Luc from Crystal Clear Watchmaking wanted to talk dress watches. This was hot on the heels of his tricky question about customers who designed an ugly SNGLRTY watch. This week he takes us through how he would design his ideal SNGLRTY watch. But before we get to that he explores where Daniel and I hope to go with SNGLRTY over the next few years, and Daniel explains why Swiss Super-LumiNova is generally not available with Roman numerals.
Luc:
I have a question about the brand in general. First, what does SNGLRTY look like five years? What is the long-term goal? Is it to sell more watches? You want to remain financially solvent, so you need to sell some watches, but other than that, are you looking to add more variations? A new case style or size, for example? Where do you hope to be in five years?
Steve:
We aim to build on our patented presentation of time. There are several ideas around this fundamental core of SNGLRTY and how we intend to develop it. Daniel and I are constantly working on ideas for development, and we expect incrementally more options will become available over the next few months. As we explore this path, I feel we will understand more, and it will continue to unfold. I think the process is very much like peeling an onion. When we started, we had simplified everything, and now we are exploring how that simplification can lead us in different directions. There are many directions to explore; one of my personal goals is to do a skeleton version of SNGLRTY.
The way we have created the complication plate is quite striking. Opening that up and showing the mechanics through a skeleton movement would be very different. That is something I am interested in pursuing. There are additional complications we can incorporate too. We have received many requests for different case sizes, some have requested a larger watch case, and some have asked for a lady’s version. These are all possible.
We want to take our new vision of time, the new presentation of time, and, hopefully, engage with those that like a bit of individuality. Those who see life outside the mainstream sell a few watches and grow the movement. Hopefully, those people appreciate the new complication and seeing time differently on their wrist and for themselves.
Daniel:
It is all about how we display time, so we will play further with this and add different functions. How would a GMT look with one hand? Is there any way we can combine this? I do not know the answer yet, but these are challenges we are looking forward to meeting. We do not want to extend the collection with minor adjustments.
The different time display, the SNGLRTY time display, is our complication that results in a unique dial. We plan to extend this and create one-of-a-kind hand-painted dials. There are other ideas and projects in the pipeline, too, but I cannot talk about those just yet.
Luc:
I am really curious about the skeleton version of the movement. Can you explain more about your idea? Are you saying that you want to skeletonize just your complication plate, or will you have a complete skeleton movement, both the tractor movement and the complication plate? That way, we will be able to see the barrel, the gear train in addition to the complication plate?
Steve:
The goal is to execute the whole movement in skeleton style. I love the minimalist view, and as I said initially, I love the delicacy of precision engineering. To be able to open this all up and see it all is a goal for me. Daniel has warned me that it is a colossal task, but I am aiming for it. I am already thinking about how we could make the hour disc and the minute disc to not obscure the movement. Ensuring the indexes do not obscure the movement will be a challenge, but that challenge will create significant opportunities to highlight the whole movement.
Daniel:
I like the way Steve approaches this. You do not want to do things where you already have the solution. You put the objective out there, define what we want to achieve, and then look for the answers. There is a way to get there, but it will be quite a challenge.
Steve:
You are never sure where you are going to end up. We start with a goal in mind and a vision of the result, but as we explore down that path, we are never quite sure where we will end up. Sometimes it can surprise you and take you to a wonderful place. I am keen to start exploring, but I think that is a year or two down the road because it is a big project. It will take a lot of time, and that means quite a bit of money as well.
Luc:
Now, there is a hallowed tradition here on Crystal Clear Watchmamking, which is that whenever we interview a brand, I share with them how I think one of their products should be made.
Steve:
You are not known for your quiet opinions – I have noticed that in your podcast. Please tell us; we love ideas. It is fascinating; every watch we have configured, every customer we have spoken to, always has an idea of how we should do something a little bit different. So tell us what we need to do.
Luc:
I am already breaking the mold for SNGLRTY as I have an idea for a pre-configured offering. This would be a dress watch, and here is the idea. I will start from the center and move out, describing the watch face. The case is very intelligently made. It can almost just become a dress watch without any change. Really. It is a lovely case. I know I said I would start in the center, and I am talking about the case, which is the outside, but hey!
Luc:
The only thing I would change on the case is to polish the bezel rather than the satin brush at the moment. Then from the center, we have the seconds track for the little second hand, and that should be a circular brush. Instead of lines for the seconds, little dots should be used all the way around. So circular brush with dots.
Then the center disc would be stamped Guilloche. I know Guilloche raises prices like crazy, so I am choosing a stamped Guilloche for the center disc. Then for the minute track, instead of lines between the 50, 55, 60, we do dots again, but in gold. Then for the hour ring, it would be circular brushed like the second ring, with black Roman numerals and a thermally blued hour hand.
Daniel:
What color would you do the hour ring with the black Roman numerals on it?
Luc:
A circular silver brush. So it would be a silver Guilloche in the center disc and then a silver circular brush on the hours and the seconds. So those two would match, the second disc and the hour ring would be circular brushed. And just to add some contrast, the golden minute wheel, that is the idea.
Daniel:
That would certainly look good. It is a classic, and it is very dressy. The Roman numerals will work very well with dots on the minutes. Suppose you look at traditional dials with Roman numerals, in that case, they often have dots because the Roman numerals are composed of lines, so a minute line between or below confuses the image. That is why Roman numerals are often seen together with dots. That would look great – we can do that.
Luc:
This is a free consultation. If you make it, you do not have to pay me any money. I would just be happy to see it on the website.
Steve:
We will see if we can do a digital render of it and see how it looks.
Luc:
A digital mock-up would be cool, honestly. We will post it on Instagram and tag you on it.
Daniel:
Do you think that Roman numerals are becoming more popular again currently? I do not see many dress watches with Roman numerals these days.
Luc:
I do not know if it is coming back; I just think it belongs on a dress watch. If you are going to do this classic dress watch design, in my mind, it would be better with Roman numerals. But this is more my taste than a market decision.
Daniel:
That is interesting as Roman numerals are not seen so much currently. We went with regular numerals, and this allows us to play with Swiss Super-LumiNova and the fantastic color options they offer. Our customers like to play with that. It is difficult to put the Roman numerals on with Swiss Super-Luminova because the thin lines in the numerals would not allow enough to be applied. We would need to add the color somewhere else with squares or big dots under the numbers for visibility.
Luc:
Right. I would not expect a dress watch to have Super-LumiNova anyway.
Daniel:
Yes. I just wanted to explain the technical differences here. Many people are not aware of these technical limitations.
Luc:
I think the Arabic numbers are the correct choice for your current SNGLRTY. It makes so much more sense, and you have a very contemporary style that just works perfectly. I think the current design is amazing.
Daniel:
I was dreaming at the beginning, when we started, I wanted to do a red dial, but we decided not to do it because we felt it was not commercial enough. Maybe we can do it in the future. I want a red color and combine that with a polished gold SNGLRTY hand. It ould be really striking in a polished gold case.
Luc:
It might be a cliche, but red and gold sound like something that would sell well in China. That sounds like a very Chinese color palette.
Daniel:
Yes, You are right. It signifies luck, both gold, and red in China. Maybe I have lived in Hong Kong for too long?
Steve
Out of curiosity, why do you choose the thermally blued hand instead of the PVD blue hand? Is there any particular reason?
Luc:
It is just that when you see a thermal blued component in person, you can tell immediately. There is a very obvious texture or sheen to the blue, you can see it in the light. I think that is why the thermal blue, for people who know it and have seen it, appreciate it as a premium product. SNGLRTY is very premium, so it is a good match, and it looks very beautiful. I like the deep color of the thermally blued parts.
Steve:
Interesting. We will get our thinking caps on, we appreciate the consultation.
What Is Your Design?
We are always interested to hear your thoughts. Do you like the dress watch ideas that Luc has put forward here, or do you prefer something a little bolder?
Daniel and I have had a number of requests for quite striking watches recently that will be appearing on our configurator very soon. Here is one of my favorites – it is for an American Football Team! Any guesses who? Let us know below.
