The Heart and Soul of Tanzania

As the tallest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is a natural wonder to behold. Wildlife teems around the base of Kilimanjaro and among them are the Big Five game animals such as the leopard, rhino, elephant, African buffalo, and lion. A proud and powerful creature, the lion is the basis of the design concept for our first watch from the Chaka Collection.

In 2018, our watch designer Ricky, who traveled on a ten-day plus adventure trip to Tanzania, Africa.  He took part in a local Safari tour, went to several national parks to see wildlife, and spent a few nights at several famous camp sites under the guidance of professional driver guides.  This trip allowed him to witness numerous wild animals with our own eyes, including of course, the lion. This stimulated our thinking and creativity, and together we wanted to create a watch brand inspired by wildlife.

“Okepo is officially born”

Okepo’s logo is inspired by the flamingo, which can also be found in Tanzania. On our logo, the flamingo’s shape is simplified and filled with bright orange, representing the vitality and vigor of African wildlife.

During the trip, we had made initial sketches, and since some details had to be measured with the help of a caliper, we ended up with detailed hand-sketchings when we returned to our studio in Hong Kong.

Chaka Collection contains six different colorways and combinations to meet individual tastes. The case and bracelet of K04 and K06 feature a special highlight; a destress polish was applied to show and emphasize the theme of a wildlife environment.

//Raw steel case – Green sunray dial – Mint green bezel insert

//Raw steel case – Light blue sunray dial – Greyish blue bezel insert

//Raw steel case – Dark blue sunray dial – Dark blue bezel insert

//Antique steel case – Ash brown sunray dial – Dark grey bezel insert

//Light Gun case – Dark blue sunray dial – Dark blue bezel insert

//Light Gun case – Dark blue sunray dial – Dark blue bezel insert

Chaka’s bezel is inspired by the front silhouette of a lion, presenting a rugged, wild, and fierce image. The unique bezel shape is equipped with external helical teeth that allows wearers to turn the bezel with ease. In addition, the insert ring is made of strong K1 glass, and then matched with SuperLuminova’s luminous coating.

Bezel Feature

Technical Drawing

The lion’s tail was the inspiration for the watch hands. The hour hand is in the shape of a rounded diamond, with sharp chamfers made by CNC cutting process on both sides of the hour hand.

The hand window is filled with Super-Luminova so you can still read the time clearly in the dark African wilderness.

The Crown is deeply etched with Okepo’s logo and filled with bright orange. This eye-catching highlight of crown is symbolic as the watch’s signature.

Technical Drawing of Crown

The case back is cast in relief with a vivid lion. A lot of hard work was put into creating a delicate and detailed exterior in which initial hand sketching, painting, and multiple corrections to the 3D drawings took two weeks. After the process of casting the mold and modifying the mold twice, we finally achieved the result that we were satisfied with.

Super Luminova is another important feature of the watch. The applied indexes on the insert ring, watch hands, and dial are all coated with Super Luminova. After absorbing UV light for a period of time, it can maintain long-term luminous performance, ensuring that users can still clearly read the time in dark environments, such as in the outdoors or while diving.

The dial is a double-layered with a slight gradient of sunburst polishing, which is quite eye-catching and pleasing to the eye. The surface is inlaid with 12 super large, three-dimensional indexes. The applied indexes are made to a super high thickness of 0.8mm, and the hollow part in the middle is filled with Super Luminova’s luminous powder.

The ultra-thin Miyota 9039 automatic movementpowers the Chaka. The movement of this Cal. 9039 delivers the premium level of Miyota performance. It is equipped with a power reserve function of up to 42 hours; and a vibration frequency of 28800 per hour. These features make it a reliable and accurate watch. The rotational flow of Miyota’s rotor is also the reason why we choose this movement. This time, we deliberately did not choose a movement with a calendar disc, so that the design of the watch is more concise and prominent.

Chaka comes a small curved Sapphire crystal. A thickness of 3.7mm meets the water-resistant structure requirements of the diving case. Sapphire Crystal is scratch-resistant, and its bottom is treated with three anti-reflective coatings. The coating is blueish, which makes reading the time clearer and the appearance more sophisticated.

The vintage-effect leather roll box is Chaka’s packaging box. We deliberately chose gray-brown leather with a destree texture, drawing inspiration from the bark of the baobab tree found in Africa. The inner lining of the box is covered with a pleasing orange leather, echoing the Okepo logo color.

TIMELINE
It took more than five months from the conception of the design concept to the completion of the campaign launch. During this time, the prototype was revised three times, and finally the design and appearance of the watch exceeded our requirements.

Throughout the years, we have maintained good business partnerships with stable, reliable, and cooperative suppliers. This is one of the key reasons why we have been able to ensure  our promise of on-time delivery. The delivery would be in April 2023.

Two Year Warranty//  Our watches come with a 2-year warranty. In case of a defect during this time period, your watch will be repaired free of charge.

Shipping // We will ship to anywhere in the world, with the exception of the following: Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, French Guiana, Honduras, Mongolia, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Solomon Islands.

Please Note// You will need to provide a residential/office address. We will be unable to deliver to P.O. boxes.

Delivery will be via EMS or Fedex and your tracking number will be sent via inbox message, 2-3 days after the item parcel is shipped. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us directly: info@ovd.com.hk

During our nearly two-week national park safari tour, Chaduu took care of our driving, eating, and safari wildlife guide. A real man, he is a human dictionary who is really familiar with African wildlife and has excellent eyesight and a deep understanding of animals. What impressed us greatly was his professional ability to make safety assessments in the field. He also made us understand more about his peoples’ high regard for nature and made us learn and really recognize more about Tanzania.

OVD Group has created three brands:

OVD – Design for Occult or Space Elements.

UW – Design inspired by marine life.

Okepo – Design inspired by land animals.

The existence of the three brands allows us to create more imaginatively without restrictions, resulting in more unique watch design. Welcome to the OVD Universe.