Comments (0) Best Reason to Get a Watch - 2011
Dedegumo
When you enter the Japanese boutique Dedegumo, the first thing you'll notice is a tiny workshop at the front, where expert watchmakers are hard at work. There's no assembly line here. Each timepiece is lovingly handmade from start to finish by only one artisan, so no two watches are ever the same. Founded in Kyoto, Dedegumo opened its first and only store outside of Japan on the Lower East Side last year. Like works of art for your wrist, the watches, starting at around $400, feature Italian leather straps (they come in 10 different colors and varying widths), antique brass frames, and intricately designed faces. (On a recent visit, we spied faces with flowers and sunbursts and a second hand with a star that appeared to be rotating around a galaxy.) Still keeping with tradition, watches come in cedar masu boxes wrapped with red furoshiki cloth. The best part: When someone asks you the time, you'll be proud to show off your wrist instead of checking your cell phone. 188 Orchard Street, 212-677-1977, dedegumo.com (10002)
