Nearly a century ago, my great-grandfather lost his leg in a saw mill accident. Devastated by the loss of his leg and terrified about how he would provide for his family, he thought all was lost. At the time, watchmaking was a rare, but highly needed skill. With the need for local watchmakers, the state of Utah paid to have my great-grandfather trained and certified to work on a variety of time pieces. With his newly acquired skill his family not only got by, they thrived. He became a very successful and well known watchmaker. His son (my grandfather) took over the family business when his father retired. That experience with my great grandfather instilled in my family an undying passion and gratitude for the trade of watchmaking. 

(My grandfather, Calvin)                                            (My great-grandfather, Wilfred)

Growing up I spent hours in awe watching my grandfather work on watches in his shop. Every year for my birthday, I would flip through my grandfathers catalogs and pick out a watch, which my grandparents would then get me as a gift. I've acquired quite the collection over the years. Before this project began, I was looking at my watch collection and thought "whats next?" I wanted something different than anything I had. After some time searching, I decided I needed to add a wooden watch to the collection. After months of looking, I couldn't find the wood watch I had in mind, so I approached my grandfather with my situation and we decided to create it with some help from a good friend of mine. 

Watches were something I had developed a passion for, but I knew very little about watch design. I had a good idea as to what I wanted the outcome to be like (look, price etc) but that was strictly cosmetic. I knew very little about watch movements, crystals, bands, cases etc. Calvin (my grandfather) was instrumental in the design process. He helped us design an incredibly reliable and affordable time piece. Without Calvin, there would only be an idea and sketches of what could be. His true passion lies in old pocket watches with a jeweled mechanical movement, but he loves any unique time piece. He was thrilled to get involved with the project.

-The Idea-

The idea started not as a business venture, but as a result of looking for a wooden watch for personal use. We found several options, but none that met our high expectations. A year and a half ago we noticed the need for a better looking and more affordable wood watch. We hit the drawing board.

-The Paper-

After doing a lot of research with current products, we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted the watch to have. We put together a rough sketch of the idea and labeled the main parts. We knew we wanted the finished product to have a wood case and leather band. We came up with a checklist of things we wanted the finished watch to accomplish. We wanted to make sure the watch was affordable yet maintain a high standard of quality. The design had to be aesthetically pleasing. Of course, the watch had to keep accurate time. We wanted the watch to be slim and simplistic. We had a pretty good idea as to what we wanted the final product to look like, but that was strictly cosmetic. We knew very little about what went into making a quality watch. We knew we would need a professionals help so I immediately went to my grandfather to seek his advice. Once we had a few rough sketches and the main details on paper and the processional help we needed, it was time to find a manufacturer who could turn this idea and sketch into a reality.

-The Manufacturer-

We spent weeks researching different manufacturers. We came up with a list of manufacturers that would be able to create what we had in mind. After an extensive process of sifting though manufacturers, we finally selected one. We then sought out companies who had experience working with them and found nothing but positive feedback. We are proud to say that all the research paid off and we have found a very reliable manufacturer that produces high quality products. With a manufacturer lined up, the detailed design was next. 

-The Design-

Our manufacturer presented their capabilities to us. They showed us the extensive options they had to offer for the customization of the watches. We literally had hundreds of options at our fingertips. We were very excited to get going on our designs, to say the least! For each watch we selected the case, case-back, case size, wood type, band material and band size, buckle type, movement, glass type, bezel, stitching and stitching color, crown, etc. No detail was left untouched. Throughout the whole process we worked hand in hand with Calvin, my grandfather. This was a thrill for us all. For us, we were designing or first watches. For Calvin, he was designing most likely his last watch ever. Our manufacturer had several different movement, crystal, and watch dimension options to choose from. I had no idea what the differences were between them. We all agreed that the goal was to create a reliable and durable, yet affordable time piece. My grandfather was the brain behind making that happen. He helped us select the Miyota 2035 Japanese Quartz Movement to use for each of our watches. With our manufacturer, we started with a conceptual graphic design for each watch. We spent weeks changing and fine tuning the graphics until we were satisfied. We then gave our manufacture the "thumbs-up" to create the first round of samples. Once the first samples were done we fine tuned them some more, making some minor changes. After months in the design process, we took a step back and couldn't help but smile. They looked GREAT!

-The Test-

Once we got our samples Calvin was the best partner you could ever have. He took the watches apart to verify the quality of each component. After 50+ years as a watchmaker, he has incredibly high expectations for a timepiece. They got his approval on every level. Once they passed the integrity check, it was time to really put them to the test. We spent a year testing our watches to ensure they could keep up with our active lifestyle. It has been over a year now and each of our watches have met our every expectation. When we got our watches, we were excited to make them available to the world but we didn't feel right selling them until we gave them a thorough test. We can say with complete confidence, we are offering a quality product. We stand by our watches 100%.

-Why Our Watches-

With the wide variety of watches available in the world (both wood and steel) the question arises, "why should I buy this one when there are similar looking watches out there". Our answer is simple, Ours are different. As mentioned above, we spent months focusing on the small and seemingly insignificant details. It is the small things that all come together to create a masterpiece. We feel that is the case with our watch designs, we hope you agree! With the help from a reputable life-long watchmaker, we used affordable and high quality components for our watches. They are built to last without breaking the bank. We have throughly tested and inspected our watches. We stand by them 100%. We hope people are just as thrilled with our customer service as they are with our watches. We are offering a 1 year warranty for any manufacturer defects. We will work with you on a case by case basis to repair or replace your watches, should any issue arise. We also have big plans for the future of our brand. We are looking forward to a bright future of innovative and quality products. We know we couldn't make this happen without our backers. To show our appreciation, we are offering anyone who supports our project by buying a watch, 20% off LunoWear products...FOR LIFE!

We've created a time piece that fits right in with minimalist type fashion accessories, while still being unique and different. Our watches feature a sleek and simple all natural bamboo or ebony wood case with a genuine leather band. This construction accomplished several things:

-Fashionable-

Wood is in. It's different and unique, yet stylish. 

-Comfortable-

With the combination of wood and leather, each watch weighs less than one ounce. The genuine leather band forms to your wrist for a customized fit. 

-Durable-

Leather wears well over time. Ebony wood is extremely dense and bamboo is incredibly flexible which creates a durable case that will be long lasting. Wood and leather complement each other nicely and neither one wears the other down.

*Each wood case has a water resistant/protective finish so moisture from splashing during hand washing or rain isn't an issue, but they are not submersible.  We strongly recommend avoiding any contact with water.

-Unique-

A wooden watch isn't something you see every day. In and of itself it's unique but each wood case has a slightly different pattern, thus every watch is different from the next.

-Represent-

We chose to use bamboo and ebony wood for our watch cases. 

Both woods offer a unique textured look that stands out. 

Once we got our first samples of watches, we couldn't wait to put them through the ringer to see if they would pass the lifestyle test. We threw everything we could think of at them... and they passed with flying colors.

As the days have passed we have gathered more information.

Some background info:
How watch manufacturing works, and now it has worked for the last 30+ years, is when one wants to design a watch, they reach out to a watch manufacture. From there, they design a watch with readily available components (e.g. movement, case, case dimensions, case material, crystal type, band material, band dimensions, hands, face, numbers, dial, bezel etc) and finish it off with their brand logo. This is how the vast majority of watch companies manufacture watches, with the exception of brands like Rolex. They manufacture their own watches, which is in part why they are so expensive. Keep in mind, we are selling ours for $45.

Anyways, this is what we did with my grandfather on board helping us pick quality and reliable components. Unfortunately, when designing a watch with readily available components, anyone (including your manufacturer) can design the same or similar watch. Unfortunately many people, including Kickstarter, didn't take the time to do their homework and claimed we were "scamming" people by buying wholesale watches and reselling them for a profit. NOT THE CASE! We have all the files and information we need to prove otherwise. You'll also notice that you can't find anything similar to many of our other watches.

Case in point:

http://www.alibaba.com/…/High-Quality-stainless-steel-watch…

http://www.nixon.com/us/en/product/48-20-chrono-A486.html…

It is the "same watch" with minor differences. Does this mean Nixon didn't design their watches? No, it means they used readily available components that anyone has access to which inevitably leads to being able to find similar looking watches on the internet.

You can do this same process with ANY watch on kickstarter. If you take a few minutes to look for their watch on the internet, especially Alibaba, you will find their watch. The wood and leather watch industry is much smaller so you will find similar watches easier, but if you look closely for similar steel watches, you'll find them no problem.

This is what the critics of our campaign and Kickstarter failed to understand. All Kickstarter would have had to do is ask and we could have sent them over all our design files and conversations with our manufacture that took place well over a year ago. This is what Indiegogo did and we resolved the issue.

I hope this can clear up some of the misconceptions going around.

Thank you so much for all of the support!