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Jun 27, 2024
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Halcyon Journey: A Striking Porcelain Dial Watch

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Striking yet profound, serene yet powerful.
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Introducing Halcyon Journey 

The Timeless Elegance of Porcelain

Striking yet profound, serene yet powerful.

The allure of porcelain lies in its ability to captivate at first sight with its refined elegance and lustrous sheen. 

Over time, the true beauty of porcelain deepens, as your appreciation and resonance with it grow. It brings a sense of peace and calm, empowering you to move forward with grace. It offers moments of relaxation in your busy life while constantly reflecting your elegance and depth.

Meet Halcyon Journey, featuring a lustrous pure porcelain dial crafted through 12 meticulous processes of pinewood firing. From meticulous hand-polishing to precise movement tuning, every detail is crafted with care and precision. 

Impress new friends with your style and taste, and let old friends savor the treasures of your warmth and gentleness.

Halcyonwatch’s Evolution

From Origin to Journey

Since 2022, Halcyonwatch has launched four models in the Halcyon Origin series on Kickstarter in two separate campaigns, successfully delivering a total of 200 limited edition watches. These watches have been well-received and loved by numerous watch collectors.

Journey is the second series of watches introduced by Halcyon Watch. Unlike the luxurious and romantic enamel miniature paintings of the first series, Origin, the Journey series is understated and elegant, showcasing a rich and full luster that perfectly demonstrates the beauty of porcelain.

We named this series “Journey” with the hope that it becomes a faithful companion on your journey through time. Whether savoring life or pursuing dreams, Journey brings calmness, serenity, comfort, and inspiration.

It’s a faithful companion on your journey through time. Whether savoring life or pursuing dreams, Journey brings calmness, serenity, comfort, and inspiration.
It’s a faithful companion on your journey through time. Whether savoring life or pursuing dreams, Journey brings calmness, serenity, comfort, and inspiration.

The Expertise and Achievements of Halcyon

Founded in 2019 and originating from Jingdezhen, Halcyon is composed of the Vice Dean of Jiangxi Ceramic & Porcelain Institute and several industry experts and artists who are passionate about porcelain. Our team excels in both glaze making and design creation, standing at the pinnacle of the industry. After three years of dedication, we successfully created wood-fired porcelain dials that meet the high standards required for watchmaking. Prior to this, due to the difficulty of manufacturing, porcelain dials typically used industrial substitute materials. Genuine artisan-fired porcelain dials with their enchanting luster are extremely rare.

Mastering the Craft

The Challenges of Porcelain Dial Making

Porcelain has always been a symbol of eternal beauty, bearing the civilization and wisdom of humanity for thousands of years. Its delicate texture, lustrous sheen, and subtle color variations are truly captivating.

The luster of porcelain comes from the densely packed tiny bubbles on its surface and the texture of the glaze. (In contrast, The porcelain items we use daily are produced in a controlled assembly line manner, resulting in uniformly arranged bubbles that give the surface a glaring and monotonous shine.)

The dense bubbles near the dial markers are the reason behind the charming luster of the porcelain

Key to the Beauty of Porcelain

To achieve a warm luster and delicate texture, two key conditions are required: pinewood firing and handcrafted work.

Pinewood:

During the prolonged burning process, which lasts for over a day, the resins and oils from the burning pinewood gradually merge into the porcelain surface, giving it a warm sheen.

Handcrafted Work:

From selecting materials, using them, and drying times, to firing temperatures, the artisan’s decisions at each of the dozen or so steps, based on their experience, determine the size and arrangement of the final bubbles. These spontaneously formed bubble structures create complex light reflections and refractions, which, combined with the pine resin, endow the porcelain with a lustrous, captivating glow and a romantic soul.

To achieve a captivating luster, the tile must undergo a complex process that includes billet making, billet sharpening, glaze making, glaze blowing, wood preparation, wood filling, and kiln sealing.

Significant Manufacturing Challenges

However, this romantic process also results in a very low success rate for pinewood-fired porcelain, especially in the production of porcelain watch dials.

Shape the porcelain base starting from the clay.
Shape the porcelain base starting from the clay.
The skilled craftsman blows the porcelain glaze onto the dial using his mouth.

Firstly, for the precision required by watch movements, the thickness of the dial must be less than 1 millimeter, with a tolerance of less than 0.02 millimeters. For stone and metal, this is relatively easy to achieve because metal can be extended, and stone and wood can be polished to meet the requirements through post-processing.

Only flawless porcelain pieces can be kept.

However, although porcelain originates from soft clay, once it is given a soul by fire, it cannot be further processed from the moment it is formed. All we can do is pray and select afterward.

Additionally, for porcelain watch dials with a diameter of 30 to 40 millimeters, minor details or small blemishes that are not noticeable on larger items are unacceptable on the dial. Even if a tiny speck of dust settles on the surface, it must be discarded. 

It can be seen that, in the sunlight, the kiln (the room for firing porcelain) is filled with hazardous (fine dust).

As you can imagine, the romantic feel-driven production process and the primitive, dust-and-fire-filled production environment, combined with such stringent selection criteria, result in the remaining porcelain pieces being truly one in a hundred. Out of a kiln fired with 1,000 kilograms of pinewood, producing several thousand pieces, only a few dozen meet the standards, highlighting the difficulty and preciousness of the production process.

Rarity of Genuine Porcelain Dial Watches

This is precisely why, although we cannot exhaustively cover all the porcelain watches on the market, we can responsibly say that throughout the history of watches, even including those rare pieces that appear at auctions, genuine porcelain dial watches are still very few and far between.

Why These Rare Rolex, Glashütte, Seiko & Halcyon Watches Are Incredible!

If you are further interested, you can learn more through the video above.

How to Order on Kickstarter

Create an Account:

  • Click on “Sign Up” to create an account.

Back Our Campaign:

  • Support our campaign between 20th June and 11st July 2024.
  • Choose a Reward: Select either a SW 200 Version or Miyota 9039 Version.
  • Use add-ons to take alligator straps, or another product.

Campaign Duration:

  • During the campaign period, you can’t choose the dial style or strap color.
  • Dial choices (Roman numerals or Suzhou code) will be selected at the end of the campaign.

Campaign End:

  • On 11 st July 2024, the campaign will end, and your credit card will be charged.

Post-Campaign Process:

  • Within a month, you’ll receive an email to confirm your watch model choice (such as dial style) and provide your shipping address.
  • We will also collect shipping fees at this stage.

Shipping:

  • We will begin shipping your watch by the early of September 2024.

Thank you for supporting our campaign! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us through our Kickstarter page or via Support@halcyonwatch.com 

Two-Year Comprehensive Warranty (Included Shipping Costs)

Halcyon extends a comprehensive two-year warranty period commencing from the date of receipt, which covers all manufacturing defects. Additionally, Halcyon assumes responsibility for all associated round-trip shipping costs due to quality-related concerns.

Specs

  • Bezel Diameter: 40 mm
  • Thickness: 10.3 mm
  • Lug-to-Lug Size: 45.6 mm (Length) 20 mm (Width) 
  • Case Finish: 316L stainless steel step case, polished.
  • Glass:Sapphire Crystal Curved Glass
  • Movement: Miyota 9039 or SW 200
  • Water Resistance: 50 m
  • Hands: Heat-blued engraved hands (The current sample in the photo shows a coated blue finish for the watch hands, but the effect is unsatisfactory. Therefore, the final production will use a Heat-blued steel process.)
  • Dial: Genuine Porcelain
  • Strap: Original leather strap,  purchasable with regular alligator leather or handmade bamboo-patterned alligator leather through add-on.

Optional movements

Miyota 9039 Version

The Miyota 9039 movement, produced by Miyota under Japan’s Citizen Group, is a high-performance automatic mechanical movement. As one of Miyota’s flagship movements, the 9039 is renowned for its stability and reliability, making it suitable for long-term wear and everyday use.

  • Power Reserve: 42 hours
  • Accuracy: -10/+30 seconds per day
  • Automatic and Manual Winding

SW 200 – 1 Version 

The SW200 -1 movement, produced by Sellita, is a high-performance automatic mechanical movement widely used in mid-to-high-end watches.

  • Power Reserve: 38 hours
  • Accuracy: -12/+30 seconds per day
  • Automatic and Manual Winding

You can choose your preferred version based on the movement model indicated on the perk name.

Dial Options

You have two dial options to choose from:

  1. Roman Numerals:
    • A classic and timeless design featuring Roman numeral markers.
  1. Suzhou Numerals:
    • A rustic dial design rooted in the ancient Chinese character system—Suzhou numerals.
    • Suzhou numerals are a traditional Chinese numeral system that originated in the Song Dynasty and were widely used in Suzhou and its surrounding areas. Invented for market transactions, this system is known for its simplicity and ease of writing. It was widely used in ancient commercial activities and holds unique traditional aesthetic value.

After the project ends, you can choose a dial that reflects either the classic Western design of Roman numerals or the rich cultural heritage and tradition of Suzhou numerals.

Strap Options

Genuine Leather Strap:

Equipped with a pure Black leather strap, the Halcyon Journey ensures a comfortable and luxurious feel. The genuine leather strap is soft, durable, and exudes a classic elegance that complements the watch’s refined design.

Color:Black

Alligator Leather Strap:

Upgrade to the alligator leather strap for a touch of sophistication. Known for its distinctive texture and durability, the alligator leather strap enhances the watch’s luxurious appeal. It provides exceptional comfort and adds a unique, prestigious element to your style.

Color:Black

Sale at USD 69, save 54% off the future retail price of USD 149!

Handcrafted Bamboo-Pattern Alligator Leather Strap:

For the ultimate in luxury, choose the handcrafted bamboo-pattern alligator leather strap. This strap features a unique bamboo pattern on the back, meticulously crafted by hand. The attention to detail and superior craftsmanship make it a true work of art. It offers unparalleled comfort and a distinctive look that sets your Halcyon Journey apart. 

Color:

Available in blue, green, and black. You can choose the color in the survey sent within a month after the project ends.

Sale at USD 179, save 49% off the future retail price of USD 349!

You can choose to purchase additional straps during the add-on selection after clicking the perk.

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