SUCCESSFUL : Brand Direct: The 220 Watch Company - R. J. Mitchell Automatic Chronograph Collection

[TheJohnP]

220 Watch Co has opened up preorders via Kickstarter now.



Nevermind.
220 Watch Co has canceled their Kickstarter and taken preorders directly through their website.

The 220 Watch Company out of the UK has opened preorders directly on their site for their upcoming automatic chronographs inspired by R. J. Mitchell, the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire, and celebrates the role the plane, and more importantly the pilots played in the Battle of Britain.

The 220 Watch Co had launched two campaigns previously on Kickstarter and both were successful.

https://www.the220watchcompany.com/?pro ... hell-watch

Preorder price is around $979

Estimated delivery is June 2021



The R. J. Mitchell comes in two colorways - Western Europe Campaign or North Africa Campaign colorways.




The R. J. Mitchell has several unique design points that have been influenced by the Supermarine Spitfire. The “trigger” crown design is inspired by the plane’s bronze **** trigger, complete with SAFE, and FIRE settings. The bronze crown matches the bronze bezel, contrasting with the grade 5 titanium.

The chrono pusher shape takes inspiration from the pistons of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine that powered the Supermarine Spitfire. The top pusher has two red bands, a design nod to a well known practice from WWII. The sweethearts of pilots would paint the top pusher of their gentleman’s watches with red nail polish to remind them of what they are fighting for, and to return home safely.

Also 220 Watch Co designed a completely custom rotor that powers the ETA 7750 movement. The R. J. Mitchell come supplied with unique, hand made, and extremely comfortable camo straps.











Specs:

- Diameter: 43.5mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Height: 15.6mm
- Lug to Lug: 52.9mm
- Movement: ETA 7750 auto chronograph movement, with day, and date
- Case: Grade 5 Titanium
- Bezel: Brass
- Crystal: Sapphire
- Lume: Super Luminova
- Custom made - Rotor, Crown, Chrono Pushers, Strap, and Buckle.

[TheJohnP]

The R.J. Mitchell automatic chronograph has moved over to Kickstarter.


Kickstarter price with the Shanghai 7750 movement is around $965
Regular price will be about $1,792

Kickstarter price with an ETA 7750 movement is around $1,104
Regular price will be about $1,931

Estimated delivery is October 2021

The watch is named after a national hero, Reginald Joseph Mitchell, who designed, developed, and created the Supermarine Spitfire aeroplane: a key asset in protecting the UK during the Battle of Britain, and the defeat of Nazi fascism during WWII.



The R. J. Mitchell watch comes in 4 different colour options: Western Europe green, North Africa sandy yellow, Atlantic blue, and Black and White. Each option has a different dial colour, and is paired with a matching coloured camouflage strap. Every watch will be supplied with two straps, one camouflage, and one brown leather pilots style strap. Choice of movement, the ETA 7750 or the Chinese Shanghai 7750 clone.














Specs:

- Diameter: 43.5mm
- Lug width: 22mm
- Height: 15.6mm
- Lug to lug: 52.9mm
- Movement: ETA 7750 auto chronograph or Shanghai 7750 auto chronograph
- Case: Titanium
- Bezel: Brass
- Lume: Super-Luminova
- Crystal: Sapphire with AR coating
- Rotor: custom rotor wheel
- Crown: custom screw down crown
- Water Resistance: 100m/10ATM \
- Pushers: custom piston pushers
- Two straps: One custom strap, and one unique, hand made strap
- Buckle: Custom buckle

[Boourns]

Honestly it's got really impressive specs, and for around $1000 it seems like a good value. I think it's just hard for a lot of people to drop $1k on a Kickstarter.

I do question how many of the clone movement watches they will sell when the ETA is less than $150 more. If I'm going to spend over $900 on a watch I feel like I could certainly spend $1100 for the Swiss movement.

[TheJohnP]

Honestly it's got really impressive specs, and for around $1000 it seems like a good value. I think it's just hard for a lot of people to drop $1k on a Kickstarter.

I do question how many of the clone movement watches they will sell when the ETA is less than $150 more. If I'm going to spend over $900 on a watch I feel like I could certainly spend $1100 for the Swiss movement.

Agreed.
The pricing seems way too close in comparision.
Then again, I haven't priced a Shanghai 7750 vs ETA, so what do I know?

And this was a preorder direct from 220 for some time, but Kickstarter does bring all the eyeballs to a project like this.

[MoT]

I have a Shanghai 3LZF2 "7750" (Ticino BF-109) and an ETA/Valjoux 7750 (VSA Airboss).

The Valjoux has less chrono seconds stutter, is finished a bit nicer, and has the Valjoux cachet. The Shanghai has a nicer winding feel, is less expensive and has less rotor noise (probably due to having a jeweled roller freewheel on the reverser rather than hook levers). Replacement 3LZF2's are about $120-$150.

I think it really comes down to personal preference.

[TheJohnP]

UPDATE:

220 Watch Co has CANCELED the Kickstarter campaign.

See message from brand:

Direct PreOrder Only
March 7, 2021

Hi. Thank you for your interest in our product. It seems that this price point isn’t ideal for Kickstarter. Production was going to be partly funded by Kickstarter, and partly directly from the company for a production run of 300. We will be closing this campaign and funding production 100% ourselves. This will mean that the original production run will be reduced from 300, to 100 pieces. Production will still start in April, and delivery will still be in October. The current pre order price is the same on our website: £695/£795. That price will increase at the end of March to the watches MSRP price of £1295/£1395 depending on which movement you select. Thank you for your support, and I hope you’re happy to order with us directly. This campaign will be closing soon. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through our website.

KR, Jared. 220watch.com

[TheJohnP]

Link to original and now current preorder:

https://www.220watch.com/?product=rj-mitchell-watch

[MoT]

A massive price increase on an already too expensive product and drop the amount available?

I think I'll wait and swoop in when these are being fire-saled at 85% off.

[TheJohnP]

A massive price increase on an already too expensive product and drop the amount available?

I think I'll wait and swoop in when these are being fire-saled at 85% off.

Not going to argue these will be clearance priced at some point.
But current preorder matches Kickstarter pricing at least until end of March.

[TheJohnP]

Just a few more days to take advantage of the preorder pricing.
Price increases on April 1st.

[TheJohnP]

These are now the full price of £1395 (roughly $1,936).

And appears they've dropped the option for the Shanghai 7750 clone.
Guess at close to $2k, they can afford to source regular ETA 7750s.