Things really seem to have heated up these past few months, in terms of the sheer number of crowd-funded watches that have come available to back on the various sites. Today, we’ve got a new Kickstarter project that combines a very thin, quartz-driven watch with a very cool strap.
As with most new watches from smaller makers (or even new watch brands), this watch from Rossling & Co came about to meet a specific need that the founders wanted to meet, but found nothing on the market that quite hit what they wanted. So, they set out to make their own, with three goals in mind: affordablity (under $250), versatility (works with both jeans and a suit), and a classic, timeless style.
To keep things affordable, you won’t be surprised to find that they went with a quartz movement. Rather than being a no-name item, though, they’re packing a Ronda 1069 movement in, which has a small seconds function. Surprisingly, even with their cost control goals, they were able to include a sapphire crystal (rather than mineral), as well as a stainless steel case (rather than brass) so things are looking up on the spec sheet.
Once they had those details buttoned up, they moved onto styling. To start with, they opted for a 40mm case (only 7mm thick!) which they feel is a sort of sweet spot between dress and casual pieces, as well as making it unisex. Tucked into that case (which comes in a silver or gold finish), they’ve got a very clean dial. It comes in either black or white, and features polished indices and minimal branding up top.
To go along with this style (and I’d say this mimics classic dress watch style), they’ve got a slender polished handet on the main dial, and another slim hand for the small seconds. That small seconds dial also just has the bare minimum of markings to keep it functional. Overall, this dial presents very cleanly, though some might feel it’s a tad too dressy for casual wear.
That said, a watch strap can really change the character of a piece. If they went with leather, well, this would be dress piece, looking out of place with jeans. Throw a nylon strap on it, though, and now you’re clashing with a more formal setting. So what did they do? They threw out a curveball, and are going with a leather-backed tweed strap (ala what we saw from Schofield). This allows the watch to bridge a variety of settings, as well as providing something you simply don’t see being offered on much of anything (well, other than from the aforementioned Schofield).
To me, that wool strap truly makes the watch ready for the cold weather we’re headed into. Sure, it’s not going to warm your wrist, but it’ll look great paired with your favorite sweater or sport coat. That said, once warmer weather comes, you’ll be able to swap just about anything in you’d like, as the lugs are a standard 20mm. Or, if you prefer, you can get one of these straps for a $29 pledge, sans watch.
In the end, I think Rossling & Co really has a great thing going for them – the combination of a unique strap, a stripped down design, and ultra-thin case really makes for a compelling watch. Add in that you can pick one up (via Kickstarter) for only $129, which is $30 off of retail. I can see this being a watch a good many people will be interested in, even once it hits that $159 retail price. Just make sure you hop in on the project before it ends on November 21st, and you should have a watch shipping to you early next year.
Let us know if you hop in on this project, as it’s one of the more personally interesting quartz models I’ve seen as of late. It also looks like you can expect our hands-on review sometime in the early part of the year, as well.
