Today, I’m very excited to introduce Schaffen – a homegrown Singaporean brand that offers customisable timepieces. They recently launched their Kickstarter campaign, offering customisable automatic watches, with the ability to even personalize the rotor! It’s a project that I’ve been eagerly awaiting for quite some time, and I’m glad to finally see it come to fruition.
Schaffen Watches first started out in 2015 when co-founder Jonathan Han crafted a personalized watch for his father as a gift for his 50th birthday. Turns out, the older Mr. Han really liked the watch, which led to Jonathan realising that there was a market for bespoke watches. He roped in his older brother Nicholas, and together they decided to create their own watch company. They named it Schaffen, which means “to create” in German – fitting given that they basically allow consumers to create their own personalised timepieces. You can read more about Schaffen’s story on their Kickstarter page, as well as their website. In the past year, they offered (and still do) high-quality quartz watches for consumers to customize, but have now ventured into the automatic realm with their maiden Kickstarter project, the Reference 65 series. Let’s delve into what they have to offer.
Schaffen – the Kickstarter project
I have been waiting for Schaffen to announce their Reference 65 series for a long time – I’m absolutely stoked that it’s out! To me, the level of customization coupled with the specs is simply unbeatable for the price. In case you’re wondering, the numeral 65 pays homage to Singapore’s independence year, which coincidentally was also the year where the Han brothers parents were born.
The Schaffen automatic line comes in two variants, the A65 (dress option) and the S65 (sports option). In terms of customization, you get to decide your preferred dial and hands color, date window option, and whether or not to add a personalized text of your choice on the dial.
Spec-wise, the Reference 65 collection is impressive. You get sapphire crystal (with inner AR coating), full grain leather strap on the A65/316L stainless steel bracelet on the S65, as well as a screwed down caseback. The most impressive of all though is the Sellita SW200-1 movement inside. A Swiss movement (elabore grade, with heat-blued screws at that) for as little as $585 SGD (the S65 would be $625) – that’s just a bargain. Many popular Kickstarter campaigns (MVMT, Fillipo Loreti, just to name a few) go large on marketing but neglect the build quality of their watches. I’m happy to see that this isn’t the case with Schaffen!
The main calling card however, has to be the custom rotor. In recent years, there has been quite a few watch companies offering customization options – but very rarely the rotors. Even for those that do, it’s mere rotor engraving – I have yet to see anyone (other than Schaffen) offering cut-out designs of your choice for the rotor. The level of customisation at this price point is unprecendented – it just takes the cake for me.
Conclusion – A no-brainer!
As of point of writing, the Schaffen Kickstarter project has already surged past it’s initial funding goal. Currently, there are already more than 100 backers – and there’s still 24 more days to go!
For $585-625 SGD, you really get a lot of bang for your buck. You get to customise your dial, and personalise the rotor. Spec-wise, you get sapphire crystal, quality straps, and a nicely decorated, elabore grade Swiss movement in the Sellita SW200-1. Watches were always meant to be a reflection of one’s personality – with the Reference 65 collection, you get to exemplify that literally from front to back. They make great, unique gifts for your loved ones as well! If you want a well-built, personalised timepiece, the Schaffen Reference 65 series may very well be your answer. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get one for review soon!
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