Romanian Dimitrie Vicovanu, who has a watch repairing business in Manhattan's diamond district recently came to the attention of the world after the New York Times featured him in an article. In his West 47th Street shop, the 73-year old repairs vintage watches, a craft he learned in Switzerland. The Romanian watch repairer is called on to do his meticulous work for valuable items - the head of watches for Sotheby's has him on speed dial. “When Sotheby’s New York wants to revive a 1930s gold Patek Philippe that has not run for decades, it calls Mr. Vicovanu,” writes the New York Times. Some of the watches auctioned at Sotheby's are valued at millions of dollars. The Romanian became a watch repairer later in his life, after spending his younger years as a restorer of archeological artifacts for a museum complex in Iasi, in the Northern part of Romania. He left the country in 1977, during the Communist regime.

He now repairs regular watches, but also high-end watches like Rolex or Patek Philippe. “He himself wears a $400 Bulova Accutron from 1969 that is precise because it is not affected by gravity,” the article's author goes on.

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editor@romania-insider.com