Background: • U.S. based designer/manufacturer of proprietary consumer watches & commercial instruments that integrate mechanical, electro-mechanical, and digital timekeeping • R&D and IP development in the art of watchmaking and ruggedization / environmental sealing of precision machined structures • Engineering & extremely high-precision machining for prototyping, engineering development, and production R&D • integration of high-pressure multi-stage underwater seals • effect of thermal shock cycling on miniature seals • use of load-path optimization to mitigate high pressures in small structures • sapphire crystal performance and mounting strategies for high-pressure applications Key differentiator: Insistence on internal R&D has profoundly improved both product quality and the corporate valuation. Our dev. cycle generates product specific IP and also ancillary IP of significant value including patentable concepts, white papers, research findings, processes, etc. Doctrine: For everyone working with SēL: Function and performance should be the impetus behind all design decisions. We insist that tradition/convention not be absolute; we should challenge and defy both when necessary. Our “function-first design” has guided every decision as we challenge traditional embodiments to re-conceptualize, reengineer, and bring to market true world-class instruments.