A Customer Story: Minerva Stopwatch
We recently received the following email:
I’m cleaning out an old family property with many items that have lain untouched from the 1930s through the 1960s and, for items with manufacturer addresses, often find interest in looking the spot up on Google Street View to see what’s there now. I found a beautiful old Minerva stopwatch (from an uncle who was an Air Force nurse in the 1950s), still in box with a pre-paid service shipping label to 9000 W. Pico. Was pleasantly surprised to see the Feldmar signage dressing a snazzy, modern-looking building as the first thing that popped up. I was honestly unaware of you before but kudos to your longevity. You folks obviously master the craft.
Minerva stopwatches
What this man found is a true treasure. Although they are no longer made, Minerva was founded in 1858 and is respected as the finest brand of mechanical stopwatches ever produced. Throughout the brand’s history, Minerva acted as the timekeeper at the Olympics and earned a reputation in precision and accuracy. In 2006 after decades of extraordinary success, the Richemont luxury goods group bought Minerva and its exceptional know-how. The brand now produces movements for Montblanc and other Richemont companies.
Sports timing and Feldmar Watch Company
Stories like this remind us of our longevity and bring back fond memories of our company’s history. Sports timing has played a large role in our company’s past. In fact, Feldmar started out specializing in stopwatches and Barney Feldmar authored the acclaimed booklet, “Timing the World of Sports” in 1956, something we are still extremely proud of to this day.
Several of our current watch brands are heavily involved in sports timing. OMEGA acts as the Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games, Tissot provides the shot clocks for the NBA and Longines plays a major role in timing various horse races such as the Kentucky Derby – just to name a few.
The moral of the story: never just get rid of an old watch
This Minerva watch was from the era when my grandparents were part of the company. . . a true keepsake! If you find an old watch, take a little time to learn about its history. You may be surprised by what you find out!
Old or new, we love hearing your watch stories. Feel free to share them with us via email, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!
About The Author: Scott Meller
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Scott joined Feldmar Watch Company, Inc. under the tutelage of his father, Sol. As a fourth generation family member, Scott’s forward-thinking business acumen has placed Feldmar on the cutting edge of the luxury timepiece market. Scott’s favorite part about working at Feldmar is being a part of his family’s multi-generational business and having worked alongside his father. His accomplishments are many, including the expansion and remodel of the Feldmar flagship store, as well as a second location inside The Beverly Hilton.
Since attending Santa Monica College, Scott has become an expert in the technical aspects of the timepieces sold at Feldmar. Each year, he travels to Switzerland—the watchmaking capital of the world—to attend the Baselword Watch & Jewelry Fair and build upon his extensive knowledge of this quickly-evolving industry.
Scott is very proud of the way Feldmar customers are put first: “We regularly go out of our way to meet the needs of our clients. A client once purchased a rather significant watch as a birthday gift for his brother who lived in New York. Our client asked how we were going to deliver the gift and we responded with the typical answer, we would ship it by FedEx. After we answered his question, we could tell that he wanted a more personalized experience for the delivery and offered to have it hand-delivered by one of our associates. He lit up at the thought, and so off went one of our associates to New York City for the day to hand-deliver the gift.”
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