I have always loved watches. There is something about wearing a piece of perfectly designed, micro mechanical engineering that has always been immensely satisfying to me. I catch myself looking at my watches more to admire their brilliance than to actually determine the time. Whether its high end or an indestructible sports watch, each have merit Read more about I have always loved watches. There isin their own right.
While I am also a huge technology fan who spends much of his free time browsing the latest electronic gadgets, the idea that a phone or a smart watch could ever replace a hundred (or more) minuscule, mechanically engineered parts - turning, meshing, spinning and working in perfect unison - misses the point entirely. I could not even begin entertain such an argument, and I argue for a living.
When I found out Steven was starting a Austin, Texas, based watch company named Dufrane, I reached out to him. Part of collecting anything is identifying new, distinct, exemplary pieces, and, of course, learning their history. Although I hate to admit it, Steven is much more an avid watch collector than I could ever hope to be. His love of travel and watch collecting eventually brought him into the belly of Swiss watch making beast. After years of exploration, working with the manufacturers of the ideal Swiss movement, designing a casing that is modern, sophisticated and still beholden to the style of the pieces that inspired him, and working with Austin's finest watch band leather smiths, Steven finally introduced the Dufrane line of watches.
They became available weeks before my wedding, and before I could pick one up myself, my amazing wife purchased the Bergstrom, a pilot watch named after the same WW2 Officer that Austin's airport is named after, for me as a wedding gift.
I love this watch, particularly, the sapphire case back so I can see the movement, the matte steel finish and the blue suede strap. And because they were only made in limited production, every time I wear it, I feel like one of a kind.