https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/meraud-watches/meraud-vintage-inspired-watches-with-swiss-movemen
Beards are back, music from the 70s and 80s are more popular than ever (case in point, Freddie Mercury and Elton John’s biopics hitting the theaters), and the Swiss watch market is practically booming, despite the popularity of smartwatches. It’s safe to say that ‘retro’ has made a complete comeback.
Watch styles come and go, but if there’s a universal standard by which watches are compared and measured, it’s the vintage Swiss timepiece. Nothing has ever been (or can be) better than a good, classic Swiss timepiece made to last generations, and oftentimes passed down as a priceless keepsake from a father to a son. Echoing that style, and the sentiment of becoming a classic keepsake that one wears with their finest attire, the Méraud watches come with a vintage-inspired aesthetic and stick to the roots of tradition with a Swiss movement on the inside.
The Méraud Bonaire doesn’t try to be too daring or avant-garde. It sticks well to its inspiration cues, with a 316L Stainless Steel body with a unidirectional rotating bezel that wraps around a radial brushed finish dial, brought to life with C3 Swiss SuperLuminova® hands and numbering. Available in three classic color schemes, the watches come with durable yet hypoallergenic leather straps sourced from France, along with a stylized rubber strap for divers, and a NATO strap for the outdoorsy kinds right in the box. There’s even a stainless steel bracelet variant as a hat-tip to the 60s.
The Méraud Bonaire watches come powered by a modified Caliber STP1-11, a true-blue Swiss automatic mechanical movement. The STP1-11 operates at 28,800 beats per hour and offers a 44-hour power reserve. The movement comes encased in a water-tight body with a domed sapphire crystal on the front and a sand-blasted graphic on the back of a diver. The Méraud Bonaire is water-resistant up to 200 meters, furthering its all-round appeal.
Designed to please, with its classic aesthetic, powerful, reliable movement, and with its choice of straps, the Méraud Bonaire rides the retro-comeback-wave. Designed to be used, appreciated, admired, and cherished not just for years but for generations, the Méraud Bonaire is proof that smartwatches can come and go, but classic Swiss mechanical timepieces aren’t going anywhere anytime soon!
Designer: Stijn Busschaert
Click here to Buy Now: $729 $959 (24% off).
Influenced by dive watches from the 1960s the Méraud Bonaire is a mechanical timepiece built by modern standards with a pure design where form follows function.
The name Méraud is derived from the French word for emerald (émeraude), symbolizing something precious. Bonaire is a Caribbean island that’s also known as ‘Diver’s Paradise’.
The Bonaire has a case size of 39mm and a thickness of 12,5mm, including the crystal. Lug to lug it measures 48,50mm. The Bonaire’s unidirectional diver’s bezel design was inspired by the Bakelite bezels from the 1950s and 1960s and is finished with a scratch-resistant sapphire to complement the active lifestyles of our time. It will be available with three different dial variations.
The Bonaire “Onyx Black” comes with a deep gloss black dial. The lume markers are filled with patina-like C3 Swiss SuperLuminova®. The indexes are applied and polished steel. Slightly domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inside. Domed black sapphire bezel with Swiss SuperLuminova®, mimicking the bakelite bezels from back in the day.
The Bonaire “Marine Blue” comes with a beautiful marine blue sunburst dial. The lume markers are filled with regular C3 Swiss SuperLuminova®. The indexes are applied and polished steel. Slightly domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inside. Domed blue sapphire bezel with Swiss SuperLuminova®, mimicking the bakelite bezels from back in the day.
The Bonaire “Graphite Grey” comes with a beautiful grey sunburst dial. The lume markers are filled with regular C3 Swiss SuperLuminova®. The indexes are applied and polished steel. Slightly domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inside. Domed black sapphire bezel with Swiss SuperLuminova®, mimicking the bakelite bezels from back in the day.
Méraud Bonaire – lume shot.
The Méraud Bonaire watch is powered by a modified Caliber STP1-11, which boasts the precision of Swiss automatic mechanical movement. The STP1-11 operates at 28,800 beats per hour and offers a 44-hour power reserve. The movement has a “perlage” finish, while the rotor has the “Côte de Geneve” finish and Méraud signature. The movement is modified to a no-date movement, all components related to the date have been removed. Upon request STP has adjusted the movements that there are only 2 crown, one for winding and one position to set the time.
A mixture of brushed and polished finishings. Polishe bezel edge, polished chamfers, circular brushed lugs.
Polished hands, polished applied indexes.
Linear brushings on the side, polished chamfers, polished crown with logo, drilled lugholes.
Vintage-style polygon caseback, brushed and sand blasted finishing, minimalistic approach.
For Méraud the strap is an essential piece of the puzzle. Some important points were craftsmanship, durability, tradition, comfort and quality. Based upon those needs two tanneries were selected to use leather. Located in France and Germany, and suppliers of one of the biggest leather luxury brands.
The skins are bought and sent to a small leathercrafter. There the straps are cut, machine stitched and partially hand stitched. Each single leather strap is finished by hand. The straps have a thickness of about 2mm, the inner leather is hypo-allergenic and the outer leather is durable, yet soft and luxurious.
They are saddle stitched, which is the strongest stitching. The result is a piece of art and craftsmanship.
Cognac colored strap.
Blue colored strap.
Taupe leather strap.
Staying true to the vintage-inspired design, the stainless steel bracelet is rivetted. The first four links have rivets, the other links have screws in order to resize the bracelet. There’s a double-folding clasp with holes on the side for micro adjustments.
The bracelet is finished in 316L steel, polished sides and clasp.
A vintage inspired dive watch without a proper rubber strap would be a no-go. The tropic strap is manufactured by a leading supplier of the Swiss watch industry.
Important was that the strap would be comfortable and soft, non dust attractive, long lasting and that it had the true vibe of an original tropic strap. Silicone has been avoided for quality reasons.
It had to taper from 20mm down to 16mm at the buckle, be large enough to put over a wetsuit as well.
Click here to Buy Now: $729 $959 (24% off). Hurry, less than 48 hours left and over $178,00 raised!
