Delivery update

We're working hard to get this Modern Fliegeruhr – Aviator out as soon as possible. Currently waiting for the parts and components for assembly. Sorry for the delay, and thank you for your patience!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2010!

Praesto Watch Team wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Modern Fliegeruhr – Aviator being delayed

Apparently Modern Fliegeruhr – Aviator is being delayed due to delay of parts and components. We're trying hard to release partially in early January 2010. We apologize for the long wait!

Praesto Tourbillon LT1

Despite the hectic season, we're already quietly in the process of developing our first tourbillon model - LT1. The movement will be top notch seagull ST8000 tourbillon, housed in black DLC stainless steel case.

Pre-ordering is coming soon!! Initial plan for production would be 50 units. "First come, first served". Price is to be finalized and listed on our website.

Specification:

Model: DLC Tourbillon LT1
Movement: Seagull ST8000
Case Diameter: 44mm excluding crown, stainless steel, DLC coated.
Crown: Screw down
Crystal: Sapphire
Caseback: display / see-through, with sapphire crystal
Water-resistance: 20 ATM
Strap: 24mm black genuine leather
Buckle: Polished stainless steel (not DLC coated)
Production Quantity: 50 pieces

Mockups:

What happened to Praesto the past 2 days?

The past 2 days has been a bad history for us!

Here is what happened. Our website went down the past 2 FULL days, just because there was a technical misunderstanding between our web host and credit card company. Our web host tried to automatically debit account renewal fees from our credit card, but the credit card company thought the transaction was a fraud. From there came the nightmare for Praesto for 2 days - 48 hours, 2880 minutes, 172,800 seconds ! Naturally, this led many someone to think we went out of business! How could this be? We have been making watches for other brands for many years and now for Praesto, our own new baby. We operate as usual everyday, but the past 2 days we did it with our websites being dead. This has driven us nuts as we were trying to help clear things up with the credit card company and web host ......

Now, we're back alive again! We apologize for causing worry to some of you who have placed the pre-order. :-( This "misunderstanding" really has caused us some brand damage, esp. when Praesto is still at its infancy.

http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?p=2432460

http://www.tz-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=97661

http://www.watchandclockforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=122&t=5346&start=0

We could have sent out individual emails to pre-order individuals but we could not, because all such is done on the server with which our account was temporarily de-activated. Now this should teach us a great lesson! (Well, we did make the announcement on Twitter - http://twitter.com/praestowatch and our fan book http://www.facebook.com/praestowatch)

Just in case, for future incidents like this, here is our gmail account: praestowatch at gmail . com. If you ever can't get a hold of us due to whatever reasons, this is the safest and surest way to reach us!

Thank you for understanding.

If you have any questions/complaints/comments, please email me at amos at praestowatch . com or praestowatch at gmail . com

Kind regards,

Amos

Praesto Tshirt for Modern Fliegeruhr Aviator

Praesto Tshirt for Modern Fliegeruhr Aviator is here. High quality. It feels very good, comfortable to wear; made of 100 % cotton, machine washable ... You would feel like flying :-)










One small request: would you mind telling us what Tshirt size you're wearing? We want to make sure our Tshirt fits on you. Please take a vote and comment here: http://watchandclockforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=122&t=5293

PVD black aviator

The PVD black aviator is here:












For comments, please click here: http://watchandclockforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=122&t=5090&start=15#p23749 Your comments are precious and appreciated.

Aviator is here!

Finally, are you waiting for these pictures?














































The PVD black one will be assembled tomorrow.

Praesto 2010 designs

What do you think of the following designs for 2010 ? Still preliminary concept. Constructive criticism is welcome!












Below are auto chronos.








Any comments?

Praesto's DLC Tourbillon

We're planning to produce a very limited edition of black tourbillon housed in a high quality DLC-coated stainless steel case, but we're being torn apart between the 2 case styles. If you were to buy the tourbillon, which case would you prefer? Please cast your vote here: http://watchandclockforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=122&t=5141&start=0

Forget about the finishing of the case as shown on the renderings. Final one will be DLC-coated. Black.

Case #1:




Case #2





Movement is well-known Seagull ST8000.







Specification:

Model: Praesto Tourbillon DLC
Movement: Seagull ST8000
Case Diameter: 44mm excluding crown, stainless steel, DLC coated.
Crown: screw down
Crystal: Sapphire
Caseback: display / see-through, with sapphire crystal
Water-resistance: 5-10 ATM
Strap: 24mm black genuine leather
Buckle: Polished stainless steel (not DLC coated)
Very Limited Edition: 50 pieces

Why DLC coating? What is DLC coating?

Benefits of DLC coating

- low coefficient of friction
- high wear and abrasion resistance
- high hardness
- high indentation resistance
- anti-reflective
- anti-allergic properties
- corrosion resistant
- bio-compatible

DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) coating is commonly used in many heavy / light industries, such as automotive, medical, machinery, and of course our beloved watch industry. It's an extremely hard and resistant carbon coating. The coating process has been reliably used in the manufacture of surgical instruments for some time now. It is considerably harder and more resilient than more commonly found PVD coatings, and adheres particularly well to stainless steel. It is several times harder than that of steel !!!

Those who want to know more about DLC, the following links may help.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond-like_carbon
http://ablogtoread.com/general/discussing-dlc-linde-werdelin-talks-about-the-hard-black-elemental-watch-and-diamond-like-carbon-coating-in-general/
http://www.friendsoforis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=34882&mode=linear
http://ablogtoread.com/linde-werdelin/linde-werdelin-dlc-hard-black-ii-limited-edition-watch/
http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/TECHNOLOGY/INTRODUCTION/DETAILS/DLC/index.html

Watches made in DLC-coated cases are highly resistant to wear and abrasion, and can be had from other brands for $5000 - $7000 bucks! Praesto sells at

Tentative Pricing (based on current cost structures):

Retail price: $1320 + shipping
Pre-order price: $990 + shipping

Tentatively, we plan to produce only 50 pieces so availability is very limited. Unless demand is greater, 50 pieces is our plan at the moment. First come, first served. Pre-ordering begins immediately after this voting process is done.

***** Pricing is to be confirmed after further cost adjustment (most likely adjusted down) and at the time of official announcement of pre-ordering. *****

Comments? Welcome!

Modern Fliegeruhr - Aviator Update

Hello!

Just in case you're wondering development status of our Aviator, here is the brief update. We're currently busy machining the cases and parts for the watch. Manufacturing a quality timepiece takes a lot of processes and therefore it takes quite some time. Although our target release date is end of November or latest before Xmas, there are times when we simply have to fine-tune parts to ensure quality. Unforeseen delays that occur in the production of fine timepieces are common. Nonetheless, we will keep you informed of production / delivery status. When all is ready, we will make the announcement with pictures.

Kind regards,
Praesto Watch Team

How do you deal with packaging box/case?

Your kind and honest comment is requested for the following questions:

Q1: Would you rather spend your hard-earned money on better quality of the watch itself (or its design), or on a fancy packaging box/case that ships with the watch?

Q2: What do you usually do with the box/case after opening it? Throw it away, leave it to collect dust somewhere, or keep it safe for possible re-use?

Q3: Do you travel with your packaging case? In what occasions?

We hit on AskMen.com!

http://www.askmen.com/fashion/watch/praesto-modern-fliegeruhr.html?asid=ffeccc8d

Thanks for your support!

We're on Twitter, too.

Join us! http://twitter.com/praestowatch

Lume upgrade

We're pleased to announce that we will upgrade the lume to be used, from current Superluminova C3 to a lume that is even brighter! What? Be ready for a surprise.

Stay tuned!

PS: Grab your pieces before it's too late!

Praesto's on review again

Today, we're pleased to see another great review on us by aBlogtoRead.com, one of the most popular blog sites for timepiece reviews and news source. The statement "But the Chinese have been making watches, and watch parts for years" is very true. This has been the case for decades! Nowadays, times change. While we enjoy producing timepieces for other brands, it's certainly more "fun", exciting if we can make our own brand. That's why we started our own brand - Praesto.

[ Praesto is a latin word, meaning "to be outstanding, to surpass, to excell". ]

We certainly are aware that many people would think a Chinese brand is inferior (in terms of design and craftsmanship) to brands originating from the West. Well, maybe. Maybe not, depending on which brand. As for Praesto, we're changing that perception. :-)

"I think it is actually funny. To see a modern Chinese watch with an old sounding German name. The timepiece design is actually American." True, and we think it's a unique blend. Our target market is the American and European markets. This is why we gladly collaborate with watch designers and collectors from these two markets on design ideas at Watch and Clock Forum. Their ideas become our directions in designing and producing our next great timepieces!

Here is another nice review by Hodinkee.

Problems viewing our site ?

It seems a number of people who said they could not see our site properly on the browser they are using or did not see where to pre-order. We wonder if you're using the IE browser. We found out that IE does not seem to display our pages properly. :-( It seems it would take a couple of reloads to get the rendered HTML codes straight and work properly in IE.

If you use Firefox 3.0+, there should not be a problem viewing our site.

If you have problems making your pre-order, an alternative way is for you to email us:

- which watch you like
- your email address
- your shipping address
- your real full name
- your phone number

We can key in the details for you as every order must be recorded in system for easy management. Currently, no payment is necessary yet until the watch is ready for shipment.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if the above describes you.

Thank you!

Praesto Watch Team

Looking forward to making our first ladies model

As some of you know that Praesto's first introductory gents model (Modern Fliegeruhr – Aviator) is a result of a design contest held at our forum a few months ago, we now would like to make our first introductory ladies model. We have made the announcement here.

If you're a designer and good at designing (ladies) watches, you're cordially invited to join and win the contest. You're to propose any designs that you think may be of today's taste of ladies for watches. Once we collect enough "proposals", members of the forum will vote for the winner!

Reward for the winner:

1. Your name be stamped (engraved) on caseback of the watch.
2. You will get 3% of the quantity produced for FREE!

Contest Deadline: September 8, 2009


Do you have a design that you would like produced for your ladies? Or, do you have ideas that you would like to share regarding how our first ladies model should be? Join us and make your dream ladies watch come true with Praesto! With Praesto, you can have an influence on what to be made! This is especially true if you don't see anything you like in the market or even if you do see something you like but can't afford to buy it. Here is the chance for you to take part in the designing/selection process! Praesto aims to produce watches that are affordable to buy.

TIPS:

a) Praesto is a latin word, meaning "to stand out, to surpass, to excel". When designing your watch, please think of what Praesto stands for.

b) Since Praesto strives to offer designs that entice, amuse and inspire, your designs should reflect this "quality".


>> Go to the contest forum

Miyota 8245

As you can see on our website, we have put up a Pictures in Action page. On this page, we posted up pictures of Miyota 8245, the engine of our Modern Fliegeruhr – Aviator.