u/Baltic_Builder

A few days ago I shared the first KEEL concept here and honestly didn’t expect this kind of response.

I went through all the comments again — a lot of the feedback genuinely helped shape the direction further.

One thing many of you pointed out was the chalk-style “NB060” marking. Some loved it, others felt it made the dial too niche. I think both sides made sense, so for now I moved it away from the dial. Maybe it comes back one day as a caseback detail or special edition.

Another suggestion that stayed with me was adding a subtle accent color. Instead of yellow, I used a green tone inspired by the fish hold coating from the actual vessel that started this idea. It’s used to help keep live fish calmer during transport. I originally used it only on the seconds hand, but decided to make it slightly more visible this time.

The dial is still the part I want to focus on the most. I want it to feel closer to real blasted steel — raw, imperfect and industrial — while keeping the overall watch clean and balanced.

The changes are small, but the project feels much more alive to me now.

Really appreciate all the feedback so far.

Hey guys,

I love watches, but my day job is building ships.

These photos are from one of the last hulls I supervised here in Poland —
from raw steel plates in the workshop…
to a finished hull, just before it was sent to Norway for final outfitting.

If you look closely at the first photo, you’ll see how hull plates are aligned and joined together.
This is the idea behind the dial.

And the marking “NB060”? In shipyards we literally write build numbers with chalk on steel — that’s where it comes from.

I put together a simple render to show the idea.

It’s still just a concept, but I wanted to share it here.

Would you wear something like this?
Or is it too industrial or niche?

Appreciate any honest feedback.