Ang Namgel Sherpa and Lakpa Thundu Sherpa who have climbed Mt. Everest for seven and 11 times respectively, will be operating the assembly plant.[break]
Inaugurating the company, Kobold Watch Company founder Michael Kobold said it was a matter of pride that Nepal, a country synonymous with world adventure, now boasts a watch company that embraces adventure in everything it does.
Ang Namgel Sherpa and Lakpa Thundu Sherpa started the company after they received a year-long training at the company´s office in Pittsburgh, USA. Kobold met Namgel and Thunu during his own expedition to Mt. Everest and also scaled the peak together.
All the watches will use the parts of their parent company and will be assembled in Nepal with “Made in Nepal” printing on the dial. Marking the launch of Nepal office, the company also unveiled a new series called Himalaya Everest Edition.
The price of the watch starts from $3,500 and the price of Himalaya Everest Edition is $ 16,500. However, the cost in Nepal will be $ 8,848. The Himalaya Everest Edition, which is limited to 25 watches, features a special dial with a piece of stone collectd near the summit of Mt. Everst.
“Although the prices of the watches are expensive for Nepali market, we are hopeful to get domestic as well as foreign clients,” said Namgel, the co-owner of the company in Nepal.
According to Namgel, the initial investment for the company in Nepal was Rs 2.5 million. “ It will be only two of us who will be assemblying the watches and we plan to add one more staff to our team,” he said. The team of two will be able to assemble one watch in two days.
The Nepal based company is targeting to sell 500 watches in a year.
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