SNGLRTY Prototypes – Where Are They? And Oversized Dates
Last time Luc from Crystal Clear Watchmamking was taking us through how he would create a dress watch for SNGLRTY. From what we can ascertain on Instagram and our other social media channels, it appears that he is on to something! In this episode, we are looking at some of the details of the case, one of Daniel’s passions, how we name the various series of the SNGLRTY watches and what happened to all our prototypes.
Crossbars And Springbars
Luc:
This is perhaps a random question, but as I look at the spring bar setup, how the band is attached to the case, I love that detail. I have noticed that when they change a strap for themselves and are working with the spring bar, they tend to do it from the front, and then they scratch their lugs – a lot. The way you have designed the attachment system requires a hex key, you turn the key, and it opens up; this is so nice.
A spring bar is essentially multiple, fragile tubes of metal holding the band in place. I like your mechanism because it is a solid piece of steel all the way across, which is much stronger than a standard spring bar. So it is not only functionally more robust but also has an attractive aesthetic too. With the correct key for the crossbar, you are much less likely to damage your watch when changing bands. It is pretty darn nice.
Daniel:
Thank you. Every part of this watch has a story. First, you are correct, and it is a two-piece bar. It is constructed of a short piece, the male, and a long piece that is the female part. The female part is a big piece of cylindrical steel that goes through both lugs. When we initially tested this idea, it was challenging to put the male part into the female part, even though we carefully engineered the thread. The problem was that the male part was just too short.
Eventually, I realized that when people are trying to attach the male to the female part, if you have not practiced or are a watchmaker, there is a high likelihood that the male part would fall out. To prevent this, we made the male piece much longer, with a longer thread. Crucially the beginning of the screw has no thread so that it can be inserted into the female component and not fall out. This makes it easier to pick up the hex tool and screw it together without the male piece falling out. It is generally easier in practice as you can initially tighten the male portion with your fingers first and then use the tool for the final tightening.
This was a tiny aspect of the watch, but it is essential to ensure our owners thoroughly enjoy wearing it. Every piece has a story like this. We are continually looking for improvements so that SNGLRTY owners have an easier and more enjoyable time with their watches.
Luc:
That is such a small detail, but it is such a good point.
Nothing Better Than A Reassuring Click
Steve:
Another detail that Daniel incorporated, which is fantastic for idiots like me, is that when you are changing the strap and pushing the bar through, you know when it is adequately seated because it clicks in place. The bar clicks into a recess, and the female end will sit fully flush with the lug before screwing in the male piece. I find it satisfying and reassuring when it clicks into place.
It is not like using a spring bar, where you think the bar is attached correctly, but when you tug at it to confirm, the spring bar pings out. Most times, the spring bar has just not been seated properly. For our bars, just push it through the two lugs, sometimes you may need to move it a little bit to get it aligned, then you will feel a satisfying little click. This signals that the bar is seated correctly, and you screw the male piece into the other end. It is fantastic. It is a tiny detail but one we are we are delighted with.
Daniel:
We use the same bar for attaching the metal band too. The attachment bar has two millimeters inside diameter and four millimeters external diameter. This means it is very strong in comparison to a regular spring bar. We recently launched a metal band that is available for all our watches. The metal band attaches in the same manner as a leather band, and it can be shortened easily by removing segments of the band.
We like this mechanical approach. It allows the band to be adjusted for anyone with huge wrists to those with tiny wrists. Steve and I have lived in Asia for a long time to we know that wrist sizes are generally much smaller there. We wanted to have a metal band that is very flexible, from very large to very small, so that our watch can fit all wrist sizes.
Metal Band Is Available!
Luc:
Does anybody else know about this? Is this new information that there is going to be a metal bracelet for this watch?
Steve:
We have posted several photos and short videos on our Instagram feed with the metal bracelet
Luc:
You did! I was too busy looking at the date display to notice that.
Luc:
Yes, you have sharp eyes. It is pretty impressive. There are several photos of the prototypes mixed into our Instagram feed. The prototypes have many defining features that differentiate them from our production models, but you are the first person that has spotted it and asked about it. But yes, we have posted some photos of the band prototypes, and they are now generally available.
Luc:
I see it now. Yes, those are very, very stylish. I like that.
Daniel:
There is also a story with the metal band too. Generally, people expect a metal band to come with an end piece. We did consider this with SNGLRTY, which is possible with the attachment system we have in place. The issue we had was using an end piece; we felt if the band goes to the case, it changes the design too much. With the band attached to the case with our unique bolt, keeping it authentic requires a little space between the band and the case.
For me, the endplates did not work. Also, why do we need to fill that space? There is no function of an end piece. It can look fantastic with some watches, but with SNGLRTY, purely from a design perspective, it did not make sense because it would have changed the design too much to fill a space. That is the reason why we chose not to have an end piece. The added advantage is that it is also easier to change the bands without an end piece.
Luc:
I also noticed that the tops of your lugs are polished. That means the end piece would probably have to be mostly polished to match. And then once your end piece is polished mainly, then you probably need most of the bracelet to be polished, and most polished bracelets pick up scratches like crazy.
Big Dates And Intentional Errors
Daniel:
Yes, that is a good point. By the way, you mentioned the date on our prototypes before. I was a bit disappointed that we did not do it on our production watches. When we made the design, we thought it would be good to make the numbers more prominent; it looks like they are trying to burst out of the date window. For me, it appears to make the date look more pronounced, but all we have done is redrawn it visually. I loved the idea, and I love to do things that have not been done before.
We hit an issue when we launched the watch and asked our backers about the date. Most of them said it looked like we did not know how to size the date numerals for the date window and felt it was a mistake. They thought it was a technical error; we either changed the date disc or could not print the numbers accurately. We realized that it needed too much explanation. The risk that people would think that we did not manage the manufacture correctly was too big, so we shelved that idea.
Luc:
If you were a super established brand, like, Audemars Piguet or something like that, everyone would say, “Oh, that is so different. That’s so amazing. What an interesting idea?” Because they would believe it is entirely intentional.
Daniel:
Yes, unfortunately, you are correct. Exactly.
Luc:
That is interesting, and I wonder about the psychology of it? Because once I realized that it was something that you guys had thought about but did not incorporate into the production models, I am now intrigued. If this is only available in the prototypes, perhaps I should ask if I could buy one of the prototypes?
Daniel:
We had one customer request to have the big date. Unfortunately, there were too many technical changes between the prototypes and the production movements, so we could not make it happen. To do one date disc was just far too complicated, and therefore far too expensive. So we have not done the big date in production yet.
Luc:
What if someone wanted to buy the one that you guys are currently posting on Instagram? It is already assembled, and it has the correct movement.
Steve:
We can certainly have a conversation about that.
Luc:
I don’t know if you’re going to have that conversation with me or not?
Steve:
We made twenty prototypes at the beginning, and they are all still operational. We have sold two to very early backers. I think number seven and number 19 of the Zero series floating around there. We have the other 18 pieces sitting in various locations around the world. I have a few sitting at my desk, and I think Daniel has a few sitting at his desk.
They are available and are exciting pieces because when Daniel made the prototypes, he made the cases in many variations. Some of the cases are all polished, some are all brushed, and some have polished case backs and brushed cases and polished bezels. Every single one of them, the cases look different and have all sorts of other weird combinations that we were testing to see what would work and what would not work for production. There is not so much choice in configuring the Zero series watches, but they are available if anyone is interested.
One thing to be sure of is that they are unique pieces. That is the Zero series.
Luc:
The Zero series, mine says it is the Premiere edition on the back. What does that mean?
Steve:
We have the Zero series, which is the original twenty prototypes. Then everyone who backed us at the crowdfunding stage received a Founders Edition watch, and then the next release is the Premiere Edition.
Luc:
Gotcha. So I am two editions away from where I want to be. That is what you are telling me.
Steve:
There is still time. There is still time. There are no more Founders Edition that is closed.
Luc:
It would be unfair for you to print anything that says Founder’s Edition now.
Steve:
Exactly right. So there are no Founder’s Edition watches left, but there are still 18 Zero Series available.
Where Next?
So if you are interested in one of our Zero Series watches, you can contact us HERE. Or if you want to take full advantage configuring your pwn SNGLRTY watch then please take a look at our online configurator , you can select from tens of thousands of possibilities.
