Masters of Time

This gentleman and his daughter run this unassuming booth in the diamond district, but the name is correct. Dimitrie is the Master of Time.
I brought my 1940s Astra wrist watch, a flea market find. He was able to tell me a great deal about the watch and coax it into running accurately. I did do some research on him before I went and apparently he is considered the best by the major auction houses.
But he was not above fixing my simple watch. Thanks you sir, you are a true and old school professional and master craftsman.

Don’t be discouraged by the storefront and the typical booth style that is characteristic of the shops that call the diamond district their home. If you come to Dimitrie you will not be disappointed. His hard work and masterful skill are truly unmatched.
I came into the shop with my Grandfather’s over 100 year old Tiffany & Co. pocket watch. It is the one thing I have that belonged to him. The watch looked fair cosmetically, but it could not wind. I had searched far and wide for a watchmaker that would not just make the watch tick again, but that would give me a sense of trust and security. Dimitrie was that watchmaker.
Dimitrie was able to tell me the complex origin of the watch, the history behind Tiffany & Co. pocket watches and their movements as well as translate the inscription on the case of the watch. The vast knowledge of this man and his attention to detail is truly unparalleled.
The watch took quite some time to repair, largely because the mainspring is of very unique dimensions which makes it quite rare. However Dimitrie and Daniela were very responsive and kept me in the loop. Not surprising repairs are done on Dimitrie’s time. He’s not as young as he used to be and he is in high demand for his unique skillset. Besides the man also has to have is fam bam time.
The service was not cheap, but I could not have been happier with the result. To get in touch with these folks you can use their contact on their website. I found Daniela to be extremely easy to reach via
.
If you have a valuable timepiece and you need the movement serviced or the watch fixed, Dimitrie is your man. I added some photos of the watch and the detail taken to explain to me various things concerning the service and repair.

this review is for the customer service — not the actual service.
This place is a bit hard to find. It’s in a gallery of booths inside 15 47^th but note that there are two entrances. One is to the regular building an one is the booth section, it’s almost a bazaar of various booths. Weird vibe inside.
MOT has weird hours and they never answer the listed phone or respond to email. You have to call another number that they had at the actual booth. Actually it was a woman in an adjacent booth that had the #. So when I finally stalked down the guy about a repair he said he could get around to it — maybe next year. But I would have to call him sometime in March to check back in. Really? Perhaps I should go into watch and clock repair — it must be quite lucrative to get that booked out.

Stopped by during lunch and was shown an amazing relic from WWII. A Japanese officer’s chronograph pocket watch. There are other goodies for sale worth checking out as well.