Recently I have had an influx of mails asking me about where to buy a decent watch under $1,000. Certainly marketplaces like eBay offer incredible prices and a huge variety of timepieces. However most of the time they don’t come with warranties and the peace of mind you get from an authorized retailer. My suggestion to consumers is to explore Kickstarter because early birds can pick up a really good deal.
A few weeks ago I was sent a press release from a fairly young North American watch brand called LIV. The company was established by Esti Chazanow (known to her friends as Chaz) in 2012 and is located in the trendy area of Brooklyn, New York. Incredibly they have just become the most funded brand (for a Swiss Watch) on Kickstarter to date. In fact, figures have now surpassed $500,000, which is a truly incredible achievement considering their original goal was $30,000.
Visually the GX1-A is pretty striking and so I am not surprised buyers have snapped them up at a bargain price of $400 on Kickstarter. What makes the watch so attractive is the meticulous attention to detail. Characteristics like a 42mm 316L stainless steel case, multi-layered dial, black textured bezel and sapphire crystal lens make this timepiece a real winner.
Normally when I write articles about entry level watches I always comment that I would prefer them to be powered by a Swiss made movement. Amazingly LIV have equipped this timepiece with a 26-jewel Selita SW200 (ETA 2828-2 equivalent) mechanism rather than a Japanese or Chinese alternative. Personally I can’t think of another Swiss automatic watch of this caliber at anywhere near this price point.
My advice would be to buy one of these magnificent GX1-A watches on Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chazanow/redefining-swiss-automatic-watches-by-liv) quickly before they are all sold out.
