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Hi, aBlogtoWatch audience, my name is DJ Heider and I am the creator of the Heitis Watch Company. My project is currently on Kickstarter, and I would like to share it with you. I’ve always been fascinated by the World War II-era pilot watches. My Grandpa Fox was in WWII, and when he passed away in 1989, his military issued watch was passed down to my father. After my father took notice of my interest in watches that watch was gifted to me in 2006. Needless to say the first watch I designed was the Heitis “Aviator.” The Heitis Aviator is inspired by the clean look of WWII fighter plane altimeters and other cockpit instruments, which are ergonomically designed to facilitate reading both in daylight or in the dark.
A little bit about me: I’ve been doing mods and custom builds for people in my hometown of Buffalo, New York, for a number of years now. It started out by changing batteries for friends, and from there I started to do custom dial work. Changing the color of dials through different techniques such as “baking” to give them that vintage look everyone wants. I started switching out hands from stock to sword, plume, dauphine, and Breguet – you name it, I’ve used it. I started “bleaching” bezels and everything in between.
Certain customers wanted “clone” or “homage” watches of popular brands, so I would consult with them on their tastes and ideas and let them pick out the movement, dial, hands, and then a case to tie it all together. I’ve built quite a few Panerai and Rolex clones in my day. That turned into modding Seikos and Invictas as “donor” watches for the base and switching out movements, dials, and hands and making “frankenwatches.” Yes I was turning into a watch geek.
After all of this self teaching, I attended watch school about 5 years ago and learned more about the technical side of watchmaking – breaking down movements and rebuilding them, and getting more into repair and maintenance of automatic movements. The one thing that I left that experience with was that a nice watch doesn’t have to break the bank. You can use quality parts and materials and still offer a timepiece at an amazing value. So that’s what I’ve set out to do with my new micro brand!
Let me tell you about something that I am really proud of. The parts for my watches are custom made to my specifications and come from various locations and are shipped to me, I then assemble them in my workshop in Buffalo, NY. I apply the hands to the and dial and then to the movement, then case the movement and hand assemble each piece. From assembly to packaging, this is a unique handcrafted piece made by myself, a fellow watch enthusiast, for other enthusiasts.
I designed it with large digits and bold hands that have a super lume coating – this Heitis Aviator watch leaves quite an impression. When pilots flew they needed a large crown so it was easy to adjust time when they were wearing flight gloves. So I designed the Heitis Aviator watch with a large, chunky 7mm crown. The movement is manufactured by Ronda – it’s a model 705. They are a renowned movement manufacturer in Switzerland. With a 44mm diameter, solid surgical grade 316L stainless steel case, and genuine leather band with a solid stainless steel butterfly clasp, this true-to-period watch has a notable presence. On top of all that it lies beneath a sapphire crystal with an AR coating on the inside of the crystal to hopefully cut down on smudges and fingerprints.
The watch is available in a PVD black version or sandblasted stainless steel, and comes with two quick change straps so you can change the look of your watch in seconds with no tools. Match the band to your shoes or belt your wearing on any given day.
I put my heart and soul into the design of the Heitis Aviator watch and took a classic design and brought it forward to the modern day. I think you’ll find that the pricing structure compared to the quality of the components used is quite remarkable. Through the Kickstarter campaign that I am running for the month of November, the pre-order price on the Heitis Aviator is $129 for both the PVD black and Sandblasted Stainless options. This is a great savings over the retail of $189. I have priced what will be the first run of the Heitis Aviator watches very aggressively to hopefully become funded and get this company off the ground. heitiswatch.com
