The Women Behind Right Time Watches
Interview with:
𓇬 Rita Zaltsberg - Owner & President
𓇬 Victoria Zaltsberg-Harris - Shipping Manager
𓇬 Monica Barrett - Service Manager
Interview by: Megan Westlund
𓇬
Right Time Watches
In 944 words, the girls share:
How to find the right watch for your life
Technology & the evolution of the watch industry
Changing the mindset of women wearing big watches
“So you’re a collectors watch store.
What type of watches?”
Victoria: New - used - everything. The only way a watch will make it into our store is if we’ve tried it on.
Monica: We’re much different than a big box store. They only carry common brand names. You’ll walk into one of those stores and it’ll be very transactional with saying “I want an Omega with this style #” and then they’ll try to upsell you. Here, it’s much more organic where we are pairing you with something unique that was handpicked.
“If you were to gift someone else a watch, what 3 things should you look for when picking it out for someone you love?”
Victoria: I have gifted my friends many watches and I first look at practicality, especially if it’s their first watch. One of my best friends is a nurse and she is constantly washing her hands so she needs a watch that can withstand that.
From there, I chose one that matches her style, she’s into a darker aesthetic so I got her a black watch with red roses all over the band and it matched her perfectly. The second watch I got her is night and day different than the first watch. Aesthetically you can play around more when you already have your everyday watch.
“What about purchasing for yourself?”
Rita: I give them two watches and ask them which one they like more visually and which one they’re more excited about. From there, does it have the functionality you need? If yes, keep going, if no toss it. Third one, is it comfortable? If it’s not comfortable, you’re not going to enjoy wearing it. 4th on the list? price. Because if the other three are not there but you can afford it, it’s still a waste of money. But if the three pieces are there than we have a better understanding of what value this watch actually has to you and if the price matches that value.
“So it is a personality thing.”
Monica: Yes exactly. Each person has preferences around shape and how the watch moves.
Rita: In every country you go, watches are a major accessory. Both in fashion and in status. There’s very few things you wear daily in life. Your ring, you glasses maybe, and your watch. So a watch matters because it reflects who you are. Subconsciously or not, people judge you on what you wear regularly. For example, a Rolex is an achievement. It shows you’ve accomplished something big and it’s a symbol, a status of that achievement.
"Tell me about the evolution of women wearing watches.”
Victoria: Case size (basically how big the watch is), is traditionally how you would tell if it’s a men’s or women’s watch. Traditionally women’s watches were always very little and delicate, however we wear mens watches because we like the bigger case size.
Rita: When we started going to watch shows in Switzerland in the late 90’s/early 2000’s it was more common to find women in larger (mens) watches. I like bigger watches because they have more personality. The ones I wear feel very modern, very strong, it’s just what it represents to me.
Monica: I also think the way people looked at watches in the past has changed, like how they look at them literally on their wrist. For example a lot of people think if you have a really small wrist you have to purchase a really small watch, but that is just not true any way, shape, or form. My mom is 5’ 1 and she’s wearing a huge watch but it doesn’t look out of place on her.
“That’s funny, when I think about a watch for myself I immediately go to words like dainty and small. But I’m looking at your watch you have on and it does look really good. I just can’t imagine myself purchasing a large watch.”
Rita: It’s hard to imagine yourself in it, you have to try it and physically see it.
“Why do women specifically purchase watches?”
Rita: Oh what normally happens is hilarious. When men and women come into the shop it’s very different. When men come in they say “I’m tired of my watch. I want something new.” When a woman comes in, she says, “I’ve had this watch for 30 years. Can I have another one of the same thing?” So normally it takes about 10 minutes, but I make women try something different, a bigger watch. I have them go look in the mirror and 98% of the time they’re hooked. When they try on the little one again, they go, “Oh, yeah that’s little”.
Monica: Women view watches as an accessory and less of a status symbol the way men do. And because women have so many different options for accessories, they will own 40 watches that are all cheap, fashion watches. But the nuances and the beauty of real nice watches they don’t get into because there isn’t a space created for them there. It’s the mentality. We asked our brands once why they didn’t have any women brand ambassadors and they said it was because women are 1% of their market, so why would they?
Victoria: We are actively creating an environment that helps ladies break into the cooler side of the industry. There are different reasons to add watches to collections and we are finding fun ways to help them see the “cool side” of the watch industry.
“I feel like watches tend to be more ‘for men’ traditionally.”
Victoria: Yeah and it’s like, the reason why you don’t have women purchasing watches is because women don’t see women purchasing watches. You’re missing out on 50% of the population, from a business perspective. Any watch related event you go to is a very testosterone filled environment. You will get mainsplained lots of things. Even still in our store, we have people come in asking to talk to the watchmaker and they look past us to whichever male employee is in the store.
Monica: There’s been many instances where we are overlooked but people don’t realize that my mom (Rita) is the one signing the bills and paying for everything. Every financial decision was made by her. She’s the president of the company.
“Do you have any events coming up?”
Yes!
We do them regularly and you can check our Instagram for our next ones.