As many of you know, Craig Hester, also known as The Watch Industry’s Favorite Komrade, is widely regarded as the leading authority on true Russian built timepieces. He has done numerous national television appearances and we also toured the Russian watch industry on location together last year so I can certainly attest to his vast knowledge as well as a passion for watches of this unique origin. We’ll be rolling out this interview in several chapters. Here is the first; please enjoy.
TT: I’m going to start with the question I’m sure you get all the time. How did a guy who worked in newspapers for more than a decade end up being the largest distributor of Russian watches in North America.
CH: Yes, you are right Tim. I probably get that question 2 or 3 times a week at least. The short answer is I turned a hobby into a business. But there is a back story. In 1995, my wife and I hosted a Russian foreign exchange student for a school year. Her name was Natasha. When she arrived, she brought my wife and me a thank you gift (what we used to call back home a “bread and butter” gift). For my wife, a bracelet, and for me a Vostok watch.
It wasn’t long after the fall of the Soviet Union and I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. I wore it for a couple of years or so, got another watch as a gift, threw the Vostok in a box and forgot about it.
Fast forward 10 years later and I’ve got a guy working for me (in the newspaper business) who is really into watches. I had always been a watch guy, but he really got me back into it in a big way. I started buying and selling various new and vintage watches on E-Bay just to pay for my next watch.
I remembered the Vostok and, amazingly, dug it out of a box from multiple moves. I figured the internet had matured enough I could find them on-line. I ended up buying a small, Poljot tonneau from a site I found on-line called russia2all.com. About a month later, I got an email that the site was either going out of business or having to sell due to personal, family reasons.
My wife and I had always wanted to own our own business. After several discussions and a trip to see the existing owners, we bought R2A and all its inventory.
In this process, we connected with several of the manufacturers, and then became the distributors for some of the brands as well… Not long after that I quit my day job and we have both been doing this full time ever since.
TT: So, any regrets.
CH: I would love to say it’s been a stroll through Red Square with nothing but a good time had by all. Any entrepreneur reading this would know, though, that I would be lying. Robert Kiyosaki, a highly respected business expert and coach, said that becoming an entrepreneur is is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute and sewing one as you are falling. That may be an understatement!
That said, I wouldn’t change it for anything. The experiences — the travel alone — have been the stuff that I could have only dreamed of before this — probably stuff most people only dream of. I have a passion for these watches, thoroughly enjoy the people I work with, and with my wife as my partner, it’s a journey we are taking together.
TT: If you were going to point to the top 2 or 3 things that make Russian watches something our readers should get into, what would they be.
CH: First off, value for the money. I don’t think it is hyperbole to say that in terms of cost to benefit, the Russian watches have everyone beat. When you hold one in your hand, you most likely will be surprised how little you paid for it, not how much. Second would be the story; the mystique. Russian watches are steeped in the history of aviation, space exploration, nautical achievements, etc.. To just name probably the most famous, the first watch worn in space on the wrist of Yuri Gagarin was one of the brands we work with — Sturmanskie. And third — the styling. Our manufactures have their own, in-house graphic and technical design teams. They can take as much as 2 years to bring a watch from concept to market. Most of the designs are like nothing you will find elsewhere.
TT: Do you have a favorite Russian watch?
CH: Okay, that’s the toughest question yet. First off, the comments I would get from the manufacturer I didn’t pick would be quite entertaining I’m sure! So, I’ll go with a vintage one, which is arguably my favorite — it is a Sekonda Strela edition built in 1979 at the First Moscow Watch Factory, with the 3017 movement. This movement was the predecessor of the current standard bearer of Russian chronographs, the 3133. The Strela (translated arrow) watches were also tied to space history, being worn on the wrist of more than one space walking Cosmonaut, including the first, Alexi Leonov. They are highly coveted among Russian watch collectors. Mine is the black dial Sekonda with the paddle hands, arguably the first or second most sought out of the ones made during the original run. Mine is not new old stock, but it is in very fine condition and has a place of honor in my collection.
TT: Getting back to business, how has the global economic downturn effected your business, especially since Russian watches are still relatively unknown on this side of the Atlantic.
CH: Of course it has hurt in some ways. But oddly enough, we’ve seen a benefit. A lot of guys who used to spend $10,000 or more on a high-end Swiss watch just aren’t doing that right now. But they still need to feed the beast! We all know this is really an addiction… They are finding us. Everybody wins. They get a lot for the money. Our watches run from as low as $50 for the most intro model to around a $1,000 for detailed cased chronos. There are a few much higher, but the bulk are in that window. The collector gets the thrill and enjoyment of a new, and unusual watch and we get new customers.
(look for part 2 of this interview — coming soon)
