The OBIE3, 2, 1 - The Countdown is Almost Over!

At the Oberlin Watch Company!

Courtesy of Oberlin Watch Company

So a shameless bit of self-promotion ; ). Yes, gentle reader, I am the owner of the Oberlin Watch Company.  What started out almost a year ago as a project to make a nice, simple, affordable watch for about 10 people has grown into a fledgling brand.

We began with one model. 85 customers, 1 retail partner,  and 100 watches later we will be selling and shipping 3 models within the next 10 days!

The price is still $97.97 USD with flat rate shipping of $20 in the US, and $30 everywhere else.

Should you be so inlined, here are the basic details:

The case is stainless steel and measures 40 mm in diameter.  It is rated to be water-resistant to 10 ATM.  The crystal is K1 (sometimes referred to as sapphlex). The movement is the Citizen 2035, which is quartz with a battery life of 2.5 - 3 years (this can, of course, vary).

Introducing the OBIE2, the OBIE3...

And reintroducing the OBIE1 -

It would seem that the Oberlin Watch Company is now, well, an actual watch company! And important piece of disclosure, I am the owner. 

I grew up in Oberlin, a town of under 10,000 (as of the 2010 census) located in Northern Ohio.  Almost a year ago, as we were all getting good and melancholy during lockdown, a friend reached out and asked if I could make a watch for Oberlin. At the time, I figured it would be one of those ideas that would get talked about, I would explain why it probably wasn't such a hot idea, and that would be the end of it.  

As regular readers, by now it is clear that you are the opposite of the Playboy subscriber - you actually do come here for the writing ; ) Put another way, as poor as my photography is, my design skills are even more shambolic. Luckily, I reached out to my friend Armand Billard and he was kind enough to help -

And based on this rendering, and this caseback -

We had a concept.  My assemblers gave me a great price with a very realistic minimum order (100 pieces), but I still wasn't 100% sure it was worth pursuing.  

And then a few Oberlin Facebook groups got wind of the possible project and suddenly I had 10 pre-orders. 

And then this article from the local regional newspaper triggered another 50 pre-orders:

https://chroniclet.com/news/256866/about-time-oberlin-high-school-alumnus-crafts-timepiece-as-tribute-to-his-hometown/

And like that, we had at least the possibility for a fun one-off limited watch -

40 mm, stainless steel with screw back case back.  The movement is quartz, and the price is $97.97 US plus shipping.

But then there were more requests -

Could you make one in a more basic white & black? A few retail stores wanted to carry it. Different groups, clubs and teams asked for special versions...

Long story short? We're going to move forward!

So if it is in your wheelhouse, please visit my little venture at -

www.oberlinwatch.com