Hey, remember the CST-01, the Kickstarter-funded ultra-thin watch cuff that failed as a business proposition and as a real-world invention? The watch was funded in February 2013, but assembled and working watches never materialized. After announcing plans to liquidate and then going silent for 11 months, the project posted one more update for its backers: insolvency documents that the company filed with the state of Illinois.

Backers put up $99 to $129 per piece to get one of the watches, and the project collected over $1 million. Specifically, $1,026,292, and now the company claims to have $30,000 in assets, which includes $10,000 each in patents, equipment, and “inventory.” That inventory doesn’t consist of finished or mostly-finished watches, though, or they could theoretically just ship those out to backers.

Some news outlets are reporting that the company filed for bankruptcy, but that’s not quite true: the document is an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors, an alternative to the federal bankruptcy courts that’s available in some states, including Illinois. We don’t have a copy of that filing yet, but Slashgear does, and they note that while backers can file claims if they want to, they have to hand over their Social Security number to do so.

If you’re a backer, you can find the filing and instructions for how to file your own claim against what used to be Central Standard Timing LLC. With so many debts and so few assets, it seems unlikely that Kickstarter backers will see any money at all, but that’s up to you.

Kickstarter wants aspiring crowdfunders to remember that the platform is not a store, and the same goes for items funded using other platforms, most notably Indiegogo.

Backers of canceled e-ink watch won’t get their money back [Engadget]
CST-01 Watch officially dead: company files for bankruptcy [Slashgear]

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