As of today, I’ve closed the Early Bird pre-order, early, without opening the crowdfunding. The reason is because the watches are made in Hong Kong, and I want to give Trump and China time to negotiate, while we wait.

Because shortly after I opened the pre-launch, the U.S. announced a 145% tariff on imports from Hong Kong. Previously, we paid 0%—because we were under the $800 de minimis threshold for dropshipped items, but that exemption is now gone as of May 2.

This change affects everything: dials, cases, movements, and even the Indiegogo fees, as well as money that needs to be set aside for warranty service… literally everything just got multiplied by 1.45, except my profit margin, which went negative.

THE ‘NOT FINAL’ PRICES

To be clear: These are NOT the final prices, but if we launched today – and I absorbed as much as I could – these are the kinds of numbers we’d be looking at for Early Bird Specials:

– Dials would be around $50
– The least expensive watch would be a 39mm stainless steel build at around $375
– The most expensive watch, A PVD black watch with a bezel, might come in closer to $425

…Those estimates include warranty, but not shipping. And if we add the 20% back in for the regular price, we are basically going to price ourselves out of the Market, with $400 and $500 watches, and no one else will back the campaign, and it will just flop.

GO AMERICAN? I TRIED AND CAN’T

I know those numbers above are already higher than most people want to pay, but just so you know, they’re still much LOWER than similar watches are made in the U.S.

And just so you know, I’ve been trying to bring production to the U.S. for two years. I’ve spoken to machine shops, and I’ve priced out runs with companies like Colorado Watch Company and American Watch Company…. and all of the quotes came in far higher than what we can get in Hong Kong… prices for an 85% American made watch is over $1k… and come with 100+ minimum order quantities.

So we wait…

LETS WAIT FOR DIALS BEFORE WE DECIDE ANYTHING

Because of that, I’m delaying the launch of the full crowdfunder until the dials are done and I have real images and finalized costs. I don’t want to overcharge, but I can’t take a loss either—and there’s no point in setting prices now when things could still shift again.

I’ve also emailed Indiegogo to ask whether they’ll be able to offer refunds to Early Bird backers if anyone decides they want out due to these unexpected changes. I haven’t heard back yet, but I’ll post an update as soon as I know more, but I’ll figure something out for you.

Once the dials are in, and the tariff situation is clearer, I’ll update everyone and we’ll figure out the next step together.

Keep the Faith,
—Rob