MEET RWATCHCO
One of our founders, Hunter Wealot, recently had the opportunity to sit down for a brief interview with Micah Ramsingh, Owner and Founder of RWatchCo.
Hunter: Let's start with who is Micah Ramsingh?
Micah: So my parents immigrated from Trinidad Tobago when I was just one year old, we moved to and I was raised in Middle Georgia so that is where I consider myself to be primarily from. Who am I? At times I feel somewhat like an outsider while equally an insider when it comes to American culture, I grew up here but I also share some of the same mindsets as my parents. Grateful is the word that I have for myself and the ability I have had to be raised in all Country of opportunity such as this.
Hunter: Tell me about your genesis of watchmaking and how that evolved into RWatchCo.
Micah: My interest in watches likely goes back as early as being six or seven years old. I remember getting a birthday present around that age of a little Walmart Armitron dive watch with a plastic rotating bezel. I remember I rotated that bezel so much it actually eventually fell off. I would say my genesis of watchmaking could be traced back as early as when I was twelve years old and I took apart a Casio Wave Cepter, but I would say my actual start to watchmaking began in 2019 right around when Covid started. I had gotten into watches and recently purchased my first nice watch which was a Breitling Navitimer 41 Chronograph, really beautiful watch loved it. I remember being so fixated on this thing and pondering how did they make this and finding interest in such. My wife recognized this with the practical obsession I had growing there and decided to feed it, pretty sure she regrets that now, but she bought me a starter watchmaking kit. It was a pocket watch kit and I put it together resulting in my really being dissatisfied with what I had done. I had scratched up the hands, the dial was dirty, and it didn't look anything comparable to my Breitling and I so wanted it to. I wanted it to be something I could have and be proud of. So instead of going to buy another watch kit, which those things are grossly overpriced, I was like ok well this is the movement that I have; I can go get this case that says it will fit with these hands, and started ordering parts bringing things together. That is what I would say got this started, getting together tools after my first watchmaking kit with all of the terrible chineseium components things that literally fell apart along the way.
Soon after getting started, I began giving away a lot of watches. I would make one and still be satisfied deciding to give it away and try it again. One of those watches was given to my friend Ethan Douglas (@the_classic_outdoorsman on Instagram). He started telling people I could make watches for them, so by force I started selling a product beyond my intention that developed into RWatchCo.
Hunter: Tell me about the different lines of watches that you have done thus far.
Micah: My first line I ever did was called the Meridian, the name coming from the idea that it was something you could travel with, a durable watch. It was basically a dive watch with Tudor-ish style case 41mm, no crown guard, and used a Myota 8215 movement. I made about 10 of those some with a black dial and some green dial. Included a basic clockwork NATO from Amazon with them.
The next line would be the Riverine. The Meridian had a couple issues I didn't like, the bezel feel was not good, the case was massively oversized for the movement, and I had sone quality issues with how the crystals were seated resulting in some water intrusion. The Riverine was my foray into going with a more tried and true design, essentially a Seiko 6105 homage. I was using the Seiko style dial and hands, the NH35 movement, 6105 style case with what I thought had a very satisfying bezel feel (ceramic bezel). The Riverine was supposed to be the refinement and simplification of what I had started with in the style of the watch your grandpa would've had. I included it on a ribbed brown NATO. I custom made the boxes, took old pencil boxes painted them green and laser engraved my logo on the top. I coated the inside of the box with antique pages from the shooters bible that I had gotten; I wanted the feeling of an experience incorporated with it. A customer would be opening up their Riverine to see ads of old Colt handguns and the likes. It was my first attempt and striving to tell a story with the watch instead of just giving it a name and lifestyle actually providing the experience of a vintage Vietnam era styled watch.
My third was a field watch that I named the Pathfinder. It was a 36mm watch with a very basic 24hr dial similar to the Marathon style dials, I put that on a cotton NATO. It was a very successful product, at the time I felt like people were gravitating more towards the classic smaller case styled watches. I discontinued the Pathfinder as I was having some difficulty sourcing parts.
The fourth would be the Zambezi. The Zambezi was my way of bringing back the Pathfinder in a new light, adding a bit more flair and style rooted in the inspiration of Rhodesia.
My fifth was a line of Milsub style watches, not much to be said about.
Sixth and current to date piece is the Magnum, clearly inspired GMT Master made a little bit more vintage and styled in the likes of the infamous Pepsi Rolex worn by Tom Selleck in Magnum PI.
There's also a seven and eight you'll hear about in the coming future…
Hunter: Tell me about your design and production process along with what makes RWatchCo stand out from other micro brands.
Micah: It is kind of interesting, if you look at my current lineup you'll see watches that are somewhat reinterpretations of existing designs. Realistically I can't point at my current lineup and say this particular piece is what makes me different. What I can say is the work that I am doing that will be coming up towards the end of this year and into next is going to be a very big departure from what you see. It is my exercising that design language that I'm personally developing.
I can also say that in the current lineup that the technical prowess of putting these pieces together in a manner that durability wise, longevity wise, you will have a product that will last you and be accurate for much of its life.
Whenever you make a product or develop a design you're working within particular constraints. One of the constraints that up to this point I've personally faced has been the working with of the Seiko NH35 movements. If you are aware of those movements you understand there is a wide range of accuracy with them, so one of the things I do is I regulate every Seiko NH35 movement that comes through goes on my timegrapher and I try to learn each individual movement. What are the quirks with each and how can we rectify any possible faults whether by working on the adjustment levers, the etachron pins, or even reshaping the hair springs to better the accuracy. While I am basically working within the guidelines of Seiko but I strive that when these movements in my timepieces leave my shop that they are better than any other Seiko or piece hosting a Seiko movement that you can get.
Additionally, I have really invested myself in understanding how dials and hands work to where I can design hands that are of good performance, legible dials that have a proper amount of lume placement, and realistic water resistance and testing. For example, the average commercial diver doesn't dive deeper than 300m. When we talk a commercial diver we typically think someone who works on an oil rig, we don't mean someone who just picked up a set of tanks to go check out some coral reefs we mean someone who has a professional demand for something. Realistically, while that demand is relevant at times along with simply being cool, it is also worth noting in design considerations if that level is always necessary considering case size and weight. Is it always relevant for the end user to wear 300 grams of watch on their wrist for the off chance that they would utilize that level of capability or develop a product that offered a reasonable baseline of capability prioritizing everyday utility with weight reduction while maintaining the desired aesthetic.
Something I'll note about the industry as a whole that I personally consider in differentiating RWatchCo from the masses is taking into consideration the purpose behind trends. A current example is the trend of larger case sizes. While there's nothing particularly wrong with such especially if you have the wrist to pull it off its more so the consideration as to why such a trend is happening. For RWatchCo, we consider watches as tools, if we are following trends purely for aesthetic reasons without considering practical usage then it isn't really a tool any more it is a fashion accessory. For RWatchCo, we are not interested in making fashion accessories or things that just scratch a stylistic edge. I want to make something that is utilitarian and is beautiful in its utility. I use an example of an F15, when you look at the requirements of what the US Air Force was desiring out of an F15 it was not a requirement that the plane would look beautiful, but it is. That is the beauty of it, in its given state of function it is naturally beautiful. That is what I try to strive for, not that we can't ever have fun with colors or any other sort of thing but my goal is beyond a purpose of simple asthetics.
Hunter: What can you share on the long term vision of RWatchCo, 5-10 years?
Micah: A lot is changing. The watches that I made two years ago are completely unrecognizable whenever they come back to me. My intent has changed, the technology has changed, the people that I have made friendships with along the way who have the technical capabilities to pair with my own sharing each of our technoligies drives towards the future. In just recent years I have learned a lot, the customer has taught me a lot. In the next five to ten years the watches I don't even think the watches I'm going to be making are going to be close to anything I can currently fathom. That's not me bragging saying that they will be based upon my own skills alone but using everything that I have learned even just so far give me no doubts that those projects will be very special in their own ways. In just the immediate future, we are actively pursuing better ways to handle water resistance and water intrusion mitigation; meaning if we had water resistance fail then we have the systems in place to lessen that damage. Additionally technologies in magnetic and electromagnetic resistance just to name a few. For the long term, we are considering getting more so involved on the movement side of things. Tweaking movements, and even developing new movements here within the US. The overall goal is having watches built towards specific use and we are going to leverage the things we've learned for those watches.
On another note, I think its important to have someone at the helm of a company who is interested in offering more than just a look or feel or concerned about sales. I want each watch, each strap, everything that we make to be informed by a need. More so than just a want. I can humor having particular wants, but I want to prioritize our watches to be oriented towards a purpose. Over the next five to ten years you'll see high consideration towards selection of what we do and how we do it prioritizing the best possible package for whoever it's intended.
Hunter: Final questions, what excites you about the Watchmens Guild and what do you believe differentiates it in your own perspective?
Micah: Oh, everything! So in my experience getting into watches, it was a positive note to realize early on that there is a considerable community for such online. But in the same sense, you recognize that so much of it is just that, online. That limitation has been personally disappointing. As fun as it is to have conversations with people from places you wouldn't otherwise online, it is another thing to have the ability to sit down and get to know someone locally in person from a perspective beyond just the watches. People have a need and a desire for community, and I think watches are a great meeting ground to connect from all types of walks of life. Whether individuals are drawn to aesthetic, engineering, the stories, heritage, or so on; in an environment such as what the Watchmens Guild presents you can get all of these types into a room together to fellowship. The idea that this will be a thing where one could walk in wearing a Garmin smart watch and the next guy comes in with a Patek Philipe and these two can then sit down and break bread is something that stands out to me. For me personally, it's all about the purpose of why you're getting together. There are times where we can get together and appreciate a product, like I have been to car shows for example in the past where you can go and gawk at cars all day. That's fun and fine but I desire the ability to get more out of it. The offering of that community in a local sense to get together and talk watches in all these regards along with the emphasis to share life, develop friendships, and strive towards developing the ideals and philosiphies all beyond just the watches, watch brands, and budgets. Community, with purpose.
-END
I want to give a big thanks to Micah for his time and you to reader for supporting this venture! If you enjoyed this interview style writeup, reach out and let us know! Feel free to also make suggestions on possible future candadites for this new ongoing series.
Virtus. Validus. Tempus.
-Hunter
