Tavannes is one of those ancient names in watchmaking with a fine pedigree in making innovative timepieces. Pocket watch collectors will know the Tavannes brand, as the Swiss factory was producing thousands of them from the 1890s to the outbreak of WW1. Then there was the Tavannes belt watch, or the waterproof watch designed for submariners in 1917. Advanced stuff for sure.
Now a US company has the Tavannes name and branding rights, with production based in Tavannes, Switzerland. They have some great designs, includinga revival of the famous belt buckle design. But one thing has been bugging Tavannes and that is the reluctance of men aged under 40 to get into collecting Swiss watches. Thing is, they see something like a Rolex Oyster and immediately associate that with their Dad – or grandad. So the answer is market a mechanical, or quartz watch that has abuggy-like cage.
The cage is super-light and very tough, you can see the Tavannes staff standing on it, so it will protect the watch case inside. It also mimics the dune buggy designs so beloved of racers from Baja California to Saudi Arabia. Sapphire crystal, 2 year guarantee, choice of straps when the funding target is hit pre-shipment of your watch. You can mix and match the watch with two different cage material designs, or a variety of straps too.
It costs £535 for the automatic variant, complete with NATO strap, which isn’t bad for something truly unique and a great deal cooler than an Armani or Hugo Boss watch that couldn’t really handle extreme sports every well. On a tight budget? Get an early bird offer on the Ronda quartz model from £245.
Verdict: A Casio G-Shock or Timex Ironman have been the default choices for adventure sports watch fans over the last few years so it’s great to see Tavannes taking on this segment of the market. Maybe a Buggy GPS Cage-Fighter model could be the next step and arguably bang on for the target customer too. We haven’t trademarked the name so you can have that on us!
The campaign is active right now on Kickstarter.