The French watch manufacturer Yema has announced that they will be launching a Kickstarter campaign and pre-order on June 1st of this year. The campaign will be for the Yema Superman Heritage Bronze Limited Edition Automatic Dive Watch. As the pre-order has not started yet, there is no Kickstarter page and no information on their main site. However there is quite a bit of information at the links below. Update:
See the link to this KickStarter at the bottom of this post.
Kickstarter Launch: June 1st, 2019
Shipping: October 2019
Limited Edition: 1948 numbered time pieces
Movement: Yema's in-house French caliber
Retail Price: US$ 1,399
Kickstarter Price - 1 watch: US$ 749* (46% off)
Kickstarter Price - 2 watches: US$ 699* (50% off)
* EU backers will pay additional 20% VAT. Non-EU backers might need to pay import duty in their country when clearing the watch through customs
Case material: Bronze (brushed)
Diameter: 2 sizes - 39mm and 41mm
Lug to lug: 48mm
Lug width: 19mm
Thickness: 14mm
Crystal: Domed Sapphire
Straps: Vintage Leather and 2 NATO straps (light cream and intense blue)
Lume: Super Luminova C5
Movement: Automatic In-house caliber MBP 1000
The Superman Heritage Bronze will be proposed in 39mm and 41mm sizes with respectively 19mm and 20mm lug size. All watch elements including bezel, dial and hands are in proportion with the respective watch case size.
I know I'm not in the market for this, so my opinion means squat.
But I don't see the point in spending the $ to make both a 39mm and 41mm case.
Split the difference and just make a 40mm.
If they wanted to appeal to people who like smaller and larger sizes, go with a 38mm and 42mm. That seems justifiable to me.
TheJohnP wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2019 10:33 am
I know I'm not in the market for this, so my opinion means squat.
But I don't see the point in spending the $ to make both a 39mm and 41mm case.
Split the difference and just make a 40mm.
If they wanted to appeal to people who like smaller and larger sizes, go with a 38mm and 42mm. That seems justifiable to me.
My 2 cents.
I agree it's different than what most companies do but I'm happy with it. 38mm is where I start considering a diver too small and 42mm is on the larger side for me. If it was 43mm I would rule it out completely. Anywhere in between 39 and 42 is perfect for me for a diver so at 39 and 41 I actually have 2 options rather than none. I always think of the Glycine Combat 6 (not a diver) in these scenarios. If they made a 38mm and a 40mm I would have considered both and bought one when they went down close to $200. But they make a 36 and a 43 so I won't buy either.
Here is the most recent announcement from the Facebook page. It includes more specifics regarding pricing structure and what items will come with the watch.
Here are the Kickstarter rewards that will be made available as of June 1st, 2019 for the YEMA Superman Heritage Bronze!! Good news for our US friends: The final price will be the equivalent of US$ 699 as of today's exchange rate which represents -50% off the retail price
They also included this note about exclusive ordering for members of the FB group a week earlier than the general Kickstarter pre-order.
the watch will be made available at Kickstarter to this group's members as from Saturday 25th May, a week before its official launch. Stay tuned, we'll give more details about it very soon!
And lastly, a video from their Youtube channel showing the watch and their MBP1000 in-house movement. There's no real information here, just eye candy.
pgcity wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 9:06 am
Strangely, this project has launched and is live now instead of June 1st. Racing to the goal and will reach it soon.
Good catch!
And already fully funded.
Here's the live link
They're making 1,490 total of each size (39mm and 41mm)
If anyone backs this project, share this site/thread for discussion please.
Sav wrote: ↑Sat Jun 15, 2019 5:06 am
I’m in for a 41. This will be my second Kickstarter the other being a French manufacturer as well (ZRC).
Very cool. I think you're going to like it. A good-looking bronze diver from a reputable company. After much deliberation I've decided I won't be purchasing one of these. Hopefully I won't regret that decision. I previously thought I might get the 41mm but the 52mm lug to lug made me balk. So I was still thinking about the 39mm but I've had difficulty getting past the different colored lume they use on the hands vs the indices. And lastly, I don't have a great deal of interest in an in-house movement from Yema. An ETA 2892 or similar movement would have tempted me more. Also, part of the problem is that I already have an oversized collection with whole bunch of divers that I really love. I still may add a steel Yema Superman some day in the future and I also still hope to add a bronze diver at some point but I'll probably continue to be picky about it and wait for something I absolutely love.
Update on the KS campaign as of today. With 12 more days to go, 936 backers have pledged over $812,000. The first stretch goal has been met so the springbar toolkit pictured below will be added to every purchase.
Also, ABTW has a write-up of the watch at the link below.
