Hello everyone, and welcome to another Singaporean article! On this “shiok” Saturday, I’m introducing the DWISS Watch Design Club, a new initiative by the microbrand to involve their fans in the actual design process of DWISS watches.
For those who are unfamiliar with DWISS, I covered their brand story in my review of the DWISS RC-1 here. It’s a great watch – do read the review if you haven’t already done so!
DWISS Watch Design Club
The premise of the club is simple – members pay a small monthly fee ($79 USD) for a year, which equates to $948 USD in total. Throughout the year, members are able to vote on several key components of the eventual watch, such as the case and dial design. Certain technical aspects of the watch are fixed, like the usage of the venerable ETA 2824 movement, sapphire crystal, and a WR rating of at least 100M. The watch will eventually retail at $1390 USD, which means that club members would be able to get the final watch at a significantly (over 30% off) discounted rate. Finally, the membership is non-binding, meaning that members can cancel their subscription – for example, if they don’t like where the design of the watch is headed – at any time, and the already paid monthly fees will be converted to store credit which one can use to purchase any DWISS product.
Let’s go through the Watch Design Club experience, step-by-step. Firstly, members vote on the case design of the watch. A bunch of renders have already been created for visualisation, ranging from case designs from existing DWISS watches, to brand new case designs that the brand have been working on. It is worth mentioning that DWISS offers members the chance to examine the designs in 3D and AR – very un-Swiss of them to integrate modern technology into watchmaking – which is definitely uncommon in the horological world.
Next, members vote on the finishing and intricacies of the case design. The above illustration shows some examples (for illustration purposes only, these are not yet fixed) of options members can opt for in the hypothetical scenario that the case design R1 was picked in Step 1. These include the type of finishing, whether to have crown guards, design of the crown, etc.
Thereafter, members vote on the dial! Again, there will be a variety of dial designs available, which are currently still in the works.
Lastly, members will get to vote on the various details of the dial, such as colour, hands, indices, etc. Again, the details for these are still unconfirmed, but it will definitely be interesting to see how in-depth members can be involved in the design process, especially when it comes to the dial. After the refinement of the dial design, the range of watches will be finalised, with delivery currently scheduled for the end of 2020.
My Opinion:
Personally, I think this is quite a cool idea. It’s definitely unique – I’ve not come across another watch brand that has such a “Design Club” before. I think it’s a cool way for DWISS to involve the watch community in the watch design process as well. Microbrands have always been beloved for this exact reason – brand owners often post renders on Facebook groups and forums, asking the watch community for opinions – and it is certainly refreshing to see DWISS implement an initiative that takes this one step further. In addition, I think that it is a great way for DWISS to make their Swiss-made watches more accessible. Not everyone may have $1390 USD to splurge on one of their watches, but undoubtedly many more would be able to afford setting aside $79 USD monthly (the cost of a monthly gym membership)!
For those interested, you can sign up for the DWISS Design Watch Club here. For the first 20 members only, you can use the promo code “TheFirstWatchDesignClub” to enjoy 50% off their first monthly fee! Once you signed up and become a member, you can immediately start voting on the case design – my pick would definitely be the A0 due to its wire lugs, which is an aesthetic that is hard to find today. Lastly, all members also have the chance to win a DWISS watch in a lucky draw that takes place every month! I think that’s the perfect icing on the cake.
In addition, if you have fallen in love with any of DWISS’ watches, you can also use the promo code “WAHSOSHIOK” for 15% off all watches off their web-store.
Can’t wait to see the final version of the community designed watch!
P.S Do check out the new “Discounts!” page for exclusive discounts for Wahsoshiok readers! More brands will be added very soon – stay tuned!
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