Stockholm-based watchmakers TRIWA has a Kickstarter campaign running for a new concept in the watch market centered around the use of metals from destructed illegal firearms. The company calls that refined 316L stainless steel as “Humanium” and it’s used to make two versions of the watch – the Hu39 and the Hu34. Those are sold with either a ‘D’ or ‘L’ designation depending on the design used in the watch face itself and It’s worth pointing out that none is actually a smartwatch. With that said, that the company still takes things a bit further than just using confiscated firearm metal. The sales from the metal that’s used in the watches, sourced from a Swedish company called IM, are cycled back toward “fighting the spread” of illegal firearms and rebuilding communities and providing support for communities affected by conflict. The Kickstarter itself will run through initial production, set to start in July, and until August 3 with 45 days remaining and $9,526 of a $28,364 goal met as of this writing.
As to the watches themselves, each shares some characteristics while the various designations come with an assortment of options. For example, the Hu39 is a 39mm watch sold either as the Hu39-L or Hu39-D. The latter of those designations features a vertically-brushed dark-gray watch face while the ‘L’ designation features a vertically-brushed steel dial. The watch indexes are all stamped into the metal and each watch features luminous hands and bright red coloration for the date and seconds indicators. A Japanese Miyota quartz movement is used inside and the outside features a classic style revolving crown. Meanwhile, those above-mentioned designations carry over to the 34mm Hu34. Any of those designs can be coupled with either a recycled canvas strap or an “organically tanned” Swedish leather. There are 4 colors to choose from for the straps, starting with a classic tan color which is only available on the Hu34-L. That option is replaced by a darker classic brown color for the other three watch styles while all of the watches can also be joined with a black or recycled green watch strap instead depending on wearer preference. The only other difference is that the smaller watch is rated with water resistance to 5 ATM, around 50 meters, while the larger watch is rated to 10 ATM, around 100 meters.
Pricing for the watches is the same regardless of which option is chosen. They cost $227 a piece at a 35-percent discount for Kickstarter backers. Of course, that extends across each backer reward package that’s available at the campaign site. The Kickstarter version of the watch also ships with an exclusive tech-savvy sapphire glass facepiece, rather than the standard glass material used on the watch to be sold to the general public. Any of the watches, on the other hand, will ship in a custom Humanium metal box with a certificate verifying the authenticity of the materials used and will feature a Humanium symbol stamped into the side of the case.
Humanium Watch Campaign
