The crowdfunding scene is often full of me-too watches, but every now and then we stumble on something worth covering. Igneous has such a watch in the upcoming release of the Santa Maria?a timepiece with a familiar design, but with one small twist that makes it rather special.
Taking the brand name as a lead, one can begin to speculate what is unique about the Santa Maria. Igneous is one of the main three rock types?it?s a magmatic rock ?produced under conditions involving intense heat,? such as rocks of volcanic origin. The next clue is the model name, Santa Maria, which is also the name of a volcano located in Guatemala. Put these two together and we have the secret ingredient: a unique dial made from basalt rocks. The polished basalt rocks from the Santa Maria volcano have a deep black color with flecks of gray, which results in a uniquely patterned and striking dial. It?s a dial that one just wants to stare at, even when one isn’t checking the time. Given the variations within the rock, no two dials will be the same. The matte silver hands provide enough contrast from the dial to easily tell the time without the pattern getting in the way. The dial layout is straightforward and reminiscent of an Explorer dial, except for the marker at 12, which, cleverly, is the Igneous logo. The hands are simple swords with lumed centers and there?s a silver needle second hand. The hour markers are also lumed (Super-LumiNova) around the dial. The crystal is double domed hesal...