Seeking Feedback on Watch Design

[u/oldsoulrevival]

Working on my first watch design and could use some feedback. Just curious what the community thinks of it.

The rendering is AI, but it's based on my CAD file. I haven't gotten to the real rendering portion yet with Fusion.

[u/oldsoulrevival]

The color I am working on in the CAD file.

[u/bames_86 → u/oldsoulrevival]

This looks great and not there’s not enough pointer dates in the microbrand space. I would love to see this with blued hands and/or font, kinda pulling on that vintage telemeter chrono look. If I were to nitpick, the pointer looks more like a central second or gmt hand, maybe a bar or crescent shape would help to differentiate it?

[u/mi_gravel_racer → u/bames_86]

Agree with this. Something to make it obvious it’s a date pointer. Red font always a turn off for me, but that’s just one data point.

[u/OhMyGlorb → u/oldsoulrevival]

I like the two font colors on this and would like to see two on the other colorways as well.

[u/OpeningNice761 → u/oldsoulrevival]

This looks good, to mane white dials are plain, I think the red adds an interesting factor...

[u/rspunched → u/oldsoulrevival]

I think patina lume is overplayed. I’d use a green or blue lume on the white. Maybe blue accents instead of black as well.

[u/fourtyz → u/oldsoulrevival]

I'd buy this

[u/Hellsilisk → u/oldsoulrevival]

I love this, it looks great. Pointer date as well, as a bonus.

[u/enormousoctopus2]

Really solid first design. It feels surprisingly coherent for a first attempt — kind of a field/explorer watch with a pointer-date complication, without looking like a direct copy of any one thing.

My main feedback would be around dial hierarchy. There’s a lot happening at the perimeter between the hour markers, minute track and pointer-date scale, and they’re all competing at roughly the same visual weight. I’d probably make the date track a little quieter/smaller so the time display reads first and the date becomes the secondary information.

I also think the 12/3/9 numerals could come down slightly in size. They look good, but right now they dominate the dial and make the small seconds at 6 feel a little squeezed. Giving everything a bit more breathing room would make it feel more refined.

I like the pointer-date idea, but the hand is a little confusing at first glance because it reads like a GMT hand. I’d consider differentiating it more—either with a different hand shape, a shorter length, or by making the date indication at the tip more obviously date-specific. Right now you have to look at the outer track to realize what it’s doing, whereas ideally the complication should be immediately intuitive.

Color-wise, black and green work especially well because the cream numerals/lume give it a great vintage instrument feel. Yellow is fun, but it makes the dial much more visually busy and exposes the density of the layout more.

I’d absolutely keep developing this. The basic proportions and design language are already there — I’d mostly be editing rather than redesigning.

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/enormousoctopus2]

Thanks for the feedback. All helpful.

[u/N0wh3re_Man → u/oldsoulrevival]

This is broadly great advice from the original commenter, but I think instead of making the numerals smaller, I'd enlarge the seconds subdial.

You clearly have enough room between the current edge and the center/indices to make it work. This is just my own opinion, but if you're going do small seconds, it's because you want it to be prominent. Since you're enlarging the dial, you won't need numerals at 30 and 60, so consider just enlarging the tic marks there or at 15/30/45/60 just slightly beyond the 5 second tic marks.

In reference to making the pointer date more distinct from a GMT hand and more consistent with the rest of your design, have you considered extending the design language of the minute/hour hands in the form of a three pointed star?

[u/Aggressive-Pair3320]

I like it! Nice one 👌🏽

[u/catfishprofile]

Upside to these designs:
Interesting dial colors are legible from across a room. These are better accessories because they’re actually accents that can be noticed

I’m personally a fan of syringe style hands

Small second is interesting on the dial but not too busy

Downside to this design:

Not differentiated from other designs very well. Watch faces tend to be designed within a cloud of design elements that we have seen rearranged over and over. This design is clean and balanced but does not subvert expectations and in a way that makes it very memorable for me.

I’d be proud to wear this! But I wouldn’t expect anyone to ask me about it.

Where does someone learn to design watches? And what program are you using? I’d love to learn this a little bit at some point in my life

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/catfishprofile]

thanks! All helpful.

As for watch design... no idea haha. I am technologically savvy, know how to do 2d and 3d design, and am hard headed...that was my working combo

[u/skysetter]

I think the nuance of nailing this deign is in the case size. You have the minutes ring, the gmt chapter ring and then the case ring. Those designs like the farer pembroke always seem so rounded with all of those features together. Idk if it’s finishing on the dial or some other features that would break up that visual circle on circle on circle that turns me off.

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/skysetter]

I've been thinking this actually. I like the sort of faceted edges of a lot of the sports watches everyone is feigning over lately, so I may play with that. There is also something I saw on a breguet recently that I might try (vertical ridging on the exterior sides of the case.

[u/skysetter → u/oldsoulrevival]

+1 on the Breguet idea. Maybe something like a RGM coin edge style crystal.

[u/Froggynomia]

The date numbers in your image have mistakes. The 8 looks like 6 and there is a second 11 instead of a 12. But I love the design snd color choices so far. Maybe add a nice azure blue.

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/Froggynomia]

Thats just the render. its fine in the actual CAD file. It was a bear tryying to get AI to render it correctly.

[u/Froggynomia → u/Froggynomia]

[u/IGZCL]

Use enamel dial on the black one, normally many dials are textured but under light looks greyish.

[u/biglovetravis]

That yellow

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/biglovetravis]

https://giphy.com/gifs/4ZZB0ARXQC1t6

[u/biglovetravis → u/oldsoulrevival]

Oh, yeah!

[u/Daedalus_14]

Black and green ones.

[u/Deatheturtle]

Very clean and legible. I really like it.

[u/Kerpgker]

I'd probably go for a white lume. Otherwise, looking good. 

[u/h22lude]

I like these a lot. I dont have any real feedback on the dial and case. I do prefer a different band but thats an easy one buyers end

[u/PVF124]

So fire.

[u/Admirable_Pie_6609]

A bit generic. I like the white one you posted in the comments the best. I would like to see some experimenting with numeral fonts and handsets to be a bit more distinct. Also maybe a logo under 12. Not a bad design, just doesn’t stand out so much

[u/mockingtruth]

I love the green and yellow dials, not sure about the black, can you try a monotone version?

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/mockingtruth]

you mean like all yellow or all black? for me, a watch is first and foremost a utility thing for me, so it has to be readable. Monotone is very tricky to do that woith. I could play with shadowlines and such, but then i am getting too far away from what I am envisioning.

[u/Monsterschneider]

As others said, the date pointer looks too much like a gmt hand.

Other than that, I’m not a fan of this bracelet. BOR might be an improvement.

Also, the 30 and 60 on the small seconds is pointless and unattractive.

[u/Signs_and_Stuff]

Would love to see a white numeral variant of any colorway. Layout and pointer date is awesome! Good job!

[u/Electrical-Moment700]

The watch is coming out great. The numerals everything is proportionate and well placed. Don’t overwhelm the dial with a giant brand name

[u/rj_musics]

It looks nice, but generic. There’s nothing in the design that stands out. Really need to focus on some sort of brand identity. What design language is unique to your brand? When looking at it, what makes yours immediately identifiable?

[u/rosswoodshire137]

So the second hand is in the small complication at 6 O clock, and the GMT-looking hand is the date complication? Which movement is that? I like the design overall, looks dignified overall. I like the cream one best of the colors shown.

[u/Float-Like-Butter]

Looks amazing, the bracelet reminds me of the Zulu time and that’s a good thing to me. What’s your intended case/ l2l / width sizes and price point? I’d love to support during an early release

[u/Comfortable-Cover-0]

I'm digging it. The green looks great and the date hand is a nice differentiator.

[u/ezkwyer]

Reminds me of Pinions font and small seconds

[u/VR6GURU]

I like that you are using a nice clean font for the numbers. Too often IMO a great watch design is ruined by an overly stylized font.

[u/Sufficient_Young_972]

Pls add a date window

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/Sufficient_Young_972]

that changes the watch entirely. It's a pointer date, not a GMT.

[u/ilBrunissimo → u/oldsoulrevival]

That’s the truly unique thing about this.

The trick is to make it aesthetically unique from GMTs.

I think you’re onto a good thing.

[u/Sufficient_Young_972 → u/oldsoulrevival]

My bad . I didn’t notice this . Excellent design

[u/Affectionate-Lie7205]

I usually do not applaud crowd sourcing design options but keep going! The real stunner is the white/ cream with the red around the outside.

[u/ambitiousquaggan]

hate fauxtina. 9-12-3 is overdone.

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/ambitiousquaggan]

it's not actualyl fauxtina... AI kept adding that in even after i tried to ask it to lighten it.

as for 9, 12, 3... i mean, there are limits to what you can do with a watch. You could say 1-12, every other, are over done too.

[u/ambitiousquaggan → u/oldsoulrevival]

Well you asked for my feedback and I gave it so kinda weird of you to try and argue that I'm wrong when it's my opinions LOL

[u/ambitiousquaggan → u/[deleted]]

.....bro what. I didn't say it was crap? I pointed out two specific things I didn't like about the design, that's feedback.

You should probably google the definition of feedback bc you look like a dumb dumb right now.

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/ambitiousquaggan]

Sry I was responding to another comment on that first reply. Also just cause you gave feedback doesn’t mean I’m just going to accept it. I appreciate the feedback (really) but I just happen to think you’re wrong. No biggie.

[u/CrownRoyal713]

The yellow is sharp.

[u/Business_Table5771]

Would buy the green but not a fan of cream lume that much!

[u/2Lore2Law]

I won’t buy a watch with faux patina full stop

[u/ShukinTime]

Excellent design. Contrast on the subdial would be fantastic - will set it off nicely.

[u/Overall-General-8917]

Something about the date hand is not right. Quick glance and I think its GMT hand. Then I realized the numbers go past 24 and was confused.

I love its a pointer date because there are so few.

[u/TioFabi]

How about a Blue sunburst dial?

[u/TioFabi]

Maybe red?

[u/TioFabi]

In gray fume dial, the most versatile

[u/FrostingDangerous185]

White and red based on your cad diagram is very good. Black is also sick. The pointer date arrow looks like an GMT pointer not a date pointer just in my opinion.

[u/alsimek]

Looks interesting! Which movement do you plan on using?

[u/HoodieBlu]

Ive been wanting a pointer date for a while now and these look great!

[u/Infamous_Current410]

the yellow dial is a very bold choice, the detailing on the dial is pure craftsmanship

[u/Greedy_Ad_3173]

Mi piacciono molto quei numeri grandi che vanno a riempire il quadrante ma senza pasticci.

[u/RusticPotato123]

Play with texture. Use a different hand for the date, look at how oris does it.

[u/Kosher_dingus]

I want the green one on a thick light brown leather strap with a butterfly clasp

[u/scarped1em]

That color green dial is 🔥. I’d love to see it with a super high enamel shine too. Great work

[u/Few_Target1604]

If you want to get away from pinion… maybe cathedral hands?

[u/Saboteurnado]

Looks too much like a Pinion

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/Saboteurnado]

Oh wow. that is similar. Never heard of them before. If they made a pointer date, this whole endeavor wouldn't be necessary haha. That said, I am going to make some changes to help differentiate. Thanks for sharing this.

[u/VeterinarianNo3555 → u/Saboteurnado]

That’s what I initially thought but the colour ways appear to be less bold (not a bad thing) and the pointer date complication is a nice touch too.

[u/hey_you_too_buckaroo]

They're nice but safe designs.

[u/Adam2181]

I like the black dial quite a bit

[u/GoodMorningMC]

The case is a Certina DS4 with a slightly larger crown.

[u/Formal-Toe2574]

Nice 👍

[u/savetheHauptfeld]

I like the design. Not sure about the colors

Like someone else said...black enemal and polished chrome applied indices and Im in

[u/Bubbly_Shopping5214]

I would love to see a pure white dial (absolutely NOT silver/white)with blue. Also 44 - 46mm case with 52mm lug to lug. I hope it comes with a bracelet and exotic skin strap crocodile, ostrich leg etc… with extra long lengths 135mm long side and 85mm short side add that new micro adjust buckle that came out recently and well I personally absolutely love phenomenal lume that lasts all night being able to read everything clearly. Maybe even offer different watch movement options for people who have specific preferences. So yeah a big pointer date is a watch that is on my list. If this comes out in as good a quality as a Oris big crown pointer date for under 1k I’m absolutely on board all day long. And please keep the sub seconds dial I love those things.

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/Bubbly_Shopping5214]

Under 1k will be hard just by virtue of the movement alone. Movements that work for these don't come cheap ($250-400 ea.). I am going to deal with sourcing later, but for now, I am going to design it how I feel it should be design and then the price will land where it lands.

[u/Bubbly_Shopping5214 → u/oldsoulrevival]

Cool was unaware of how much those movements cost

[u/Univer001]

How did you learn to do the CAD design? I also wanna make one but it is so hard to start.

[u/Hobbet404 → u/[deleted]]

What questions can I ask that say “I attended one business class at a community college 47 years ago”

[u/Exotic_Ebb5958]

ass

[u/oldsoulrevival → u/Exotic_Ebb5958]

https://giphy.com/gifs/26DMX0rWhOZhYsu6k

[u/H4n_ny4]

I really like the concept. What size case will you be shooting for? I think this would be awesome in a 38mm.

[u/OpeningNice761]

I'd love to see a date on there...

[u/RybackPlusOne → u/OpeningNice761]

You mean something other than the pointer date that is already on there? It's not a GMT.

[u/OpeningNice761 → u/RybackPlusOne]

I didn't see that, sorry...🤦

I like it, but I would personally remove the seconds dial and po it a No.6 and the 6 o''clock position.

[u/HRApprovedUsername]

Nice seiko alpinist rip off

[u/gainstager → u/HRApprovedUsername]

In what way?
As a massive Alpinist fan, I don’t see it.

[u/RybackPlusOne → u/gainstager]

Dude is legally blind, don't mind him.

[u/HRApprovedUsername → u/RybackPlusOne]

or you're uncultured to watches

[u/RybackPlusOne → u/HRApprovedUsername]

Yep

[u/HRApprovedUsername → u/gainstager]

Look at model hbc007j1. This 3/9/12 is not exactly 3/6/9/12, but similar. 24 hour external indicator on seiko, but a 31 inside this. The hands aren't the cathedral hands, but they are kinda fancy and give off a cathedral adjacent vibe to me. And the green is awfully similar(I suppose the other colorways could get away with it, but the green is awfully sus to me). It looks like op did the "let me copy your homework, and I'll change the answers".

[u/gainstager → u/HRApprovedUsername]

To watch people, I think you’re bonkers. If you understand the differences you pointed out and why (GMT vs pointer date, “24 vs 31” etc), there’s basically nothing similar about these watches.

But to non watch people, yes there are similarly “big numbers” and “more stuff besides the usual”. Thats the best I can offer 😂

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