FTS
MOVEMENT
Fast forward and the world has changed yet again, which the team
at FTS realized created a singular opening to bring watchmaking back
to the good ole US of A.
“We never questioned that the market was ready for American-
ago when a group of watch industry professionals got together and
decided the time was right to bring watchmaking back to these shores.
Naik, a lanky man who looks younger than his resume would sug-
gest and is always full of energy, started in the industry back in 1995
built movements again,” says Kunal Naik, the company’s CEO. “There when he launched his own distributorship. He later went on to found
is a new generation of watch brands and watch enthusiast that are the Swisstek and Brillier watch brands. Naik brought in Manuel Yazijian
willing to pay more for American quality and craftsmanship. They want as chief technical officer. Yazijian, who sports a neatly trimmed goatee
more from their watch than timekeeping.” and mustache, is the personification of the word “fastidious.” A master
The proliferation of boutique and micro-brand watches has opened
watchmaker with 34 years’ experience, Yazijian is the one who keeps
an entirely new marketplace. It’s arguably where the most innovation the operational wheels turning. He is the composer to Naik’s brass sec-
and creativity flourishes in the watch world today. tion. They make a dynamic team.
“We love working with small brands,” Naik said. “We want to be Gary Girdvainis, director of sales; Chief Engineer Jacob Ornelas
a full-service partner and have helped brands in the entire production and Kent, Despain CFO round out the team. All three bring extensive
process.” business, marketing and watch experience to the organization.
That being said, Naik is quick to point out they are also courting
and being courted by big players in the watch industry.
It’s not just about novelty though. FTS is fanatical about quality.
Yes, even quartz quality.
Let’s wind the clock back a bit before we get into all those details.
The journey to bring FTS to reality began about three and a half years
40 | AboutTime Magazine
The day-to-day is run by Naik and Yazijian. If Naik told jokes or
made funny faces, you could make a comparison to Martin and Lewis.
Naik is the marketer who is always there with ideas for how to grow the
business. Yazijian is the “straight man” who built and manages a world-
class clean room and has upended many of the traditional methods
of watch movement manufacturing and thrown out many of the rules.