"This dress watch review and unboxing of a watch sent to me by Mileneal Watches. They are a brand new player in the minimalist genre of watches. Recently, they completed a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. They raised $24K+ which enabled them to launch their Classic series. Their classic series is targeted at the millennial crowd, and they offer in both white and black face dials. They also have various types of straps in different colors: black, brown and blue. This particular Mileneal watch in this video review is the Rose Gold White watch with Vintage Blue Leather. What makes their watches interesting is the dome face glass. It actually feels much more robust than other watches I’ve owned or reviewed.
The Mileneal watch uses the Miyota GM10 movement, which is the Japanese quartz movement. The watch itself it 3ATM so I wouldn’t go diving into a pool or go scuba diving with it. But it is “splash resistant”. The watch body or case uses 316L stainless steel. It is considered “surgical grade” stainless steel and has a polished finishing. The strap is leather and has the branding inside the leather strap.
Should you consider Mileneal watches? The better question to ask is if you need a dress watch. A dress watch is a must for any working professional. And in general, it’s good to have in one’s wardrobe. It’s a great compliment for a business suit or fashion ensemble for formal functions.
The key is to find watches that have a minimalist style, as it’s not proper etiquette to use an opulent sports or chronograph watch at a funeral or wedding. Always go for the minimalist, classic look when going to work in a suit or going to a formal setting.
Mileneal watches is a solid choice for someone in the market for a dress watch. It comes in both white and black faces. It has various color straps to mix and match with your outfit."
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"In this video I review the Mileneal Prestige Automatic. It offers good build quality, a great looking blue dial and a Miyota 9015 movement for $200. This is perhaps one of the best value for money dress watches under $200." - GreatAffordableWatches
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That said, we do love a good article which points out things to pay attention to when getting a new suit. And this particular article from Esquire does just that. A notable detail pointed out in this article is the cuffs or the length of them. Why? Because cuffs that are made to the right length would be a perfect match to your wrist watch.
Read article from Esquire here
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This lead us to our very first move in the design phase. We started of sketching our designs on paper. This was then translated into a simple 2D design on our computer. With our aim of making watches for young working adults, we made it clear that we would start off with a basic design that is simple, presentable and with very basic functions of time and date indication.
Some of our 2D designs in the early stage
With a number of designs already on paper, we started filtering them off to lock down on the ones we felt would go well with our logo and brand name. We finally decided on designs with indexes/lines that would accentuate our logo and compliment our intend to introduce a basic entry watch for the young working class.
Sketch of our final designs
The final few designs were run through within the team. We then did a small survey with some of our friends, friends of friends etc. to see which one was the most likable design. The most voted design is what you can see on the second row in above 2D rendering. However, the job was not done. A 2D layout was not sufficient especially when we wanted to communicate with our manufacturer on the specifics. That was when we decided to invest in 3D design rendering. We went with two different softwares. One for 3D model creation and another for the rendering. It was definitely not an easy task but with our aim of having a basic/simple design for our first watch series, the 3D work became a lot easier. Minimal lines, minimal curves, minimal surfaces.
A screenshot of our 3D design
The final touch was the rendering. Importing our model into the 3D rendering software allowed us to render realistic images which helped a lot. It gave us a view of what the actual product would look like (not 100% but at least a lot closer!). And with such renderings, we were able to revise and readjust certain parts. With lots and lots of tweaking and adjustments made, our first design was born.
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Eventually, we figured that we had to be original where our brand defines who we are. We discarded all our previous ideas and started anew. We started focusing on coming up with a name that is related to the problem we aim to solve.Using a basic product canvas, we had things written down so that we could see the overall picture. And it became clear that one of our main goals is to provide a solution to the young working class - the millennials. Hence, the inception of the name Mileneal.
With a brand name, our next step was to design our logo. For this, we engaged the help of a designer. We made it clear that the logo should be simple but with a meaning to it. After a few revisions, we were finally able to finalize. The final design is an "M". The first stroke of the M consist of two I's, equivalent to the Roman number 2, while the last stroke is an I, equivalent to the Roman number 1. In short, the 2 & 1 represents the definition of a millennial - a person reaching adulthood in the 21st century.
And with that, our brand name and logo were in place..
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For most watch startups, they are marketing the concept of “removing the middle man”. Most of them would point out that conventional branded watches go through suppliers, distributors, retails before finally reaching the consumer. And their model is to remove such middle parties and thus cutting down the markups imposed on each stage. True enough, this helps reduce the selling price of the watch. But how much exactly? Or is this the true honest price?
At Mileneal, we believe that this markup can still be further reduced even with the middle parties excluded. Our plan - to put our effort to come up with an authentic design of our own instead of an OEM model. We would then source for a supplier that is able to realize our design with high qualities. This would be done by matching higher range of materials to be used in our watches. All done with the belief that it should be of "maximum effort from us, but minimum price tag for our customers".
]]>“My fascination for watches started in 2016 when I first had the idea of purchasing a watch, a timepiece that is of my own, bought using what I have in my own bank account. With only a couple of years into the working world, I was a fairly young working adult with limited financial capability.
Therefore, I spent hours googling different brands and comparing prices. Of course, with what I had, the renowned brands were definitely out of the question. I then came across watches which were sold through online platforms instead of the conventional retail stores. I delved in to the most basic specifications, at the same time learning a thing or two about the different types of materials, movements, straps etc.
And as expected the prices differ based on these specifications. However, I also noticed that there are significant price differences across brands, even though with comparable specifications. The very obvious reason - brand popularity. In other words, watch price markups can vary significantly. Being that young working class that I am, I only wanted a watch of good quality regardless of the brand. This led me to further my “research”. I started looking for suppliers and asking for quotations. To my surprise, a good watch made of good materials does not cost a lot! It is simply that they are marked up with a certain percentage to increase the margin.
That is when I started pondering on the idea of this startup. Having gone through the hassle, I wanted to create a platform that sells at a very minimal mark up, so that the young working class like me would not have to go through the same headache that I faced. I believe we all deserve to look good and presentable when stepping onto our working journey, and the “wrist game” is part of the package. And with that I decided to realize this idea to provide not just another online store but a solution. A solution that is made for the 21st century working adults. The millennials.”
A screenshot of our initial 3D design stage
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