The Design Battle — Why We Paid for Passion, Not Price
Our design brief was simple: Inspired by the Alps. Translating that to metal and sapphire was another story—a story that began with a lot of frustration.
The Freelancer Trap
Like most microbrands starting out, we approached freelancers. We used Upwork, Fiverr, Instagram DMs—the whole gamut. The result was mostly over-promising and underwhelming. The pricing was often extraordinary for what felt like small, incremental changes to existing stock designs.
Then came the professional watch designers. Their budgets alone were higher than what we had planned for the entire prototyping phase. Some were arrogant, flat-out refusing to work with any "micros." The first question we got asked wasn't about our inspiration, but: "What's your selling price?" We still don't understand that mindset. Is the effort tied to our price, or to their quote?
We also spoke to the Chinese private label manufacturers. Their goal was clear: sell their existing designs or homages, with minor changes. We weren't building a tribute; we were building Arima. We weren't satisfied.
The Question That Changed Everything
We finally found our studio, a partner with vast experience, but also a willingness to help aspiring microbrand owners. Crucially, they never asked about our selling price. Instead, the first question was: "What's your inspiration?"
That studio is Rodolphe Design from Neuchâtel, credited with designing famous watches for brands like Corum, Longines, and Bulova. They saw the vision: two engineers, mountains, and the quest for composed strength. We got a huge discount because they loved the idea, and that partnership was the pivot point for Arima.
The Decagon Defense and The 3D Dial
Rodolphe helped us translate our raw vision into precision. Our case is no longer just "angular"; it embodies the signature of the rocks formed centuries ago. It's defined by the sharp, complex Decagon bezel, with subtle brushed and polished finishes that play with light like sun on carved Alpine stone.
Our most complex challenge was the bracelet. We started with triangular, mountain-shaped links—we even 3D printed them—but they were uncomfortable. We fixed the design, settling on a robust bracelet that tapers beautifully, resembling the practical stepping stones to a summit—a strong, reliable ladder to the top.
One of our Dial design ideas was a Micro-Relief 3D Topography inspired by the Alps themselves. It was an amazing idea, which we will revisit for one day. For now we have settled on the Alpine Rock texture: an embodiment of the Weathered Storms, standing the test of time. Offered in colors that mirror our mountain environment: Forest Green, Foggy Grey, Night Sky Blue, and Glacier Ice.
The design process was a mountain in itself, but thanks to true partnership, we built a watch that wears the story of its inspiration with quiet, undeniable precision.