What better place to start realizing the idea of a university homage than the founder’s own alma mater. His own search for personal expression led him to create a watch dedicated to the University of Oregon. Not satisfied with the alternatives available, Bohannon began toying with the concept of creating a watch design in 2005. It has been a circuitous journey.
Starting a company from scratch is a ponderous proposition any time, but doubly so at this time in the mechanical watch industry. To begin with, the industry is centered in Europe, and it’s difficult to make contacts. The complexity of the product makes it imperative that only the best materials and craftspeople are utilized, and finding them is a complicated undertaking. Watchmaking is an old industry, and a little insular. It takes time to get to the right people, and personal referrals are the only keys to open doors. Communicating ideas in English can be a challenge, and anyone who isn’t fluent in French or German is a little suspect. Second, because of demand, the best components are difficult to acquire. Movement makers aren’t allowing any new customers on the books, and wait times are long and growing.
In addition to the tight capacity in the industry, finding the right individuals to help with the watch is another challenge. True watch designers are scarce. There is certainly no watch design school at any university in the US, and not even a general design program at Oregon. Once again, personal referrals are the only way to make contacts.
Bohannon’s initial discussions with designers proved unsatisfactory. While he could find some designers who knew watches, they didn’t know the University of Oregon. They generally produced concepts that were watches which happened to have an Oregon design element tacked on. They didn’t flow. Conversely, designers he found who were graduates of Oregon knew the university, but they didn’t know watches. Theirs were designs cleverly evocative of the university that were pasted on a watch face. Again, no true synthesis of the two spheres. Bohannon needed something that both a true watch collector and an emerald-and-lemon Oregon alum could get excited about.
Finally, a workable strategy was devised. Creative alumni/alumnae of the university would be called on to develop not the watch itself, but unmistakable design elements that would connect with an Oregon audience. In turn, a talented watch designer would be tasked with seamlessly blending the design elements to a timeless watch design that would pass muster with avid collectors. Something that would be noticed and positively commented upon as a timepiece even by someone unfamiliar with the University.