Vintage watches into unique timepieces

A few weeks ago, we featured a British bicycle company that disassembles old bikes and rebuilds them into unique, customized rides. Yesterday, we spotted a US company that’s applying the same concept to high-end watches, turning vintage Rolexes, Kelberts and Rados into one-of-a-kind timepieces. Watch faces, backs and bands are replaced or modified and etched with intricate designs. Everything is done by hand. Bellum Concepts, which describes itself as a creative think tank, selected twenty watches from the 1940s through 1980s for their first series — The Love Collection. The pieces are priced from USD 800-10,000 and sold via www.bellumconcepts.net and at the Aaron Faber Gallery in New York. Each piece is housed in its own custom-made box and comes with a custom-designed t-shirt from Bellum Classics. Bellum Concepts, named for the Latin word for war, is waging a battle for creative freedom, according to its owners: “The lack of originality and individualism in the market place today gave birth to Bellum.” Springwise agrees that there is plenty of room for small manufacturers and modifiers who create goods that lend their buyers the subtle status and pleasure of exclusivity. Which is enhanced by working with vintage pieces, that are inherently scarce and add another appealing layer to a product’s story and value. Bellum currently only modifies watches, but will tackle other luxury goods in the future, including cars and motorcycles. Contact: (917) 403–5002 Spotted by: notcot.org