Independents

KIH
[Purist]
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Devon Tread 1 & 2 - Interview with CEO & MD

I am sure you have heard of the brand, but it is still a less known independent watch brand, especially in Japan.  Mr. Scott Devon, the founder, owner, and CEO, and Mr. Ehren Bragg, Managing Director of the company visited Japan and I was fortunate to meet them and directly hear the story of Devon.  It is a very unique story, to say the least.

 What is “Devon”?
Although the DEVON Tread 1 was nominated for the GRAND PRIX D’HORLOGERIE DE GENEVE in 2010 for the “Best Design and Concept Watch” category, I feel it is essential for Japanese watch connoisseurs have to know the brand from the beginning.
Devon Works LLC was formed in 2008 by Mr. Scott Devon, a visionary entrepreneur, creative director, and conceptual artist.  His first project was actually the Devon GTX Supercar (yes, a supercar!), which set a world lap record at the famed Laguna Seca at Willow Springs raceway.  And then came the introduction of the Devon Tread 1 watch in 2010.  As with Mr. Devon, Mr. Ehren Bragg, Managing Director of Devon Works, who also visited Japan with him this time, has spent his professional career entirely in the auto industry before joining Devon Works.

According to Mr. Devon, another unique aspect of Devon is that they have laboratory in Pasadena, California and they consider themselves a “tech company” not necessarily a “watch company”.  They are working on several projects outside watches, considering themselves more like a spin-off of Apple, rather than Patek.

Mr. Scott Devon, Founder and CEO, and Mr. Ehren Bragg, Managing Director

KIH: I understand that you first made a supercar, GTX, and then a watch – what made you decide to go for the watchmaking after car making?

Scot Devon (“SD”): To make long story short, basic driving force of Devon was/is the combination of advanced design and advanced technology.  We thought we have both of them and were qualified to make not only cars, but also more futuristic everyday equipment for people’s life.  Naturally, we decided to start from a unique watch which had never been even tried before.  I cannot emphasize enough that the watch is not our end game – we are always thinking of the future direction of the company.

KIH: How did you come up with the idea of using the “intertwined belt” to show the time?

SD: There are two sources of the inspiration.  One being when I saw the motor cycle and there was the belt on the engine with the numbers on it.  Another being the industrial revolution – the conveyer belt.  With that idea and design concept, we actually went to Switzerland to discuss the possibility of making it a mechanical watch and everybody said it was a crazy idea – the price would be hundreds of thousands of dollars and the power reserve would be at most 30 seconds or so.  It turned out to be really a ridiculous idea to pursue the mechanical watch direction. 

But we didn’t give up.  Our base is in LA where we have access to various US aerospace industry companies and one of them agreed to take on the project.   From there on, things went to an interesting direction.  The belt – we thought it would be simply made with rubber, but they chose nylon and fiber composite which is exactly the same as the one used in the cockpit gauges of the big airplanes (will show the photos).  This gives us lots of advantages – the belts are strong enough to be broken, they are light thus low energy needed. 

We call the watch “Hybrid”.  It has essentially four computers attached to the motors.  Hybrid of battery (quartz) movement and lots of mechanical aspects iside. 

Ehren Bragg ("EB"): We are very disciplined about the quality control and how many watches we make, so the owners would be happy about the secondary market, too.

KIH: How long does it take to make a watch – or how many watches do you make per year?

SD: 360 Tread 1 a year and we expect to make 700 Tread 2 per year – so, we will be 1000 units per year watchmaking brand soon.  We have top-notch retailers and hope to be commercial successful.  We are profitable from Tread 1 and we hope that we be more profitable with Tread 2.  We only sell through retailers, except for the celebrities ambassadors . 

EB: We know that it is also important to retailers and prospective owners that we stick around.  We have proven so far that we are still here and doing this successful business, but it has been quiet for the first few years.  People are realizing that we are still in the power. 

KIH: Who actually assemble these watches?  Ordinary watchmakers?

EB: As mentioned earlier, we went to Switzerland for assembling this mode, but the idea was turned down so we had to think outside of the box.  The plan B was to go to US Aerospace industry and the actual people who are making airplanes and satellites in the space are now making watches.  So, the people who are assembling Tread 1 have nothing to do with the watch industry.  With Tread 2, we opened up our own lab in Pasadena, CA, and we look for people who not only are familiar with electric mechanical experience but also who have traditional timepiece experiences as the parts will be very tiny and more will be made by ourselves going forward.  Just so you know, we have just 10 R&D people and will have about 15 watchmakers soon (right now just 3 watchmakers).  We have a watch factory which has clean room like a semi-conductor manufacturer. 

SD: As explained, we were told that this level of complication would be priced at USD300-400K (with PR of just around 30 sec.).  We wanted to be a global brand and we were price sensitive at first, so that is another reason to go to US Aerospace industry.  Tread 1 was excited for lots of retailers but we have fun doing lots of different things and be successful with what we do.  That is why we are excited about Tread 2 because you can wear it every day; it will be under the shirts sleeve and can be used in the office.  Also the price is quite affordable and reachable.

KIH: How durable is this belt?  How often do the belts, motors or battery need to be replaced/ serviced?

EB: The belts are moved by the motor and motor holds it with teethe and there are holes on the belts.  Depending on how often you use it, after 2 to3 to maybe 4 years, the teeth eat into the holes of the belts.  That’s is about the time when the belts should be replaced or overhauled.  However, the watch does not need lubrication, so simpler overhaul.  And the battery, it’s the same as cell phone or laptop batteries.  It is a good battery and lasts 2 to 3 years.  But the battery is pretty cheap.  Motor is incredible.  Motor comes from Japan, used for the medical devices as well.  They are very, very robust.  They last for a very long time.  So, overall, the maintenance cost is really low.  We guarantee the servicing time up to three weeks.

Tomoko Kayama (“TM”): Who makes these cases?

EB: We have a supplier in San Diego, CA, USA.  It requires 5 axis very accurate CNC machines to make these cases.  The machine is pretty big.  We like 361L stainless steel and always come back to it.  It’s relatively difficult to find the provider with CNC, which is used to make aerospace products and therefore quite big, but also willing to make watch cases in US.

KIH: What was the change of the concept or target from Tread 1 to Tread 2?

EB: High end sports car brands have various models for difference audiences or TPO.  We are doing the same thing.  We made Tread 1 for some special occasions and never expected someone enter the board meeting with Tread 1 on his wrist.  With Tread 2, we think we have removed a lots of factors for which people had been avoiding Tread 1.  It’s smaller, price is almost half, has water resistant, and sapphire crystal, etc.  We made Tread 2 for the broader audience.  The internal major structure is mostly aluminum for the light weight.  Tread 2 uses two motors while Tread 1 used four motors.

SD: We have made various versions for Tread 2 for even wider audience.  We have just started delivery just last week (early to mid September).  We have over 300 pre-orders.  We need at least six months to fulfill the pre-orders..

KIH: In what you do, what would you never do?

SD: We are not aiming to become Patek.  We are untraditional.  Therefore, we have unlimited field, and that is our strength.  We just want to stay on that track.  We're working on a very broad range of new products from those that will appeal more both to the “true” or “purist” watch enthusiasts to much more avante-garde and technology-driven customers.

KH: In this Tread 2, what was the highest hurdle?

SD: It was nearly as simple as we had thought.  But one thing we had difficulty was probably the case – it needed a lot of back and forth with the supplier for the right case. 

EB: Some say the case may be similar to other brands but the whole idea was to make the smaller watch with two belts inside.  To make the time more visible, one of the two belts being longer, we natural arrived at the tonneau shape.  The first prototype did not have any screws on the bezel, but it was so dull and uninteresting, so we decided to put the exposed screws on the bezel.  While we are not necessarily fan as a brand or its design of the said brand, this is the result.  If you ask me, it is pure coincident.

Here is the variety of Tread 1 which Devon introduced in 2010 and it broaden the price range of the model, from Version A to Steam Punk.  Now they launch here Tread 2, which gives the chance to the even wider audience with very aggressive pricing, approximately half of Tread 1.  Power reserve of Tread 2 was tremendously extended to almost 60 days.  Depending on the color combination, four versions are called Shining, Murder, Nightmare, and Ghost.

Tread 1

"Version A"

"Steam Punk"

Highest-end "Gold"

Video - how these belts works to show the time, power reserve, and sleep.

Working with the seconds display, and ticking sound.

"Full Function Mode" to "Stand-by Mode", and then "Quiet Mode", "Stand-by (or Power Off) Mode", and power reserve display.

Tread 2

"Shinning"

"Murder"

How Tread 2 works including Chronograph function:

This Tread 2 seems very interesting everyday wearer considering the function and the price.  I, too, am honestly tempted.  If I may add, as a side note, roughly 90-95% of the parts are made in USA.

I have to confess that I was shown many, many more concept models in the pipeline, but I am not allowed to discuss them here.  We definitely have to stay tuned on them.

Special Thanks to:

Messrs. Scott Devon and Ehren Bragg, DEVON WORKS

Mr. and Mrs. Ban, Vitae Lucis Ltd. (distributor for Japan)

Ms. Tomoko Kayama, Editor-in-Chief for “World Wrist Watches”.

Thank you.

Ken

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