Launching new products or simple revisits of current models is without a doubt what gets us going the most here at Solios. Whenever an opportunity to create such magic arises, we get excited by the journey ahead and the many steps required to get there; every milestone gets us out of our comfort zone and fills us with energy, hope and anticipation. One may think that over the years, going through this creative process multiple times would dim the excitement of bringing to life a new concept or idea, but for us, it is quite the opposite. A few years in, and we still cherish every single ah-ah! moment, every preliminary discussion which leads to the launch of the project, every prototype completion and every single communication piece which announces a launch. Still to this day, we celebrate these launches just as much as we did for our very first Solios model a few years ago.
So there you have it: after months of prototyping, investment, ongoing debates and preparation, we are ready to announce loudly and proudly our latest Solios model. We are particularly eager to hear what you, our community, has to say about this launch. Have we focused on the right attributes? Have we truly understood what your needs were? Are you going to be just as excited as we are to ornate your wrist with this new model? Sometimes, launches are home runs - and sometimes, they aren’t. As a small company, we can never perfectly guess what the overall reaction to a new model will be: at times, we’ll expect a certain outcome, and other times, we’ll be completely surprised by our community’s reaction. Unlike giant brands on the market, it is quite difficult for a small business to predict with precision their audience’s response - but here at Solios, we think that the unknown makes the overarching process even more exciting.
An anticipated launch
This time around, though, we have a strong feeling that our latest launch will be much appreciated by our community and peers.
Why? For two specific reasons - but before diving into them, let’s address the elephant in the room: what launch are we announcing today?
After loads of thinking and many iterations, we are delighted to announce that we will now offer our most popular men’s watch with a new, gorgeous dial color. That’s right! Our Solar Curve - the model which is in such high demand that we don’t always have it in stock - will now also come in a gorgeous, completely unique and thoughtfully designed sapphire blue.
To those who will read this article on time, note that our VIP pre-launch will take place on Monday 15th May, whilst the presale for the general public will occur on Wednesday 17th May. We only have 100 units available for sale to start with, so you’ll have to be quick: to access our VIP pre-launch, refer to the notes at the end of this article!
Now, back to the original program: why are we so convinced that this new launch will be most welcomed by our community? Putting aside the already massive popularity of our Curve collection, two specific elements stand out.
First, the omnipresence of the blue dial color in horology’s history - which has been around for more than 300 years. Known to be as punchy as the latest fashion trends, but also as classic as a white t-shirt or a little black dress, the blue shade has been all the rage in the last centuries; we’ll further explain why in a few moments.
And second - because we simply listened to what you had to say. The story behind this Solios watch starts - and ends - with our community. As simple as that.
A little journey through time: where do blue watches come from
In order to understand where blue watches come from, we must start by looking at an element which came about thanks to horology - enamel. This technique, often attributed to Frenchman Jean Toutin at the end of the 16th century, would initially be applied to watch cases rather than dials.
Creating enamel requires one to heat a glassy substance until it reaches its fusion point, to then merge the said substance to the metallic surface on which it is being affixed. Coloring agents can be added under the glass before the heating process, unlocking a world of creativity. Replicas of real events, famous artworks, new motifs and flashy colors made their way into the world of horology with the invention of enamel. Quickly realizing the limitless possibilities this technique could offer, many other industries and workers started to use it - artists, goldsmiths and watchmakers.
In the 17th century, more specifically right before the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV, protestant enamellers and watchmakers got kicked out of France and had to find a new home. The vast majority settled in what is now known as the heart of horology, Switzerland - in Geneva, for the most part. With this newfound knowledge in horology, the Swiss then proceeded to push the boundaries on how enamel would be utilized on watches. This is precisely when the first blue watches came to life.
One of the first masterpieces of this kind was a pocket watch crafted by the Swiss watchmaker Jean-Marc Vacheron - co-founder of famous brand Vacheron-Constantin, back in 1755. This pocket watch had a beautiful blue dial made with enamel, with gold hands and roman numerals. Not long after this, in 1794, another pocket watch - the No. 92 from Breguet - showcased a blue dial made from enamel.
From that moment, watches featuring a blue dial continued to gain popularity amongst watch wearers. A specific moment in time though brought the blue dial watch to unprecedented levels of popularity: when Rolex, in the 20th century, decided to launch a timepiece which is now a true classic. In 1954, the renowned brand introduced to the world what is now considered the most famous dive watch around the globe, the Submariner. The first iteration of the Submariner featured a black dial, which was a common shade back in the day. Following the tremendous success of their latest product on the market, Rolex quickly explored the different improvements and changes they could make to the model to elevate it even more. A few years later, in 1960, they finally introduced a new version of the Submariner: an iteration which aimed to make it easier for a diver to read their watch under water. That major change? Swapping the black dial for a blue one.
Whilst the watch industry - just like the fashion world! - has seen through the years numerous colors and trends that have come and gone, blue dials have stood the test of time and are still considered today a staple amongst watch lovers.
The watch industry may have welcomed the blue dial watch with open arms, there was a very specific reason why at Solios, we made a point to add such a model to our collections…
The importance of listening to your community
Those of you who have known Solios for a while will know that the Blue Curve is not our first blue dial model. If you’ve followed us for a few years, you may remember the Make-A-Wish watch, which we developed about three years ago in collaboration with the non-profit organization Make-A-Wish Canada. When the pandemic hit, our team was shaken to learn about the effects COVID-19 had on this non-profit which is dear to our hearts: given the circumstances at the time, the organization could no longer host events, which are their main donations driver.
Because the cause of helping children with serious illnesses hits home at Solios, we decided to develop an iteration of our classic watch model which would raise money for the cause. This watch had a blue dial - which is the color of the Make-A-Wish Foundation - and for each model sold, we would give back $50 of the sale to the organization. Through this initiative, we were able to sell out all of the models at the time, and accumulate over $25,000 in donations for the foundation. We were incredibly proud to support in our own way - and after this initiative, we thought we would never sell a blue dial watch ever again. In our minds, this was a one-time situation as it had a specific mission.
However, over time, more and more people would ask us on social media, by email or straight up at events we would attend when we would bring back a blue dial.
Truth is, we have always been a fan of blue dials - we just didn’t think we would create more models with that shade back then. Plus, we didn’t know if the demand for it was truly there: were these comments a true reflection of what our community wanted? We wondered how we could confirm the demand for a blue dial watch. After throwing a few ideas around, we decided to go back to the roots: simply ask our community through a poll.
A few days into the poll, and with more than 1,000 respondents, the answer was clearer than ever. When we asked our community which dial color(s) they’d like us to develop in the future - including the option of personalized shades - more than 44% answered blue as their preferred choice.
We didn’t wait a second more. After seeing the overwhelming response, we went straight to our drawing boards and started designing a unique sapphire blue dial, featuring an elegant gradient and finished with a brushed texture reminiscent of sun rays. All of this of course whilst respecting our initial promise to Make-A-Wish, which was to keep the watch designed with them exclusive.
Intrigued? Then mark your calendar: on the 15th May, we will officially launch our latest Blue Curve collection to our VIP list.
We can already hear some people from our community telling us how they want a blue dial, but that 40mm is way too big for their wrist.
Don’t worry! We haven’t forgotten you. We are working hard on having a few more surprises for you before the end of 2023 - make sure to keep in touch with us and to look out for special announcements!
But if 40mm is what you’re after - we’ll see you on the 15th and 17th May. 100 units will be available then: make the most out of it as it will take a few months before they come back on the market.
Once again, we’d like to take a moment to thank you, our lovely community, for your ongoing support through the years. We are incredibly excited to see your reaction to this new model - and we can’t wait to see you rock the Blue Curve on your wrist!
