It Began with a Burglary

Since I was a teen wearing the 80’s icon, the Swatch, I’ve always worn a wristwatch.  Back in 2011, I sported what I thought was a sweet one - a red carbon-fiber-dialed ESQ Octane.  I know, I know, just bear with me here.  One day I was running late for work and left the house bare-wristed, the ESQ left sitting on the kitchen island.  As fate would have it, someone decided that day was the perfect day to help himself to the contents of our house.  My one watch, the Octane, was never to be seen again.  

Image courtesy of Google Image Search.

Thanks to Mr. Grabbypants, the search for the next *one* began.  I took my time as money was tight and I wanted to be sure I found the RIGHT one for the $200-300 I'd planned to spend.  For the next two years I searched jewelry stores, department stores, and even pawn shops.  I tried everything from dressy tanks to ultra-casual GShocks, but nothing spoke to me. I finally started looking online and found WatchUSeek.com (WUS).

Image courtesy of Google Image Search.

Focusing on WatchUSeek’s Affordables forum (commonly referred to as F71 by WUS users), I found myself drawn to divers - especially the Rolex Submariner homages (I think I may have mentioned I had a budget?). I continued my research before finally pulling the trigger on a Squale 20 Atmos Root Beer for $430 (OK, so I went over budget.).  Of course this started me down the rabbit hole that is F71.  As many in the affordables crowd have done, I ventured into the world of microbrands - arguably the best bang-for-buck watches on the planet.

Nearly three years into my watch-geek journey, I came across WatchUSeek user docvail - AKA Chris Vail of Lew & Huey (at the time) and (now) NTH Watches.  Chris was throwing around the idea of an homage to the Tag Heuer Monaco.  I started playing around with some design ideas and pitched one to him: a really amateur mock-up of a square-cased 3-hander with racing stripes.  I received a seemingly excited response with a question as to whether I'd want to collaborate.  The watch was never made, but a great friendship and working relationship began that day in 2014.

As part of Chris’s team, I designed the NTH Sub case (at the time, the thinnest 300m automatic dive watch in the world) and brought Chris’s 2D vision of the DevilRay case into 3D.  Working with Chris, I’ve obtained an insider's view of the world of microbrand watches and of one of the premier microbrand companies in the market today: NTH.  I've seen what it takes to bring a product from concept to delivery.  I've seen what it looks like when a brand owner provides the kind of pre- and post-sale support that customers appreciate.  I've seen the process of finding the right vendors, the right materials, and the right support team needed to provide a quality product and outstanding customer service.  I hope to put all of that insight along with the wealth of knowledge I obtained from attending Chris’s Microbrand University Workshop to good use by introducing Atticus Watch Company.

So what is Atticus anyway?

During the time of the Greek and Roman empires, Atticus was a popular name that exemplified sophistication and refinement during the Classical period.  Throughout history there have been a few men of note named Atticus; one was a patron of the arts, another was a famed orator of Greek rhetoric.  Then, of course, there is Atticus Finch who proved the character of a man makes the name.

Before you think, "great, it's another 'redefining luxury brand’”, let me continue.  Who doesn't love the classics?  Classic Rock.  Classic cars.  Classic southern gentlemen. (Not the seersucker wearing men sitting on their porches sipping mint juleps.  I'm talking men who know to hold a door open for anyone and everyone - especially ladies and the elderly - men who like to hunt and fish, but also know that "mossy oak" belongs in the woods and not at a restaurant.) And last, but certainly not least, classic WATCHES - the classic pilot watch, the Universal Genéve Polerouter, the Tudor Snowflake and of course the Rolex Explorer and DateJust.

The aim of Atticus Watch Company is to take the classic designs of the last few decades and add a tweak here and there to bring to the watch enthusiast a classically-sized 316L stainless case housing a Japanese automatic movement at a price that won’t break the bank.