OCEAN7 History 1 * LOCKED *

[MitchSF]

Here's the latest drawing from our CAD designer. Please give us your comments so that we can wrap up the design phase next week and order the samples.

The crown guard was removed and I don't really think we need it, with the crown at 4:00. The factory just told us that they cannot make a knurled crown as shown on the drawing without substantial tooling costs, and we're not crazy about the look anyway, so we'll go back to a more conventional crown. Also, we'll probably switch from a knurled bezel edge, to a more conventional edge. Any comments on this?

The watch will use 1.8mm fat spring bars with drilled through lugs. We will try to inlcude an extra set with each watch, but no guarantees. We can use screw pins and tubes like Panerai and it will not increase the cost to a point that it will matter, but unless there is an overwhelming desire to do that, we'll stay with spring bars.

The watch is now shown on a NATO type strap, but the concensus seems to be that we should incude a rubber (manufacturers call it PU for polyurethane) strap. We don't plan on fabricating a mold at a cost of $3000 plus, so we'll have to use an off the shelf strap. I plan on using one of my leather Panerai type straps anyway, and I'm sure most owners will have their own preferences.

The chrome marker inlays on the dial were removed for this drawing. The CAD designer really likes them, and we do too. They do not increase the cost of the dial substantially. Comments?

Luminous material will glow for not less than eight hours, according to the manufacturer, and the thicker the coat, the longer it will last, so we'll try to make it very thick.

That's about it. We will have side and back views next week, and we're right on schedule with the project. Once we order samples, it's difficult to impossible to make changes without delays and added costs, so now is the time to comment.

Notice the orange tipped second hand - thanks, XTrooper!

Thanks for all the help.

Mitch & LaHugh

[Danny S]

Mitch,

This watch looks fantastic on paper!

Conventional grooves on crown and bezel work well and look good, no problems there.

Fat spring bars are critical for a working diver, drilled lugs are even more important. Good calls.

Don't think anyone expects a dedicated/bespoke strap at this price point. I'm a big fan of the 24mm lug idea, hope you stick to your guns on that.

Chrome surrounds on indeces are a moot point functionally, however they do impart an upscale "feel". If the designer likes em, and they cause only a slight increase in your costs... Why Not!?

Quality of lume is very important to a lot of dive watch enthusiasts. Indeed, thickness or volume equates directly to lume intensity and duration. This is an area where I feel most of us would be more than willing to spend a little more if required. Advertising a "double" layer of SL would be a major selling point. Again, can't emphasize enough how important serious lume is. It's extremely disappointing to receive a new diver only to find it's lume is not up to par.

Watch looks great so far! Thanks for keeping us "in the loop".

Rgds, Dan

[XTrooper]

Notice the orange tipped second hand - thanks, XTrooper!

Thanks for all the help.

Mitch & LaHugh

My pleasure, fellas!

The watch looks and sounds fantastic! Looking forward to sporting one on my wrist. B-)

[MitchSF]

Thanks for the comments, guys. It sounds like we're on the right path.

Dan - The chrome inlays will force us to use slightly less luminous material because of the width of the inlays, but probably not enough to make a noticeable difference. I am concerned that if they are solid under the luminous material, they will raise the level of the dial, and we won't be able to use as thick a coat of material. I'm working on this.

Mitch

[JDiver]

The watch looks fantastic. Can't wait to see the final product.

[valpperi]

Here's two logo suggestions.

[dibetu]

Just to come back to watch boxes, while a pelican box is practical, why spend money on packaging? After all you are selling a watch and not a box and you can market that all money is in the product.
Spend all your budget on the watch and wrap it in a newspaper. You are then doing something good by recycling, the watch is well protected and it does not cost anything. It will also cause
uproar and publicity that you want. Especially with the first series that you are selling very low priced. Divers are usually ecologically practical people who are environmentally aware.
Regarding your logo, I think the simpler the better.
Please put me down on your preorder list:
daniel@generalmail.com
The best of luck
Daniel

[MitchSF]

Valpperi - thanks for your ideas.

Daniel - We agree, and that may happen at the intro forum price, but ultimately we need a box. We are leaning toward a custom flat, natural wood box with black PU or velvet lining, that will have two elastics on the bottom to secure the watch. The top will have a strap or pocket for accessories. The rough dimensions are 12x4x2 inches, and we can use this for future models, one of which will be very big and very strange looking (hint).

Mitch

[loganmn]

good heavens. when that comes out, i'll be the 1st in line! please put me on your preorder list. logan3111@yahoo.com

[ragat]

Looks Great! Really glad to see it all coming together. Thanks for agreeing to use a rubber strap as an option and it being off the shelf is just fine.


Looking forward to wearing one soon!

Bob