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SALT LAKE CITY — Watchmaking is in Boman Farrer’s blood.
The University of Utah student has spent the past year selling original watches through his company LunoWear, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and great-grandfather. Farrer said he grew up around watches and his grandfather, retired watchmaker Calvin Adams, was delighted when he shared his plans to launch the company.
“He loves everything about (watches),” Farrer said. “To him, they’re works of art — these movements that all work to make a perfect timekeeper. He loves, loves talking about it, so when I told him that we were interested in starting to make watches, he was pretty much giddy and started telling me everything there is about watches.”
With his grandfather’s help, Farrer and a friend created a line of watches made of bamboo or ebony wood paired with a leather band. They started the business on IndieGoGo, but now do business largely through Amazon.
Adam’s long career of working with watches was key to the company’s success. He helped his grandson decide which quartz movement they should use and where they should have the watches manufactured, in addition to teaching Farrer how to work on the timepiece.
Watchmaking is a skill that has been passed through the generations. Adams learned how to repair watches from his father, who became a watchmaker after losing his leg in an industrial accident. Farrer said that at the time of the accident the community needed more watchmakers in Salt Lake City, so a government program helped pay for his great-grandfather's training.
Adams started playing with watches when he was 6 or 7 years old, picking up the trade from his father and eventually buying the family watch store. He expanded the business to include jewelry, designing and manufacturing his own jewelry.
Now, working with watches is a hobby for Adams. His grandson said he’ll often buy timepieces with complicated movements off of eBay to fix.
“I’ll watch him take them apart and he’ll teach me all about them,” Farrer said. “It’s really fun.”
Farrer is currently designing a second line of watches for LunoWear that continues the wood theme, but incorporates the classic stainless steel look. Updates about when the new watches will be released can be found by subscribing to the LunoWear mailing list.
