Introducing the BOLDR Odyssey, an Affordable, 500-meter Dive Watch Now on Kickstarter

BOLDR Watches is a brand that has been more than a blip on our radar for a couple years now. BOLDR first caught our attention with their freshman project, the Voyage Clever, a smartwatch that, as the name implies, they cheekily called a “clever watch.” The project—which was essentially a quartz watch with an added “smart” module not too far off conceptually from what MMT set out to do—never hit its goal, and all funding was returned to backers. However, the brand did not retreat and close down. Instead, the team went back to the drawing board to produce the popular BOLDR Journey— a Seiko-powered meca-quartz chronograph with an attractive style and a large domed crystal.

Following up on the success of the Journey, BOLDR is back on Kickstarter with their next project. While the Journey was understated and stylish with a minimalist pilot-watch vibe, BOLDR’s newest watch, the Odyssey, takes a different path; it’s a big, bold dive watch. The Odyssey has all the hallmarks of a beefy tool watch: large angular case, thick hands and markers, helium escape valve and a whopping 500 meters of water resistance.

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The case measures 45.5mm in diameter, 14.2mm thick with a lug-to-lug distance of 53mm; it has 22mm lugs. It features a mix of brushed and polished angled finishes. On the side of the case at nine o’clock is an automatic helium escape value to depressurize the watch during deep dives (though let’s face it, most use cases will end up being that of a sturdy desk diver). The 120-click unidirectional bezel is heavily scalloped and contains circular markers for each of the hours with the 12 o’clock marker being a lumed circle. The case back is solid with a custom design by Melbourne artist Ashwin Royan; each piece will be individually numbered.

The Odyssey dial is a straightforward affair utilizing markers commonly found on dive watches. There are stick markers for the three and nine positions (the date is relegated to six) and double stick markers at 12 o’clock. The rest of the hours are marked with circles. There’s nothing especially inspired or outstanding here; just a classic and familiar dial design that should have mass market appeal. The dial text is also relatively standard: the brand and logo just below 12 and the model, “AUTOMATIC,” and depth rating above the date window at six. An inner ring contains text noting the helium escape valve while the same ring at six notes the triple-lock crown (yes, in the style of the Rolex Deepsea). It’s a bit of superfluous text that, in my opinion, would have been better left off.

The crystal is a double domed sapphire with an anti-reflective coating—two details that should go a long way in adding clarity to the dial. The hands then deviate quite a bit from the more familiar dial design. BOLDR opted for a set of tapering swords that are segmented in half for a bit of a ladder design.

Three models will be offered:

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The BOLDR Odyssey is an automatic watch–as noted on the dial–powered by a robust Seiko NH35A movement. The NH35A is a boosted 7S-series movement with hacking, hand-winding, and a higher jewel count. The power reserve is approximately 42 hours.

The BOLDR Odyssey is already well over its funding goal of $35,770 and aims to hit an October 2017 delivery date. Pledge amounts start at about $283 making this a killer package for the price. The project will be completed Monday, May 29th.

You can visit the the Kickstarter page to back the BOLDR Odyssey.

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