Interactive interview: I have questions for Nadir Watches...
Hey Folks! I'm going to try out this format here for a live series of questions with and for micro-brands founders, small strap makers, and possibly other small producers and people breaking into the industry. Anyone interested in doing one of these with me, please reach out!
Hopefully people here will also add some questions as part of the dialog!
Bart Maniecki, founder of Nadir Watches (nadirwatches.com) out of Poland, has graciously agreed to be my first subject! Also, feel free to ask him questions below. He has agreed to field questions, so ask him!
Nadir Watches produces an outdoor adventure watch called the Vespera which utilizes the Miyota 9015 automatic movement. The watches, IMHO, are highly detailed and appear well put together. In particular, the dial draws me to the watch, with its details and depth. Crisp, faceted, and lumed, the hands show well in all lights, and look well designed.
Questions for Bart:
1: The edges of the dial are deeply dentilated, and the core of it all is that sunburst pattern and the colored date bar. What were your influences for those design decisions? Can you describe your fonts and indices choices?
2: Those lugs are relatively tight to the body of the case. The weight of the case looks symmetrical and well balanced. What are the case dimensions, and how did you come to those? How does the short lug design work with that?
3: Tell us about the second crown and its complication?
4: That case back is extremely detailed! Tell us about it!
5: What are the straps or bracelets that the watches are available with? What are you thinking about for the future?
6: In the future, where do you see Nadir Watches design language going? What are your plans?
I would like to thank Bart in advance for answering my, and potentially all of our, questions about his brand!
I've been collecting relatively inexpensive watches for years. New to watch making though! That's a whole 'nuther deep rabbit hole to fall down! Sooooo many tools...
Thank You Yani! for this opportunity to share a few extra and obscured details regarding the watch and brand 🙂 Let's go :)
Answer to the 1st question:
Yes. There are 60 cutaways present on the outside. And let me correct this - this is not a sunburst material. All dials are matte. Probably the light effect on the blue studio shots might have given You that impression.
Regarding the influence - as You mentioned - this is an outdoor watch. The goal was to make it a reliable timepiece - and function was in focus. But... there is always space on some design features that accompany the functional attributes. The dial was inspired in general by machines and the automotive world. Therefore the cuts are supposed to loosely resemble a sprocket. Also add some depth to the purposefully flat dial (as this is a watch inspired by old-school trench/field watches - no flashy indexes, no "layering", only printed markings on a matte surface). Regarding the fonts - just simple fonts that match the rest were chosen - plain, non-sheriff. Readable.
Answer to the 2nd question:
The width of the case is 42mm. The L2L is 47mm... Which is relatively small compared to the width. It all comes down to the general lightness of the design. It turned out after the first 3d prints of the case. that despite the 42mm dimension, which should put this watch to the segment of watches that play in the "large category" - it wears actually like 41-40mm. That is thanks to the smooth transition from the widest part to the lugs, which narrows it optically in the lugs area. It even wears ok on the 16,5 cm wrists (although obviously, this is something of a personal preference).
The point was - to make these side profiles - protect the crowns, and wear comfortably on the wrist (I'm a motorcyclist, and I wanted it not to interfere with the hand in any position), but... on the other end - we didn't want to make it too bulky and heavy for the eye. So it evolved into this characteristic shape of the case. I also kept it quite slim - it's only 12,3mm tall. Again for the comfort of slipping it under the motorcycle jacket sleeve. It's the best we could achieve while keeping the inner bezel complication with a double crown... And transitioning to the next question...
Answer to the 3rd question:
This is a Compressor-style watch complication... but instead of having minutes printed on the bezel like a classic Compressor - I decided to go with dual-time. Everything added up perfectly. The crown positioning - is natural for the type of watch, and adds comfort mentioned before. Dual-time is a perfect feature for any overlander or traveller. And still - despite this upper crown not being screwed down - we managed to keep the WR level of 100m.
4th question:
I didn't want a window in the case back - it's not this kind of watch. Doesn't need to show off - built for purpose over form. I wanted to keep it simple. And... since my design team managed to come up with this amazing logo... then it turned out that You can make a quite pretty pattern with it. So we used it on the case back (and on the warranty card also) - the result: it is very smooth for the skin and feels great... breathable when on the wrist. Turned out pretty great I guess. First reviews are coming in (we've only been selling for 10 days) - and all reviewers are pretty consistent regarding the comfort of wearing the Vespera model. It's the biggest compliment I could get :)
5th:
Currently, it's equipped with a natural Italian leather strap. Designed especially for this watch. I wanted to give something "special" to the clients. Wanted to keep it under a 500 EUR price point, while using a high-beat mechanism (rather than the 21k NH35 that You get with 90% of microbrands), went with 904L steel (for the looks, and corrosion resistance) and to top it all with a strap made of Badalassi Carlo leather sourced in Tuscany, Italy. All 3x100 straps are hand-made by 1 person in Poland. This strap is a real highlight.
The cherry on top is a wooden box (made of oak), that the watch is shipped in - also made locally.
Regarding the future - I know that many of the clients were asking for a bracelet. I am working on one, but I'm not yet sure if it will be available with the Vespera model. I don't think it's this type of watch. I want to add it to the offer, but probably with the second line of models. And regarding the Vespera - I'm 80% sure it will be some premium rubber strap as a next step in accessorizing. And a few super limited leather-made add-ons as well.
6th:
I want to keep the design aligned with the unique case profile we came up with. After the short period of feedback collecting - I think we have something special going on. And I want to keep exploring where it will take the brand. Regarding more concrete plans - another model, with different complications, will be in the works soon, in parallel with a second limited series of Vespera. These will always be 1. automatic and 2. adventure-ready :) This kind of nostalgic vibe of an old-school timepiece on a wrist, while offroading or riding an enduro motorcycle is my way of showing appreciation for the engineers who for decades worked on the improvements of keeping time with a mechanical heart.
Great initiative and thank you @bartmaniecki for agreeing to this 👏. Firstly congratulations on a successful launch 🎊
I do have a question: You are an avid motorcyclist. Are there any plans to create an automatic watch that can better handle the vibrations in the future? Are we going to see more designs influenced by motorcycling?
Great initiative and thank you @bartmaniecki for agreeing to this 👏. Firstly congratulations on a successful launch 🎊
I do have a question: You are an avid motorcyclist. Are there any plans to create an automatic watch that can better handle the vibrations in the future? Are we going to see more designs influenced by motorcycling?
Thank You for the question. Do You also ride? :)
I'm going to stay authentic to the overlanding, offroad, hiking and motorcycle-riding audience.
But... I don't think that the kind of GADA ("Go Anywhere, Do Anything") type of watch needs special protection of the mechanism from vibrations. They do need to be built solid and use bulletproof and well-tested movements. Vespera has a steel movement holder. And a well-known and tested Miyota 9015.
I'm aware that equipment attached to the handlebars or a phone or navigation requires damping assistance - but... on the wrist? There is enough amortization in my opinion to keep all wearables safe 🙂 I've never had any issue with any watch. But maybe this is something to explore and think about :)
BTW. I'm curious. Do You know any microbrand model that applies this philosophy to its designs for this type of timepieces?
Thank You for the question. Do You also ride? :)
I'm going to stay authentic to the overlanding, offroad, hiking and motorcycle-riding audience.
But... I don't think that the kind of GADA ("Go Anywhere, Do Anything") type of watch needs special protection of the mechanism from vibrations. They do need to be built solid and use bulletproof and well-tested movements. Vespera has a steel movement holder. And a well-known and tested Miyota 9015.
I'm aware that equipment attached to the handlebars or a phone or navigation requires damping assistance - but... on the wrist? There is enough amortization in my opinion to keep all wearables safe 🙂 I've never had any issue with any watch. But maybe this is something to explore and think about :)
BTW. I'm curious. Do You know any microbrand model that applies this philosophy to its designs for this type of timepieces?
Thank you for the reply. I'm thinking about getting my motorcycle licence, so hopefully soon. I'm not sure it's an urban legend but the "my bike destroyed my watch" comment seems to be pop up every now and then which is why I asked. Could be it's only an issue for the Triumph Rocket or old school Harley riders ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Great to hear to you know what your brand needs to be and I think the overlanding, hiking and motorcyclist angle while focusing on quality is a good one. Do stay true to that!
I have seen a couple brands going for the tough outdoor aesthetic but they are rarely more than gimmicks in my eye. (They also seem to focus on the EDC/prepper crowd or overly military. .. so everything titanium, paracord and severely overpriced.) All of which is different from what you're trying to do 💪
Thanks again and do keep us updated in the future!
Thank you for the reply. I'm thinking about getting my motorcycle licence, so hopefully soon. I'm not sure it's an urban legend but the "my bike destroyed my watch" comment seems to be pop up every now and then which is why I asked. Could be it's only an issue for the Triumph Rocket or old school Harley riders ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Great to hear to you know what your brand needs to be and I think the overlanding, hiking and motorcyclist angle while focusing on quality is a good one. Do stay true to that!
I have seen a couple brands going for the tough outdoor aesthetic but they are rarely more than gimmicks in my eye. (They also seem to focus on the EDC/prepper crowd or overly military. .. so everything titanium, paracord and severely overpriced.) All of which is different from what you're trying to do 💪
Thanks again and do keep us updated in the future!
Thanks for the question Seveadon!
Thanks for the question Seveadon!
Glad to have the opportunity! It's a cool way to interact with interesting brands and their owners without a huge hurdle. 👍
Glad to have the opportunity! It's a cool way to interact with interesting brands and their owners without a huge hurdle. 👍
Yeah! That was my thinking too!
OK, of course big thanks to Bart for making some time in his schedule to make himself available for us! It's a great looking watch and we look forward to seeing where it goes from here!
We're going to keep this interview pinned on top of my profile page, so any new questions we'll know about. Bart will check back occasionally to see if new questions have come in.
Thanks for looking!