Times often change, but at one mainstay watch shop in NYC, time-honored values still ring true thanks to family, tradition, talent…and maybe a bit of modern technology.
Grand Central Watch is an iconic watch repair shop located in Manhattan’s Grand Central Station. Open since 1952, this family-owned and operated business specializes in watch service and repair. It also carries an array of second-hand, high-end watches from luxury brands including Cartier, Rolex and Bulgari.
“Service has always been what my grandfather’s vision was for the business” Steven Kivel, the third-generation owner and president of Grand Central Watch, said.
Master watchmakers work on any given weekday in a modern workshop outfitted with stations that have the latest technology needed to fix and polish luxury time pieces. Services available include complete overhauls of chronographic and mechanical watches, as well as quick-turnaround battery service for quartz watches.
The benefits of being located in Grand Central
Kivel’s paternal grandfather, Max, an immigrant from Europe, founded Grand Central Watch 70 years ago. With watchmaking skills under his belt, he opened the shop to offer watch repair, excellent customer service and reasonable prices—a legacy that continues today, Kivel said.
“He started in Grand Central feeling that this was the place where he can capture all the commuters coming in in the morning, passing on the way home,” Kivel said. “It was like you had the same person twice a day.”
A commuter could drop their watch off in the morning, and then pick it up on the way home or the next day.
“That was always his vision. Luckily he was a very smart man because it has worked out for over 70 years,” Kivel said, adding that his father, too, also worked in the business for 60 years.
Kivel’s two daughters also interned in the family business, though they are now pursuing different, but equally exciting, career paths, he said.
Describing Grand Central Watch
One can compare Grand Central Watch to a time machine connecting customers to the past and future.
First, it’s about yesteryear. The watches available for sale in Grand Central resonate with nostalgia. Vintage timepieces are encased on shelves along a main pathway in the bustling transportation hub’s lower level. Friendly staff are stationed on a pedestal that serves as the main desk.
The shop is more like a stall display rather than a walk-in store, almost reminiscent of a newsstand in a 1950s film noir movie. Instead of commuters passing by to browse the latest headlines, they’re looking at watches.
But upstairs, in the workshop, is where all the contemporary action takes place. In an almost sterile room where vents are filtered, shoe coverings are mandatory, and cleanliness is key, watchmakers dissect and put back together very expensive watches to restore them to their original health.
Kivel said watchmaking and repair is an art, and he and his team are proud to have this rare skill.
“We really give it our all to make Grand Central Watch so special,” Kivel said. “We work at a very high-quality level with the effort we put in to fix the heirlooms that are sometimes 100 years old, and even more. It’s a very difficult task. These things are so sentimental and so important to people that you have to do it right. You can’t make any mistakes. It’s a lot of pressure to be under, and somehow we show up here everyday and figure it out.”
Having the latest watch repair technology helps, including lathes that shape an item using an array of attachments to hold delicate watch components, state-of-the-art polishing machines and boxes of hand-held tools that only expert watchmakers would know how to use properly.
On customer service
Retail is a tough industry, and it can be “tricky,” Kivel said, adding that it’s as important as providing quality service.
“We’ve really taken a lot of pride in the way we treat people and the way we respect our customers,” he said. “But it goes both ways. We have a wonderful clientele who we feel really appreciates us. They come, they’re thankful, we fix their grandfather’s watch–something nobody else can do.”
Kivel said that after seven decades of having a rare art that means so much to so many people, Grand Central Watch has a strong legacy and a bright future.
“Owning any kind of retail business is difficult,” Kivel said. “There’s a lot of pressure, changing worlds, changing times, the city is different. What once was, is not the same today. You have to be able to bend and change with all of the times.”
What you need to know about visiting Grand Central Watch
Where is Grand Central Watch located?
The store is located inside Grand Central Station in the 45th Street Passageway.
What are the hours?
Monday-Friday; 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
What kinds of services are available?
Grand Central Watch offers full servicing of chronograph, mechanical and quartz watches, vintage restoration, cleaning and polishing services, and repairs.
What does Grand Central Watch sell?
The store sells a variety of pre-owned watches from leading brands including Rolex, Cartier, Patek Phillippe and more.
For more information about watch repair, prices and service, visit centralwatch.com or call 212-685-1689.
