# Please, check the Willer - my first retro automotive inspired timepiece



## andrewwiller (Sep 17, 2018)

Hi everyone!

My name is Andrew. For more over a year I have been developing my own first watch series called Willer. The main idea was to make the retro automotive inspired design, both in classic and modern meaning. Now I have the final prototypes ready and want to present you the result. I'm going to start selling them massively, if there will be an interest within the watch lovers community, so I will be glad to hear your thoughts and opinion on my watches, it could help me to understand better whether I'm going the right way or not.

Couple of words about Willer's design and concept. The overall look is inspired with old sports cars of the early Mille Miglia era as well as other classic races. I wanted to recreate the look that keeps up with the atmosphere of such events - a little bit luxurious, with an interesting twist, always balancing on both traditional and modern approach, but still all about beautiful racing bolids. I gave many small amusing details to the design to make it lively and conceptual as possible: the case resembles a tire by shape and texture, the winding crown, too. The font that I used on the dial looks like the fonts on old dashboard counters, same for the hands. The upper half of the dial has a texture of a breaking distance on the curvy racing course ending with the red line referring to the vintage revolution counters. The coolest thing is the second hand that has the shape of a wheel and smoothly rides through the minute on the dial. Looks cool! Can't make a good gif that would show the smoothness of the movement though Will add it later.

So, here's a couple of images and the link on imgur. I'll really appreciate your feedback on what you see here.


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

I like the concept and I think the watch has the potential to be quite a handsome piece, however .... and it's a personal opinion, I don't like it when designs compromise function

1) The seconds track is not complete having been eaten away by Willer at the bottom which limits its functionality

2) The outer chapter ring is divided into seconds / minutes and fractions of a second, the fractions of a second serve no purpose given there is no sweep second hand and the minute hand is too short to register effectively.

3) The minute / seconds marks on the bezel are superfluous and serve no function I can determine

4) I don't like having "Date" under the date window, people know its the date.

I think the minute hand can be a bit longer with compromising on the effect I think you are trying to get, that would bring the chapter ring into play. I would also not have the fractions of a second marks on the chapter ring nor would I have the minute marks on the bezel. Would there be enough room under the date to put "Willer" and then having a complete seconds track?


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## gimli (Mar 24, 2016)

Nice job Andrew. I like it.

You know what would have been nice ? If the lugs had a railroad theme/style as well. Maybe shaped into those things that are used to connect trains/cars or something like that...


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

looks good, but the name is too close to the Wyler watches. vin


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## richy176 (Aug 7, 2013)

Rather as good looking watch but obviously a lot would depend on price and movement. It is always difficult to judge from photos and you might do well to send a sample to Roy so that he can arrange for oner of the members to do a detailed review.


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## andrewwiller (Sep 17, 2018)

Hi, guys! Thanks for your opinions! Really appreciate it. Heard several times already about the "hands issue" - probably I'll consider some rework if there's more feedback about it :hmmm9uh: Railroad lugs... hmm... heard this advice earlier too. Probably worth trying as a special edition, maybe or in the new designs. Thank you for the tip. The price is currently 199€ on pre-order, I'm planning to sell it at 375€ in future. The movement I'm using in my final prototypes is an automatic SEIKO NH35 movement with 24 jewels. I'm planning to stick with it for now, 'cause I like how it works and how reliable it is. Can't say anything bad about it.

If you like my watch, you may check Kickstarter for Willer Watches page, I decided to crowdfund it and looks like people approve the design, after all. Also you can save a lot with this site, so if you want to support young indie watchmaker, you can do it there  Otherwise, you can learn more about the watches, their specs and see more photos there. I tired to tell as much as possible about all aspects involved in creation of Willer.


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## relaxer7 (Feb 18, 2016)

Looks pretty good but the hands aren't doing you any favours. At 199 it's probably worth a dabble but at 375 I'd be looking at a mid range Seiko.


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## IBM (Sep 25, 2018)

Andrew, congrats on having the vision and determination to design and produce a watch. As an avid classic car and watch collector this is something I would be very interested in, but your particular watch just doesn't quite sing to me. I just don't see the classic influence you have used. For example the centre part on the dial which looks like a modern car wheel, why not use something that looks like a classic Ferrari borrani wheel? Or Jaguar D type disc wheel? Or somehow incorporate a wood rim steering wheel look. I dunno. Just something that will give it that undeniably classic car reference.

Again, well done on having the balls to take such a project on


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## Décantheure (Oct 14, 2018)

The knurling on the side of the case is a very nice detail!

On a side note: All the comments are really civil and constructive!


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

There are some good design elements on this watch and with a few tweaks, I reckon it could do well. My main complain concerns that "blank" space at the bottom of the dial, with the date window at its centre - unnecessarily bearing the word, "date," and with two screw heads, almost as if you somehow realized the need to put something in that blank area of the dial. Unfortunately, having that blank space and the brand name located just above it means that there is an unwarranted gap in the markers on the watch which makes accurate time measurement irritatingly less easy. I also think it might be a good idea to reappraise the length and nature of the hands before finalising the watch.

I wish you good luck with this enterprise, dear @andrewwiller, and I do like your marvellously optimistic ambition of "selling them massively." :biggrin:


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## andrewwiller (Sep 17, 2018)

Hi, dear guys! Thanks for all your praise and criticism. Glad you like the watch mostly 

It's been a month since I launched my first watch project on Kickstarter. During this period, Willer was able to raise more than 50 000 euros, unlock one new color option and reveal another one. So I came up with several palette variations, putting them to vote, with the two obvious leaders - Blue & Red and Black & Yellow versions. So, what do you think about these two new colors? Do they fit the overall watch design?


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## andrewwiller (Sep 17, 2018)

Hi everyone! Just wanted to inform you that the fundraising campaign on Kickstarter will end in less than 4 days. We were able to unlock both color variations above (blue / yellow), add an option of adding a solid sapphire crystal and introduced pouches (with not much interest, sadly ) Nevertheless, Willer feels fine, so if you like my watch, now could be the last opportunity to get it with a huge discount and support a young watchmaker  You can get any Willer watch here.


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## RoddyJB (May 11, 2008)

As is, I wouldn't wear it. I definitely agree with @Always"watching" the blank space with the unnecessary word DATE at the bottom and the hands do need tweaking. Also the lack of readily visible markers between 4 & 8.


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## JayDeep (Dec 31, 2016)

I dig the look a lot, especially the blue and red!!!


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