Macon’s watchmaking maestro fuses art and tech

Art and technology intersect in the hands of Macon watchmaker Micah Ramsingh.

Surprised there’s a genuine watchmaker in Macon? One with a growing, innovative business led by pre-order internet sales of his timepieces? One with a downtown office-facility referred to as an “artist studio?”

And would you be surprised there’s a Macon group of wristwatch enthusiasts, The Watchmens Guild, planning to conduct its inaugural meet-up on Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Taste and See Coffee?

All true.

Trinidad born, Ramsingh’s family immigrated to Georgia when he was one and made their way to Macon when he was five. Now 32, Ramsingh has a Middle Georgia State University Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology under his belt which led in 2016 to his career in IT and software development.

But he’s been interested in watches since he was a kid.

“My first watch at six or seven was an Armitron dive-style watch,” he said. “After that, my life was filled with watches of the sort that don’t stand the test of time. When I finally got a Casio Atomic Waveceptor sports watch I felt like I was a superhero — like I was Ironman.

“But I also grew up watching my dad wear the same Seiko 5 watch with a jangly bracelet you could hear every time he moved his arm. I think about how that watch was with him for so much of his life, how far it traveled and how many times it was with him doing the normal things of life, like yard work. It wasn’t obsolete after a few years like a modern Apple watch. It wasn’t disposable. I have it now.”

Ramsingh believes the renewed interest in analog face watches has to do in part with people tiring of a fully digital world. That includes those four digital numbers that glare at you reporting the time versus the greater sense of time and its value offered by hands moving ever around a dial. His goal is to make the highest quality watches that can be passed on for generations, watches backed by history and a story, and watches that, in the world of micro-brand watchmaking, are affordable.

Though in great demand, his watches currently sell around the $500 mark.

How did his watchmaking endeavor start?

Knowing his love for watches, Ramsingh said when COVID hit his wife gave him a do-it-yourself watch kit to put together.

“I was unsatisfied with the result,” he said. “It had scratches and I had to redo a lot of it. I thought, ‘I could do so much better if I had known this or hadn’t made that mistake. So I kept at it.”

Instead of using kits, Ramsingh started buying parts he wanted in the styles he liked and built more. At first, he gave many away to family and friends. He said, “When Christmas or a birthday came around they’d think, ‘Oh, I guess I’m getting another watch from Micah.’”

Eventually, he sold a few. Then, a popular Instagram leatherworker got hold of one, loved it and featured it on his feed.

“I got 10 orders that day,” he said.

Soon, there were more orders and more watches in different styles being made.

A lot more. A lot for a guy who started as a watch enthusiast at heart who, like a surprisingly growing number of others, was gathering online to discuss watches, show them and talk features, history and all things horological.

It was a lot for a hobbyist whose pastime grew into a hobby-that’s-not-just-a-hobby.

“Things have grown from when I got those orders in 2021,” he said. “From making watches for friends it grew to 50 to 60 a year and snowballed to 100 then kept growing.” 

Ramsingh stresses that, without going into debt and operating on a make-as-ordered basis, the company he came to create, Ramsingh Watch Company or RWatchCo, has invested in state-of-the-art tools and testing equipment. He even recently brought on a junior watchmaker to train.

Ramsingh has made watches for giveaways and promotions like the one he said he did locally for the Flint River Foundation.

His industry connections have grown, especially with the larger Savannah-based Forscher Watch Co. He said there are large orders set for the coming months, all in addition to his one-to-one internet sales.

Of late, Ramsingh has branched out into creating popular watch straps, too, including his most popular, a Vietnam-era frogman/special forces strap with a snap-on dial cover.

“I don’t have a full industrial setup now to do things like turn brass blanks into dials but I have started manufacturing some parts myself along with being able to make special commissioned orders from suppliers,” he said.

He believes it’s well within his grasp in the next few years to essentially manufacture what he needs to make his watches. He said he doubts many people in Macon know what he’s doing.

There’s no doubt traditional watch sales for both cheap and luxury watches have taken a beating in recent years but there’s also no doubt a corner has turned with new interest and a growing market for modern and vintage watches.

Again, that interest is primarily fueled by large groups of fans “gathering” online. The Watchmens Guild wants to make that online aspect more personal with its inaugural meeting Saturday at Taste and See, 546 Poplar St.

Ramsingh said he’ll be there but not as a salesman, sponsor or official of the Watchmens Guild. Instead, he’s coming as an enthusiast to have a cup of coffee and talk watches like everyone else. Like everyone else, he’s being encouraged to bring a watch or two or more to show around but, naturally, for him, it will be something he made.

And, he’s providing the group with one of his straps to give away along with a watch storage roll provided by Forscher Watch Co.

The Watchmens Guild is being started by two young friends in their mid-20s, Hunter Wealot of Macon and William Willer of Dallas. Wealot has a background in the firearm industry and shooting sports and Willer in filmmaking. Both have become watch lovers in the past few years and hope the idea of in-person meetings catches on and grows to other cities.

“The point and premise is to be a group welcoming anyone of any background or identity who’s interested in watches, particularly tool watches,” Wealot said. “All can walk in and connect, break bread together, and talk and show watches whether they have the least expensive Casio or an expensive Rolex, it doesn’t matter.”

Wealot defines a tool watch as any practical use watch worn daily to tell time versus watches that are only thrown on for an event or as a fashion or status statement.

He also said that beyond a common interest in watches, he and Willer intend that the group emphasize the importance of time, of each individual’s life, and the importance of investing one’s time well, recognizing what a watch represents is of more value than its cost or prestige. As put in its mission statement, the idea is “To be a light and call for higher purpose within the watch community beyond materialism and identity/background, professional or otherwise.”

“But don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of nerding out over watches, that’s for sure,” Wealot said. “We welcome people to check out the meet-up and bring whatever watch is on their wrist or a bunch of them if they want to.”

Wealot did say though women would be welcome, because of the known demographic of watch enthusiasts, the guild is geared toward men and building friendships, support and community among them.

But meetings or not, Ramsingh continues to make his wondrous watches with their tiny parts doing the big job of keeping good time. You can find him on Instagram as @rwatchco and the company’s website is www.rwatchco.com. Find information and order opportunities for his current watch and strap creations there.

More on the specifics of the Watchmens Guild is at www.watchmensguild.com.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com and join him on Instagram at @michael_w_pannell.