We had a chance to sit down with Ted Brown of  Berkbinder & Brown to talk about his Tool Watch.  So far, we covered the beginning of the Tool Watch, Mr. Brown’s “watch cred”, choice of movement, and the case design, and some other “miscellaneous” items.  Today we’ll conclude our interview.

Earlier, you said you’ve always liked watches.  Do you remember what the first watch you owned was?

For high school graduation, my dad bought me a Rado with a sapphire crystal and an automatic movement.  Back then, it seemed like it was huge.  Of course, now, it looks like a woman’s watch, given modern sizing trends.

Surprisingly, the case and the crystal are in perfect condition.  I never wear it anymore, but it’s an amazing watch.
And as a kid?  I wore it everywhere, did everything with it.  I’ve never even had it serviced.  Of course, I haven’t worn it for 20 years.  But when I was wearing it, for probably about 15 years, it just ran and ran and ran.

When we walked through your process, we saw a water resistance tester.  Since this is marketed as a rugged sort of a watch, have you done any sort of “stress” testing of it?

I have not.  I gave my son a prototype, and he’s pretty destructive with things.  And I wore it for a year, and didn’t have any issues
Of course, one of the guys who bought my watch via Kickstarter is a Navy Seal, another guy is a firefighter.  Yet another person in Italy, he’s like Mr. Adventure.  So, some of those initial customers are the testers.

Are there any other brands, or styles, that you find yourself drawn to, or appreciate?

You know, the first watch I bought for myself was a Breitling.  And I remember it was huge, it was a monster watch on my wrist.  Of course, looking at it today, it’s a small watch.  I’ve always liked Breitling, but I don’t know that it would be at the top of my list.  Panerai has a really nice heritage and distinctive look, and in terms of looks, the A. Lange watches are just extraordinary in terms of what they do and how they do it.

If you were to give advice to someone who was starting out making their own watch, what advice would you offer?

You have to make something different – you can’t be just like everyone else.  But being different isn’t enough – it has to be of value.  For my watch, being made in the USA, the Great Plains – Midwestern ethos, unique design and materials, that’s what I offer.  And, in the end, I like the watch.  I figure there are enough people like me who will like it, and that’s what drives the project.

You know, when I was looking for a watch, there were watches I liked, but I couldn’t bring myself to invest what I needed to.  Funnily enough, it would’ve been less expensive to buy one of those watches, compared to the journey I’ve taken.  But it wouldn’t have been as much fun or as rewarding.

I also looked for the way to market the watch where it wasn’t lost in the noise of the market.  The best fit to date has been high-end outdoor outfitters.  The retailer gets the watch, and their customers get the watch.

What’s been the most rewarding thing for you in creating this watch?

People emailing me back saying “Wow – I love the watch.  It’s better than I expected.”  Also, seeing the watch improve as things have progressed.

Finally, to wrap things up, what do you like to do in your “spare” time?

I vaguely remember having some of that…  I like to get out snow skiing.  Summertime has me on the water, and of course I like travel.  A lot of times I get involved in smaller projects as well – creating lighting, furniture, things like that.  Even during downtime, my mind is a shop that’s always open.

finis

And that brings to a close our interview with Ted Brown, of Berkbinder & Brown.  We talked a lot about the Tool Watch in these interview posts, and there will be a full review on that coming up.  Of course, if you can’t wait, you can start perusing the options here.

We had a chance to sit down with Ted Brown of  Berkbinder & Brown to talk about his Tool Watch.  So far, we covered the beginning of the Tool Watch, Mr. Brown’s “watch cred”, choice of movement, and the case design.  In today’s installment, cover a few more areas, and start to wrap things up.

Going back to the Kickstarter process, and some of the posts that you had written – it seemed like you had quite a learning curve with the assembly process.  Has that gotten easier for you now?

The process has gotten easier for me.  Not being a watch maker, all those fine motor movements (putting the case tube in, the crown, setting the case clamps, etc) – it’s something that you just have to develop a proficiency for.

In terms of time, I really didn’t contemplate having to do that much polishing and hand finishing.  There are more handling marks, etc, on the cases now that it’s in more of a production mode.  Originally there weren’t going to be any graphics on the back of the case, but somebody brought that up.  I explored that, and found a supplier to do the laser engraving, so that’s another process that has to be cleaned after as well.  All told, it’s a little over three hours per watch, right now, to assemble.

So, you’re the only person doing the assembly now?

Correct.  I did have someone helping me out, but it wasn’t just to my expectations.  I found it easier, and had more control, doing it myself. Eventually, I will hire someone to help assemble the watches.

Have you gotten traction simply by being an American brand?

I have.  Sure, the movement is Swiss, as are things like the crown tube.  But the dials are made here, as are the cases.  And of course the assembly is done here.  Compared to the turn of the century, when there were 197 American watch manufacturers, there are very few today.

While researching your watch, I came across a thread on the WatchUSeek forums, looking for feedback early on in your process.  Did that inform any of your decisions?

Actually, no.  It’s really interesting.  Kickstarter had launched, and I was soliciting feedback on WUS.  Of course, watch people have strong opinions.  They like what they like, and they don’t like what they don’t like – but you don’t need everybody to like your watch.

Everyone was very polite with the feedback.  There wasn’t a huge amount of feedback, but those who liked it really liked it.  And frankly, you don’t need to sell a watch to all of those people.  In the end, I’m not looking to sell 10,000 watches;  250-500 watches per year is my goal.

For those of you just joining in, we had a chance to sit down with Ted Brown of  Berkbinder & Brown to talk about his Tool Watch.  Yesterday, we covered the beginning of the Tool Watch, Mr. Brown’s “watch cred”, and choice of movement.  In today’s installment, we’ll dig into the case design a bit more.

Stainless steel is a common material for watch cases, though we are starting to see more bronze options in the market.  How/why did you settle on bronze as a material?

Probably the biggest reason is that it’s different.  Generally, if you want a yellow color, you’ll get gold – but at the price point the Tool Watch is at, you end up with gold plating.  So, with bronze you have a more affordable yellow-colored material that develops a patina, and it fits the idea of the brand being “rugged, functional beauty”.  It also gives the watch case more of a heritage feel, and helped the watch to be different enough for it to stand out and grab some attention

Speaking of the patina – how long does it take to develop the patina?

That’s a really interesting question.  I base the answer on my experiences wearing it – and it took quite a while.  On my watch, I’ve got these buffing rags that I use.  It allows the patina to develop, but it still gives it a nice luster. Of course, other people have different skin chemistry, and can cause the patina to develop more quickly. (Author note:  on the review sample we were loaned, I saw a patina developing in the first week – but that could just be me) (and yes, there will be a full review!)

I tried several different alloys, as I don’t want to turn someone’s hand green.  I also had to consider things like how fast will the patina develop, and how dark will that patina be.  Finally, I arrived at the 954 alloy.  There is another alloy, the 510 – it looks beautiful (more coppery), I just haven’t had a chance to wear it yet.  With that one, it has such a high copper content, though, I’m afraid it will turn your hand green.

While we’re discussing the case, there are not many watches on the market that have a lugless design.  How did you arrive at that choice?

Part of it was the fact that I’m making it myself.  I also thought about what sort of machines were used at the turn of the century.  Answer:  It was mostly lathes, not mills.  So, thinking about the tools that were available, what resources I had, and what looked  eye-catching, we had that design element.

Also, if you had lugs on a 46mm case, it would make for a watch that would wear quite large, whereas this one wears smaller, but allows for things like the larger, easy-to-read dial.

Do you plan to offer a smaller sized watch, something more adapted to a woman’s wrist?  Any other ideas?

I am toying with some ideas.  Perhaps not specifically a woman’s watch, but something that’s maybe 38, 39mm in diameter, and a few millimeters thinner.  This is primarily due to the fact that there’s a segment of people that really like the watch, but just feel it’s too large to fit under a shirt cuff. Interestingly, though, I’ve got three daughters (two sons as well) – and all three of them have been bugging me for watches.  They wear theirs on stingray straps, and they pull it off well.

I’ve also had feedback that there’s demand for a chronograph.  But if you look at something like a Valjoux 7750, that movement is something like $800.  So, that will be another part of my Basel trip, to see what chronograph movement options there are at a reasonable pricepoint.

We just touched base on the straps, and I saw on your website that you have quite a few options.  Are those something you’re making yourself?

No.  Originally, I had a padded calfskin strap in mind, but I’m always looking for new straps.  So I found some straps made by Rhein Fils in Switzerland.  They’re nice, heavy straps, and have outstanding workmanship.  For the Kickstarter order, they could opt for the padded calfskin (in black or brown), or they can go with one of the Rhein Fils straps.  On mine, I actually have a deployant clasp, which is an available option.  (Note:  all the available strap options can be seen here.)

And that will wrap things up for today’s installment.  Tomorrow, we’ll cover some “miscellaneous” items in our interview with Mr. Brown.

Recently, I had a chance to tour the assembly facility for Berkbinder & Brown, and sit down with the man behind the Tool Watch, Mr. Ted Brown.  For those not familiar with the Tool Watch, it’s one of the newest American-designed and -made watches that got it’s start via Kickstarter.  Read on, and see what we talked about.

Let’s start where your watch started – Kickstarter.  How did that experience go for you?  

The short answer is that I was very surprised with how it went.  I made a couple watches by hand, and I thought it would nice to make more.  Adding to that, friends were asking me for a watch – but I was thinking that if I did make it, they couldn’t afford it even if I charged a minimal amount for labor – it just took so much time.  I felt if I could make 10 or 20, then it would be worthwhile to have a tool company to run some cases.  So, the Kickstarter project began, and things took off.  I ended up selling about 84 watches, which way exceeded my expectations.

As you mentioned, you built the very first watch on your own.  Have you always been a “watch guy”?

You know, I’ve always loved watches.  This process really started about three years ago, when I was looking for a watch.  From what I found, I couldn’t bring myself to pay the prices being asked for what I wanted.  At the same time I was searching, I had a friend that would go to China and bring me back watches.  One day he asked why I didn’t wear what he brought me, and I told him it was because they didn’t work!

The bands would fall off, it would stop running, parts would fall off.  So I decided to open one up and see what made it work.  When I saw the internals, I thought “There’s really not that much in these cases – I bet I could make one.”  I’ll admit, it was more difficult than I first thought it would be.  To get just one case made, that is was really expensive.

I’ve always been pretty creative, and had done a lot of jewelry and metal casting.  So, for the prototype case, I had a wax model made, and then had that investment casted in bronze.  There was a lot of expansion and contraction, so tolerances were way off.
I then machined it to tolerance, and that was my first watch case.

What came next?

I’ve always been pretty resourceful – the joke is that “my mind is a shop that’s always open” –  so I just kind of figured out how to do the other items.  There’s a watchmaker uptown, so I’d go in and talk to him and work through things as well.  In the end, it was getting the drawings for the ETA movement, and then figuring out what needed to be done to get it to fit into the case.

How did you decide on the ETA 2824, rather than, say, a Miyota or even a quartz movement?

The ETA movement is a very strong movement, and many people know what it is.  Additionally, it’s in a lot of watches – and quite a few watches that are more expensive than the Tool Watch.  I thought it would be a nice feature to have in the watch – having a known, quality, workhorse movement that is available and widely serviceable.

Following that up, how does the Swatch Group decision to keep the movements “in brand” affect you?

It’s a bit up in the air, as to what’s going to happen with supply and pricing.  I’ll be headed to BaselWorld, to establish some connections and see what options are out there for movements and crowns, that sort of thing.  I may change to, say, Ronda, but I’d really like to stay with ETA movements – perhaps even the 6497.  One benefit of investigating other movements is that it could also help establish a lower price point for the Tool Watch.  (As a point of reference, the ETA movements have doubled in price over the last two years).

That concludes part one of the interview.  In the next installment, we’ll talk with Ted about the case design.

The proprietor of Gnomon Watches, a Singapore based on-line watch dealer, Anders Tan wasn’t happy just selling watches, so he took the next step and started making them. Dievas Watches got off to a slow start with the now discontinued Mesopelagic line, and the Endurance and Noble lines which are still in production. The designs were conventional, but they used tritium tube illumination and looked like fairly robust dive watches.

Then he released the Oceantimer series. This was a little more dramatic and distinctive, and was worth a second look. The Vintage series came out as an homage to a certain Italian military dive watch from the 1930s, but in a price range mere mortals can afford. Then the Divergraph series hit the street, and I just had to talk with this guy.

After getting bachelor’s degrees in Computer Engineering and Business in England, he went into the watch business. He’s very humble about his position in the market, giving credit to the watchmakers, distributors, and regular customers, and is grateful for their guidance and everything they’ve taught him. Anders was quick to acknowledge the contributions to his watch designs from his friends and customers.

When asked about the inspirations for his designs, Anders said, “I love watches. And appreciate all things watches. From Vintage to contemporary watches. I have my fair share of vintage and military watches that I managed to gather throughout the years. And a lot of my inspirations comes from there.” The military look, both contemporary in the Divergraph series, and classic in the Vintage series shines through in his newest lines. He went on to say, “And most of my designs so far has been focusing on simplicity and usability with a splash of colors.” And the use of orange and blue tritium tubes in the Divergraphs, and the hands on the Vintage Kampfschimmer is subtle and tasteful, achieving this goal.

Anders is a great guy, well educated, and well travelled, with diverse interests including motorsports, travel, and watches. More than this, he’s gone out and achieved his vision, running his own business and creating some handsome watches. He’s a great example of the small business entrepreneur who wants to stay small, and who wants to “have one to one interaction with every customer so as to give them 100% satisfaction.” In a market dominated by corporations who have twenty or more brand names in their stable, a down-to-earth, little guy with a great vision is a refreshing change. Ander says that the name Dievas “means superior. And it sounds like diverse. And it sounds like divers. And that is my vision.”

It’s great to see new blood in watch world, and I’m really looking forward to his next series of designs.

And for his products, go to Gnomon Watches or Long Island Watch Company.

Sven van der Zande of Buscum Ducis is young entrepreneur in the best way. Taking risk, while putting forth a product and business built on idealism and the customer. Although he denies the idealism, his focus on the customer sends another message in a time when companies buy up old names for marketing purposes.

At 21, he’s been in business for a few years already, but chose to start his own watch company. He says, “I like designing and brainstorming in my spare time and I have always thought that there are only very few companies in the world that really concentrate on one concept, that is what I am going to do, I am going to design a watch with input from my customers to make this watch as perfect as it can be, with a lot of personal customer service. Which means that both buying the watch and the service afterwards is as personal as it gets. All for lower prices then your average watch with those specifications.”

Although not a watchmaker as such, he is a designer and “just felt like (he) had to make a watch which was affordable yet stylish with some of the high-end features that some of the big houses have.” Sven chose to start with Ronda quartz movements for a few reasons. Again, quoting him, “The movement is affordable, reliable and easily repairable should need be there.” The “easily repairable” jumped out at me as something a lot of people wouldn’t consider at first. This is a good thing though, suggesting that he’s put more thought into his watches than a fashion watch company would. He went on to say, “There will be automatic movements in the future, I haven’t decided yet, I just thought that this [the Ronda] was a nice way to start because it’s a movement of reliable quality.”
His business philosophy is “Treat your customers fairly and they will treat you fairly” and to use direct marketing to reduce costs to the customer. His website is what he aimed for, “like the watch. Easily readable, simple and rememberable.”

When asked what kind of watch he was wearing, he said, “no big-house watch actually (a TW Steel: “Which is sturdy as hell and always runs on time” and a La martina watch …, though I am saving for a Panerai, I just love the simplicity.” The TW Steel and Panerai style show up in his design, and his taste for big, simple watches. And as the eyesight fades with age, I’m developing an appreciation for this style.

I’m looking forward to seeing his work come to fruition. Although I usually go for a smaller watch, the simplicity of his design has a lot going for it. It is easy for a dial to get too busy, and Sven didn’t fall into this trap. Good luck Sven, and we’re looking forward to more of your designs!

Go to Christopher Ward Watches, and see the work of a visionary. Chris Ward is an entrepreneur who returned to the watch industry, and has made a bit of a splash. His goal is to make “the cheapest most expensive watch in the world” at “the biggest ‘smallest’ watch company”.

He uses first rate Swiss movements, currently ETA 2824 automatic, ISA quartz, and Ronda quartz movements (but Valjoux may be on the horizon). Style and substance go together when these bits of quality mechanism are put inside tasteful cases with restrained dials and hands. The basic watches, in his Russell and Malvern lines are relativel small by modern standards at 38 mm, but some of the other chronographs and his dive watches are a little more typical at 42mm. The styling of the chronographs was also a pleasant surprise as it was not the customary Rolex, or Breitling homage, but a distinct designs that took a few risks without getting as gaudy as the fashion watches. The Russell line stands out as distinctive and classic, and one of the other lines was inspired by early IWC aviators’ watches, but still look good. The attention to detail comes through in the photos, and they certainly look like $500 to $1000 (U.S.) watches, but the collection averages about half that.

The prices seem low, and this sounded too good to be true. But Chris’ business model is everything, and provides the context to make sense out of something that seemed unlikely. I have never heard of anyone trimming costs as efficiently without sacrificing standards. The first thing to go was a physical store front. No showroom to stock and staff. He accepts a fairly slim margin, but that wasn’t that radical. Next is marketing. His model is the closest to pure word of mouth I’ve heard of. This is the big one. A web site, and … happy customers. He must be doing something right, as he continues to make plans for new models over the next few years.

Given the business model, it has been easy for some bloggers to make what I feel is an unfair comparison to Invicta. I say unfair, because Chris uses only Swiss movements, only does direct retail, doesn’t have a suggested retail price, and has much more reasonable actual retail prices. I asked him about this, and he said “I’m not going to knock Invicta….I think perhaps when they compare us to Invicta they do so on a price level only…and as we are direct to the consumer at a similar price point and they have more margins and middlemen to squeeze in then inevitably they are going to be a lower quality product..or so sense would say…however they do have more volume than us so perhaps they can and do offer a similar quality product as us …but I doubt it some how….the movement as you know is pretty important to customers, for others its about look or particular brand.”

In an earlier interview, Chris mentioned a design team in Tibet. This intrigued me, but I was actually a little disappointed when he said “That one was rather tongue in cheek….I was referring to hand painted dials …currently we have nothing on the cards but we do have contacts both in Tibet and China that can do specialised hand painting of dials”.
On the other hand, this opens the doors for some interesting directions in the styling of these watches.

I look at his watches, and I see a good variety of tasteful dress watchs and robust looking dive watchs and chronographs. The prices are surprisingly affordable, but the movements are excellent. I haven’t handled one yet, but I’m thinking that a C1 Russell, a C5 Malvern Automatic, or C5 Aviator Limited Edition might make a nice step up from my usual knockabouts.

Just talked to Yizhi at WatchLuxus.com, our latest advertiser and a man with a mission. We did a quick Q&A over email and here’s what I got.

Me: Tell me about WatchLuxus.com
Yizhi: Watchluxus.com is designed to become the ultimate destination for people interested in anything connected with the quality watch market.
The website offers a complete on-line catalogue of every high-value wristwatch collection, world-wide, to support everyone – from people buying a gift, to an expert looking for a collector’s item. The site also features a watch-finder, market-place for secondhand watches, watch forum and news blog.

Me: Hey, we’re a news blog too! But that’s OK. Now you mentioned something about helping in the purchase process?

Y: Anyone familiar with the typical purchase cycle will know that there are a number of stages involved when people are looking to buy an item. At its very simplistic, these stages are:
1) an awareness that there is a problem to solve or a need to satisfy
2) a search for how to solve this problem or satisfy the need
3) an evaluation of the possible solutions/ items
4) a decision on what is to be purchased
5) the actual purchase
6) post-purchase reflection.
Increasingly, people are using the web to undertake part or all of this buying process. Watchluxus.com seeks to assist a buyer throughout the purchase cycle. Sponsorship advertising seeks to raise awareness of a possible need or desire. Our database of more than 18,000 watches (to be increased to 30,000 by December) assists with the search, evaluation and decision phases.
Once a watch has been selected, visitors will be guided to a list of world-wide retailers where the item can be purchased. Watchluxus is aware of the problem of counterfeit timepieces and assists people to find a certified retailer. Post-purchase, people will be encouraged to re-visit the site to give feedback on their new bounty and start planning their next buy! Throughout, interaction with other visitors should assist the buying process and reassure an (often expensive) purchase decision.

Me: Who should be going to WatchLuxus.com?
Y: Watchluxus is designed to appeal to everyone interested in purchasing a luxury item and/or interested in the watch market.
- People at every stage of the decision process
People may have a budget but no idea of the item with which they wish to use their money – in which case visiting watchluxus.com hopes to persuade people towards the luxury watch market. Or, people may have a budget and have decided to buy a watch – in which case watchluxus.com helps people decide on the exact watch. Finally, people may have a budget, know that they want a watch and have an idea of the type of watch – in which case watchluxus.com offers reassurance with the purchase decision and assists people with finding a retailer.

Me: You had some very cool stratifications when it comes to watch buyers. Who are these madmen?
Y: First you have the Careful indulgers
People who are unlikely to make an impulse purchase but prefer a more practical & reasoned approach to an expensive purchase. These people enjoy the research stage of buying and use the internet to help with this stage. These people tend to be more educated, in a 2-person household and aged 35 to 55 years. Watchluxus.com is the ideal website to support these ‘careful indulgers’ with their purchase.
- Materially rich, but time poor
High income households with little time have the opportunity to review the entire luxury watch category from a single website in a hassle-free, pleasurable manner. Whereas previously, these people would have visited a couple of shops and browsed a couple of watch brand websites, on visiting watchluxus.com, the whole market is at their disposal to review.
- Self-expressive, aspirational shopper
Many purchases are as a means of self-expression; to reaffirm personal identity and declare it to others. Watchluxus.com offers a ‘Virtual Watchbox’ which enables visitors to select their ideal watch with a view to purchasing the same at a later time. The watchluxus.com forum and news also seek to assist these users with the reassurance they need to identify their favourite brand and complete a purchase.
- Watch Aficionados
The size of the watchluxus.com database, together with the forums, blog and marketplace will attract watch fanatics and build a ‘watchluxus community’. Such a community will not only reassure other visitors but also help share news about watch brands (e.g. collectors items/ sale prices/ new releases/ events); give feedback on new collections and gain information about new trends and desires.
Watchluxus.com’s audience will be further diversified by its international reach, by the end of the year it will be available in French and German languages.

Me: I want to be a Careful Indulger. Or maybe Materially rich, but time poor. So what’s the bottom line?
Y: Watchluxus.com is designed to be intuitive, easy to use and quick. There is no time wasted with heavy graphics and pictures (since watchluxus.com is not building its own brand image). As a result, the website is ideal for goal-orientated people (who really are looking for something) who might otherwise be frustrated with imagery designed to build a brand image.

To be clear: people actually looking to make a purchase are more likely to use watchluxus.com than a site more focused on brand building. Such people will spend time on watchluxus.com; currently the average time spent on the site is 5 minutes; we expect this to steadily increase.

Me: Nice. I can barely spend 5 seconds on most watch sites, but the design is great. Good talking to you.
Y: Thank you.

Riedenschild is a small German watch company just starting out here in the U.S. Most famous for their Darksea Diver, the company is now increasing its presence and is offering quartz and automatics with Swiss and Japanese movements. We talked to U.S. rep James Newell about the company.

Want to talk back? Check out our official Reidenschild forum.

WWR: Tell me about the company? Who runs it? Where is it based?

Newell: The company is german based company from Munich. We design and produce the watches there. The company in Germany in Owned by Oliver Wolf. I am the Owner of the US based operations. My full name is Dr. James Newell.

WWR: How long has the company been making watches? Are they put together in Munich? Were are the parts sourced?

Newell: Our movement are either Swiss or Japanese we import the movements and the cases and assemble them in Fuchsstadt or Munich. The bands are handmade from Germany. We have been in the business for over 50 years. Eichmuller is the mother company

So tell me about your year? What were some highlights? And what are you looking forward to in 2007?

Newell: 2007 is a year of expansion. We have NY and working on Dubai. Moskua will be up and running in May. We are bringing out new models that will be first presented at the Inhorgenta. Along with a higher priced model. Our Thunderbird line up will be mainly for the Internet business and has a high note that a couple of the models have a Patent. Along with a selective dealer structure we are expanding into the US market and establishing Storefront and respectable online dealers. We will be issueing our AUTHORIZED DEALERS a exclusive logo that will assist the buyers that they are buying from a dealer who meets our standards.

WWR: What’s your background? How did you get involved?

Newell: I am actually a Criminilogy major and was a soldier for many years. I got stuck in Germany in the late 90′s and stayed here ever since. Married, 3 kids and learned the Language. I have been into business building for many years as a Sales and Marketing consultant to many German companies. This lead me to the owner who is also a family friend. He asked me to translate his sites to english. Then i saw alot of potential and decided to jump on board and launch the International Business.

WWR: Which is your favorite piece? Which is your favorite non-Reidenschild watch?

Newell: Must say the Darksea diver is my favorite and then it would be my good old Special Agent model from Swatch

WWR: Who is the ultimate Reidenschild customer? What are they looking for?

Newell: Middle class, mid management. They are the target group as they are also the group that have three topics by business meetings Cars, Women and the watch that they wear. Our designs are not the everyday normal design. Every model tells a story and that is what our target group loves to do.

WWR: Which model would you suggest to someone starting out with the brand?

Newell: Darksea Diver. Great price for the workmanship. Real show stopper and anyone who holds this in there hands will appreicate the feel and the balance.

WWR: Where can people see them in the US?

Newell: Currently on our website or shortly by Amazon. Along with a few online dealers that will be up and running soon. We will also be planning a visit to NY show and Las Vegas.

WWR: Describe Reidenschild to someone who has never heard from the brand? What should our readers take away from this?

Newell: Riedenschild is a unique brand that any watch enthuziast will enjoy. Once in the hand the appreciation starts with the design and the workmanship in the attention to detail. Then delivered with top packaging. Its Class with an affordable price. We take great pride in the fact that all of our models are hand assembled and our doors are always open for review. We invite every customer who is interested to visit and attend the building of thier watch. We share are passion in the creation of Time.

My buddy Amit lives in Nigeria now and just bought a Vulcain Cricket GMT to celebrate a new job. He wrote a bit about his experience and it was quite moving.

I tell you what, buying the Vulcain was a real
extravagance but I didn’t do it on a whim. I’ve always known that I would
buy a nice watch at some point and when I saw the thing in a shop window I
knew that would be the one. I then made an agreement with Claire that I
would only buy it if/when I got my next job. So that watch waited for me
in that shop window for five months. In fact, although we then bought the
watch when my new job had been agreed in principle, I didn’t wear it until
the paperwork had been completed and that took another three months!! I
had my wife hide it in the house and then had to try and forget about it.
It was agony!!

People at our stage in life, with burgeoning
responsibilities/whatever/blah blah/ do need to be prudent about when and
how we spend money. But a nice watch does bring immeasurable pleasure to
someone who appreciates these things. So my advice is; give yourself a
meaningful goal, find a watch that grabs you by the balls, and then buy it
when you’ve reached your goal even if it takes a few years. And buy it
from a shop, not online, so you know for a fact that its legitimate and it
becomes a real occasion; And you can walk out with the thing on your wrist
or at least carry it out in its box. Better yet, go to Switzerland and buy
it there. Well, I say that but I don’t know what taxes are like there. So,
go to Dubai and buy it there….

And once you’ve bought it, wear it all the goddamned time. Apart from
working out and showering, I basically wear mine all the time (yes, even
here in Nigeria). One thing that was key for me was buying one that I
loved regardless of how much cachet the brand has; I knew damn well when I
bought it that most people have never heard of Vulcain. I didn’t know much
about the company myself and only started to research them after I saw the
watch and it had already grabbed my nuts. To be honest, the thing is a
little fast; I’ve noticed that it gains a minute or two after a couple of
months but it doesn’t bother me in the least.