Liberum DMD 001 - Fun Automatic Modular Crowdfunded Microbrand Watch
Liberum appears to be based in my hometown of Milan, Italy, and they have just published their first Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/liberumwatches/liberum-watches
I initially found this project through a review by Aussie Youtuber Jody of Just One More Watch. All reviewers of the pre-production prototypes appear to be enthusiastic and have praised both the project's idea and execution.
The watch
As many recent horological projects, the watch as can be seen is heavily inspired by Genta style design, specifically the Zenith Defy Land Rover. It does sport a mechanical automatic movement, a Seiko Instruments NH35A, which contributes to making the DMD 001 both reliable and affordable, but its unique selling proposition is its modular design: the movement is encapsulated in an "inner case" to which, much like Casio G-Shock, an outer case shroud and bracelet are then applied, differently from G-Shock though, case shroud and straps are by design meant to be easily swapped and experimented with in a combination of the five provided colours.
In summary, the features are:
Inner Case: 316L stainless steel - AR-coated sapphire crystal - Superluminova - Exhibition case back - Decorated rotor and signed crown
Movement: SII NH35A
Outer Case / Shroud: TPE 42mm diameter
Strap: High resistance Polyurethane
Water resistance: 10ATM / 100 metres
The shipped product will consist of one inner case (white or dark grey) and its assembled shroud and strap, plus four additional pairs of shroud + strap to be combined at will.
What I imagine and hope to see in the future is additions to the outer case and strap - I'm thinking of a wide range of colours including dayglow orange and signal red. A special edition could, in a nod to A. Lange & Sohne Aventurine dials. The "Aventurine" case and strap would be in midnight blue conservatively specked with tiny reflective flakes, similarly, the same technique may be applied on white in a "Frost" edition and "Black Swan" in black. Maybe even variations in the outer case design - Nutilus? Or how about a cushioned Panerai or Majetek base shape? A modern pocket watch outer case shroud could even be an option. The modular nature of this project allows one to push boundaries without taking oneself seriously, in other words, to have fun.
My backing
This is the second Crowdfunded project I participate in, the first was the Horizon Pilgrim last month.
I managed to pledge at the Super Early Bird at € 149, sadly both that tier and the Early Bird at € 179 are all gone, to pledge at this time one can choose between:
€ 199 for one DMD 001 (1 assembled watch + 4 extra shroud+strap)
€ 259 for a the white + grey case combo (2 assembled watches + 3 extra shroud+strap)
The final retail price, after the Kickstarter campaign will be over, is expected to be € 259 for the single unit (1 assembled watch + 4 extra shroud+strap).
This looks like a very fun watch, especially for the summer season, delivery is expected by September, come to think of it the full white version sounds just right for the snow as well :)
Find Liberum's Kickstarter campaign page here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/liberumwatches/liberum-watches
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Nec spe, nec metu. 🇮🇹🇦🇺