BY DHANANJAY PATHAK
Crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo provide young brands with an opportunity to bring their ideas to fruition. What this results in is a market that is replete with refreshing new products that are not confined within the boundaries of convention. On that note, today we are going to have a look at a quirky new dive watch offering which is currently live on Kickstarter and is inspired by a gun. Yes, you read that correct the AD5 from RVLVR watches is a weapon inspired watch that is ready to take on the seas.
RVLVR is a small watch brand based in Hawaii and makes watches that are influenced by handguns/revolvers. For the AD5 RVLVR has partnered with leading arms manufacturer Magnum Research and has drawn inspiration from their most powerful single action 5 chamber revolver called the Biggest Finest Revolver aka BFR. One of the most noticeable aspects of the AD5 are the 5 black circles that have been designed to mimic the bullet chambers found on a BFR. This little detail adds a distinctive visual appeal to an otherwise clean-looking dial which has been crafted from brass, a material used in the construction of bullet frames. Legibility is an important aspect on a dive watch and the AD5 offers plenty of it, be it day or night.
A printed black minute/hour track has been placed on the outer periphery of the dial which can be read easily using the broad handset. To aid low light visibility the handset has been filled generously with luminous material and lume plots have been placed at intervals of 5. But what would really bring this bad boy to life is the layer of superluminova that has been placed next to the minute track. It has also been recessed to add a sense of depth and is also segmented which makes its look cool.
The case on the RVLVR AD5 is made from stainless steel and measures a large 44mm in diameter. But don’t let the width of the watch lower your buying spirit as the small lug to lug dimension of just 45mm would certainly make this watch wear comfortably on a wide variety of wrists. Sitting on top is a 120 click unidirectional bezel that features engraved markings along with a lumed triangle. The case is water-resistant to 300 meters and has also been equipped with an automatic helium escape valve should you wish to perform some saturation diving with the AD5 on the wrist. Powering the AD5 is the workhorse NH35A movement that operates at a frequency of 3 Hz and offers a power reserve of around 41 hours. The movement can be looked at through the mineral glass exhibition case back.
The RVLVR AD5 is a feature-rich dive watch with an intriguing design influence. The watch would be made available in two variants: Stainless Steel with a black rubber strap and a Black version with a leather strap. Super early bird pricing starts at $349, which is a good $150 less than the final retail price of $499. Also, what makes this Kickstarter campaign even more special is that almost every reward gets you not only an AD5 at a discounted price but also an additional RVLVR watch for free, if you are among the first 350 backers. So, in case you really want the AD5 to be a part of your watch collection, act fast to enjoy the maximum benefits.
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