I mean that title literally: Kickstart a movement. OK, it is a watch movement, but it is a movement none the less. With this Kickstarter campaign (closing soon, I have been remiss in browsing the site), a group of industry insiders and outsiders have banded together to create a new watch movement that they hope to mass produce and compete against ETA and the other available mechanical movements. The Accurat Swiss Jonas K1 is the first watch to house this movement, like the Sistem 51 was the first watch to house that movement.
This is a Kickstarter campaign, and as such, you are funding the development of a product, not buying a watch. For a pledge of £990 (about $1,540 USD), your reward is a limited edition watch with the new movement, but this is a new company. There is always a possibility that the development will fall short. Worn & Wound took a look at the project, and Europa Star reported on the development of the movement almost 2 years ago, as referenced on this entry over at WatchOtaku. This is a project that I think is very interesting, and certainly possible at this price point, but it is not without risk. Please do your own research and make up your own mind about it.
That said, it is a very interesting development. The movement uses some silicone parts, which should serve to lessen the impact of magnetic forces on the watch. It is also a modular movement, so there are a number of variations available. The first watch, the Accurat Swiss Jonas K1, uses the variation with a small second hand at 9:00 and a big date complication. Markings are printed on the sapphire crystal, and the 39mm case really shows off the movement. Of course, since it is not a skeleton, there is not a ton to see on the dial other than the bridging, but you do have some movement. The big date complication intrigues me, since the date wheel seems to go 30 days – 30 days – 31 days, which is odd because there are no two 30 day months back to back, yet this happens twice with 31 day months.
This aside, I am also not sure what shots are of the prototype and which are renderings. The video on the project page does show a working prototype, so I would expect that is actually does exist, but I would like to see the actual watch images in the campaign. There are three color option, a black/blue, grey/yellow and pink/white, all on leather straps with color matched contrasting stitching and deployment buckle. At $1,500, this is out of my price range, but it is a very intriguing project, and I would love to see them succeed, if for no other reason than to give the rest of the industry a wake-up call. As of this writing, the project has raised over $120,000 against a target of $154,000, so it has a very good chance of success. horage.accuratswiss.com
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: Accurat Swiss Jonas K1
- Price: £990 (about $1,540 USD)
- Who we think it might be for: You want to be a pioneer in the watch world.
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: I would wear it, but it is out of my price range.
- If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: I am not a fan of the no dial look.
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: A new movement!
Tech Specs from Accurat Swiss
- Movement: Accurat Swiss K1
- Functions: Small seconds, big date
- Case: Stainless steel
- Glass: Sapphire
- Water resistance: 100 meters
- Lug width: Not specified
- Straps: Calf leather
- Diameter: 38mm
- Length: Not specified
- Case height: Not specified
- Weight of watch head: Not specified
