Individual Design is now on Facebook

Took long enough I guess, but I finally got around to creating a presence on Facebook:

Facebook.com/IndividualDesignHawaii

Schedule Update

The production lot of dials and hands should arrive in Hawaii around the end of the month (June) and the current estimate for the cases is to ship in the middle of July. So I expect to have all of the parts on hand before the end of July. Then my watchmaker will get to work and customer deliveries can begin in early August. At least that is the plan as of now.

Black Date Rings

The black date rings I ordered arrived yesterday. So, now the Ka La watches with black dials can have the displayed day of the month (at 3 o'clock) with white numerals on a black background.

The prototype with a black dial and a "black on white" date ring is shown below and is what won't be installed in production watches.This small detail (mismatched dial and date ring colors) bugs some people, so we are taking it to heart and "doing it right". Ariel Adams of A Blog To Read comes to mind :-)

HourTime Podcast

In case anyone out there is not yet addicted to the HourTime Podcast (aka HourTime Show), here is the link to what I think is the best 30 minutes on the web each week (or so).

HourTimeShow.com

Hosted by John Biggs (of WristWatchReview.com) and Ariel Adams (of ABlogToRead.com). Each of their blogs are daily must reads for watch geeks, but together these guys are good for lots of laughs and insights into the watch industry. I know that a lot giggling and strange foreign accents by grown men does not sound like much, but they pull it off each. Not to be missed!

Tropical shot of three 3 prototypes

Just a "beauty shot" of the three prototypes with some flowers & foliage from the garden.
(click on the photo to view it at 1200 x 795)

Dials and Hands Update

The initial production order of the dials and hands for the Ka La watch will be shipping on June 29th. So, I will have them in Hawaii the first week of July.

Also, the color match issue has been resolved for the red hands vice the second hand/disk marker and the 12 o'clock maker on one of the black dials. Below is a photo of the now matching set.

Some other straps - just for fun

Here is the Stainless Steel Ka La prototype (Ref . 10111) with some straps I had on hand. I really like the orange lizard (go figure). Also shown are brown lizard and tan crocodile. Not that I'm planning on offering the brown or orange lizard as stock items, but they are fun to try out. The tan crocodile will be offered on Ref. 10311 (PVD Rose Gold Case) which has the same dial and hands.

Stainless Steel Prototype

I got the Stainless Steel prototype back from my watchmaker today. The photos really don't do it justice.  I will take some better shots later on, but here are some preliminary shots of Ref. 10111. The second photo is most representative of what it looks like (lots of brushed stainless, sun ray dial and second hand disk and blue hands and hour makers (with lume).

PVD Black Prototype

A running prototype Ka La watch with a PVD Black case, black dial and round numeral hour makers was just assembled.

The production watch will have a white on black date at 3 o'clock (the reverse of the black on white shown on the prototype). And the production watch will have an anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal. The hour and minute hands on the production watches will be a closer color match to the second hand/disk marker and the 12 o'clock maker (which are shiny and metallic). Otherwise, this is very representative of the production version of Ref. 10222. 

So, Milton and Mike - what do you think? :-)

Hang Tag Sample

I just received a photo of the sample hang tags. The order (thousands of tags) is being produced now and will be in my hands in a couple of weeks.

PVD Rose Gold Prototype

A running prototype Ka La watch with a PVD Rose Gold case, black dial and roman numeral hour makers was assembled today.

The production watch will have a white on black date at 3 o'clock (the reverse of the black on white shown on the prototype). And the production watch will have an anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal. This prototype has a black genuine lizard band, which will be on the Ref. 10263 watch (PVD black case) while this model (Ref. 10363) will have a black genuine crocodile band.

Deployment Buckles

The shipment of deployment clasps/buckles arrived today. I now have a supply for the initial production run of Ka La watches. The buckles are stainless steel and are finished as follows:

• Polished Stainless Steel
• Brushed PVD Black
• Brushed PVD Rose Gold