PhotoGRAPHY by dan austin

In today’s ever-evolving digital age, Nacre Watches proves that the classic wristwatch is here to stay and that thoughtful design, quality materials, and skillful construct are cornerstones to a timeless product.

The latest technological advancement in timepieces can easily be equated to a small computer on your wrist — interactive screens that deliver a multitude of efficiencies, from email notifications and text messages to counting steps. But while tech companies are disrupting the market, brands like Nacre Watches understand and value the classic timepiece, believing that the wristwatch continues to be a captivating work of art.

A luxury watch signifies a person’s appreciation for style, class, and most importantly, tradition. For over a century, brands such as Rolex have led the timepiece industry with innovations in time measurement along with refined craftsmanship. Today, Nacre, a Lakeland-based watch company, has joined the industry as they continue to build on a family legacy of jewelry and timepiece industry experts that dates back to 1949.

Born and raised Lakelanders, brother and sister, Ryan Wilson and Loren Wilson Fernandez, started developing Nacre about four years ago along with their father, Alvin Wilson, as the chairman.

“We wanted to design a watch that is built to last and gets better the more you wear it. We traveled the world to source the highest-quality materials we could find while still making a watch at an attainable price — a watch that we would be proud to wear ourselves,” says Ryan.

Along with Nacre Watches, Ryan, Loren, and Alvin own an international online retail company for luxury-brand watches. Owning that company for the past 10 years has allowed Loren to build relationships with luxury brands and gain further knowledge and understanding of the watch and fashion industry, which was an essential part when developing the Nacre watch brand and its first collection: Lune, Lune 8, and Lune 48.

Nacre (pronounced ney•ker) means “mother of pearl.” The name describes the inspiration behind the brand and the design of the watch: inspired by pearls, born of the water, and moved by the moon. The moon’s ability to move the tides and mark time inspired Nacre’s beautifully designed Lune, Lune 8, and Lune 48. The word “Lune” is a reference to the moon. “We felt like the pearl was a nice fitting symbol to represent the moon. The pearl, born of water, transcends both time and season. We believe in making a watch that does the same,” says Ryan.

Quality materials are an important part of Nacre’s principles. The leather used is sourced from a family tannery outside of Florence, Italy, and is 100-percent vegetable-tanned organic leather which takes on a very unique patina over time.

Lune has a subtle, soft-white pearlized dial that is emblematic of a full moon. The double-domed mineral crystal refracts light across the watch face throughout the day in a beautiful interplay of light and shadow. Lune 8 has eight cabochon pearls handset on a tone-on-tone, sandblasted dial inspired by the eight lunar phases. The number 48 in Lune 48 represents the actual amount of handset Nacre pearls placed around the bezel of the watch. The pearls symbolize the moon’s constant orbit around the earth.

Each watch has a quick-release attachment feature which allows you to change the strap of your watch and choose from any of their 24 band styles. “Personal style is important to us, so we wanted to make it simple to change the look of the watch. With a wide selection of bands, it’s easy to take your watch from day to night or simply create a new look,” says Loren.

Inspired by pearls. Born of the water. Moved by the moon.

In addition to their collections, Nacre offers a personalized build-a-watch feature. This feature allows you to combine your favorite elements to create a look personal to your style on the Nacre website. “As a direct-to-consumer startup, we were very focused on a great user experience for the customer. We designed the build-a-watch feature to create a unique look, from classic or minimal to something edgier or street-style,”
says Ryan.

As brands are known to quickly come and go in today’s digital age, Nacre is here to stay.

Ryan and Loren are third-generation jewelry and watch industry experts who have carefully crafted Nacre with principles that reflect thoughtful design, quality materials, and skillful construct to celebrate personal style. This local company ships worldwide but has given Lakeland first access to the brand’s launch and looks forward to building a local community here. 

Nacre Watches

5151 South Lakeland Drive Suite 4

Lakeland, FL 33813

877.234.8870

nacrewatches.com

@nacrewatches