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Watch Out! New Watch Store Opens in La Jolla

Westime, a men's and women's watch store, opened on Prospect Street over Thanksgiving.

The boutique watch store Westime has joined Prospect Street, offering some of the world’s most high-end watches to collectors and watch enthusiasts. This is the company’s third location, joining stores on LA’s Rodeo Drive and on Pico in West LA.

These watch “salons” sell niche, independent lines to clients throughout the world. Prices at the La Jolla store range from $780 to $800,000.

Many of the watches at Westime come from small boutique companies that make as few as 100 watches per year, whereas competing luxury companies such as Rolex or Cartier make over 100,000 watches per year. 

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Westime President Greg Simonian, the fourth generation of a watch industry family, said that for men, a watch is one of the few things they can invest in that never goes out of style.

“The hottest watch line for men right now is Hublot. We were the first retailer to carry it. The average Hublot ranges from $20,000 to $28,000,” Simionian said. 

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Some of the priciest watches at Westime are by Richard Mille. Jay-Z, Kanye West, professional tennis player Rafael Nadal and golfer Bubba Watson all sport Richard Mille watches. ( the 2011 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course on Jan. 30.) The average price for these super collectibles is $590,000.

For women, Simonian says the hot trends are Dior, Harry Winston and Franck Muller watches. LJ customers will find this store carries more of the women-friendly lines than the LA locations. 

“Ten years ago there was Rolex and Timex and nothing in between. But times have changed. Now there are 'watch editors and stylists.' There are people in editorial departments of magazines and websites dedicated to tracking the trends of timepieces,” Simonian says.

The economy may be in a dip, but collectors of rare watches are spending in droves. Westime can’t keep the Ikepod hourglass by designer Marc Newson for $25,000 in stock. The Jacob and Co. line by celeb jeweler Jacob Arabo, aka “Jacob the Jeweler,” sells like mad to everyone from Sir Elton John, Bono, Madonna and Michael Jordan. Westime even sells the safe its clients may need to keep their watches in. For $200,000, customers can have a custom-built watch winder safe designed complete with their family crest in steel.

John Simonian, Greg’s father, is well-known in the watch business. He’s been credited with not only putting Westime on the map, but watchmakers and their brands as well. He’s also a distributor—meaning he controls many of the independent lines sold via Westime and other retail stores as well. 

Westime is located at 1227 Prospect St., La Jolla.

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