Guided by his father ’ s indelible principles of quality and style , Andrew combined his own appreciation and understanding of modern market trends when he was called on to lead the Waldan Company due to his father ’ s failing health in 2017 . Having actively worked with his father at Waldan Intl . since 2013 , Andrew was remarkably young , but very well groomed to take the full control as the CEO of Waldan Watches when his father finally passed away after a full life of 95 years in January 2018 .
Andrew had decided it was time to evolve and add a new branch to the company tree his father had planted and nurtured . During this process he came to the conclusion that he would make the classic Waldan design available to a much wider audience .
Seeing the potential in bringing the classical lines of the Waldan cases to a wider audience made sense , so in a daring departure from the established path he decided to build a more affordable iteration of the classic Waldan design . In another bold move he also decided to eschew the ubiquitous “ Swiss Made ” label and decided to build his watches in the United States .
“ Drawing from our past , present and combining that with my analysis of the market as a modern consumer , I decided to evolve the brand and try a new concept - taking a boutique brand with a reputation for creating luxurious , quality watches and a great brand story out of the high end sector where it struggled to compete and retailoring it for a more value fixed and priced market , without sacrificing the integrity in manufacturing and ensuring that the watch itself is mechanically superior to its competitors and retains the design DNA that it traces its lineage from .
The ethos of what makes a watch a Waldan has always been a “ great watch for the money ” with a soul and historically significant brand history about how it all came to be . My new collection packages all of that up in a modern , well made and accessible watch , made with innovative new all-metal American Made movements in a nod to my father ’ s life and “ American Dream ”. It ’ s with that purpose that I have decided to shift Waldan from being a Swiss watch company to an American watch company and participate in the effort to rebirth the great American Watch Industry and carry out my father ’ s dream of building a watch brand in the U . S . While our new collection has departed from our traditional proclivity to make mechanical watches , this is not permanent as our watches and collections will evolve over time with an ultimate return to producing quality mechanical watches in the coming years , but in different fashion .”
Crafted in steel , the new arm of Waldan ’ s watches embraces a retail price segment under $ 500 , with a goal of expanding the potential reach of his father ’ s design ( s ) by several orders of magnitude . Working with his team , Andrew has now brought a watch to life that cultivates the original design cues of a Waldan ; the font , hands , color palette , fine leather straps , and most critically the iconic curves of the stepped case and lugs . All this using superb quality components with a very accessible retail price of $ 299.99 . A price that almost anyone can afford .
MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK In making watches , the devil really is in the details . It ’ s easy to make a cheap handsome ( or pretty ) watch that won ’ t last until the first
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