Apiar, the British pioneer of advanced watchmaking techniques, has announced its first core range, the Gen1.0, which they’ll be showcasing at British Watchmakers’ Day 2025. Through a groundbreaking approach to design and manufacturing, the Gen1.0 is a beautifully crafted yet technologically mind-bending example of just where Apiar will be taking us as they embark on a mission to ‘build the impossible’ The post Press Release: Apiar watches – The watch you’ll be wearing when we colonise the Moon appeared first on Microbrand Watch World.

Apiar (new British Microbrand) announces the ‘beautifully impossible’ Gen1.0, to coincide with British Watchmakers’ Day. (An exclusive interview with the founder at the end of the article!)

APIAR Gen1.0 Watch model

At first glance, the Gen1.0 looks cool. Look closer and it seems impossible. Apiar set out to show how their approach to design and build gives us the chance to create watches that look unlike anything we’ve seen before. In the case of the Gen1.0, they set themselves the challenge of creating the perfect partner for the pioneers of the ultimate feat of human endeavour and ingenuity:
the trailblazers who will one day build their homes on the Moon.

But what kind of watch would they need?
It would need to be robust and resilient, to cope in extreme environments. Versatile enough to work in any situation. All with a design that feels fitting for the bold, inventive and unconventional people who will be wearing it.

Best of all, Apiar’s approach to building and manufacturing means that they’d be able to build it themselves, when they get to their new home – useful when the nearest ADs are a quarter of a million miles away!

What happens when you ask yourself, “Why not?”

To create the Gen 1.0, Apiar turned to generative design (GD), an approach that founders Matt Oosthuizen and Sam White were experienced in as designers and engineers. GD enables manufacturers to optimise their designs, particularly for an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, often leading to unconventional structures and geometries. It’s the kind of approach that Matt and Sam had seen used by many of the world’s leading R&D and tech companies, particularly when extreme performance is necessary. This includes companies like SpaceX, who use these kinds of techniques for rocket construction, and hypercar manufacturers like Bugatti, who demand immensely strong yet lightweight components.

As watch enthusiasts, Matt and Sam were itching to bring this approach to the watch industry. They saw the potential to build lighter, build stronger, build faster and build better. So they combined their technical expertise with the flair and imagination of industry designer Max Resnick, renowned for his unconventional and innovative watches. By combining Max’s imagination with inspiration and suggestions from GD software, they landed on the final design for the Gen1.0 – a completely organic form, with skeletonised lugs and seemingly impossible geometry. They also developed a deep, undulating dial that Apiar describes as “the guilloché of the future”.

Matt Oosthuizen, co-founder of Apiar, explained the thinking behind the design:

“Sam and I both work in advanced engineering. We’ve seen what’s possible – and what’s possible is simply incredible. We wanted the Gen1.0 to pioneer a truly unique approach to watchmaking, showing there are no limits to what we can create – especially when we’re a long way from home! We think the Gen1.0 goes beyond just looking incredible. It’s a watch future explorers can build in their lunar labs, from metallic powder, with almost zero waste.

And it’s properly versatile – robust, light, and would look just as great on a video link with Mission Control as it would while you’re dangling from a cable on a spacewalk.”

Built better

Alongside GD, Apiar uses additive manufacturing (AM) to build their watches. Essentially this means ‘printing’ the watches, layer by layer, based on designs from CAD models.

The name comes from the fact that it ‘adds’ material, one layer at a time, making it almost waste-free and inherently sustainable. This is the complete opposite to the traditional ‘subtractive’ approach used in the industry, which starts with a block of raw material and carves, cuts and chips away, discarding anything that isn’t needed.

The Gen1.0 is made from grade 23 titanium, leading to a watch that’s incredibly light yet also strong. Zoom in on the lugs and you see the geometry that makes it possible. Fluid lines and impossible angles blend together to create a natural, organic frame, which acts as a strong cradle for the rest of the case.

Built without compromise

One huge advantage of Apiar’s approach is that it allowed Resnick to create a watch that didn’t compromise on the integrity of his designs, allowing him to push the boundaries even further than he usually does. Standard manufacturing approaches can be a source of frustration for designers, with restrictions and limitations that mean certain creations just wouldn’t be possible. In this case, nothing stood in the way of Max achieving his vision.

Max Resnick, designer of the Gen1.0, commented:

“My focus has always been disruptive design. When it came to the Gen1.0, I wanted to create something that felt totally new, unique and challenging – like it’s just arrived from the near future – yet also somehow familiar and comfortable to wear. My vision for the Gen1.0 would have been impossible with traditional manufacturing. From the organic geometry of the lugs to the curves and multiple levels of the dial, we would have had to make trade-offs. Apiar’s approach gave me total creative freedom and flexibility, so that what we see in real life is exactly what I saw in my head. No compromises.”

Availability and pricing
Apiar will be launching a limited run of five specially designed Gen1.B watches for British Watchmakers’ Day, with a unique red dial. Attendees will be able to try the watch on the day and buy one of the five for delivery by summer 2025.

Apiar will follow up with a core, non-limited range in the summer of 2025.
Prices are yet to be announced.

About Apiar

Apiar was founded in November 2022, by Matt Oosthuizen and Sam White, two childhood friends who share a love of engineering, technology and watches. As experts in advanced manufacturing techniques, and eternal optimists, they’d seen what was possible through generative design and additive manufacturing – and how it could revolutionise the watch industry. They set out on a mission to “build the impossible” and give the watch industry the power to ask, “why not?”

1. Build impossible. Apiar’s advanced approach to design and engineering means they can build things that have never been possible. Impossible geometries. Unique shapes and structures. Novel textures. Extraordinary strength. In all sizes. From materials that would have been restrictive to work with or too expensive to use.
2. Build sustainable. Apiar’s approach is inherently sustainable. Traditional manufacturing starts with a block of raw material and carves, cuts and chips away, discarding it all to create the final product. It’s wasteful. Apiar does the opposite, only using the material they need. Adding, not throwing away.
3. Build British. The UK is full of amazing manufacturers. Apiar has built a supply chain that means they build the bulk of their components at home – and assemble everything in the UK, too. Their first watches were around 75% British-made and the number is even higher today. They’re working towards 100%. The trickiest part will be the movements – but they’re working on that too…

Technical Specifications

APIAR Gen1.B – Press Release

And now – to the Microbrand Watch World exclusive interview with Matt and Sam, the founders of Apiar Watches:

Hello, Matt and Sam!
Thanks for joining us today. Here are a few questions for you:

1. What is the inspiration behind Apiar watches?
   The main inspiration is Additive Manufacturing (AKA 3D printing). We use the term AM rather than 3D printing to set the machines we’re using apart from lower-end, hobbyist polymer machines. Matt and I both come from engineering backgrounds and have seen what can be achieved using AM in industry. Once Matt caught the watch bug after buying his first Tudor, he came up with the idea of bringing AM into the world of watchmaking.
   
2. What makes Apiar different from other microbrands?
   The use of AM in our watches is a significant differentiator. Our branding, “Build the Impossible,” is derived from the design possibilities that AM opens up. Complex geometries, which wouldn’t be possible or feasible with traditional manufacturing processes such as 5-axis CNC milling, are unlocked by AM. The process is also very efficient in its use of material, making it inherently sustainable. We’re confident in saying that no other watch looks anything like the Gen1.0. If we can manufacture a component here in the UK, we do so. We have a vast supply chain across the UK which, although all incredibly talented, don’t necessarily have backgrounds in watchmaking. After considerable R&D, we’ve managed to work with these suppliers to build up a robust and high-quality supply chain right here in the UK.
   
3. What is the process of creating an Apiar watch like?
   I’d summarise the process using four key steps:
   ● Aesthetic Design
   ● Design for Manufacture
   ● Prototyping
   ● Scale Manufacture
   
   The aesthetic design stage for our latest watch, the Gen1.0, was completed by Max Resnick. The typical stages, from concept through to detail, were followed here, with the main complexity being associated with our manufacturing method (AM). Max was tasked with designing geometries that could only be achieved using AM, and thus, he needed a reasonable understanding of how the technology works. The challenge was in designing something sufficiently difficult to demonstrate what AM can achieve, whilst maintaining viability for it to be manufactured on a large scale. The main inspiration for the aesthetic was generative design—an AI-aided process used in industry to design engineering components. The method results in components that are incredibly efficient in their material usage whilst inherently strong. A by-product of the process is incredibly unique and beautiful-looking geometries. It’s these organic forms which we have drawn inspiration from with the Gen1.0.
   
   Once we receive the CAD models conveying the aesthetic, our main involvement begins. This is where we start to design the critical interfaces, e.g., how the various watch parts will fit together to ensure a quality product. Geometries, dimensions, and their tolerances are very important to ensure that the watch can be easily assembled at scale and to a high degree of quality, both in terms of aesthetic (no gaps, etc.) and performance (waterproofing, etc.). AM is not yet suitable for highly toleranced geometries or fine surface finishes, so we employ a hybrid process whereby components are first printed and then machined in critical locations using 5-axis CNC. The interfacing of these two technologies represents a significant engineering challenge.
   
   Prototyping is where the real fun starts. No matter how robust your design process, you will always have hitches when it comes to manufacturing, the extent of which will be affected by time and budget—two things we don’t have much of! A fair bit of iteration is often done here to ensure that the parts are adequately supported to be printed and have enough extra material in the correct places to facilitate the 5-axis CNC machining thereafter. Optimal print orientation is absolutely crucial and not always immediately obvious. This whole process is supported by CAD design and simulations done in Autodesk Fusion 360.
   
   Scale manufacture involves further optimisations beyond the prototyping phase. “Ok, we can make it—now how can we make it less expensive and in less time?” A large focus here is on stacking within the build plate—a lot of your cost is the capital cost of the print setup, so you want to make sure you’re utilising that available print volume as efficiently as possible. Intelligent fixturing (holding of the parts) at the 5-axis CNC phase also pays significant dividends.
   
4. What is your vision for the future of Apiar?
   To bring as much watch manufacturing as possible back to the UK. We believe there is a huge amount of engineering knowledge here in the UK that is untapped in the sense that it can be pivoted towards watchmaking. We believe the UK is well suited to this sort of manufacture, as we are set up for an emphasis on quality rather than sheer volume. As previously mentioned, the brand is also very much a celebration of AM. The technology is still rapidly improving, which paves the way for some really extraordinary watches in the future. What advice would you give to someone who is considering starting their own microbrand watch company? There’s a huge amount we’ve learnt about the industry from a technical perspective (just scratching the surface), but that’s a longer conversation…
   What I would say is, try not to get too obsessed! As with 99% of the other microbrands, we started this because we love watches. Sometimes we lose sight of that and find the worries around “will we succeed?” clouding that enjoyment. I would sometimes find myself avoiding watching my favourite YouTubers, such as Teddy Baldasarre and Richard Perrett Watchmaker, to try and get some headspace free of watches… When, in actual fact, maintaining some detachment between that enjoyment of watches and the success of Apiar would be the ideal. So, if your microbrand is the next Christopher Ward or Fears, then great. If not, at least you have a bloody cool watch on your wrist that you created!!
   SO GO FOR IT.
   Carpe Diem and all that!

The post Press Release: Apiar watches – The watch you’ll be wearing when we colonise the Moon appeared first on Microbrand Watch World.

View Entire Post