INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis-based watchmaker Fleddermann von Rieste is launching the first officially licensed Purdue University watch, the Hanoverian Boilermaker Special Edition.
The collection, hand-assembled in Kokomo, will include 150 pieces of each model during its first run.
Adam Fleddermann, founder of Fleddermann von Rieste, tells News 8 that his family’s deep roots in the Hoosier State influenced many of the details, especially on the back of the watch case.
“My father’s ancestors came to Indiana in 1840 through Cincinnati, and my mother’s family has been here since the 1820s. They came up from Columbus into northern Ohio and into northern Indiana,” he explained.
Other main details about the watches all come from Purdue itself:
- Hour marker shaped like the cowcatcher of a steam locomotive, nodding to the Boilermaker Special.
- Second hand modeled after Purdue Pete’s sledgehammer.
- A Purdue Motion P on the watch face and case.
Fleddermann refers to all the details as “Easter eggs.”
“We worked with friends, family, Purdue alums, current Purdue students that we know, even some former athletes to come up with the design,” Fleddermann said. “We worked with so many generations of Boilermakers that we know to come up with something that tied in Purdue’s heritage.”
To learn more about the watch design and how you might find one for yourself, visit their website and watch the interview above.
(Provided Photo/Fleddermann von Rieste)
(WISH Photo)
