June 22 Production Update
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Jun 22, 2021 at 04:41:05 PM

Hi friends! I hope that everyone is doing well.

I'd like to say a very warm Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Ours was spent playing games, watching Peppa Pig, and enjoying the inflatable pool on our back patio. I feel very lucky to have a wonderful dad, and for the chance to be one for our daughter now. 

Anyway, let's talk watches! 

I wish I had more images for you of the actual watch build. I'm itching to get them myself, though I have been assured that everything is on track and moving at a steady pace. It took a little time to get the new lugs just right, but nothing that will hold up delivery. Here you can see the new lugs. They aren't cut yet, and the steel hasn't been finished, but you can already see how the thicker, shorter lugs gives more overall balance to the case shape. I'm very excited to see these in person! 

Meanwhile, other things have been arriving at Trafford HQ. For those of you that purchased at least 3 watches, all of the gift boxes have now arrived. I've personally hand stamped the logo on these, which gives them a nice texture. I'm super excited for you to get them! 

The final books are currently being printed, and should be picked up later this week. 

The final boxes are on a ship, heading this way. I'm expecting them in early to mid July. I got one of the final boxes airmailed here so I can make sure it's good and I'm very happy with them! 

The microfiber cloths have arrived, and look great! I showed them to my 3 year old and it is now being used as the blanket for one of her little stuffed kittens. These are the risks of fulfillment, I suppose.

And that's about it! 

Dials and hands should be ready in the next week or so, which will be nice to see. The cases will be going in for their PVD treatment in 2 weeks, and then it is moving on to the assembly process, followed by Quality Control! 

As always, I'll leave you with an excerpt from one of the books. This time from the story of Jean-Pierre Wimille:

Robert Benoist was supposed to be back at the Villa Cecile by midday, but never returned. While Jean-Pierre was concerned, it wasn’t uncommon for plans to change. At 8:20 that night, while sitting on the front porch, Jean-Pierre saw a convoy of at least eleven German cars, each carrying four armed men, heading up the long driveway. He immediately jumped up and yelled into the house to warn of the incoming Germans, who saw this and began firing at him before their cars had even come to a stop. He ducked between some parked cars, glass shattering all around him under the hail of bullets. When there was a brief pause in firing, he managed to sprint into the woods, where he jumped into a stream. His quick wit saved him, as he was able to find a gap under the roots of a tree at water level. The Germans frantically searched the area, but never found him. He hid there until nightfall, by which time the Germans had arrested everybody that they could, set fire to the villa and left. He was able to find shelter at a nearby farm, where he remained until the activity had died down in the area. 

Last thought: GO ENGLAND!!! 

May 25 Production Update
almost 3 years ago – Wed, May 26, 2021 at 10:17:44 AM

Hi everybody!

Just a quick update from Trafford HQ. 

Production continues to move along as planned. We should see the dials in the beginning of June. 

Straps and cases are all in production. 

Packaging is almost complete.

The proofs for the books arrived! There are a few things that need adjusting, but overall I am very happy with them! The books are a huge part of this project, and it's very important to me that they are just right. Here is a video of how they fit into the packaging (note that this is just the sample packaging from a while back): 

It's really fun to see them in person and visually connect them with the watch that they go with. Each one tells the story of that individual, and it's neat to be able to have all of them together and see how their stories intertwine. I hope that everyone enjoys and reads the stories as much as I enjoyed putting them together! 

While we're talking about it, if you'd like to be able to read the other driver's stories, you can always add another watch! Or perhaps you'd like to grab one for your dad or somebody else. The preorder store is open for a while longer: https://soeroadster.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders#store 

As usual, I'll leave you with an excerpt from one of the stories, this time a dazzling escape by Robert Benoist:

"Three days later, Robert Benoist, who had been away visiting a mistress at the time of the arrests, was apprehended in a Paris street by the Germans. He quickly made the first of several remarkable escapes.

Four men had bundled him into a car and drove off at high speed. Although he was seated in the center of the back seat, flanked by two others, Benoist had not been handcuffed and had noticed that one of the doors had not been secured properly. When the car took a sharp left turn, Benoist flung himself against one of his captors and forced the door open, rolling out into the road and escaping down the narrow Passage des Princes at the northern end of the Rue de Richelieu. He reached the home of a friend for a change of clothes, and as he was about to leave, he noticed eight Nazi soldiers outside waiting for him. He abandoned this plan and escaped over the roof at the back of the house. Another group of soldiers noticed him and began firing, though he was miraculously able to escape unharmed. He eventually made it to the home of his Bugatti secretary, with whom he would stay until he was able to coordinate a flight to England.

How fantastic it would have been to be a Parisian at the time and see the famous Robert Benoist jumping from rooftop to rooftop, evading German bullets."

Have a great week, everyone! 

Nathan

Quick update
almost 3 years ago – Tue, May 11, 2021 at 04:09:21 AM

I meant to post this yesterday, but I got wrapped up playing with Frozen dolls with our 3 year old daughter. So you'll have to settle for a belated Happy Mother's Day from us to you. I am wildly lucky to be married to the most supportive, kind and loving wife who sets a fantastic example for our little girl every day. It would have been easy for her to dismiss the idea of me starting a watch company, but she has been my biggest supporter and I can't thank her enough for that. 

Anyway, let's talk about watches! 

We are in the early days of production, so I don't have many fun photographs to share with you, other than this fun one of the box that comes with the set of 3 watches:

I'm quite happy with them! 

Here's what else is happening:

• Watch production has begun.
• Production of the watch boxes has begun.
• Display cases have been ordered. Some have arrived at Trafford HQ already.
• Warranty cards have been printed and ready to ship here.
• Stickers have been printed and are on the way here.
• Microfiber cloths are in production.
• The books are in production! I'm really happy with these. I hope that you all take the time to read each of them when you get the watches. 

I'll keep you posted as things progress! And each time I'll be leaving you an excerpt from one of the books. Here are two pieces from Grover-Williams' story. One from his days as a racer and one from his days as a saboteur during WW2.

1929 Monaco Grand Prix

On April 14, 1929, Willy Grover-Williams won the very first Monaco Grand Prix in his Bugatti Type 35B, which was painted British Racing Green. A very tricky course through the city with innumerable bends and two hair-pin turns, this marked the moment that truly set up Grover-Williams as a star who used intelligence and wit instead of brawn.

His main rival, the German Rudi Caracciola in his 7.1 liter Mercedes SSK, was by far the favorite and provided onlookers with a fantastic duel. Willy led for most of the race, but Caracciola was right behind. On lap 30, the German passed Willy to take the lead. On lap 35, Willy fought back and retook the lead, but noticed that Caracciola was driving very aggressively, having to push his heavy Mercedes much harder than his lightweight Bugatti. He decided to back off and allow Caracciola to pass him. Willy went into the pits in lap 49 and was quickly back on the track. Caracciola went in two laps later, but because he had been pushing his car so hard to build a lead, it took him a full 4 minutes to refuel, and by the time he came back on to the track, he had fallen to fourth place. This fantastic mid-race calculation by Grover-Williams to allow Caracciola to burn his fuel became the catalyst that would bring him first place in the race, along with a reputation for quick thinking and guile.

The sabotage of Citroën

Outside of coordinating weapons drops and recruiting men and women to be involved in the Chestnut network, one of the more successful plots involving Grover-Williams was his sabotage of the Citroën factory in Paris. Most of the automobile manufacturers in France were forced to work for the Germans during the occupation, and Citroën was one of the most efficient—until Grover-Williams, that is. Using the skills he learned during his S.O.E. training, he built a small network of saboteurs within the factory and taught them how to completely disable the large machines by setting small, untraceable charges in just the right spots. This brought the production of the factory down from nearly 14,000 vehicles in 1941 to 9,320 in 1942 and just 4,500 in 1943.

Thanks everybody! Stay safe, and I will send another update soon! 

Best,

Nathan Trafford

Here we go!!
about 3 years ago – Sun, Apr 25, 2021 at 09:35:59 AM

All surveys are locked in! Thank you everybody for taking care of those! Now the fun part. We are immediately moving into production. I’ll be providing updates along the way so you can see how things are going, but you can always reach out to me individually with any comments or questions! You can message me here, email me at [email protected], send me a postcard or smoke signal. Whatever is easiest for you.

We’re shooting for August to drop these in the mail for everyone, so if you move before then, it’s very important to update your address in backerkit. Again you can just reach out to me for help with that.

I’m so excited we’re at this phase of the project!! Thanks you everybody for trusting us and coming along on this journey. We’re so looking forward to getting these out into the world!

Have a great weekend, Nathan

Locking surveys and Backerkit cards will be charged today
about 3 years ago – Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 01:03:04 PM

Hi friends, Happy Friday! Just sending out one LAST update to those folks who like to live life on the edge and not fill out your surveys until the last minute! I’ll be locking them today.

A big thank you to all those who have completed your surveys! You can still change your selections for the next 9 hours or so until they are locked. Simply go back into the survey link in the original email that backerkit sent out.

Meanwhile production is in the works! Box production is underway, along with the books! I’ll be sharing updates along the way, including excerpts from the stories. Dial color, steel mesh strap, leather strap and nato strap numbers are just about finalized (thank you survey fillers!) and will be moving into production very very soon. Display boxes have also been ordered!

More production news to follow very soon!

Thanks again everybody and have a great weekend!

Nathan Trafford