Aera Help Centre

Sadly not, at least, not in that way. The jewels are vital to the smooth running of a movement; they are the durable, friction-reducing bearings in which the pinions and other parts of a watch movement rotate. They are universally man-made because they are more consistent in quality and performance. 

316L stainless steel - also known as surgical steel - is used for the overwhelming majority of modern wristwatches. 904L Stainless steel - from which Aera watches are made - is known as a superalloy. 904L has more nickel, chromium, molybdenum and copper which makes it more expensive and harder to process. However it is more resistant to corrosion and pitting, which means a longer life for the case and a more durable finish, which is why it is used in the aerospace and chemical industries. Increased chromium content also gives the brushed surface a deeper, more lasting lustre whether polished or brushed. Yet it is still surprisingly rare in watchmaking. So it is for both practical and aesthetic reasons we decided to go the extra mile. 

‘Water resistant’ is the term used by an overwhelming majority of Swiss made brands since the 1960s, when the term waterproof was deemed illegal by the Federal Trade Commission in the USA. A watch is sealed with gaskets and may be subject to a wide variety of temperatures and humidity in daily use, which may affect its resistance to water pressure. 

The depth rating printed on the dial and caseback of your watch represents the degree of water pressure (expressed in metres below sea level) to which the watch, in normal conditions, will perform without problem. They are the water depth to which the watch has been rated. Both Aera watches are built to easily withstand short-term submersion in water including swimming and snorkelling. The Diver, however, is rated to 300m (or 30 bar) which means it offers greater resistance to water pressure and will function in normal conditions for swimming, snorkelling and scuba diving. 

All Aera watches have anti-reflective coating on both sides of the crystal sapphire glass to reduce glare and increase legibility. 

Swiss Made is a term established by the Swiss government (updated in 2017) to ensure quality standards for watches made in Switzerland. It defines a watch as Swiss made if at least 60% of the watch’s construction value is Swiss, and moreover, that the watch must be assembled, closed and quality-tested in Switzerland. All Aera watches conform to this Swiss industry standard, exceeding the 60% minimum.

Currently, our P-1 Pilot and D-1 Diver use the Swiss made Sellita SW200-1 Automatic movement. 

The P-1 Pilot measures 43mm in diameter, 15.5mm in thickness, 22mm between the lugs (the strap size) and 49.4mm lug to lug (the distance across the face of the watch from the end of one lug to the end of the corresponding lug on the other side). The D-1 Diver is 44mm, meanwhile, in diameter, 16mm in thickness with 22mm lug width and 49.8mm lug to lug. The Diver has a thicker construction defined by its 300m depth rating. 

Without the strap, the P-1 Pilot weighs 84 grammes while the D-1 Diver weighs 94.5 grammes. 

For the P-1 Pilot, your watch comes with a black calf leather strap and a second of your choice from the available range at checkout. The D-1 Diver comes with a black natural rubber strap and a second strap of your choice from the range at checkout. 

We don’t artificially limit our main collection watches in terms of numbers, rather we produce in batches limited by the production limitations of our factory. The first production run is represented by serial numbers (1-300) of each of the Pilot and Diver. A second edition (301-600) will follow in 2022. From 2022 we will also begin to introduce special variants. 

We recommend keeping your principal packaging. Most watch collectors tend to hang on to all the packaging because it helps to maintain the value of the watch for resale and also because they think of it as a long term investment that is more intact if the box and papers are kept together. However, mindful of some customers wishes, we have, from the outset, planned to make all our packaging with minimal waste and made it 100% recyclable. Also, much of it is also recycled already. We will also offer as an option a lower-impact packaging as a choice for you on check out. More details to be released soon. 

We recommend getting your watch serviced every three to five years of usual wear to ensure the water-tightness of gaskets and seals as well as other functions of the movement. If your watch spends a lot of time underwater, however, we recommend service every 3 years.  

We have fully qualified watchmaking partners situated in the UK and US at the moment, with more regions to be added later in 2021. Should your watch need servicing or repair, we will send it to the nearest watchmaker to you in order to maximise the speed of service.

It means that this watch is still under construction at our factory in Switzerland. The ‘pre-order’ is the period in which you can advance order it. We will not announce a pre-order date until we have a firm delivery date. 

Of course. We do hope you will love your Aera watch, but we will accept returns with a mailing date not more than 30 days after you receive it. As long as the watch and packaging is returned to us in undamaged condition, we will issue a refund within 14 working days. You will be issued with a case number and a dedicated returns email address so you can monitor the return. 

Your watch comes with Aera’s universal three-year warranty. Within that time frame, you can return it to Aera, where we will give it a full appraisal. If the watch is deemed faulty, not because of mistreatment, we will repair the watch, including visual inspection, case cleaning, performance and functional tests, and a 7-day timekeeping test. Outside the warranty period, or if the watch is judged to have suffered damage through mistreatment, we will be happy to provide an optional repair quote to you. 

If your watch strap is faulty, or is returned unworn, within 14 days of delivery, we will send you a full refund. You will be issued with a case number and a dedicated returns email address so you can monitor the return.

Aera is selling directly to our customers through our own website. We do not currently have brick and mortar premises, but we do plan to do so in the near future. If you sign up for our newsletter you will receive advance notice of developments. 

We have a fixed two-year warranty on all our watches, effective from the shipping date. If you register your watch we extend it to three-years in total.

We do not currently offer interest free credit. 

We will accept card payments (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Paypal) but we will be expanding our payment methods nearer to the time of pre-orders.

Email us at hello@aera.co and we will work to answer your questions within 48 hours. 

Yes, our prices include duties, shipping and VAT to the US, U.K. and Europe.