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The list of independent watch brand-hopefuls continues to grow with another crowd-funding entry in the shape of Melbourne Watch Company. Melbourne and its founder, Sujain Krishnan are using Indiegogo as the platform to back their first production watch, the Flinders Automatic.
Before stepping off on his quest to design his own watch, Sujain ran Melbourne Custom Watches, a shop that created homage military and pilot style watches. The small business ran for the past year with enough success for Sujain to realize he had the potential to expand beyond creating other people’s designs and homages into his own brand. One slight name change later and we have the Melbourne Watch Company and a first timepiece.
The Flinders is their first original design and was named after Melbourne’s Flinders Street Station. For those not familiar with the name Flinders Street Station is a railway station in Melbourne that services the entire metropolitan rail network. Although named after a railway, it is not strictly a railway inspired design. The Flinders Automatic has more of a dressy feel to it, a contemporary-classic look, if you will.
The 316L stainless steel case is 40mm in diameter and has a height of only 9.8mm, which is a pretty slim profile. A sapphire crystal on the front protects the guilloche dial in either black or white. Sick markers adorn the watch with an inside minute track of small hash marks. Matching the hour markers are a set of stick hands as well, with a decorative M at the end of the seconds hand. A sapphire crystal on the back shows the Miyota 9015 movement which powers the watch. The Miyota has become a very popular choice among many brands as it provides a less expensive and more available alternative over an ETA. The case back is secured with six screws around the perimeter of the watch. The watch will come with a 20mm leather strap, a leather style display case and a 12 month manufacturers warranty.
Sujain’s goal with the Melbourne Watch Company and the Flinders Automatic is “to give buyers the combination of a high quality mechanical movement, a slim case and affordable price tag.” On the Indiegogo campaign page the current early bird price is $350 AUD – approximately $313 USD – which is limited to 25 of each dial color. After the early bird offerings pricing is set at $395 AUD or approximately $353 USD. If you do not want to buy the Flinders Automatic but still wish to support their funding efforts there are also benefits such as sponsor credits, logo cufflinks and a leather wallet. You can see the full details at the Flinders Automatic Indiegogo page and on the Melbourne Watch Company website.
Specs
Case: 316L Stainless Steel
Movement: Miyota 9105
Dial: Black or white with guilloche pattern
Crystal: Sapphire, front and back
Water Resistance: 50M
Diameter: 40mm
Height: 9.8mm
Lugs: 20mm
