In a previous article you could read that I was on the eve of the launch of my debut watch: the VPC Type 37HW. A lot has happened in the meantime. Let me get straight to the point: VPC is now officially in business and the Type 37HW is in production! How that came about I cover in this latest article on the project.
Text: Thomas van Straaten
The final phase of the project began with the receipt of the prototypes. To my delight, these were almost perfect. The few minor issues I wanted to see improved were fortunately not fundamental. This was extremely good news, because otherwise we would have been delayed for months and had to invest many tens of thousands of euros more.
It is hard to describe what it is like to unwrap your own watch after more than a year. On the one hand, I was obviously familiar with every square millimetre of the design, but on the other, I had never held it in my hands as a complete watch before. Fortunately, it was love at first sight.
What struck me immediately was the high level of finishing. This is something I put a lot of emphasis on with the manufacturers. The finish had to be and would be significantly better than you would typically expect at the price level (€2,999). I was pleased to see that the case and strap maker succeeded in this. The watch feels super solid. The surfaces are razor-sharp against each other, alternately polished and brushed. The strap is smooth and comfortable and the dials look refined and perfectly legible. What a relief!
Photography and presale preparation
I preferred to show the watches to the whole world right away, but that was not yet possible. As I explained last time, they had to remain under embargo until launch, to give publishing media news value. So I strapped one prototype on my left wrist, to experience how it would perform in daily use. With the remaining three, one in each colour, we created the content we needed for the launch.
I organised two photo shoots with photographer Morgan Saignes, and a video shoot with Matthijs van den Beukel. The first shoot was a product shoot, where we captured every detail of the watches in the studio. The second shoot was a lifestyle shoot, where we took the VPCs to the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. You can see the results of both these shoots in this article. The watches then went on tour along a number of media outlets, so they could do their own photography.
Meanwhile, my website (www.vpcwatch.com) rebuilt around the new imagery. The webshop was prepared for the presale that would eventually open on 7 March at 14:00. At that time, the new website went live, various media published announcements and the presale opened. The 300 watches from the first production run were now available in the webshop.
The launch
I can admit by now that the days leading up to 7 March were the most nerve-wracking of my life. Everything depended on this one moment. If the pre-sale was successful, I would immediately have the business I had been dreaming of since I was a teenager. If it was a flop, the production would not go ahead and I was left with a gigantic debt. I can tell, dear reader, that man is not built on such excitement!
Once the presale opened, everything proceeded with military precision, just as I had planned. Various media published their announcement articles, tightly at 14:00. I saw the visitor numbers on my website go up from 13:30. People had the countdown page open to be the first to claim a watch.
At 2pm, my computer and phone exploded. One mail after another came in. Orders, queries, congratulations from friends and family, it all came at once. I wanted to announce the launch on my Instagram but it took about an hour before I had a moment to do so.
The orders poured in. After 15 minutes, 50 watches had already been sold.
Things got exciting for a while
Not long after, however, things quieted down. The initial peak was over. I just hadn't sold enough watches yet to start production. If preorders were not added soon, the project could still not go ahead.
I must confess I was in sackcloth and ashes for a while. Sales stagnated and a number of quick decision-makers changed their minds and cancelled the purchase. The required number of preorders seemed unlikely to be achieved. Had I misjudged it all? Was the world not waiting for my creation after all? Several dark days of uncertainty followed.
But the preorders kept coming in. Unnoticed, that started to reach really impressive proportions. As I tried to get used to the idea that I had failed, the counter was slowly climbing towards the critical numbers. Before I could properly realise it, the project suddenly turned out to be a success after all. Production could begin!
From prototype to production
Now that the critical numbers had been reached on initiating production, the next phase started. Together with the Swiss watchmakers in charge of assembly, we drew up a list of areas for improvement. Small details to the prototypes that we still wanted to see refined. Consider, for example, a correction to the first link of the strap, right next to the clasp. This could rotate too far, causing the edge of the clasp to scratch the strap. That, of course, should not be allowed. Or consider the hour markers on the green dial, which were a little too transparent. This gave a slight colour difference with the hands, which of course we don't want.
These are intensive negotiations with the parties involved. You have to persuade different manufacturers to go the extra mile. That is not always easy, but ultimately necessary to really deliver a top watch.
We fortunately got the noses in the same direction pretty quickly and were able to push through the order for 300 units. It was now real. VPC was now officially a watch brand with customers and production.
Looking ahead
It looks like I can deliver on the promised delivery time of 7-10 months. That means there will be enthusiasts around the world sitting at the dis with a VPC Type 37HW on their wrist next Christmas. I can hardly describe what a tremendous honour it is to be able to say that. It is heartwarming that so many enthusiasts have expressed their trust in me and my watches. And that so many of them have actually pulled out their wallets. That is by far the highlight of my career so far.
The next few months are all about supervising the production and delivery of the watches. I am also still busy with promotion, as not all 300 watches have been sold yet. So the presale is still open on the website and I try to introduce people to my brand on a daily basis.
And after that? My head is overflowing with inspiration to start developing a VPC dive watch next. In short, this is the start of something very beautiful!
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