Formex is giving early birds the chance to buy a COSC-certified, Swiss-made automatic for under $700 if they are prepared to back the watch’s launch on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.
The company is not your usual fly-by-night startup; it has been making watches in Switzerland for almost 20 years. Its Essence Automatic Chronometer, which will start crowdfunding on September 25, is thought to be the first COSC-certified chronometer ever launched on Kickstarter.
It uses a decorated Sellita SW200-1 Swiss-made mechanical automatic movement with a custom built rotor and is offered for $680, around £525 (40% off future retail).
An Automatic version without COSC certificate and powered by a less decorated movement is available for $385 (around £300).
The 43mm steel and titanium watches with blue dial have sapphire glass front and back. It will be available on a rubber strap or a metal bracelet.
“I’ve spent the past 10 years developing and producing watch parts for the most famous brands out there. Now here at Formex I am able to use that knowledge and experience to create the best possible watches with the quality attributes and design features that are usually only found in high end timepieces at a much higher price tag. We designed and crafted the Essence to be the high-quality mechanical watch for the daily adventure, in or without a suit. Launching the Essence on a crowdfunding platform allows us to combine the best of two worlds: a high-quality watch manufactured by an established and trusted Swiss Micro-brand, offered at Kickstarter prices,” says Formex CEO, Raphael Granito.
