Lenvino Watch Co., launched in Hong Kong in January 2017, is described by its founders as “a group of watch addicts with the passion and constancy of traditional watch craftsmanship” who aim to “awaken people’s minds about the core function of a watch.”
In 2017, the micro-brand launched its first Kickstarter campaign to fund the World’s First Minimalist Design Rectangular Tourbillon Watch. After 40 days on Kickstarter, it raised a total of HK$ 427,860, resulting in the most-backed tourbillon project in Kickstarter history. On the heels of this success, Lenvino Watch Co. returns to Kickstarter to introduce the new Lecronos collection.
Lecronos takes its name and concept from the term “chronometer,” a descriptor for a watch with high accuracy and precision, and with it the Lenvino team strives to create authentic, high-quality timepieces by combining traditional watch craftsmanship with vintage-inspired design codes — timepieces comparable to those from high-end luxury brands but at a fraction of those products’ retail prices.
Drawing on the owners’ passion for vintage cars, Lenvino has introduced the Race for Vintage collection, with numerous details inspired by features of classic sports cars, including a dial designed to resemble a vintage tachometer. The watches are equipped with a reliable Japanese-made movement, the automatic Seiko NH 35A, which has a 40-hour power reserve and an accuracy of +/- 20 to 40 seconds per day. An innovative approach was also used to differentiate the hour hand from the minute hand. And the company will offer interchangeable racing style Italian calf leather straps and Milanese bracelets. The retail price starts at just $149, with many additional discounted packages from which to choose. The first 100 pieces of each model will be limited editions and individually numbered, with xxx/100 engraved on their casebacks.
The dial finds inspiration in the tachometers of vintage sports cars from the 1970s and 1980s. To differentiate the design from huge fashion watches that are going out in same, the designers stripped away all “unnecessary” elements from the dial and relocating them to inside of the the crystal, which is enhanced with a dashboard-style motif.
In order to help the user can read the time clearly, a creative approach to the time display was required. Normally, people will look at the outer part of the watch to find the hour then the minute. On this watch’s dial, the outer ring hosts the hours markers and the inner ring the minutes. Both are indicated by differently colored hands, red for the minutes and white for the hours, while a disk indicates the seconds.
The Race for Vintage collection is equipped with a 43-mm 316L stainless steel round case with a curved bezel. The domed sapphire crystal is known for its excellent scratch-resistance, and a screw-down, transparent caseback with a vintage car’s wheel rim design prints pattern allows a view of the movement’s laser-branded rotor and the motion of the balance wheel.The range comes in six color combinations, with the option to choose the case and strap colors as the campaign concludes. Dial variations include dark grey and silver, black and silver, all black, dark gray and khaki, light grey and silver, and black with gold.
The racing-style, interchangeable watch straps are made from genuine Italian calf leather. The straps’ design is inspired by racing gloves and punched with patterned holes for style and cooling. Each comes with a quick-release spring bar, so that the straps can be swapped in seconds without the need for special tools, and are available in five different colors: dark brown, navy blue, brown, black, and gray.
Meanwhile, the Milanese bracelets come with an adjustable buckle that can be accommodate any wrist size and is engraved with the LECRONOS logo. They are available in four different plating colors: silver, black, khaki gold tone, and rose gold tone.
Lenvino follows strict procedures to ensure the quality of the watches it produces. Every watch is quality controlled, undergoing a technical control check, quality assurance check, and a final quality check that involves a QC engineer rigorously testing all watches for water resistance, movement performance, resistance to shocks and impacts, and other criteria,to ensure each watch functions perfectly before it is shipped to a customer. All watches come with a five-year warranty and are expected to be ready for shipment direct to customers by September 2018.
Backers of the Kickstarter project have been vocal in their praise, with one proclaiming, “The Lecronos brand… designed a dial inspired by car dials while using a classic Seiko caliber. Their trick was to use the inner face of the sapphire crystal of the watch. Bravo! At a modest cost, these Hong Kong watchmakers have managed to offer an original model that is close to the dials of cars.” Another backer simply opined, “Nice design. But which color to choose?” Enthusiast website Watchuseek offered the following: “With Lecronos, Lenvino cleverly combines traditional craftsmanship with vintage motor car racing and the result is timeless design with contemporary flair. Together with the minimalist style of the watch, Lenvino has managed to produce a clean, cool looking retro dial with a new and fun way to read time.”
please let me know the price of the lecronos watches