Regularly, new watchmaking projects are launched on Kickstarter… with varying degrees of success. A few weeks after the brilliant resurgence of Eska Watches, in France, it’s an Irish creator who is stirring up the crowdfunding platform.
Twenty seconds were enough to fully fund the project of Martin Design Watches and the Supernatural watch has already won over nearly 600 buyers, raising around 200,000 euros. How can such a craze around this watch be explained? We’ll introduce it to you so you can get an idea…
MD Watches Studio, a brand to watch
An obstacle course. A beautiful story. An atypical trajectory. All of these expressions can help define the career of Martin Iglody. Born in Kosice, Slovakia, and now based in Cork, Ireland, this design and watchmaking enthusiast decided to combine his two passions in 2017 by founding MD Watches Studio.
Like many peers, he chooses crowdfunding to launch his first projects. Despite real qualities, the first two end in failures: the Windstar and its small second in the shape of a compass rose, then the Seven Seas Navigator, also inspired by the maritime world with its teak dial (like the deck of a boat), fail to reach the target set on Kickstarter.
The third time’s the charm: with the Celtic Legacy launched in the fall of 2022, MD Watches Studio managed to raise more than 13,000 euros from about fifty contributors. Its dial adorned with a Celtic knot, its finely crafted hands, and its sapphire glass crown contribute to the almost “mystical” charm intended by its creator. Enough to give courage and motivation to Martin, to design a new watch!
And so, the new Supernatural appeared on Kickstarter on March 12, 2024. The stated goal to start production: 8500€. It took just twenty seconds to wrap up this campaign and raise the required funds, already making this new MD Watches timepiece one of the biggest horological successes of the year on the famous crowdfunding platform.
💡Also read : These other watch projects that have been a hit on Kickstarter
A mystic regulator for the new Supernatural watch
“A watch inspired by higher powers and designed by MD Watches Studio.” Thus is introduced the new Supernatural by Martin Iglody, whose simple name is reminiscent of Celtic culture and mysticism. However, this watch is not just about an unusual design, it is also a truly beautiful timepiece.
The 40 mm diameter 316L steel case (with a thickness of 12 mm) already stands out for its unusual crown position, located at 2 o’clock. For the launch of the collection, two radically different models are offered.
The first, the most sober, is christened Caturix, after the name of the War God (equivalent to Roman Mars or Gallic Toutatis). Its textured silver finish captures and reflects light, “like stars in the sky”. The second, Triskel, features a multicolored dial that revisits the ultimate Celtic symbol, with its three freely redesigned spirals. The success of the Kickstarter campaign should also allow MD Watches Studio to offer new variants of dials in vibrant colors: Alaunus (pink), Ogmios (blue), Taranis and Tonaros (orange).
But what makes this Supernatural watch even more appealing, is undoubtedly the presence of a regulator. This complication, highly appreciated in luxury watchmaking (at Louis Erard, Bvlgari or Patek Philippe), allows the display of the hours and minutes in two distinct sub-dials. And beyond the required know-how, this asymmetrical design offers a unique visual rendering, which perfectly matches the spirit of MD watches. Technically, it is an automatic Miyota 82S7 movement at work, offering a precision of -20/+40 seconds/day for 42 hours of power reserve.
To complete the Supernatural outfit, the bracelet had to be up to par. Martin Iglody opted for leather models (more or less) with a surprising cracked visual. On the back, quirky symbols translate the word Supernatural into the ancient Irish script, Ogham.
If it had a meteoric launch, the fundraising campaign for the new MD watches continues to captivate the public today. Nearly 600 people have already been convinced by one of the two variants of the watch, now available for 299€ (instead of 449€ for its final price).