DWISS partners with SOMA

SOMA

Published in

SOMAbusiness

4 min readOct 10, 2018

This article originally appeared on the SOMA blog.

Award-winning Swiss microbrand to sell on SOMA blockchain ecommerce platform

SOMA’s blockchain-based marketplace is going live in Q1 2019 for luxury watches. We’ve got Finnish retailer SIPILÄN KELLO on board. We’ve got funding from Business Finland, an arm of the Finnish Government. And we just refreshed our company aesthetic. In short, we’re going places.

A massive milestone

And now, we’re signing some of the world’s highest-quality and most innovative watch companies. DWISS (Design Watch International Switzerland, pronounced like “Swiss”) produces distinctive yet classic timepieces that have taken home such prestigious awards as the International Design Award (IDA) and the European Product Design Award (ePDA).

Rafael Simoes Miranda

Founder and designer Rafael Simoes Miranda had a long career teaching watch in Milan and designing hundreds of watches for major brands before launching DWISS in 2011. Subsequently, the Brazilian-born, Italian-naturalized horological wizard launched four DWISS collections — two of which have sold out.

The microbrand movement

DWISS is part of a horological movement toward smaller-batch, quality, lean value manufacturing by small players. The craft beer revolution of the watch industry, if you will.

Here’s what Watch Gecko has to say: “…modern microbrands are products of the internet and the new spirit of entrepreneurship that it facilitates. Micro brands, or ‘indie watch brands,’ are an established part of the market that’s enjoying surging interest based on outsourcing and focus on design, marketing and sales. It’s an idea whose time has come, amid arguably demonstrable belief that watch micro brands can deliver lots of traditional luxury brands’ value for a fraction of the price.”

The magic of DWISS

Miranda aimed for a luxury watch equal to those costing many times more. “I can guarantee the best price for the same quality of watch,” Miranda says, adding that his direct-to-consumer distribution model enables him to keep prices lower than other brands that rely on intermediaries such as retailers. Microbrands, by their nature, can afford to take aesthetic risks that large brands might avoid. Yet even among a more aesthetically-adventurous cohort, DWISS designs stand out. Just look at the the detail on the dial engraving, or the four exposed hexagonal screws (a variation on those of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak?). Then there’s the timekeeping display itself: a bold departure from the standard hour/minute/second triad of hands so core to the traditional analog watch. A solitary hand of unorthodox shape (teardrop? arrowhead?) marks the minutes, while additional features track hours and seconds. DWISS watches don’t need to be self-consciously avant-garde. Somehow, they balance a solid classicism with just the right amount of novelty to keep them interesting — but never gaudy. We can’t think of any other watch brand we’d be more thrilled to offer on our ecommerce marketplace.

Rafael Simoes Miranda on the partnership with SOMA

“DWISS has always been a forward-thinking brand, both in the style of our watches and also in our approach to the latest technology. Even if our watches fall into the traditional watchmaking culture, our approach to the modern world comes by being one of the first brands to show our watches in augmented reality and accepting cryptocurrency as a payment method. But it was not enough. I’ve been aware of blockchain for some time, and I’ve wondered how it might help combat the massive problem of counterfeit watches in our industry, and how to solve the problems inherent in dealing with major banks. When I heard about SOMA, their solution seemed perfect. I’m excited to go forward in this pilot program and forge new territory with them.”

SOMA’s Q1 2019 launch

SOMA is going live in Q1 2019 with companies such as DWISS to sell their timepieces on our marketplace. We’re onboarding partners now!

Getting on the SOMA platform

If you’re a watch manufacturer or retailer, contact partners@soma.co. If you’re an individual lover of quality watches, sign up here to be notified the minute we’re accepting registrations!

User waiting list: https://goo.gl/forms/xpFstBEEA4QBGrF73.

About SOMA

On legacy ecommerce platforms, anonymous usernames and depersonalized storefronts strip trade interactions of an important social element. Additionally, buyers lack a definitive way to ensure the authenticity of items. Enter SOMA. Our Heimdall Protocol stops forgeries and counterfeiting by validating ownership and provenance history on the blockchain. Social media elements bring personalization and interaction to trade, and allow users to monetize social influence, while a rewards system incentivizes beneficial collaboration. SOMA is a free-market ecosystem — free of market manipulation, price-fixing, gouging, and bloat.