I seem to have a soft spot for small watch brands living out their lives in countries we normally don’t think of for watch production. I don’t know about you, but for me, Malaysia would get onto that list. That means it’s time to adjust perceptions, because this new project from Revelot is showing what they can do there.
When we see new Kickstarter campaigns come out, we’re always looking with a critical eye to see where on the scale from “derivative carbon copy” to “totally unique” that the watch lands. If they’re all the way down on the left, we leave ’em in the dust. The Revelot certainly ups itself over to the unique side of things, albeit with some overall touches that feel familiar to me.
If you read through the campaign, you’ll see that their watch was inspired by a discarded turbine that they found when looking for manufacturing space. And in that regard, I think that if this design had come out with an AVI-8 logo on it, we wouldn’t give it a second thought. Not that they’re copying that brand, but just that the aesthetic is something that fits in with what we’ve seen there. Or, if you want to cast a wider net, you could think of stuff that came from, say, Zinvo and other brands.
This is not to denigrate the brand, as you need to start somewhere. It’s just the exposed mechanical aviation theme is something we’ve seen before, and will likely see again. It’s popular, and that’s proven out by how quickly the campaign hit it’s funding goal (currently sitting at 115%). Then again, when you’ve got a Miyota automatic packed into a steel case with an AR-coated sapphire crystal, and pricing starts at $249, you won’t be surprised. You can check out all the details on the watch, and back them (if you choose) before things close out on December 16. campaign page
Tech Specs from Revelot
- Case: 45mm diameter / 13.5mm thick / 22mm lugs / 316L stainless steel
- Movement
- Miyota 82S7 Automatic
- 40-48 hour power reserve
- 50m WR rating
- Crystal: sapphire with AR coating
- Quick release straps
