Kickstarter Project – The Crash of ’29 Art Deco Watch by RPaige / Mark Carson

We’re not going to lie. When it comes to watch-related Kickstarter project, we’re literally flooded with propositions. We receive dozens of these projects every month but only a few of them deserve to be covered here, on Monochrome-Watches. The reason is simple: most of them are just another design project with no horological interest (usually based on Miyota or ETA-clone movements… when they are featured with mechanical movements, which is actually quite rare). However, we also feel from time to time the need to share interesting projects, such as Stuckx Watches last week. This week, it’s a project of Art Deco watches fitted with vintage american movements that we’re going to introduce to you.

The Crash of ’29 Art Deco Watch is a project lead by RPaige watches and Mark Carson (a case / dial designer), two Americans with a reputation already build in the world of micro-independent watchmakers. “After collaborating on the design of the “Duo-Face” watch from the Rpaige Watch Co., Richard Paige challenged Duo-Face case designer Mark Carson to come up with an unexpected watch design. The result is the art deco “Crash of ’29” watch featuring a restored vintage American pocket watch movement along with newly designed and produced case, dial and hands.” We’re not going to debate the design here, as it remains something extremely personal. However, the choice of an Art Deco theme can be regarded as a wise option that perfectly fits the idea of restored 1920s / 1930s movements. Art Deco is not hugely popular in Europe but is always successful on the other side of the Atlantic.

The case is approximately 49.7 mm wide by 57.5 mm tall and 12.7 mm thick. Even at this size, the angled lugs and flat bottom make the watch sit snugly on even average to smaller wrists. Don’t be afraid of such numbers as we’re not talking about a round watch. The effect on the wrist will be totally different – and also keep in mind that US market usually prefers larger watches. The case is 316L Surgical Grade Stainless Steel, it features 2 sapphire crystals and it is water-resistant up to 50m. The size of this Crash of ’29 Art Deco Watch is also dictated by what ticks inside: a 12′ vintage American pocket watch movement.

The movements are vintage American pocket watch movements from the 1920s and 1930s (Waltham, Elgin or Illinois). Each movement is restored (and repaired as needed) at Rpaige Watch Co. Often using 2, or even 3 movements, to get all of the parts need to make one fully restored movement, Richard Paige breathes new life in these golden age movements. They are the so called “12 size” movements and are reclaimed from old pocket watches. The years of production and the decoration of each vintage movement will vary. In fact even for the “same” movement, you will see differences in decoration as each watchmaker back in the day would engrave each watch differently. So the series of 49 watches will really all be unique pieces in that while they will look exactly the same from the front, each one will have its own unique look via the back (you can compare the two photos here. Both show a Waltham movement but with many differences. The base is the same but the decoration of the bridges and the shape of some elements, such as the ratchet wheel and the barrel, are varying).

The project can be seen (and funded of course) on the Kickstarter page here. The official retail price is 3.500 USD but, as always with such projects, the first editions are priced lower. The watches numbered 1 to 15 are available with a participation of 2.400 USD (there are still a few available at the time we’re writing this article), the numbers 16 to 30 will be priced at 2.700 USD and watches numbered from 31 to 49 will be priced at 3.000 USD. First deliveries are expected at the end of 2015 – and again, take a look at the Kickstarter page for all the details and funding.