If you want a good example of how to establish a popular micro brand, study AVI-8’s trajectory very closely. This is a brand that started off with a very clear concept and focused on achieving excellent execution on a shoestring budget. Extremely affordable models with character sell in large volumes because, when you sit them next to their price point competitors, they often look either materially better or simply more interesting.
Before we discuss the latest collaboration with British watch artist Ben Li AKA Ink Dial (@inkdial), which builds on a partnership that saw him design the box for another AVI-8 special edition last year, let’s take a closer look at what I mean by AVI-8’s dual selling points.
In this day and age (grumpy old man alert), it seems we’re supposed to pretend that everything is subjective and that provable facts and hard-won knowledge are too dangerous to wield. Well, they’re not. What is dangerous is worrying about offending someone with facts.
Now, this doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to like something that is materially worse than something else. It’d be weird to but only in the sense that something weird is not the norm, because most people prefer things that are materially better.
AVI-8 understands this. AVI-8 has laid out a great example of how to address the challenge of achieving quality on a pauper’s pay cheque with aplomb.
I’ve long pointed to the importance of making “smart” design decisions, which simultaneously sounds blindingly obvious and totally obscure.
That’s because while we often think of watch design as an art and watch construction (as in the actual engineering of the components) as a science, it isn’t that simple. Watch design is both things at once. Being able to sketch a case from the top down may be the first step, but conceiving how different elements are finished and how those finishes interact with one another in addition to the sensitive application of colour and complimentary accessories, requires a knowledge that extends far beyond the flourish of a pen.
Designing on a budget is not easy. It means you have to make smart decisions on where to spend your money and where to save it. The first ever AVI-8 I had on my wrist is the perfect example of how to do this well. You can still read that review here (and I’d recommend you do once you’ve made it to the part of this one that actually talks about the watch).
The AVI-8 Spitfire Type 300 Automatic retailed for £350 and it was a brilliant example of how to go toe-to-toe with more experienced makers and still carve out some sales for yourself by focusing on what could be done well on a restricted budget. The answer? The dial…
The 3D effect of the Hurricane’s dial made it miles more interesting than the Laco watches it was obviously apeing. It was automatic, powered by an unremarkable but widely respected and accepted tractor calibre, and cost roughly the same as Laco’s lowest level output but had much more depth and visual interest, as well as the absence of the negative heritage people sometimes attribute to Laco thanks to the German brand’s historically faithful but politically questionable retention of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium’s equipment identifier, which was famously used during the Nazi era.
AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Ink Dial Chronograph Limited Edition
I’m pleased to see that the release of the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Ink Dial Chronograph Limited Edition (eight-word watch titles are the best, eh?) proves that someone with a cool-headed sensibility is still running the show.
This collaboration takes Ben’s signature style and applies it, once more, to the area AVI-8 knows it can create a lot of value — the dial.
Referred to in-house as a “blueprint” style, it fits the moniker “sketch” a little better, with Ben’s characteristic strokes and gridlines that bring his images to life still present. One particularly satisfying optical illusion is the handset. Nothing about the dial display looks real. It looks too 2D. Oddly, while we normally search for levels and height in dials and regard that as a sign of quality (or at least conscientious, value-adding design), in this case (because it’s entirely supposed to be the case) it works.
Yes, perhaps only as a gimmick, but that’s just fine for a $295 watch limited to 400 pieces worldwide. The closest comparison one could really make to the almost amusing “flatness” of the display would be any oil-filled Sinn, or a Ressence, even!
But neither this watch nor the people behind it are trying to push our minds in that direction. There’s no need to. It is a watch that stands entirely on its own two feet, proud of being so cool and creative at such an incredibly accessible price point. And as a final little friendliness, AVI-8 and Ink Dial have included a spare, totally glow-in-the-dark British military strap, which continues the importance of the lume on the dial which, while not the strongest on the market, manages to carry a secret message:
As 2024 (the year of this project) marks Ben Lee’s fourth year operating under the @inkdial handle, the number 4 glows green while every other marker emits in aqua.
It would be lovely to see this become a serial collaboration between Ink Dial and AVI-8. As one of the watch industry’s best-known and certainly most visible artists (a man, who, in all honesty, could be said to have a trailblazer in the field of artistic watch illustration). It would be really neat if the Ink Dial versions were to become a sought-after sub-set of AVI-8 watches, deploying the concept on every model the brands makes in sequence.
For now, we simply have the AVI-8 Hawker Hurricane Ink Dial Chronograph Limited Edition to satisfy our desires for Ink Dial collabs. Who knows? If this goes down well, he could be the industry’s second seconde/seconde...
