ORLO Watches Launches the Ticonite Watch on Kickstarter, a Scratchproof Automatic Dive Watch

Smaller brands and newcomers can sometimes be surprising. Mainly due to the non-conventional way these brands work, they try where larger brands don’t. Latest example found on Kickstarter is named ORLO Watches, a Danish watchmaker, which has just launched a new automatic dive watch crafted in an exotic material named Ticonite, with a supposedly entirely scratchproof titanium case.

Independent Danish watch company, ORLO Watches has partnered with the Technical University of Denmark to create a hardened, scratchproof titanium case for its new dive watch, now launching on Kickstarter. The ORLO Ticonite, named after the patented, hardened titanium (Ticonite), has a surface hardness of 1200HV, which is three to five times harder than conventional titanium (and conventional 316L steel has a 140HV hardness). The case is also almost 50% lighter than a comparable stainless steel case. Despite being a modified material, which uses heat and certain gasses in a controlled environment to produce, Ticonite still looks and feels like regular titanium. If you worry about your watch getting knocked around, this could be a good fit.

The dial is available in three colours – black, blue and green – with applied indices filled with a sand-coloured Super-Luminova. The matte silver hour and minute hands are also filled with sand-coloured Super-Luminova, while the matte silver seconds hand sports a red tip with no lume. The dial is made in Germany and the hands are made in Switzerland. The black, polished Ticonite bezel also has sand-coloured Super-Luminova filled indices and completes a full rotation in 60 clicks. This piece is made in Denmark.

The three-part polished Ticonite case with aluminium inlay, also made in Denmark, has a screw-down Ticonite crown with ORLO’s logo at the tip. It’s 42mm in diameter and 14mm in height but weighs only 70 grams. The domed crystal is sapphire with an anti-reflective coating and the case back is polished Ticonite with an embossed ORLO logo. The watch is water-resistant to 120 meters (12 ATM).

The heart of the ORLO Ticonite is a Japanese Miyota Caliber 9015. This 24-jewel automatic movement has a 42-hour power reserve, beats at 28,800bph, displays hours, minutes and central seconds with hacking function, and an accuracy rating of 10-30 seconds per day. Introduced in 2009, the Miyota 9015 is already considered a reliable movement, is easy to acquire and relatively inexpensive. ORLO’s previous watches have been quartz models, so this is the young brand’s first mechanical piece.

The lug width is 22mm and the watch comes with a natural black rubber strap that’s made in Switzerland. It features quick-release spring bars and a polished Ticonite buckle, which is made in Denmark. All of these components from Denmark, Switzerland, Japan and Germany are sent to Glashütte, Germany for final assembly.

The ORLO Ticonite is currently on Kickstarter with a price of USD 900 for Super Early Bird backers. This is 50% of the suggested retail price of USD 1,800. Not per se an affordable watch, however one that is made in an exotic material and assembled in a region well-known for creating great watches. If it reaches its goal, deliveries are expected in October. More details here.