Today, we have a quick preview of a watch that just recently hit Kickstarter, the McDowell Time DelRay. Why a preview? Well, as it turns out, I also have one of the prototypes here on the watch review desk, so we will be able to give you a hands-on impression here very soon. In the meantime, let’s run down what the McDowell Time DelRay is offering.
After what seemed to be a drought of interesting watch-related projects on the crowdfunding sites, we have been seeing a flood of more interesting things cropping up. Xeric (which the guys from Watchismo started up) has been creating watch designs that break from normal conventions, keeping in line with the quirky and interesting designs that they offer on their site. Their latest designs, in the form of the Xeric Soloscope collection, mix in some elements of previous models and bring some new things to the table.
When it comes to watches launching on Kickstarter, you have the same old retread story (couldn’t find what we wanted, decided to make our own), and then there are some brands that come up with their own truly unique story. In the case of this latest watch we’re featuring, it would be that the guy behind the brand is a descendant of Transylvanian nobility – so there’s a big influence from that region’s mythology and history. Does that mean the Peren Son of the Dragon is worth your time?
As you might imagine, we here at WWR are truly spoiled for choice when it comes to what we are going to cover. While a lot of it comes from relationships we’ve established with brands, some true surprises come out of a cold contact from a brand that we’ve not heard of. One of these recently came in from Hong Kong, in the form of the Greyhours Essential collection.
What’s that? You say you’re trying to create a watch via crowdfunding, and you arrived at this idea because nothing else out there met your idea of a perfect watch? While this may ring true for many creators, it’s a line that has been trotted out time and again, and it simply does not get our engines turning over. No, for that, you have to offer up something that is particularly different from what has come before, and that is where watches like the Mansfield Time Automatica One jump ahead of the pack.
Thomas Earnshaw Beagle automatic
Often when we think of a wristwatch, we come at the concept with some rather preconceived notions of how the watch should function and how it will indicate the time. This is fine, because as a tool, we need to know how to rely on our watches to be used as designed with a minimum of fuss. As with any tool, however, there are ways to massage the standard format to take things in more unique directions. For watches, we see that quite a bit in the digital side, but nowhere near as much in the analog side of things. The latest entry into the genre of “analog time twisters” is from Bonhoff, known simply as the Bonhoff IP-3.0.
As Matt noted in his original writeup on the G. Gerlach Kosmonaut, this is indeed a watch that draws very heavily from the past. Specifically, the first quartz watch made in Poland, and the one worn by Polish Kosmonaut, General Miroslaw Hermaszewski. While I may not have traveled space, I could not help but to think of Major Tom as I wore the watch. Let’s see what I thought of the piece after spending some time with it.
In yesterday’s article, I was talking about generally skimming through the Triwa catalog when looking for something interesting for warmer weather. Well, you know who else is great for that? Timex. Good ol’ Timex. Their catalog abounds with plenty of great options perfect for being almost-disposable additions to your summertime carry. That said, this Timex Waterbury that I just ran across, well, that seems like something you could definitely have along with you for the long haul.
OK, you only have a few dozen hours to get behind the crowd-funded kick off of the Marloe Cherwell, but better late than never, am I right? The brand was nice enough to loan me black and white dial versions, and I really liked them. OK, I was probably predisposed, since the watches are hand wound minimalist watches without a date window, but just because a watch was built practically with me in mind, that does not mean I would love it, or does it?
