This is the Vaer D4 Meridian, it’s an American-designed and assembled watch with a solar-powered movement and an affordable price point at just $359 USD.
Vaer was founded in 2016 by Ryan Torres and Reagan Cook with the goal of creating an all-new line of affordable American watches. They developed a series of prototypes and tested them everywhere from the Californian surf to the Himalayas, and even experimented with boiling water immersion to see just how tough the designs were.
The Vaer D4 Meridian comes with a two straps as standard, there are also a number of additional upgrades available including two grades of stainless steel bracelet.
The company first started offering watches for sale in 2017, relying largely on word of mouth for promotion. Vaer now has dozens of watch models in production including both the more affordable varieties and some new more upscale designs with automatic Swiss movements.
All of their watches are designed and assembled in the United States, the company’s goal is to achieve full made in the USA status. They have already attained a total US-source origin value of over 55% on some models, which is similar to the source origin required for a watch to be labeled “Swiss Made.”
The Vaer D4 Meridian is one of the company’s more affordable options, it has a 316L stainless steel case with a single domed sapphire crystal, a locking screw-down crown, and a 20ATM (200 meter) water-resistance rating.
The watch is powered by an American-assembled Epson VS22 solar-powered quartz movement with 20/+20 sec/month timing tolerance. This movement can work for as long as six months from just six hours of sunlight, and it can run off any available light source – even candlelight.
Vaer offers their watches with two straps as standard, there are also a number of strap upgrade options to choose from. In this case, the D4 Meridian can be ordered with two grades of stainless steel strap for an additional fee as well as leather and khaki options.
Both 38mm and 42mm versions of the watch are offered, this allows people to choose the best fit for their wrists, and some people prefer a larger watch while other like a smaller one.
The dial has 20 layers of X1 Grade W20 SuperLuminova for good nighttime and lowlight legibility, it also has a lumed ceramic bezel. The Vaer D4 Meridian has your choice of either a 38mm or 42mm case diameter with a 20mm lug width, a 46mm lug-to-lug distance, and a 10.6mm thickness.
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