NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA., Aug. 8, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hugo Reiner is the President of ArmourLite Watch Company.
How did you get started with ArmourLite?
Back in 2008, my good friend Mr. Ashley Diener, the CEO and Founder of ArmourLite Watch Company, mentioned that he was in the research and development phase for a new watch company that would offer the world's first tritium illuminated watches with shatterproof crystal. At the time I was engaging in extreme adventures to satisfy my thirst for the unknown and I didn't have a watch to keep up with my travels. In mid-2009, when the first ArmourLite watches were about to be introduced, Ashley asked me if I would take them out on my next adventure to test the strength and durability. I agreed to the challenge and set out on a wild Alaskan adventure with the goal of "torture testing" the watches. To my surprise, the watches held up to every claim Ashley had made. I rewarded Ashley with some unique photos of me wearing the watches while on adventure. In turn, Ashley asked my permission to use the photos for the company's first marketing campaign. The successful launch of the company alongside my photos and accompanying adventure stories convinced ArmourLite to sponsor several of my future adventures as a Brand Ambassador. I got to know the company and products so well that in 2010 Ashley invited me to formally join the company as Vice President. In 2012, after three years of working closely with the brand, I was asked to step up to the role of President.
How have your adventures influenced ArmourLite?
ArmourLite Watch Company is 100% dedicated to manufacturing the ideal watches for outdoorsmen, military personnel, law enforcement, and the first responder community. In order to achieve this, we need to make sure these watches really do hold up under any conditions. My diverse adventures around the world have provided the company a thorough testing ground for the watches and have led to many new innovations. For example, as an avid diver with extensive deep-water experience, I noticed that brightness was a key factor to consider when using a tritium-illuminated watch underwater in dark environments (i.e.: night dives, inside ship wrecks, under coral ledges). Ashley and I set out to solve this brightness challenge and in 2011 we launched the Isobrite by ArmourLite line of watches. The Isobrite watches were the world's first to offer T100 tritium illumination combined with lightweight polycarbonate case construction. T100 is up to four times brighter than standard T25 tritium illumination. All this combined with a dive-friendly 200m of water resistance instantly made these the ultimate dive watches. I tested them out thoroughly prior to release and the brightness difference underwater was incredible. I no longer had to strain to see the time when focused on these difficult dives in dark environments. Another example is the innovation of the screw bars that are now used on most of the ArmourLite watches. During some of my early adventures with the watches, I realized the vulnerability that standard pins can occasionally experience when it comes to keeping the band or bracelet in place. On one adventure in the Amazon rainforest, I was scaling a ragged rock wall and my watch suffered some rather intense impacts with the rocks. The watch held up perfectly but the band felt like it was ready to pop off. Ashley and I immediately took this experience to heart and developed the screw bars that make it nearly impossible for your band or bracelet to fall off. On later adventurers I found that the screw bars were able to take impacts much better than the standard pins.
Which adventure has been your favorite so far?
There is simply no way to pick a favorite, as all my adventures are so diverse and exciting. For example, I've had the privilege to dive with great white sharks outside of the protection of a cage. I've also spent two months traveling throughout India and Nepal. How can you compare the experience of coming inches away from an apex predator without any kind of barrier to the experience of being in two of the most fascinating countries on the planet? Each adventure has impacted me a in a very different way. In 2011 I had the great privilege to explore the Cerro Rico mountain in Potosi, Bolivia. The historical significance of the mountain and its link to the real life "pirates of the Caribbean" was very special to me. Understanding that a reported ten million people have died in or as a result of the mountain was also extremely difficult to take in. While the great white sharks is high up on my list, I'm still in shock over the experience I had in 2010 when I descended over 1,000 feet below the ocean in a research submarine to explore one of the least understood aspects of our planet.
What is next for ArmourLite?
We are continuing to innovate and introduce new watches several times a year. Moreover, we continue to focus heavily on quality control and customer service. Ashley and I test each and every watch thoroughly before release. Our brand ambassadors are also given the opportunity to do so. We understand that the watch industry is a very competitive business so our goal is to gain the respect and trust of our customers and make them realize they have finally found the watch that can take them anywhere.
About ArmourLite Watch Company
ArmourLite Watch Company revolutionized the watch industry as the first manufacturer to combine shatterproof glass construction with Swiss tritium illumination. In 2011, the company introduced the Isobrite watch line, the first to combine ultra bright T100 tritium with ultra lightweight polycarbonate construction. Designed to meet the demanding needs of law enforcement officers, military personnel, first responders and extreme outdoorsmen, ArmourLite and Isobrite watches provide the ultimate synthesis of accuracy, durability, and ease of use in all lighting conditions. For more information, please visit www.armourlite.com or call 1-888-355-4366.
Where will your watch take you?
Photos accompanying this release are available at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=26982
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=26983
