The Story of Boldr: from Kickstarter to Quintessential Accessible Tool Watch Brand

Kickstarter has been game-changing in the watch world. It’s been a way for fledgling brands to not only showcase their unique twist on whatever horological archetype they’re tackling, but to get direct feedback from their potential collectors. Unfortunately, if you don’t hit your target, you’re pretty much done for. Unless, that is, you’re Boldr.

If you’ve read this website much you’ve come across Boldr at some point: cool, accessible tool watches with a twist. Their musou black Singularity caused the biggest stir, but even their baseline models punch well above their price tag in specs and style. But the Boldr we know today wasn’t always the case. In fact, when Leon Leong started the brand back in 2016, it was a very different proposition.

“It all started”, reminisces Leon, “when I saw friends frustrated with their Apple Watches, mostly because of the battery life — they’d run out of juice, making it impossible to tell the time or track steps. At the time, I wore a fitness band with a six-month battery life alongside a traditional analogue watch. That contrast sparked an idea: what if there was a watch with a dual-battery system? One battery could power the watch for years, and another could run smart features.”

That idea became the Voyage, which quickly became a Kickstarter and just as quickly hit its funding goal, which was exceeded in 24 hours. There was certainly a hunger for a practical smartwatch solution. Unfortunately, it’s a hunger that’s still very pronounced as funding on Kickstarter and making an actual watch are two very different things.

“As we moved forward, we ran into high costs for manufacturing and international certifications,” explains Leon, “which ultimately made it impossible to deliver the watch we envisioned. Facing a hard decision, I cancelled the campaign.”

That would be the nail in the coffin for most brands, but in explaining the problems to his backers, Leon was met with nothing but sympathy, enough that he shifted focus, aimed at design over smartwatch features and created the Journey.

The Journey was a mecha-quartz number, quartz precision with the movement of a mechanical watch. It was Boldr’s first proper release which, for microbrands, is par for the course. It laid down the aesthetic foundations of the brand and, more importantly, allowed Boldr to build up to their first automatic watch, the Odyssey.

“It was a true labour of passion,” says Leon of the design process, “and an embodiment of everything we wanted in a dive watch—durable, bold, and made for adventure. When designing it, I drew inspiration from the rugged, industrial look of climbing gyms, with their solid structures and tough edges, as well as vintage diving helmets that sport hard lines, rivets, and a sense of purpose-built strength.”

That strength came in the form of a properly chunky tool watch case and 500m of water resistance, the kind of specs that even much, much pricier timepieces simply couldn’t match. To put that into context, Odyssey models, complete with diving bezels and lashings of lume, start at £523. And Boldr’s only become more accessible.

“We’re deliberate about efficient manufacturing and mindful design that cuts waste, reduces costs, and respects quality,” says Leon. “We focus on durable materials and clean designs that keep production efficient and costs down without sacrificing what makes a Boldr watch truly adventure-ready. This way, we bring high-quality, rugged timepieces to more people without compromising on the things that matter.”

That approach has led to the likes of the daily beaters of the Venture field watch collection – including the awesome Venture Field Medic – the compass-(or slide rule) equipped Expedition and the California-dialled Safari. All of the watches are equipped with Miyota movements for that balance of accessibility and reliability, and they’re all continuing Boldr’s selfimposed mandate of rugged tool watches that anyone can own.

Boldr has come a long way since a failed Kickstarter for a novel smartwatch. From Journey to Voyage to Odyssey, Leon has turned that failure into a brand that has helped redefine microbrands as not just flash-in-the-pan hype designs, but a genuine force promoting accessibility and transparency in the often-obtuse watchmaking world. And there’s still plenty of distance to be travelled.

“We’re excited to keep pushing boundaries, exploring new materials, and listening to what our community values most. We’re looking closely at every step of production, making changes to minimise waste and maximise durability. It’s about crafting watches that respect our planet and reflect the trust our community has in us. This year is all about staying true to our roots while aiming for a bold, sustainable future.”

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