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There has been a pretty good run of watches on Kickstarter lately, with the Straton Watch Co. Vintage Driver Chrono (funded 506% over goal) and the Redux COURG (funded 1,671% over goal) both of which we featured here and here, respectively (just in case you missed them). Recently another watch brand, Ridley Watkins, launched a new watch on Kickstarter and is looking for your support.
The watch that Ridley Watkins is debuting is the Curriculum No8, an interestingly named quartz chronograph. The watch is powered by the Citizen Miyota 6S50 quartz chronograph movement (PDF specs). The movement has the 3-6-9 subdial layout with a big date at 12. The subdials are for the chronograph 1/20th second (3 o’clock), chronograph minute hand (9 o’clock) and the running seconds for the time (at 6 o’clock). The center seconds hand is for the chronograph seconds. The big date looks to have the first digit in white on a red background with the second white on black; a nice touch of contrast. Estimated battery life for the 6S50 is a respectable four years.
The movement is housed in a 43mm diameter 316L stainless steel case with 20mm lugs. Affixed to the case is a 60 click, unidirectional ceramic diver bezel that has a somewhat vintage look to it with triangles at 12 and 6 and minute dots from 12 to the 15. It is a good looking bezel that compliments the dial. If you prefer the racing look a tachymeter ceramic bezel is also an option. The Curriculum No8 dial is kept relatively simple with the Watkins text at 12, below the big date, and the watch name curved around the seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. Markers for the hours are thin triangles except for 12, 3, 6 and 9 where they are shorter to accommodate the big date and the subdials. The dial will be available in black, silver and white.
The caseback of the Curriculum No8 has the Time Zone feature that is mentioned in the campaign. Around the center of the caseback is inscribed the GMT +/- for popular cities around the globe. Great for travelers who can pop off the watch to quickly calculate how they have to re-set the watch for their next destination. The back will also have a unique serial number on the watch based on the pledge. On the flip side the watch is protected by a sapphire crystal and has a water resistance of 100M, aided by screw down crowns. For straps, those that pledge can choose a nylon NATO strap, leather NATO or a bracelet.
One thing about the watch that stands out, however, is its striking similarity to the Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph. The dial, diver bezel and hands are quite the spitting image of the JLC. Not that it is necessarily a bad thing; it is an attractive watch, and the JLC starts at over $10,000 USD, but it does make the watch into more an homage than perhaps was intended.
The Curriculum No8 needs €40,000 (~ $44,600 USD) to get off the ground for delivery in January 2016. The lowest available pledge (at the time of this article) is €149 (~ $160 USD) for one watch on a nylon NATO strap. For the leather NATO the pledge price is €169 (~ $185 USD) and the bracelet version comes in at €199 (~ $219 USD). There are pledge options for multiple watches as well. The campaign is set to end on September 9th, 2015. You can view the Kickstarter campaign page for more information and to pledge.
