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AMERICAN BRANDS
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AMERICAN BRANDS
By Loren Sciurba, The Time Bum
In the summer of 2014, I reviewed Manchester Watch Works ' first offering, the Flagship. Douglas Kim, the man behind Manchester, had sent me the prototype in anticipation of his Kickstarter launch. The Flagship was a 38mm automatic tool watch an offbeat, leftright combination of Roman and Arabic numerals and a chunky case that I described as looking like part of a Pratt & Whitney jet engine. It was a promising effort, but it had some unresolved design elements, and it ultimately failed to fund.
Fast forward to April 2017. I was at a get together with a group of local watch enthusiasts, and one of my fellow watch nerds leaned over his impressive collection of Hublot, Audemars Piaget, and rare boutique divers to pepper me with questions about the new Manchester Battenkill. He liked what he saw and was astounded at its sub- $ 300 price. " You know," he said as he turned the sleek, mid-sized trench watch over in his hands, " I don ' t usually do inexpensive micro brands, but this is a really nice watch."
It was not the first time I had seen someone express such surprising admiration for a Manchester Watch Works piece. Doug has made impressive strides in the past three years, continually refining his designs. Each new watch stands alone as a distinct piece that expresses his values in its own unique way. Best of all, his prices have remained extremely competitive. It is an almost irresistible combination for someone as thrifty as The Time Bum.
Doug is a life-long enthusiast who started collecting and tinkering with watches as a kid. As his collection grew, he learned to repair, modify, and build them. Eventually, he was no longer satisfied with assembling off-the-shelf components and set out to design a timepiece of his own. " My watch fascination is not just for fashion, but for the remarkable engineering marvel of a machine that can keep accurate time without batteries but with springs and gears," Doug explained, " and they can go with you under water, into space, up mountains, and into jungles but, best of all, they can be worn on your wrist."
Manchester Watch Works is named for Doug’ s hometown of Manchester, Vermont, and he has kept that link through the two-tone, twin-diamond logo. The upper section represents Manchester’ s“ M” as well as Vermont’ s Green Mountain range. The lower section forms a
76 | AboutTime Magazine