QUICKFIRE Q&A: Sovrygn goes live on Kickstarter

Live on Kickstarter earlier this week, the SOVYRGN Calendar is inspired by what the brand describes as its fascination with time and the machines that represent it.

Developed by embracing the significance of quality and craftsmanship in the creative design and production process, WatchPro catches up with brand founder Hamzat Balogun about his background, the product, and where SOVRYGN is headed:

WP: Have any other watch brands influenced you? 

HB: One of my biggest influences is the AP brand and the reason is because of the history and the fact that it’s one of the few brands willing to try new things. I believe you can see this in the SOVRYGN design from the case to the bracelet, it is all custom and this requires trying something new and different from the status quo.

WP: Tell me more about the inspiration behind the brand.

HB: The brand is inspired by my fascination with watches. From a very early age I’ve always been very curios trying to figure out how things worked and one of the things that stood out to me was watches.

There was always an unexplainable good feeling I got from sporting a timepiece and I’m sure every watch lover or enthusiast knows that feeling. When I moved to Canada for University, I started collecting most limited editions and this opened the door for the opportunity in this area.

WP: How do we see this come through in the CALENDAR?

HB: The Calendar has 4 subdials (the power reserve, the day, date and month), the choice of the movement is inspired by the AP perpetual calendar, while the dial layout is inspired by a Bulova precisionist I owned back in the day.

Because I had spent so much time with the Bulova, and also studying the AP, when I started thinking of an idea for a sports watch it was perfect to take elements of the two of them and make something unique.

WP: Tell me more about the 5 complications.

HB: The Calendar for me is a timepiece that offers both form and function. The triple calendar (day, date, and month) complication offers a functional use which some people rely on their phones for.

The power reserve I find quite useful as well, considering telling the number of times you need to wind an automatic watch is not as easy especially for someone who’s just getting into watches.

The 24 hr timer I like to think of as an am/pm indicator and this makes it easier to adjust the day/date function.

WP: How do you hope to grow Sovrygn as a brand?

HB: I hope to grow the brand by becoming more active in watch groups, forums etc online and I also plan on sharing some of my new releases with the watch world as well as expanding into retail spaces because for some people trying on a watch before buying is important.

WP: Where do you hope to be as a brand in the next 3-5 years?

HB: I hope to be a more established and recognized brand in the future and by that I mean releasing more designs and possibly creating my own movements unique to my watches.

WP: What is the favourite watch you own?

HB: At the moment the watches in my collection are the ones I designed and that’s partly because I noticed the others weren’t getting enough wrist time since I have to do testing for my new releases. But if I had to pick a favorite watch that I’ve owned it would be the Citizen Navihwak A-T.