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“Hua Hin” Sacred Crafts Watch
$1,599.99
La Grande Mer [”The Great Sea”] Collection, is a celebration of our connection with the big blue. This crafted timepiece shares the story of a life on the sea. La Grande Mer is a moment in time where sacred materials are reborn to live on.
The case, bezel, links and crown are made from “Our Bronze” - a custom CuSN8 formulation we developed from reclaimed bronze marine propellors.
This model also features custom wood parts from our first vintage boat harvest in 2019. The dial is an ultra precise veneer made from the rootsiest part of the boat. The center links section is also made from the boat for a unique look to every watch. Hua Hin ships with a luxury reclaimed wood box made from our vintage boats, a rubber dive strap, premium leather band, travel case and coffee table book that shares the story of how [and why] we made this watch.
Designed to wear with the wearer, a bronze watch is a special type of timepiece. Its color will gradually turn from a glowing warm bronze to a deep patina depending on where it's taken. Best of all, the patina can be removed and its original luster can be restored with a simple cleaning process.
Featuring a screwed down crown and unidirectional dive bezel this 24 jewel, 40 hour powered watch will perform as needed anywhere you feel free to roam.
- 5 year Warranty on Parts and Movement
- 36 Month Complimentary Servicing included
- Global Shipping Included
- Sizing and Strap Replacement on Request
Our first crafted timepiece collection is an offering to Mother Ocean. Her beauty and her energy call to us no matter how land-locked we find ourselves. No mountain range or establishment can drown her steady whisper. The sea is where our soul is drawn to.
Designed to maximize a life on the water, to be timeless in design, and to be unfailing; this watch is ready for adventure.
How the watch came to be is an adventure unto itself.
2019:
La Grande Mer watch concept was developed between friends who live [and work] to surf, dive, travel and explore anywhere they can.
As most ideas start, this one happened on a well-worn notepad that has been the source of at least a few good designs. Pages and pages later its form took shape well enough to bring it into a full and proper design process.
In collaboration with the amazing team at DQBD in Stuttgart, Germany, we refined our design and engineered it into a system of precision parts that can accept not only traditional watchmaking materials, but also our new, sacred materials & compounds that were emerging as a result of our adventures.
After a trip to Thailand where we collected Vintage Boats, we had gathered up enough great materials to offer our first, limited edition Swiss-made timepieces made from Vintage Fishing Boats.
Reclaimed Bronze:
We visited much of the coast of Thailand. The result of a proud fishing nation is an inevitable pile up of marine bronze. Within a few days we tapped into the supply and had enough to test out our plans for a watch case made from reclaimed bronze. That part turned out to be fun and kind of easy. The hard part was finding someone to help us reclaim it by melting it all down into new bars.
Thankfully our team managed to work with a local metalsmith who also has a flair for vintage (check the mustache on his apprentice >> ). The whole experience was like a performance art where old became new. The reclaimed alloy's shine in the sun brought us the confidence in what we might make from it.
SeaGlass Jewelry:
Sea junk is everywhere. Lots of it starts out in a professional or industrial usage and ends up left behind for the local community and the ecosystem to suffer. Fishing nets are one of these materials. Its a pervasive mess that needs to be removed from the sea at all costs.
First we spoke with local harbormasters to organize a collection effort to collect nylon nets that would otherwise be clogging up the waterways. Our "Terrazo" concept goes like this:
- Reclaim plastic and polymer materials that otherwise would be jamming up the ecosystem.
- Using a jewelry grade bio-epoxy as a base, we immersed the nylon fishing net and molded them into sheet of terrazo material we can then precision cut into parts.
SeaGlass has a luxurious luster similar to fine crafted jade stone - our first of many custom terrazo materials created to elevate materials and make them reborn.
Reclaimed Wood From Vintage Boats:
Many who answer the call of the sea are also a fans of boats. We are celebrating a beautiful time in place where a fleet of vintage wooden boats is nearing the end of its days. By purchasing and dismantling these boats we are helping to solve an environmental issue, provide owners with relief of their cost burden and we are allowing sacred materials to become reborn into new finely crafted products.
This collection of crafted timepieces features links & dial veneers made from Vintage Boats. Each of our 500 pc limited collection comes in a "Japanese Bento Style" gift box made from the boats.
Swiss Movement and Manufacturing:
With a depth rating of 300m, La Grande Mer is equipped with a Ronda R150 automatic movement. It is also assembled in their factory in Stabio, Swizterland. Our custom bronze rotor was the final touch to make sure this little machine had enough radness under the hood. With 40 hours of power reserve and 25 jewels to keep the gears and springs running smooth, La Grande Mer is made to take anywhere.
