"A WATCH INDUSTRY GROWS IN BROOKLYN"

WRITTEN BY MICHAEL CLERIZO - ORIGINAL LINK

"BROOKLYN’S INTRIGUING NEW ARTISANAL WATCHMAKERS ARE OFFERING SOLID DESIGNS FOR FAR LESS THAN THEIR SWISS COUNTERPARTS"

"Q: I’VE HEARD THAT BROOKLYN COULD BE THE NEW SWITZERLAND. IS THAT BALONEY, OR ARE THERE WORTHWHILE WATCHES MADE IN THE BOROUGH?

A: HOPPY BEERS, BRINY PICKLES, HAND-DYED HOODIES—BROOKLYN HAS BECOME KNOWN (AND MUCH-PARODIED) FOR ITS SMALL-BATCH ARTISANAL GOODS. AND, RIGHT YOU ARE, WATCHES DO SEEM TO BE THE LATEST QUALITY EXPORT OF NEW YORK CITY’S MOST POPULOUS BOROUGH. CALLING IT THE NEW SWITZERLAND WOULD BE A STRETCH, BUT BROOKLYN NOW COUNTS A SPRINKLING OF INTRIGUING WATCH DESIGNERS AMONG ITS RESIDENTS, MOST OF WHOM OFFER MECHANICAL WATCHES FOR UNDER $2,000, DOWNRIGHT AFFORDABLE COMPARED WITH TYPICAL HIGH-END SWISS TIMEPIECES.

DAVID SOKOSH, WHO LIVES IN THE CLINTON HILL NEIGHBORHOOD, PRACTICED PHOTOGRAPHY AND RAN AN ART GALLERY BEFORE TURNING TO WATCHMAKING. IN 2008, HE WAS ASKED TO TAKE PART IN THE BROOKLYN FLEA BUT GUESSED THAT THE ROVING FLEA MARKET WOULDN’T BE A SUITABLE SHOWCASE FOR HIS FINE ART. INSTEAD, MR. SOKOSH DUSTED OFF THE SKILLS HE HAD ACQUIRED DURING A TWO-YEAR HIATUS FROM COLLEGE WHEN HE WORKED AS A CLOCKMAKER’S APPRENTICE. INITIALLY HE SOLD ONLY VINTAGE CLOCKS. THEN, TO BROADEN HIS OFFERINGS, MR. SOKOSH ENROLLED IN A WATCHMAKING COURSE OFFERED BY THE ART OF HOROLOGY, A NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION, AT THE YMCA IN BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, ANOTHER BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOOD. IN 2009, HE ESTABLISHED BROOKLYN WATCHES, WHICH SPECIALIZES IN CONVERTING VINTAGE SWISS POCKET WATCHES INTO WRISTWATCHES PRICED FROM $950 TO $1,950.

MR. SOKOSH SOURCES AND CLEANS THE MOVEMENTS FOR THESE TICKERS IN THE UPSTATE NEW YORK TOWN OF CLAVERACK. THE CASES ARE MANUFACTURED IN CALIFORNIA, GERMANY OR HONG KONG. THE FINAL WATCHES (WHICH HE NAMES AFTER BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS AND STREETS) ARE ASSEMBLED IN MR. SOKOSH’S APARTMENT IN CLINTON HILL. THE FLEDGLING WATCHMAKER’S BUSINESS GOT A BOOST IN 2011 WHEN IT WAS COVERED BY WORN AND WOUND, A BROOKLYN-BASED WEBSITE FOR WATCH ENTHUSIASTS. ZACH WEISS, THE SITE’S CO-FOUNDER, SAID, “TO BUILD A BRAND YOU HAVE TO BE A REALLY CREATIVE PERSON. YOU HAVE TO BE PASSIONATE, YOU HAVE TO BE ENTREPRENEURIAL. THERE ARE A LOT OF THOSE KINDS OF PEOPLE IN BROOKLYN.”

A SHORT SUBWAY RIDE AWAY IN PARK SLOPE, NEIL CARPENTER, A PENNSYLVANIA-BORN INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER, CREATES HANDSOME PIECES WITH LEATHER STRAPS THAT HOVER IN THE $500-$600 RANGE. HIS WATCH BRAND, CARPENTER, USES STAINLESS STEEL OR BRASS FINISHINGS THAT ACQUIRE THE KIND OF CHARACTER YOU MIGHT FIND IN ONE OF BROOKLYN’S MANY SPEAKEASY-STYLE COCKTAIL BARS. THOUGH MR. CARPENTER DESIGNS HIS HANDSOME, SIMPLE WATCHES IN BROOKLYN, THEY’RE MANUFACTURED IN CHINA USING JAPANESE MOVEMENTS (HE’S INTRODUCING SWISS MOVEMENTS LATER THIS MONTH). IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WATCHMAKER JAMIE BROWN, HE OPENED THE BROOKLYN WATCH SHOP IN THE PROSPECT HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD LAST YEAR. BESIDES SELLING WRISTWATCHES, THE HOMEY STOREFRONT OFFERS SERVICING AND REPAIRS AND, ACCORDING TO MR. CARPENTER, “JUST A CHAT ABOUT WATCHES.”

"THIS PHENOMENON IS AS MUCH AN ONLINE THING AS A BROOKLYN THING."

JOHN TARANTINO LAUNCHED MARTENERO WATCHES IN 2014, AFTER LEAVING A JOB IN FINANCE. COMPONENTS FOR MARTENERO WATCHES ARE PRODUCED IN JAPAN AND CHINA, WHILE FINAL ASSEMBLY AND TESTING HAPPENS IN SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN. WITH MODERN DIALS AND MATTE LEATHER STRAPS, HIS WATCHES SKEW LESS STEREOTYPICALLY RETRO THAN THOSE FROM MANY OTHER BROOKLYN BRANDS. MR. TARANTINO IS NOW IN THE PROCESS OF RAISING MONEY FOR EXPANSION ON THE EQUITY CROWDFUNDING SITE SEEDINVEST.

IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT BROOKLYN BOASTS NO TRUE WATCH MANUFACTURERS. THESE BRANDS ALL IMPORT THEIR MOVEMENTS, WHICH ARE, AFTER ALL, EXTREMELY COMPLEX, TINY MACHINES. SETTING UP AND STAFFING A FACTORY TO PRODUCE THEM LOCALLY WOULD REQUIRE AN INVESTMENT OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THESE BROOKLYN BRANDS, MODELS OF GLOBALIZATION, USE INTERNET-BASED SUPPLY CHAINS TO SOURCE AND ASSEMBLE WATCH PARTS. AND BECAUSE MANY OF THEIR DESIGNS ARE SOLD ONLINE, AS WELL, THE ARRIVAL OF CARPENTER, BROOKLYN WATCHES AND MARTENERO TIMEPIECES ON THE SCENE IS AS MUCH AN ONLINE THING AS A BROOKLYN THING.

STILL, THE BROOKLYN OBSESSION WITH MECHANICAL WATCHES ALIGNS WITH THE BOROUGH’S GENERAL BENT TOWARD ALL THINGS CLASSIC-LOOKING, FROM VINTAGE CLOTHING TO BARN-SALVAGED WOOD. AS DAVID SOKOSH EXPLAINED, “A MECHANICAL WATCH WON’T BECOME OBSOLETE OVERNIGHT. NO OPERATING SYSTEM UPGRADE WILL RENDER IT USELESS.” IN BROOKLYN, EVERYTHING THAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN, AND WHAT’S NEW WILL LAST A LONG TIME."

ORIGINAL LINK