This watch is for all those of you out there with adventure in your blood, and missions to tackle.
Nope, that’s not a typo.
COURG is a way point, which is a navigational tool used by pilots to chart their flight across the globe. Way points are composed of 5-letters and made to be spoken as a word so pilots can quickly transmit their location via radio. This particular way point stands just outside Washington, DC and as you probably guessed — is pronounced COURAGE.
We chose COURG because courage is a character trait we could all use more of — choosing to make the right and often difficult decisions even when we know the going will get tough.
Be strong and very courageous, friends.
Say goodbye to generic, and say hello to an original. In a sea of trendy me-too off the shelf cases, dials, hands, and cheap movements — we’re going against the flow.
COURG aims to be the first titanium automatic watch funded on Kickstarter, and is the first hybrid cockpit instrument fused with diver tools in a reasonable size for any wrist, gentlemen or ladies. And COURG is a litmus test for a BIG IDEA. Keep reading for more on this.
0. Add-ons Chart
1. Why: Mission control, we have a problem
2. What: The solution
3. Pre-launch praise and press
4. For You: Rewards
5. Design: How we solved 5 design challenges
6. Specifications: Premium military grade components
7. Timeline: Where we’ve been and what’s next
8. Add-ons / Stretch goals (12 KS Backer Accomplishments!)
9. Who are we?
10. Back & Share. Thank you!
11. Partners / Enablers
Some of you asked for a summary of the available add-ons, here you go:
The Redux & Co. COURG watch project started when I looked to add a vintage pilot or dive watch to my humble stable of wrist machines. But I ran into a number of problems in the hunt for a minimal, dependable, reasonably sized, distinctive, and affordable option.
Simply put: It didn’t exist, and so I set out to make it.
With a very specific design in mind and sketches in hand, I researched different material choices, built and tested prototypes — even had 3D printed models of the case made in the process.
I evaluated many potential manufacturers, and consulted fellow watch designers that had helped pave the way and made industry friends along the way.
Now, I’m pleased to say I have all the elements lined-up for a successful run and would like to invite you to join the adventure and you’ll score a sweet watch along the way. And if all goes as planned, you’ll have one strapped to your wrist or a loved one’s wrist by Christmas!
Love from #Watchnerds
Featured by Gear & Design Influencers
Starts at $199 for our backers, Retail: $400. The ultimate time machine. Paired with military grade ballistic nylon strap blacked-out hardware. Why mil-strap style? This enables quick change straps from outdoor adventure to dressed up in 5 seconds flat. Also, unlike other style straps, if somehow a strap pin gets pulled out the watch won’t plummet to the ground and stall your mission.
Supple leather, matte hardware, thick gorgeous contrast hand-stitching. We’ll be adding a laser-etched logo to the buckle, and perhaps a burned on logo to the leather. (Add this price to your pledge amount and we’ll send backer surveys at the end of the campaign to capture your preferences.)
Exclusive Horween leather strap design in collaboration with Worn & Wound!
I’m very pleased to announce that we’ve begun to work out some of the details, and we’re collaborating with the good folks over at Worn & Wound to offer an exclusive Horween leather strap design hand made in NYC specifically for your COURG!
Both Color 8 and Natural are distinctive and really set off the blue-gray of the COURG titanium.
COURG on Horween 8The discussion with Worn & Wound led us to collaborate on a design hybrid of the mil-strap-type we’re offering in our rewards (at $39) and a two-piece conventional strap. So this single slice of Horween leather integrates the benefits of the security from the mil-strap with less bulk of a two piece. This will inherit two of the matte/brushed metal rings. [NOTE: It’s still a single piece strap, but without the double layer under the case.] Color 8 (Left) Natural (Right)
Dimensions will be roughly: 20mm wide and 11.5 x .08in / 292 x 2mm
(Add this price to your pledge amount and we’ll send backer surveys at the end to capture your preferences.)
Waxed canvas watch roll for your travels. (Add this price to your pledge amount and we’ll backer surveys at the end to get your preferences.)
We designed our waxed canvas watch roll to pull second duty as a travel wallet and documents folio if you don’t travel with multiple timepieces. The top grain leather strap that secures the roll also serves double duty as a wrist strap.
1. Robust & Dependable. From my experience with vintage time pieces I own, I knew that they often need servicing. And by definition, a pilot watch ought to be reliable and pretty much bombproof. Vintage timepieces are often more delicate after decades of neglect. Gaskets wear out, cases loosen, crowns fall off.
I could never swim with a vintage watch or go backpacking. Vintage watches often used plastic crystals that scratch easily and prone to crack.
Solutions:
2. Automatic. I don’t want to deal with finding my watch dead and have to deal with the hassle of replacing batteries. I also want the second hand to sweep smoothly, rather than the tick-tick of the much cheaper battery-quartz movements. There’s also something special about knowing that your movements power the watch through precise mechanical engineering. A fine-tuned machine.
Solution:
Here’s NH-35A specs:
3. Minimal, Iconic, Functional. There’s this trend in recent years where watches have become larger and larger — to the point of looking downright supersized clownish. Those watches push 47mm, some even 50mm, making them heavy and awkward for most people with non-Paul Bunyan wrists.
In the case of the original pilot watches, they were designed large because pilots strapped them over their flight suits, and needed massive crowns to adjust the watches with gloves. The majority of us won’t have this problem. And now those crowns that were once functional have become merely decorative pieces of metal that dig into wrists.
The majority of watch companies plaster their logos on the dial — often ugly and distracting. Name brands also crowd watch dials with extraneous text such as WR 100, Automatic, and unnecessary numerals. That helps with all the marketing hype and other needless fluff. You, friends, are your own brand.
Solution:
4. Date. I found that I rely on this quite often, and it’s rarely implemented well. Usually, it’s placed in the parts of the dial that clutter the face.
Solution: I designed the date window to replace the 4 o’clock position and present a seamless integration into the overall aesthetic. Also, I needed to find a manufacturer who would be able to source white number on black background for the date. Many potential manufacturers were rejected because they couldn’t make it happen.
5. Sweet Value (kind on your wallet) In one word: Affordable. My goal was to come in under $400. I originally had planned to build the watches from 316L steel, which is what you’ll find in most watches on the market, but I’ve always wanted a titanium watch. Not many manufacturers work with titanium because it requires special processes due to the hardness of the material. This means extra work changing the tooling more often and more attention in the build quality.
Solution: By working with high quality manufacturers to figure out the right amount of volume vs. reasonable cost, I was pleasantly surprised to find I soundly beat this target.
Case rendered during design processAs a backer you’ll join in the adventure of adding your fingerprint to the project.
Variant 1: Type A The German aircraft ministry developed designs for their WWII pilots, called B-Uhren — short for Beobachtungs-uhren (“Observation Watch”). and is often referred to as a Type A or flieger. The Luftwaffe owned these watches, and the pilots were forced to return them after each mission. These were 55mm!
Variant 2: A-11 An homage to the WWII watches American fighter pilots strapped to their wrists and helped lead to the Allies’ victory. The U.S. military contracted multiple American watch companies to build these watches and called this specification A-11.
Variant 3: Zero-hour Refined to the core 3-6-9 hour elements, this dial is driven by diver watch functionality where distractions are stripped away to only essential elements that optimize legibility in murky conditions and aid instant instrument readouts. Zero-hour is the military term for the scheduled time of a mission. Some early fans have suggested we go with larger hands for this variant — and we agree!
Variant 4: Minimalist Draws its design DNA from the Bauhaus (literally “house of construction” or “school of building”) modernist movement begun in the 1920s. We honored that purposeful intention and implemented a linear accent that also preserved the quick read priority.
New Recruit, Variant 5: Type B The brother to the Type-A, this was designed specifically by the Luftwaffe in WW2 for their bomber pilots, who used the emphasis on the minutes for accuracy in bombing runs. This variant will have no date option, it’s just too full to have room for that.
B-Uhr Type-B, hands are changing to iconic angular hands + lumed second handYes, this is titanium too. We’ve made prototype casebacks. However, let’s put the FUN in crowdfunding. We want to make this a Kickstarter exclusive backer experience by working together to design a stellar caseback with limited edition markings such as serial numbers!
We have an extraordinary community of backers. Three uber talented designers piloted our caseback design committee, with one proposal coming in at 21 pages! Remarkable — this is what crowdfunding is all about! #COURGcrew!
In the end I really appreciated that this design distilled the aircraft heritage and melded it with the tool watch nature of the COURG. I offer a big hearty THANK YOU from all of us backers to R.Halford for the exquisite design, and to J.Boehm and E.Tsai for strong contenders in the mix!
The copy here is not final, since the manufacturer will need to transfer to the actual dimensions. The titanium line will be TITANIUM G.2 or G.5. The serial number will be K.XXXX/YYYY where x is production number (not linked to order of backer) and y is total production run. I plan to run the serial in one full lot since I feel like we were all in it together — all ~2,000 of us.
After chatting with backers, we’ll be going with drilled lugs. These type of strap holders are much stronger than the standard spring-loaded strap bars, which are not only much weaker and prone to failure, but also happen to be a total pain to use.
Along the way, we’ve worked out some bloopers and learned some lessons. For example, I found that very few watchmakers willing to or possess the capability to machine titanium — affordably. I queried over a dozen companies to identify the best fit for the COURG project. I narrowed this pool down to 3, and worked them to finalize CAD drawings and design details. Only then did I order samples.
8. Refinements / Add-On’s / Stretch Goals
We had a few ideas in mind, and so did you — and now we’re better together (Bolded is all systems go!):
So, please back the COURG project now! With your continued support we can pull up the landing gear for departure and push full throttle!
Our exclusive crate design:
Let’s make an amazing machine together and maybe set off on an even larger adventure …
The big idea is to build a workshop with headquarters in the Bronx, and bring to NYC what Shinola seeded in Detroit, and Zappos in Las Vegas. Transform communities. Lofty, yes. Every great mission starts somewhere. COURG is our first step.
I have Kickstarter experience as co-founder of Redeem the City, a successful journalism project about New York City.
We’re a husband and wife and tyke team based in the Seaport District of New York City.
I’m a believer, maker, adventurer, entrepreneur. I’m a journalist and problem solver at MedPage Today, the purveyor of the world’s finest medical journalism. I’ve also written for Popular Science magazine (lots of aviation and #avgeek goodness!), The New York Times, Popular Photography, and Fast Company.
We’re ready for production, I have samples in hand, the technical drawings, I have the suppliers ready to start production. The only thing missing is the initial order fee. I need to order a minimum of 300 watches, and that’s where you come in.
By becoming a backer for this project, you help us fund the first production run, and not to mention you score an awesome watch at a steep discount!
Now, let’s raise a ruckus!
First, Facebook:
My reach only reaches my immediate network. Liking Redux & Co. on Facebook or inviting friends and family via email will make a huge difference and help our project gain the momentum we need.
Thank you so much for joining us on this adventure!
Manufacturing any item takes a lot of work, and things sometimes go wrong, with unexpected hiccups along the way. I’ve shared a few potholes above, but that is why I have been preparing for over a year and a half.
It means a lot to me to meet the December deadline, and I’ll do everything in my power to do so.
This is my second Kickstarter campaign so I bring that successful experience to the table as well. I have spent the last year and a half making sure our supply chain is in place. I have a well-established relationship working with a reliable watch manufacturer. I have agreements in place with trusted partners for with fulfillment of goods with end-to-end solutions and a proven track record. Should any of these fail, I have identified and am in touch with reputable alternate providers who can step in.
I will keep my backers informed during the production process. I’ll do this with regular updates and sharing pictures as often as possible.
If somewhere along the way I find that there is a setback in production, or that I cannot make the timeline, I will be as transparent as possible to keep all of my backers informed.
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