On Kickstarter: Vilhelm Watches, The Element

The micro-universe of crowd-funded watch brands is ever expanding these days. A little bit of knowledge, some supplier sources and the Kickstarter platform and nearly anyone can sell their own brand of watch. New brand Vilhelm Watches is one of those using Kickstarter to launch their first watch, The Elemental. No, it’s not another round, simple, time-only quartz driven watch with a canvas strap. The Elemental is, well, different, in a few ways.

First off the design is clearly eye-catching and far from a traditional round stainless steel cased watch. The 43mm case has rugged looks with what is could closest be described as a cushion style case with some squared off elements. Adding to the interest of this case design are the three materials that make up its construction. Yes, three. The individual materials are forged carbon, ceramic and titanium.

The base of the case is made from the forged carbon. This light material is made from carbon fiber strands and forged together to create a strong yet light inner case. To maintain water resistance an inner stainless steel housing is used inside the carbon. With the forging process, the carbon takes on a marbled appearance that is unique to each case.

The next material, ceramic, is used for the bezel, chosen for its hardness and resistance to scratches. The ceramic is finished in grey with a brushed finish with sandblasted cutouts. Lastly the titanium, which here is used for the lugs and the crown guard. Combined the three elements make for a very strong and interesting looking design.

The dial is also a multi-piece affair made up of four sections. The base plate is a sunburst brushed finish with in Rose Gold, Gun-Metal Grey or Cobalt Blue. The upper plate is a matte black sandblasted finished with cutouts showing the plate below. The outer ring is sandblasted as well and the hour markers polished. The hands will be coated with Superluminova for visibility. The crystal is sapphire, which given the hardened materials for the case one would expect. The case back is titanium screw down with a display of the Miyota 9015 movement inside. The rotor will be rose gold PVD and have the logo laser engraved. The rest of the specs include 14.5mm height, 24mm lugs, a screw down crown and a water resistance of 100M.

The Vilhelm Watches Elemental has already surpassed its Kickstarter goal of $50,000. The campaign ends on Saturday April 30, 2016 at 5:29 AM PDT, so there is plenty of time to get on board, should one chose to do so. The Early bird price for the dial color of your choice is $599 USD, limited to 50 of each at that price. After that the campaign price jumps to $649 USD; expected retail price is $1000. Given the elaborate case design and use of combined materials, the price seems fair. The delivery estimate of the watch is August 2016. You can check it all out over at the Kickstarter campaign page.

Update: Vilhe;m has updated their campaign with a stretch goal of $100,000 that will upgrade the movement from the Miyota 9015 to a Swiss ETA 2824 movement. At this time they are just $18,000 shy of making this goal.