January Update and Launch

After a half year of madness in 2024 we're ready to launch our first collection as a UK microbrand, but it took a while to get here with a few mistakes made and plenty of great people met - what a great community we have! Over the past few months, I've met and spoken to some truly amazing fellow owners and great people at some shows. After truly and royally screwing up the initial Kickstarter, it was my fellow enthusiasts and owners that gave me the spirit to keep on going (and get better at telling a story), for them, I am truly grateful. I will cover that soon in more detail but first I'd like to let you know about our launch.

RECON COLLECTION LAUNCH:

First things first, the Recon Collection will launch this week, beginning Monday, 13th January. This will include the three colourways (black, brown, and green) seen before plus a NEW all-white dial version that will be available for pre-order where they can be assembled and regulated in March. Assuming all goes smoothly, I hope to begin shipping the white dial watches by the end of March. All watches will launch with a 20% DISCOUNT price of £175 for the rest of the month before gradually increasing by 5% until the full price of £219 is reached. For this price you can choose whether you would like the white date or black date version (see below render), a green military and black military strap, a regulated (as close as possible to 0 s/d in three positions aiming for at least -5s to +5s per day) timepiece, the watch roll containing the watch, the 2-year warranty and the watch information card.

WHITE DIAL PRE-ORDER:

We're so happy to announce that Recon Collection is getting another in the form of the RAF 1940s inspired all white dial, having grown up on what used to be a WW2 aerodrome, this feels like a great direction to take a collection that is inspired by this time, following in the footsteps of the inspirations behind the original three watches. For now, it's only renders but as soon one is assembled for photos they'll be uploaded. The only change is that the hands will be black instead of silver to aid legability and it will be fitted with a black nato strap as standard with a choice of what colour second strap to add. Again, this will be available for pre-order from the 13th of January for £175 however it will stay at this price until shipping begins and then gradually increase to full price in 5% increments, allowing you to grab a great deal.

Plans For The Year Ahead:

The end of 2024 confirmed to me just how great the microbrand watch community and the overall collecting community are. The guys from RedBar Leeds Chapter invited me down to the Paulin Watches event - a brand I have a great deal of respect and admiration for - and it was a blast! A great group of people who welcomed me in and a great group of people who led the chapter. It was more of a blast when they invited me to take part in their mini-micro show along with a few other microbrands, and the feedback on the watches was truly incredible. The members and fellow microbrand owners were amazing; it was brilliant to finally put faces and names to the watches. Anyone who came up to the very unprepared stall that night, I can only thank you deeply!

In 2025 I hope to attend more of these types of events in the UK, and I'm starting to line up a few of them. I don't want to limit myself to just the North, or even England, I'll be looking to get down South and potentially into Scotland or Wales. I'm looking forward to meeting some more fellow enthusiasts and talking watches.

AS FOR NEW MODELS, there are two ideas for 2025. First, there is a very rough sketch of a dial that I feel would make a great GADA watch, which will be offered with a Swiss automatic movement, whilst keeping it as affordable as possible. In an ideal world, the watch would be offered with a Swiss movement and a more affordable alternative as Swiss is not the be-all-end-all in my opinion - the Japanese movements are showcasing this very well. Keep an eye on this space as the aim is to get it launched before the end of the year. Second, there are plans for a fleiger watch too, but some design and movement choices need to be ironed out, this is a bit further back in the works but it will be developed alongside the GADA watch. There's a small chance the Recon collection may see an extra colour too. Anything will be communicated on our newspage and our newsletter that will come soon. All in all, I'm enthralled to begin building the field watches and eager to design and build some other styles of watches for you all. 

In short, it's very early days of 2025, but there's a lot of ideas to get working on and a lot of events and enthusiasts to meet this year. It's just a case of putting the pieces together. And more excited than ever. 

Best Wishes for 2025 everyone.