Singapore is renowned for having unique watch brands that uses ingenuity and uniqueness to set themselves apart from the packed competition. Neminus Labs is one of these brands. Launched in 2018, Neminus (pronounced “neh-me-nuhs”) introduced themselves to the Singaporean watch micro-brand market with its first product range, the Neminus Spaceman Collection.
“Built for those who dare.”
Neminus Watches
With Neminus Labs, Perry Khor focused his platform on making imaginative Swiss-made automatic dive watches, with each feature much more unique than the one before.
Perry designs his watches using a mantra or DNA he nicknamed as “UTOPIA”. Each watch should have a unique design, to be built with the toughest of materials and have the most opulent of finishes. It has to be practical, innovative and as aesthetically pleasing as possible. Neminus‘ mission and goal is to “inject more zest and excitement” into the watches it designs and creates. Perry wants people to confidently profess to others that they are watch aficionados who aren’t afraid to appreciate the values of unknown brands. It is in this mindset that he created the first Neminus watch collection.
The Spaceman Collection
Image credits: Neminus Singapore Facebook
Image credits: Neminus Singapore Facebook
Image credits: Neminus Singapore Facebook
Their first watch collection, the Neminus Spaceman Collection, features three limited edition models. Each of them were created to pay tribute to the astronauts who broke physical and mental boundaries to explore the unknown. Each feature of the watch was inspired by the Astronaut’s training, space travels and space shuttles. Only 300 pieces were hand-crafted, with the founders personally overseeing the production and testing of their watches in Switzerland. They have successfully ensured that no corners were cut to save costs.
It pays homage to the astronauts who graced the infinite space to study, research & explore the unknown. With this collection, they seek to provide collectors with something unique and different. In order to honor the astronauts endeavor, Neminus named the models “Earth Dweller”, “Moon Explorer” & “Mars Traveler”.
The “Earth Dweller” is where we are; the “Moon Explorer” is where we’ve been ; and the “Mars Traveler” is where we will be in the future.
Each watch has been crafted to celebrate an aspect of humanity’s reach for the stars, with a different famous space exploration quotation on the back of each model. With it’s stunning radiating starburst, space exploration theme and a stunning 3D-printed contoured image of our planet Earth as seen from space, this 44-millimetre watch was definitely designed to impress.
Specifications
- Diameter: 44 mm
- Lugs: 22 mm
- Lugs to Lugs: 52 mm
- Thickness: 16 mm
- Weight: 135 g
- WR: 300 m
Its 120 click uni-directional bezel features a surgical grade 316L stainless steel with lumed pip and sawtoothed edges. The watch hands enclose a fully lumed outline of a rocket booster.
The Neminus Spaceman Collection features diamond-like coating, 5mm thick sapphire glass, and contains the Swiss Super-LumiNova Grade X1 Superlume. This luminescence ensures legibility during low light conditions and makes the watch look absolutely stunning in the dark.
Image credits: Neminus Singapore Facebook
It was sold at USD $579 through Kickstarter, and amassed over USD $60,000 in revenue. It exceeded the initial goal of USD $40,000, showing that there was great interest in a watch as intricate as this. This success has spurred Perry to create new collections tailored to different kinds of challenging work that pushes the boundaries.
The Master Diver 1000 – King of the Ocean
Image Credit: Neminus Facebook
Divers are the focus of the next collection. Dubbed the Neminus Master Diver 1000, Neminus focused on developing a watch that pays tribute to elite divers around the world – cave divers, deep divers, military divers, treasure hunters and so forth. As such, their focus was on developing a watch that can withstand the toughest of tests and the deepest of waters, yet is affordable and able to be a daily wearable.
Specifications
- Diameter: 44 mm
- Lugs: 22 mm
- Lugs to Lugs: 46 mm
- Thickness: 18.4 mm
- Weight : 162 g
- WR: 1000 m
- Movement: Seiko SII NH35A Automatic
Again, 300 pieces were hand-crafted to ensure quality was taken care of at all times. Encased in a solid marine-grade bronze in a dodecagonal (12 sided) shape, it will form a beautiful patina over time, adding a beautiful look to the watch. It also sports a 5 mm thick double-domed sapphire crystal with four layers of anti-reflective coating. Even at extreme depths, a diver can still tell the time as he would on the surface.
Perry layered the watch dial with paint and stamped it to showcase a cracked seabed look. It also has a water depth rating of 1000m, making it one of the most atmospherically-durable watches out there. At the back of the watch, the key elements of the watch are engraved, alongside an embossed helium helmet, paying tribute to the elite divers across the world.
Image credits: Neminus Kickstarter
Launched in July 2019 on Kickstarter, 65 backers supported the watch, amassing USD $32,000. This show of support means that Neminus is a brand that is worth keeping tabs on, for their products are not meant to disappoint.
The Xtreme Diver 300
Image credits: Neminus
An extension of the Master Diver 1000 collection, it pays tribute to XTREME divers around the world – not only do they love diving, they work in some of the world’s most treacherous and dangerous underwater environments. Their jobs include servicing nuclear power reactors, salvaging marine vessels, salvaging criminal weapons, harvesting old-growth trees, swimming with sharks and so forth.
They include the red “Nuclear Diver”, grey “Deadhead Logger”, and the sunburst yellow “Salvaged Diver”.
Image credits: Neminus
This collection of watches are my favourite thus far, as it pays homage to divers that are not usually recognised by the public for the amount of dangerous work they do. Not to mention that their work keeps everyday life going.
Specifications
- Diameter: 44 mm
- Lugs: 22 mm
- Lugs to Lugs: 50 mm
- Thickness: 15.4 mm
- Bezel: 316L Stainless Steel Case and Bezel
- WR: 300 m
- Movement: Seiko SII NH35A Automatic
Conclusion
Through these watch collections, Neminus was able to showcase their ambition and intricate ability to build watches that represents a person’s inner dream role. Be it an astronaut in the Neminus Spaceman Collection, or a diver in the XTREME diver series, Neminus showcased a desire to push for perfection, and to tell a story in its tributes. Unique local watch micro-brands are important in our ecosystem as they provide an opportunity to see the boundaries being pushed to develop watches that has soul and character.
Wearing a watch from Neminus gives off a certain flair. Not only does the wearer want to see the time, they would want to be inspired by it. I am only looking forward to what is to come from them, and I am absolutely sure it’s going to be one stunner after another.
Here’s their website.
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