Failed: Kickstarter watch CST-01 does not come

April 26, 2020

A Kickstarter project that ran in January 2013 failed. It should be an ultra-thin bracelet with an e-ink display, a clock with a height of just 0.8 millimeters, which has to be charged for just ten minutes for one month – and then also looks good. Backers had to put at least $ 99 on the table at the time, the shipping was actually planned for September 2013.

And now, with a delay of almost two years, the end comes with horror: the project failed. In a long comment the makers behind the clock explain what happened. In a nutshell: the production scrap was far too high, the experience with ultra-thin production too small. Not even every second CST-01 produced was functional, the rest for the ton. The price of each individual watch rose more than double.

Talks with partners and potential investors have failed, it is now said on Kickstarter – and that is the point of liquidation. The creators behind the project do not yet know exactly how it will go on, but they show several ways. Among other things, they are considering a public auction of production materials, machines and finished products on eBay. The income generated by this should then be shared among the Kickstarter supporters in order to at least refund part of the money. They also considered making all plans and the necessary know-how for manufacturing the watch available to the general public as open source. The CST-01 should not be crafted in the hobby cellar, since special machines are required to manufacture the thin electronics.

The bottom line is only the valuable knowledge that you should not approach Kickstarter & Co. too blue-eyed – neither as a maker nor as a buyer. Because only a few projects offer insurance of the purchase price. For my part, I will continue to bake cool products when I see them – but so far never with really big sums.

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