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Nineties watchmaker ventura returns with modern version of its v-matic EGO

Watches will use the respected ETA 2892-A2 automatic movement in models available on Kickstarter today for £735.

Ventura Watches was a respected brand during the 1990s when its Swiss designer Hannes Wettstein brought a Bauhaus minimalism to its range of mechanical timepieces. There is still a niche collectors’ market for the most desirable models from the mid-nineties hay day.

Mr Wettstein was ahead of his time in some ways with the use of materials like titanium for ventura Watches cases and reliability of COSC-certified movements from ETA and Valjoux.

The brand enjoyed over a decade of success before vanishing in 2010, two years after Mr Wettstein succumbed to cancer at the age of just 50.

Now ventura is being revived by Stephan Hürlemann, a close friend and colleague of Mr Wettstein, and he has turned to the thoroughly modern medium of Kickstarter to fund the relaunch.

The initial target for the crowdfunding was £10,000, but there has already been over £28,000 pledged to date.

 

Its first watch is a re-imagined version of the v-matic EGO, made in titanium like its ancestor.

It comes in a lightweight 41mm PVD-coated case housing an ETA 2892-A2 automatic movement.

The collection has the option of a black dial with white hands and markers or a silver dial with blue furniture. It can be worn on a 5-link titanium bracelet or black leather strap.

 

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The aim of the ventura business is to create a brand that will sell direct-to-consumer. Not paying wholesaler or retailer margins means more money can go into the watch, the company says, and the prices can be more attractive.

Customers/investors on Kickstarter can pledge a minimum of £735 to pre-order a watch with a leather strap. Estimated delivery date will be September. With a titanium bracelet the pledge price jumps to £800.

The price when the watches go on sale after the Kickstarter campaign is expected to increase to £1050 to £1200.

 

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