Czech-German company Leitners is now live on Kickstarter with its new hybrid smartwatch, the Ad Maiora.

Ad Maiora means “towards greater things” in England and contains an automatic mechanical movement while housing a full dial display.

A new addition to the market, WatchPro caught up with Rostislav Slovák, CEO at the firm, to find out more about the fresh to market timepiece and what the kickstarter campaign could offer.

WP: What is the background of Leitners as a business?

RS: Leitners is a Czech-German company with an administrative office in Dresden, Germany, and a R&D team in Brno, the IT hub of Central Europe. The two founders, Marek and me, were colleagues while studying for the Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in the university. Before Leitners, I was running my own business as a consultant and working in lean management. Marek worked as an expert in a top 500 global company with expertise in mechatronics.

It is the passion for watches that brought us together and founded Leitners in early 2019. We were soon joined by Lubomir, a bright young businessman based in Germany and many other great professionals such as Daniel, Master in Electrical Engineering with a strong base in hardware & software development, several brilliant industrial designers, and more.

We are also working with local watchmakers and jewelers from Czech Republic to ensure high quality in-house production. Suppliers are mostly from Germany with high selection standards.

WP: How does the concept work?

RS: Ad Maiora is a hybrid smartwatch that has automatic mechanical movement and a full dial display. Judging by the appearance, you can barely tell it is a smartwatch thanks to its minimalistic and classic analog design. But look closer you will find out that the whole dial is an E-Ink display.

We aim to create the hybrid watch that makes no compromise. Ad Maiora is a mechanical watch with the premium automatic Miyota cal. 9039. At the same time, it is a smartwatch with connectivity, censors and the full dial display, which is not yet to be seen on hybrid smartwatches with an automatic movement. It is the unique symbiosis of a classic timepiece with smart functions.

WP: Where did the concept and idea begin?

RS: I am always a big fan of mechanical watches, especially the ones with automatic movement. I think nobody will not be amazed by the mechanism behind it, the scrupulous craftsmanship, and the precision. It is like magic realized by pure human intelligence.

Meanwhile, I am also quite aware how smartwatches can make modern life easier with connectivity and various smart functions. But when I go to attend some formal conferences, I really don’t feel comfortable wearing a smartwatch with my suits.

I was expecting that one day a company will create a watch that can meet both of my needs. But the wait was too long, and I just got tired. Then I met Marek, who shares the same mind with me, and we decided to create the watch we desire on our own.

WP: What are the details of the kickstarter campaign?

RS: We have been preparing for the Kickstarter campaign for months. We are glad to see that there are many people who appreciate our watch design, and we have even had a small group of Leitners fans. I cannot be more excited to announce that the Kickstarter campaign will go live on November 4th, 16:00 GMT.

The retail price of Ad Maiora is €1100, but we offer a special launching price of €419 on Kickstarter, which will only be available for 48 hours after the launch. We will provide customization of the watch on Kickstarter so that people can choose among different design options and pre-order their unique piece of Ad Maiora.

WP: What is Leitners hoping to achieve with the kickstarter campaign?

RS: As a young start up entering this traditional and static watch industry, we want to start in a different way. We have been developing the watch with our own funds and have the prototype ready. But crowdfunding is a new starting point for us to prove that the market exists, to get closer to the customers, and get valuable feedback for future development.

We were contacted by marketing agencies before for collaboration, but eventually we decided to run the campaign independently. We don’t want to overspend the budget, so that we can keep our first customers the best price. Besides, we also take the Kickstarter campaign as a great learning point for our team to learn more about marketing, brand building, and communication.

With the Kickstarter campaign, we are on the way to realize our dream. Crowdfunding is like teamwork, but with people all over the world who share your passion and dream. We hope more people will join our journey, and make our story great.

You can see Leitner’s Kickstarter campaign HERE.