Kickstarter

Vuelta 17

Attached to this update is the photo of the Vuelta 17. I am very pleased with it, especially the dramatic appearance of the very large TY3620 movement. It also has a nice solid feeling on the wrist, weighing in at 96 grams. (exactly 10 grams more than the 25). 

I was however, pleasantly surprised to learn something new about the TY3620. In speaking about the Vuelta 17 during the Kickstarter campaign, I underrepresented the beat count. The movement inside the Vuelta 17 is actually a 21,600 beat-per-hour movement, and not an 18,000. I had it stuck in my head that all wide diameter pocket watch movements were slow tickers when this is not the case with this particular model. And it's a shame, since stating that this was in fact a faster ticker would have definitely enhanced the sales appeal of the 17. Bottom line is: The Vuelta 17 is even a better watch than I said it would be!

Now for some updates:

Boxes are being shipped 

The Padron watch boxes are finished, and are currently on a cargo vessel making their way over to the gulf of Mexico all the way from the port of Fuzhou, China. They'll be processed by customs in Laredo, TX then delivered to Minneapolis. They're scheduled to be at my office around the 10th of October.

Default Band is finalized. 

After running through many samples, the non-Chaparral band is actually going to be highly similar in appearance to the Chaparral, with exception that it will be black stitch by default. It will also be a genuine leather band, but not have the same level of unique water resistance protection that the Chaparral has. 

Watches are being produced.

The Vuelta 25 and 17 are now being made. Manufacturing is a two-month process, which began in earnest last week following the long delay with the prototypes plus changes and approvals. The cases are being made in Hong Kong, and I actually took time to fly out there last week to meet with my casemaker to go over the case prototype and production schedule with a side visit to the HKTDC Watch fair, where I also had the opportunity to shake hands with the awesome team making the boxes now under shipment. 

One key development that came out of my HK visit was that I was able to get the black date wheel back into the Vuelta 25 design, which is huge. For a while, the date wheel was to be white (and I had updated my previous renderings to show this) Upon discussing it further with my supplier, we found a way to get the manufacturer to send the movement with the black date wheel already included. Usually this is a separate step which can be time consuming and introduce needless risk. So getting it preassembled with the movement was a definite win. 

Needless to say I came back from Hong Kong with better ties to my suppliers and my head swimming with ideas on how to take what has already shaped up to be a great watch and make the next generation even better. 

Schedule:

The lateness of the prototypes really did push everything up, but we're now off in the running. September and October is factored as the time it will take to complete and test the components, with some possible bleed into November. Late October / early November is when I would have things air-freighted (versus sea freight) to the US, which will be appreciably faster and safer. Customs is always a wildcard. Customs may simply greenlight my shipment, or give me considerable grief as a first time manufacturer, but I have done everything possible with my logistics partners to ensure compliance for an issue-free importation.

As of today, I am forecasting receipt of the goods with testing, packaging and distribution to you happening throughout November to early December. I will do all in my power to ensure we stick to this timeframe. 

Overall...

We have a product. It's real, a bunch of them are being made right now, and it's the most satisfying feeling to be at this point, considering that you helped me get this off the ground just this April. 

And it's a beautiful, amazing and dependable watch. I've worn both the Vuelta 17 and 25 on my wrist for weeks now. I took both prototypes with me on my trip to Hong Kong and wore the heavier 17 while wandering around much of the city. On the hottest days (and it's humid as heck in HK) the watch never once felt burdensome, and I attribute that to the excellent breathability of the Chaparral band, and the design of the lugs, which by standing just slightly above the wrist allow for additional air flow.

I will close this update with a photo of me at Victoria Peak high above Hong Kong bay posing with the Vuelta 17. I don't think I've shared a wrist shot in my last update, but here you can get an idea of the size and look of it here. I've mocked up the thing countless times, but until you wear it on the wrist, you never quite know what you have. I'm happy to say that it's everything I would want as a watchmaker and an enthusiast, and I cannot wait for you to have your own and share in my enthusiasm. 

In the interest of getting this out there immediately, I'm abandoning writing my usual novella-length update for a quick one. The prototype for the Vuelta 25 is complete. It is beautiful, and I am authorizing production for all pieces minus a few tiny adjustments, such as upping the pantone value for the minute tracks among other details. They photograph poorly here, but they are definitely clear IRL, just not quite red enough. Attached are photos. I've chosen the Chaparral band with the red stitching for this update. 

Lots of thoughts about this which I will share subsequently. The Vuelta 17 is still going through some final tweaks before it's ready. I've attached some shots of the dial here since it hasn't been shared before. (Including shots of the luminous.) Because both share the same case, that part is final, including approvals. 

I want to thank every one of you for your collaboration in making this possible. It's a wonderful product, and made stronger than the original concept largely by your input. In a nutshell: I am madly in love this watch, and I know you will be too. :-)

The big moment will be when I have completed prototypes to share with you. I've been waiting for everything to come together with baited breath and of course, in the days where things are supposed to just seamlessly happen there's the inevitable murphy's laws: A long delay on the PVD finish. A caseback that was defective and needed to be sent back. Crystals that were slightly larger then what was actually ordered. 

It's only a matter of days now. But in the interest of keeping you in the loop, here's the case with the PVD finish applied. I like it!

Much much more to follow soon! 

Leo

July might require a two part update, since lots of stuff is happening, but not happening quite fast enough for the megillah it deserves. But here’s what I can share so far: 

The Completed Padron Vuelta prototypes within days now. 

I am expecting to have the complete samples of the Vuelta 17 and Vuelta 25 to share with you hopefully by end of this month, or first week of August. I was hoping to have it by this update but no dice. The moment it's done, you’ll see it.

What's Accomplished: 

Bands, bands and more bands.

The entire Chaparral supply is headed to my Minneapolis studio in a couple of days. I will start stocking them on my website as an upgrade for those of you who did not pledge it on Kickstarter but wish to order one. Photos attached. With buckles!

Packaging.

I've narrowed down my very long hunt for a suitable box. Attached is the sample I received in early July. In short, I love it. I had considered changing some of the piping, but decided to leave all the accents white as there are white features on the watch it will complement. The order has been put in and they are being manufactured as we speak. A picture says a thousand words, but a nice video says much more and is attached below the fold. (Mind the clutter on my desk).

Logistics!

Making the Padron Vuelta requires a diverse supply chain that spans the US, Europe, China, and Japan. I am a first time commercial importer. Those sentences together should spook you and me both. Yet this is a subject I am thankful to have gotten excellent guidance on throughout and have been treating aggressively, taking care to anticipate and eliminate as much risk as possible. Part of this is securing the right logistics partners to manage importation soup to nuts. There’s licensure, insurance, bonding, compliance, incoterm jargon, inspections, customs, paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. Bottom line is that the whole ballet involved in getting hundreds of pounds of goods across oceans is largely mapped out now with paperwork being filed early and agreements signed. This might be a dry development to share, but its important. :-)

Needing Assistance With: 

Illustrations for Owners Manual 

The fun part of the Owners Manual is that you will likely get to see the soft copy before the printed piece ships with your watch. The manual is (mostly) done. Actually all that needs is an illustrator to create a series of diagrams demonstrating operation, care tips etc. Hence I am looking for a good technical illustrator to draw several diagrams, so if you know a good one, feel free to reach out to me. 

Exposure!

Want to write a blog entry about Padron Watch Company? Or a magazine article? Or even a tweet? As I near having the product in hand to share with the world, I’m putting it out early that I’m ready to start talking about it. Exposure is good. Equally so is sound advice on this front. 

More to share soon hopefully. I expect to post an update to this update as it were by late July early August. If you haven't already, feel free to check out my relaunched website at www.padronwatchco.com for the most updated info on the Vuelta itself and many of my vintages. And as always, I'm here for all your questions. :-) 

Quite a bit has been underway this month, and I’ve been waiting for a good moment to emerge and give you an update on what’s progressed. So here it is! 

Website (and Acknowledgements)

The new Padron Website is up, and producing it turned out to be a far bigger leviathan than planned because of the complex commerce solution I chose which will allow some room for growth...but it's finally done and I am happy. And you can see it at http://www.padronwatchco.com. (If you cannot see it, email me. There’s a few subnets that I am suppressing for now due to my old site being hacked). 

I have posted acknowledgements (in the About section as well as a link in the footer) for contributors. But if you are not on this list yet, it's simply because you preordered the Vuelta and have not received the survey, which I have been timing closer to launch to ensure address information is fresh and correct. If you don’t wish to wait for the survey, please email me your name. And if you don’t wish to be listed, there will be an opt-out on the survey. (and those already opted out are not listed).

The website as well will give you a better look at the Vuelta and where it is in terms of final design. The 17 Pilot has less prominence than the 25 as I am still trying to figure out it’s ‘hook’ and how to better promote it. I love the 17. In fact it was the watch I envisioned when designing the Vuelta and part of the reason why the Vuelta is a bigger watch was specifically to accommodate wider movements. But I am a huge watch nerd, and large diameter hand wounds appeal mostly to me and other watch nerds. I can only hope I can translate my personal enthusiasm into a broader appeal in general. :-)

Bands

The website is also key because it permits additional fulfillment for more accessories and bands such as the Chaparral. In this way, if you want to upgrade the band, you will soon be able to if you hadn't on Kickstarter (though it will cost more than the pledge level). But it also will allow an exploration of a wider variety of add-ons that can be made available for sale. I am currently looking at different samples to provide more choice. I will continue to update you on new accessories as I continue to develop them. Some of these are fabric samples...and yes, there may even be a metal band. No promises though, I am just looking. ;-)

Samples

This is part I am excited about because I have initial photos to share with you. Hands are complete (but without luminous which is being added seperately), case has been milled and fitted with the Chaparral band for testing, The case still needs to be polished and coated in PVD black and what you are seeing here is a rough, unfinished version of the final case. The Dial for the Vuelta 25 has also been sent to me for approval, and I had some feedback pertaining to the construction of the indices among some pantone values. The feedback phase of most of this is ongoing now, so in a way I am showing you much of this too soon, but I want you to feel part of this process. From my end, I am very excited about what I am seeing, even if it’s preliminary.

Ultimately the assembled, completed Vueltas will best illustrate the final product. Turn-key (or turn-crown?) samples are still about 3 weeks away, but if I am lucky, perhaps I'll have more to share by my next update. 

Schedule

The million dollar question of course, is, are we on track? So far, yes. And I am glad there have not been significant delays or surprises. Things that can push us back are (1) how much back and forth I have over the final sample, although I have seen little that concerns me thus far (2) any delay in delivery of the movements (3) custom/shipping issues for some of the parts being made overseas, which can always be complex but I am getting very wonderful advice on this point and will do my best to see around the corners. Lastly, there’s always final inspection. Which is ensuring that the final product is indeed living up to my exacting standards.

Packaging and printed collateral is also a wild card, but that’s in process. Bottom line is, right now we’re in the thick of it, and I anticipate that July will better instruct me (and you) where things are at. But so far, I am very happy about the progress I’ve seen. I hope you are too.

And as always, write me with any questions.

Leo

Attached are photos (not renderings) of samples. In addition to renderings of the updated caseback designs, which some of you asked to see.