it’s great to fail and then pick yourself back up. Wipe yourself off and start again because they are beautiful. Watches the white one, especially beautiful. I would start again use a different manufacturer because these really I look different. The name is great. I’m not a fan of the black one I like the white one, but
Nice design. If you could get someone to build it with good quality at a decent price I’m sure it would sell
MOQ is sometimes insane with factories in China… some asking for high volume for a prototype. anything below 100 pieces sounds fair to me. but anything above 100, is just crazy…
It's a lot isn't it? At the time I was OK with 300x as MOQ in our original agreement, I knew my unit purchase price and retail price and I was in a good place if the prototypes had been half decent...I did plan to carry some stock not to immediately sell 300x units so it was my upper limit but was OK. I also knew how much I'd need to raise post prototype phase but never in a million years did I expect them to say after one round of rough prototypes that now they need a deposit for 300x units making any more prototypes...or make such crappy initial prototypes haha that was just nasty 😩
I feel sorry man. Design is pretty good though. Like other people in a comments, I'd say don't give up, it is an experience anyway. Btw, 6k sounds a lot, is it a normal pricing?
Haha no idea on normal I guess as I've only done it once. Appreciate the comments thank you 🙂🍻.... and hopefully will revisit one day when I master this youtube stuff 🤪😆
I like the overall design. A bit too much aviation details but very nice case design ❤
You were just unlucky with the manufacturer. The watch design was great actually. Should give it another shot. You will be successful.
Thank you 🙂👍
Interesting video, thanks. How does one go about finding a manufacturer? Seems like an utter shot in the dark unless you've been guided by someone with experience.
Terrible question for me to answer based on my effort 😂... I honestly think either a recommendation from a fellow brand owner (would be my route now) or to try contact one of the Ali Express factory brands and see if they'd be willing - at least you know the quality of their own watches. That said any successful brand owner can give a 100x better answer than me 🙂