The Prototype D2 from The LTHR Watch Project
Boston used to be a timepiece town. With the Waltham Watch Company revolutionizing the operation for about 100 years until the 1950s, ours was a city synonymous not with telling time, but making time. As the manufacturing process modernized, though, along with consumer expectation, that went away. Waltham is "Watch City" no longer. Most of the younger generation never even knew it was.
A burgeoning watch company called LTHR is trying to change all that. Founders Travis Tyler and Jeremy Szechenyi might not be in Waltham, but they're intent on bringing watchmaking back to Boston and New England.
Currently, LTHR is at the tail end of a Kickstarter campaign toting affordable and unique watches designed in Boston. The leather straps come from the Wickett & Craig tannery in Pennsylvania, and the whole rig is assembled in the duo's Brighton workshop. The most expensive model is still under $200.
A bit of a watch man myself, I met with Jeremy recently to experience the watches firsthand. (I'm wearing the Prototype D2 right now, pictured above, on loan.) From what I've experienced, they're as comfortable and functional as they are nice to look at. The three dials of the D2 take some getting used to, but it's a head-turner, no question. (Jeremy tells me it's popular with both women and men.)
The proportions feel right – gone are the days of dinner-plate-sized watch faces – and the leather of the strap is quite clearly made of superior stuff – very little breaking in required here.
The Kickstarter, though, is just a piece of LTHR's larger ambition. Down the road, the pair plans to offer watches that are closer still to fitting the "Made in Boston" moniker; to wit, they've created a spinoff brand, in collaboration with LTHR, called Foundry Timepieces.
"We’re producing our own case, case back, dial, crown, buckle, and metal keepers for all watches," Jeremy told me of Foundry. "Production will be done by several machine shops, most in the Greater Boston area with the remainder in other US states."
The price point on these will be predictably higher, in the $750-$850 range. The first iteration, called Model 42 71 (which are shortened geographical coordinates for Boston) and pictured below, could be available for general sale as early as the beginning of 2015.
Model 42 71 from Foundry Timepieces
Foundry Timepieces will not run on batteries, Jeremy said, but will feature a spring wound by the movement of your wrist.
The Kickstarter ends this Sunday, Sept. 21, at 8 p.m. For more, check out the video below.
If you're a fan of quality goods sourced from New England and assembled locally, there might be something here for you. If, like me, you'd like to see Boston reestablish itself as an epicenter of hand-built timepieces, this one's a no-brainer.
If you just need a new watch, it's worth a look too.
