The kickstarter adventures of Sólás - solaswatches.com

Thirdfox

An Post now provides insured shipping in Ireland. I'll be shipping worldwide via registered post - my experience of stolen packages has been very low but if that occurs it comes out of my pocket and I ship again. We're shipping 399 watches not 3999 watches (which would get a bump up to fedex/dhl shipping) - that's the plan anyway - no backer will be left hanging however.

893bet

Thirdfox wrote: »

An Post now provides insured shipping in Ireland. I'll be shipping worldwide via registered post - my experience of stolen packages has been very low but if that occurs it comes out of my pocket and I ship again. We're shipping 399 watches not 3999 watches (which would get a bump up to fedex/dhl shipping) - that's the plan anyway - no backer will be left hanging however.

I understand jewellery is excluded?

Thirdfox

893bet wrote: »

I understand jewellery is excluded?

Yay need a lawyer for you going through the terms and conditions - jewellery is excluded yup - and that includes watches...made of precious metals. I may call aventurine a luxurious/precious material - but a metal it ain't

apuat.strata3test.com/Post-Parcels/Sending/Sending-Guide/Prohibited-Items - for some reason it's not loading for me currently - but I mentioned it on the watchmen thread too a while back noting that An Post now includes optional insurance.

893bet

Thirdfox wrote: »

Yay need a lawyer for you going through the terms and conditions - jewellery is excluded yup - and that includes watches...made of precious metals. I may call aventurine a luxurious/precious material - but a metal it ain't

apuat.strata3test.com/Post-Parcels/Sending/Sending-Guide/Prohibited-Items - for some reason it's not loading for me currently - but I mentioned it on the watchmen thread too a while back noting that An Post now includes optional insurance.

But where is “jewellery” defined so that watches of the stainless variety are excluded?

I wouldn’t like to be in tells situation of arguing with them on a 2k watch.

(Notes that thirdfox has a strong interest in pro bono work)

Thirdfox

893bet wrote: »

But where is “jewellery” defined so that watches of the stainless variety are excluded?

I wouldn’t like to be in tells situation of arguing with them on a 2k watch.

(Notes that thirdfox has a strong interest in pro bono work)

https://www.anpost.com/AnPost/media/PDFs/SinglePieceMailTermsandConditionsforUniversalServices.pdf

(14) “Jewellery” means:—(a) gold, silver, or platinum or other precious metal in a manufactured state, that is to say, a state in which value is added to the raw material by skilled workmanship, and includes any coins used or designed for the purposes of ornament;(b) diamonds and precious stones;(c) watches, the cases of which are entirely or mainly composed of gold, silver or platinum or other precious metal; and(d) any article of a like nature which, apart from workmanship, has an intrinsic or marketable value.

As An Post's lawyer I would argue that (d) snookers you as a Rolex whatever, has an intrinsic or marketable value.

As my own lawyer I would argue that per the contra preferendum rule - T&Cs are interpreted against the draftee of the contract - they have covered watches in (c) already and explicitly state that it applies only to gold/silver/platinum/precious metal cases so it cannot then cover watches again separately under (d).

Additionally, if that argument does not apply - my second argument is that the Rolex has its marketable value precisely because of its workmanship.

Additionally, if that argument is not accepted in the small claims court - then my 3rd argument would be that (d) states that "an article of a like nature" - which a watch is not, it is an article of exactly the same nature to the item described in (c) and so is excluded from (d).

...Basically - I'd ask An Post to get me to re-draft these T&Cs if they want to exclude stainless watches :pac:

edit: but as always - see that signature of mine - who know's if I'm actually a lawyer or just spouting nonsense

Thirdfox

Some more good news - Perth Watch loves it too and mentions that people might be bashing at the door to get more after the KS batch sells out...

I'll hopefully be in a position to start a waiting list for next (serial production but no longer at KS prices) set once I see what demand is like at the end of the KS campaign.

T-3 days to go!

This is it

Even though it'll be 6 months+ before I, hopefully, get the watch, I'm still very excited for the KS kickoff!

And delighted to see €2k for Alone too

Thirdfox

Considering we're starting ahead of schedule we should get delivery slightly ahead of schedule too - so maybe January rather than February.

I'll be keeping people relatively updated on progress as things progress too.

Thirdfox

- Shane from Relative Time has put up his review - I'm so busy I haven't seen it myself yet but hopefully it's good

banie01

Thirdfox wrote: »

- Shane from Relative Time has put up his review - I'm so busy I haven't seen it myself yet but hopefully it's good

Very compelling and in-depth review.
Really came out as a fan of the watch IMO, that he would have liked some blueing is interesting, but a little bit greedy at the KS price in fairness

That he spent so long extolling the virtues of the dial/hand combo and highlighting the difficulty in actually photographing it and capturing it's hue and subtlety should get any folk on the fence...
Off it, I think.

In my own (easily discounted ) opinion, it's as close to a glowing review as I've seen.

The hands, I keep wondering how they'd look with whatever the finishing B&R use is called?
That Matt/polish contrast, not a want or a change request! Just a musing.

Really delighted the review was so good and the watch so well received.
Interesting tha the very minor issues actually raised tally well with some of the earlier on thread discussions.

Thirdfox

Oh and for full disclosure yesterday on the TZ watch forum I was informed that Kemmner offered a $600 007 sub before with a variety of movements (mainly ETA but also apparently around 100 versions with a NOS 1981 Harley Ronda 2538 micro-rotor inside) - these were obviously limited by the stock of NOS movements compared to factory production movements in the Starlight - so people should judge accordingly the claim that this is the world's first (factory fresh?) affordable micro-rotor microbrand offering? Thought that might be expanding the qualifiers a little too much I admit - I do think there is a difference between using NOS movements and ordering in production movements for use in a watch however.

Thirdfox

Just a reminder for people that 9:19 should be a good time to have a look for the Starlight tomorrow (morning not evening!) Kinda ironic since I guess the Starlight should really be coming out at night rather than morning... well it's always night somewhere in the world

FFVII

Thirdfox wrote: »

well it's always night somewhere in the world

No it's not.

During summer at Antarctica, the sky is never dark. Around the summer solstice, weather conditions permitting, the sun is visible 24 hours a day

:pac:

Thirdfox

FFVII wrote: »

No it's not.

:pac:

Ah but even when in Antarctica during the everlasting days it's still night "somewhere" on the planet

Thirdfox

9:19am :P

so the finishing touch to my KS page - putting in the expected project timeline and limited warranty (2 years):

Expected project timeline:

1. Launch - 6 July 2020 - the campaign launches and we start on our journey together!
2. Campaign ends - 6 August 2020 - the campaign ends and fingers crossed we've reached our funding goals and the project is going ahead. At this point your card will be charged if you backed the project for a Sólás Starlight and I will have an idea of final numbers.
3. Order placed - 7-12 August 2020 - I will get in touch with my Chinese and Irish partners to begin production of the watch and straps.
4. Watches produced - November/December 2020 - from discussions with my factory partner they estimate that production of all ~394 watches will be completed November/December. QC will be performed in China at this point in time and any watches that do not pass the QC will be replaced/rejected.
5. Watches sent to Ireland - December/January 2020 - at this time the watches will be shipped to Ireland where the Irish made straps will be waiting for them. I will personally perform another round of QC on the received stock (with my own timegrapher) and regulate any watches that need further tuning. WR testing will be performed on a randomised sample of watches too. At this point I will assemble the Irish straps on to the clasps and watches.
6. Watch delivery - February 2020 - I expect that by February 2020 the all backers' Starlights will be sent out to backers across the world via registered post with tracking numbers. This time line has built in some buffers for unforeseen delays but if something particularly unexpected happens I will be sure to let backers know as soon as any delays crop up.

Limited Warranty
All Sólás Starlight watches will come with a limited International guarantee against any manufacturing defect for a period of two years from the date of purchase, under the conditions below.

What is covered?
With this two-year limited guarantee, Sólás undertakes to repair, free of charge (exclusive of shipping costs to us), any problem with the functions of the watch that result from defective manufacturing.

What is not covered?
Any defects resulting from actions carried out anywhere other than at Sólás are not covered by this guarantee and will render it null and void. The limited guarantee also does not cover straps/bracelets, crystals, or any deterioration of the case or movement due to humidity that has entered the watch as a result of improper handling. More generally, it does not apply if there has been improper or inadequate use of the watch.



...believe it or not I didn't draft that warranty language myself - it's just an expansion of "don't take the p*ss" and come to me if you took the caseback off and went scuba diving with it. Or drilled holes in the case and then wanted to return the watch (apparently that happened with Ross and Hamtun :eek: ) ...or take a hammer to the watch and then is surprised it's stopped working.

FFVII

Thirdfox wrote: »

Ah but even when in Antarctica during the everlasting days it's still night "somewhere" on the planet

Whoops

I'm up since 4am.

I'm a sleepy.

Crocodile Dundee is on rte2.

Best of luck tomorrow Diyu.

John Hutton

Sorry for yet another stupid question about Kickstarter (never used it)
From reading the above:
Am I right in saying that when I back it tomorrow morning my card will NOT be charged but rather it will be charged in August when the campaign closes?

Thirdfox

John Hutton wrote: »

Sorry for yet another stupid question about Kickstarter (never used it)
From reading the above:
Am I right in saying that when I back it tomorrow morning my card will NOT be charged but rather it will be charged in August when the campaign closes?

That's exactly it - and it will only be charged if at least 194ish people sign up (it's based on value and not numbers).

John Hutton

Thirdfox wrote: »

That's exactly it - and it will only be charged if at least 194ish people sign up (it's based on value and not numbers).

Perfect, thanks

SnowyMay

Thirdfox wrote: »

- Shane from Relative Time has put up his review - I'm so busy I haven't seen it myself yet but hopefully it's good

It's good.

And, I could listen to that man's voice for hours!

Thirdfox

SnowyMay wrote: »

It's good.

And, I could listen to that man's voice for hours!

That's what MsThirdfox said too!

We got a strong David Attenborough vibe from his demeanour and tone

Oh and 9:19am :P

SnowyMay

Thirdfox wrote: »

That's what MsThirdfox said too!

We got a strong David Attenborough vibe from his demeanour and tone

Oh and 9:19am :P

The Watch Whisperer..

Could you stick up a link again for the 9.19am event?

I'm in the draw for the salmon watch, but am seriously thinking about purchasing one of the for-sale watches.

Thirdfox

If you're interested in signing up to be notified on when this product launches tomorrow please follow the link here and click on "notify me on launch": https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/solaswatches/solas-starlight-an-irish-micro-rotor-watch

Though currently you know exactly when that launch is happening - signing up to be notified is no harm in any case.

Thirdfox

Oh and one last request - and hopefully it's not presumptuous of me to say so - but if there is quite a lot of demand for the watch - again I hope the early bird prices go to the people who at least currently have intentions on keeping the watch - rather than flipping it immediately.

I know I said it a few pages back and there's nothing I can do to stop people from taking as many as they want at the lower prices but I'd like to think even at €399 you can get your money back if you want shift it on.

Here's hoping some boardsies get a pretty great price for a micro-rotor aventurine watch tomorrow then

In case people haven't been following the KS pre-launch page - we are currently at 294 followers - let's see how that translates to backers tomorrow then - a spectacular result in my mind would be that by the end of the day we might be approaching 100% funded - even getting to 80% would be fantastic.

MAJJ

Great to see all the positive reviews. I am going to buy one and keep it. I will show it to my kids after telling them your journey. Well done!

Thirdfox

THIS...IS...SÓLÁS (SPARTA!) - 300 followers before launch

Eoin

Thirdfox wrote: »

THIS...IS...SÓLÁS (SPARTA!) - 300 followers before launch

The very best of luck with the launch tomorrow, it's been great following the progress.

This is it

Best of luck, I'll be on at 09:19

Thirdfox

And I've been up since 6:30 trying to get some work (job job) done in advance so can spend a few more minutes looking at the page today

893bet

Work can be such a hinderance to life......