UPDATE: H2O BRACELET TITANIUM

roadwarrior

roadwarrior

Grand Tyme Master
Founding Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
59,521
UPDATE: H2O BRACELET TITANIUM

My first priority is to supply perfect products. Unfortunately I was not satisfied with the preciseness of the screw hole depths and decided that we need a second sample being made. The second sample is expected to arrive by the end of December. Therefore the delivery will be in first quarter of 2022.

This awesome bracelet must be perfect from top to bottom and I count on your understanding about this decision.
Have a great day!

Clemens

yj9XVp8.jpg
tT93WU6.jpg
EJp0YGl.jpg
a0YJuP4.jpg
RcnSrcI.jpg
 
I have 2 of the titanium bracelets but 3 H2O titanium watches - I should have ordered a bracelet in the preorder. I wonder if the bracelets will be a potential Black Friday sale.
 
Rui D.
Regarding the titanium bracelet pre order it is very disappointing having to resort to this post, after having received no answers, no info. Ok probably raw materials costs are up and Clemens cant fulfill the pre orders, ok no big deal. But I want to cancel my preorder and have the money returned please.

A one man business has its downsides. He’s always been very hard to reach.
Click to expand...
Dan H.


:hmm: Sorry IMHO that's no excuse for lacking communication.

The One-Man Brand ET Link

Watch entrepreneur Elshan Tang has built a global business online, all without a single employee.
 
I didn't get in on the titanium bracelet preorder - I have two of the original titanium bracelets and love them - I wear them on my K2 6k titanium watches both with the raised 8mm crystals (my 10 mile titanium K2 I prefer on Isofrane). I feel for those who preordered and have not received timely updates. It would be easy to post a Facebook or email update regarding any delays. But I think Clemens is doing a lot of work himself (he recently did a repair for me and process went great) and responding to emails gets put on the backburner. I think eventually patience will be rewarded with an awesome bracelet, but I'm guessing he's been getting several inquiries on the bracelet status and it would be good to post a status update for the customers that are waiting on pre-orders.

Untitled by Robert Terrill, on Flickr

Untitled by Robert Terrill, on Flickr

Untitled by Robert Terrill, on Flickr

Untitled by Robert Terrill, on Flickr

Untitled by Robert Terrill, on Flickr
 
There is no excuse for lack of communication. If someone has the time to post new projects to sell, at the very least they should be capable of keeping customers in the loop. Rewards are a two-way street. Good communication gets rewarded by good reviews and customer loyalty. I can attest on top of poor communication the customer service is missing. Having the attitude that it's your problem to get a trinket back to them on your dime. Messing up a custom order on a brand built on customization is bad.
 
I like Clemens and I love the H2O watches I have. But if he can't keep up with the demands of CS then he needs to hire someone to do it. Even if its a part timer. That may cut into the profit margin but losing customers will cut into if far more. This is similar to the issue with the Kalmar Chrono pre-order. Things happen, customers get that. Esp collectors. But you have to keep us updated. That whole fiasco may not have sworn me off H2O watches forever (though I haven't added on since) but it did swear me off of pre-orders. I've also been far less involved with the Facebook group and all.

So while I haven't deliberately said I won't buy another H2O; my change in behavior interacting with the brand has probably changed my purchasing behavior as well.
 
Status of the TI bracelet production

The titanium bracelet is the most difficult item to produce. A TI watch case is simple in production compared to 200+ tiny parts of a TI bracelet. But i agree there must be progress. More progress! I’m also a very inpatient person and as this project moved slowly the last months I have taken measurements to ensure the production of this unique bracelet. In January 2022 I have ordered 300x titanium bracelet clasps and also more than 15.000x screws for the first titanium bracelet production Made in Germany. Both the bracelet and screws will arrive mid June. I have more than 500kg of titanium in my office with a value of approx. 50.000 Euro. So titanium grade 5 material is no problem at all. Our 8000kg heavy / 350.000 Euro 5-axis CNC milling machine will be finally installed in the first June week. I don’t have a crystal ball, but the production of this ti bracelet has very high priority and once this production process is worked out it will enable me to produce the bracelet not only in TI, but also Timascus, Mokume Gane, Stainless damascus steel etc. I will document the manufacturing steps here with videos from the different production steps to give you some detailed insights .

As the TI bracelet will be produced in Germany on own machines and my own man power the costs for the production will increase dramatically by easily 300%, but of course the pre-order prices will be left untouched. After this pre-order the bracelet will never be sold separately, but only together with a complete watch. Otherwise the price will have to be doubled or trippled.
 
That was a nice update by Clemens (though if he proactively posted the update when he knew the plans to produce would change to be in-house, that would have been even better). The ones who pre-ordered will be rewarded for their patience with an awesome bracelet for the price - one that will only be sold in the future in combination with a titanium watch purchase I'm sure for a much higher price. I'm looking forward to see how it comes out - and to see the mokume gane, timascus, stainless damascus, etc bracelets that he produces down the road with that equipment.

I'd LOVE to get a MG bracelet for my MG K2 6000m.



H2O K2 Mokume Gane by Robert Terrill, on Flickr

H2O K2 Mokume Gane by Robert Terrill, on Flickr

H2O K2 Mokume Gane by Robert Terrill, on Flickr
 
H2O INSIGHT / 24.03.2023
Today I took a few hours out of office to make a first test production of the titanium bracelet links. For the time in life I milled the super strong titanium grade 5.
🙂
Fortunately the machine, the 2mm driller and cutter survived.

I improved the titanium link design from all previous H2O bracelets by adding around every single link on top and bottom a 0.05mm wide chamfering. This will unsharp the sides of the links and improve the wearing comfort of the bracelet a lot.

This is the first step into mass production and we surely have to improve the milling and drilling strategies to speed up the manufacturing time. For now I'm very satisfied with this first test. This bracelet will become the first titanium bracelet "MADE IN GERMANY".

We are not yet at the end of the road, but I want to thank for all your patience so far.

OWExQdr.jpg
AJz8eLr.jpg
fhVsnZJ.jpg
 
roadwarrior said:
This is the first step into mass production and we surely have to improve the milling and drilling strategies to speed up the manufacturing time. For now I'm very satisfied with this first test. This bracelet will become the first titanium bracelet "MADE IN GERMANY".
Click to expand...
That's a bold statement, I wonder if he's fact checked it. Do we know where Sinn and A Lange & Sohne make their bracelets? I suppose Sinn might make there's overseas. I doubt it for lange.
 
Closeups from the first titanium bracelet links. Programming isn't perfect right now and needs minor fine adjustment as the bevelling tool hit the link too deep when passing through the bottom of the two links. The distance between each link must be increased by 0.40mm to prevent this happening. Now the links will be processed in a vibratory finishing system and afterwards they are getting brushed. And this must be processed with about 16000x parts.

Xw4TQ8C.jpg
es0Ehwo.jpg
W6Ulg0C.jpg
 
This definitely seems like an aggressive undertaking that will be very labor intensive to complete. I have 4 H2O titanium models and 3 of the original titanium bracelets, and those really are fantastic and see a lot of wrist time for me. Looking forward to seeing the final assembly and seeing customers that have waited patiently be rewarded with an awesome bracelet.
 
roadwarrior said:
Closeups from the first titanium bracelet links. Programming isn't perfect right now and needs minor fine adjustment as the bevelling tool hit the link too deep when passing through the bottom of the two links. The distance between each link must be increased by 0.40mm to prevent this happening. Now the links will be processed in a vibratory finishing system and afterwards they are getting brushed. And this must be processed with about 16000x parts.

Xw4TQ8C.jpg
es0Ehwo.jpg
W6Ulg0C.jpg
Click to expand...
;)Thanks for posting this one, Mike.:hat:
 
Back
Top Bottom