By late 2016, we were feeling the swell of support from our fans and relishing in the disruption of the watch world. Our microbrand had captured the attention and love of folk all over the world and the attention and somewhat different sentiments of mainstream brands. Realizing that is what a rebel does, we decided to model our third Kickstarter project to reflect the rebellion we’d started, in name and design.
So, on February 29, 2017, we launched the Rebel on Kickstarter. Within 40 hours, we raised over half a million dollars. And, by the end, the total was over 1.7 million dollars. As with our two previous campaigns, our design and approach captured the fancy, and support of a growing legion of fans.
"We have a winner on our hands, the people have spoken, and they agree, we need a new kind of Swiss watch."
-Team LIV, Update #1 on Rebel Kickstarter Project
It's clear that the design of the watch contributed significantly to its appeal with the people in the watch-i-verse who appreciated the unique, daring design. It wasn’t just different than our other watches, for many, it was different than any other timepiece they've ever seen. To put it succinctly, it wasn’t just another round watch. For those who must put a label on the case shape, think tonneau modified in the unique LIV style.
The Swiss craftsmanship, abundance of features offered, and panache of a limited edition don't hurt either. Think of it like this; 7.6 billion people are living on the Earth. If even half are in the watch market, a limited run of a handcrafted Swiss timepiece with a rebellious design means the Rebel will adorn the wrists of a tiny minority!
"This is one hell of a Swiss watch for that price."
-Neal Goodacre, Wrist Watch Review
Our mission is to provide amazing Swiss-made watches at a price that makes them accessible to nearly everyone with a pulse. Especially those watch fans and collectors who haven’t been able to crack the price barriers of major brands before now. The Rebel delivers, offering four different versions in multiple colorways or executions. While specific features vary by version, each Rebel has:
That is a pretty substantial set of specifications and would have been a value with a single version and some color choices. But rebels don’t stop at half measures, and neither did we.
Fine Swiss-made watches must, at their heart, have a premium Swiss movement. The movement powers the functions of the timepiece and sets the basis for the precision of the watch in keeping accurate time. The Rebel delivers again in the Swiss movement category, using a different movement in each version:
Watch geeks will recognize some familiar names and calibers in this list. Each movement is a work of the horological art and delivers amazing functionality, precision, accuracy, and reliability. The true gear-heads have two mechanical automatic choices, and those with a no-wind preference have two options as well.
Let’s dig into the specifics of each version. Remember, each version includes all the features previously listed plus a few unique to each movement.
Leading off the rotation, a little homage to baseball fans is the LIV Rebel-AC Automatic Swiss Chronograph. This beauty is limited to 500 per execution (colorway), and features:
Next up is the LIV Rebel-A Swiss Automatic 3-Hand version that is also limited to 500 per execution. Its additional features include:
Batting third is the LIV Rebel-DDC Day-Date Swiss Chronograph which is limited to 1500 per execution. Its features include:
Batting clean-up is a critical spot in any rotation and the LIV Rebel-GMT 24H/Dual Time fills the role beautifully. Like the Rebel-DDC, it is limited to 1500 per execution and features:
We admit it is hard to tie down a Rebel, but we gave it our best effort with a broad range of options with something to appeal to the rebel in each of our backers. We offer:
All-in-all, the Rebel is a fantastic success. By the time the campaign funded fully, 2,909 backers had pledged $1,703,914 to help bring this Kickstarter project to life. Here are some stats on these remarkable people:
Rebels have a habit of continuing to stir the pot and keeping things interesting. LIV Watches is determined to bring a steady string of rugged, reliable, accurate, quality, and edgy design watches to all those who want an opportunity to try a Swiss-made timepiece, without taking out a second mortgage for the privilege. Join us in our adventure and take our timepieces on yours.