I”ve been keeping an eye on what the folks (well, folk, it”s a one-man shop at the moment) have been cooking up over at Division Furtive for a while now. So, what makes another boutique / small batch watch maker worth your interest? Frankly, it has to do solely with the watch itself.
The Type 46 has one of the most unique time displays I”ve seen. Rather than the dials (or discs) we”re using to seeing rotating around, here you”ve got two linear “sliders” doing the readout. Understandably, there”s a great bit of electro-mechanical wizardry going on inside that 50mm sterling silver case.
And it”s not just the display that”s intriguing. You”ve got a 3-axis accelerometer in the mix figuring out how the watch is positioned, driving what it will actually display on the registers. Of course, if you”re not a fan of what the watch is telling you, you have some control over it”s programming. All you need is a relatively modern phone (with an LCD screen) that can flash (literally) the watch to change it”s programming.
Suffice to say, all of this tech (combined with a 46 piece run) does not come cheap. Pricing on these runs at about $3,600. What if they could create a very similar piece with a lot of the same technology housed in it? That”s actually the step that Division Furtive will be taking as of today, with their just-launced project.
The biggest differences between the Type 46 and Type 40 are:
- Readout is accomplished via LEDs, rather than mechanical registers
- Case is epoxy-filled rather than sterling silver
- Limited to 1000 pieces, rather than 46
These changes mean a much more affordable watch (more on that in a bit). Though this is a more affordable model, it still keeps the brains that you can find in the Type 46, along with the touch sensor, accelerometer, and programmable ability. It also still houses the user-serviceable AAA battery.
Now, back to the pricing change. There are, of course, various funding levels just as with any Kickstarter project. Depending on the numeric sequence you”d want to get, you could stake your claim for as little as $191. Of course, if you move quickly, you can actually get in on an “early supporter” tier that will net you a watch for just $64. (The project page is ).
Frankly, at that price, it”s just about a no-brainer to try one out. It will be interesting to see how this project goes (and is funded). Let us know if you jump in to support the project.
