Several years ago, a good friend gave me a copy of Timeless Magazine by Ben Bridge Jeweler. It was their watch edition and when I read the introductory letter by Lisa Bridge, President and CEO, it brought tears to my eyes because it was the first time I’d ever read of a company that wanted their watches to be a part of how we look and feel each day. She spoke to the heart of women and talked about the importance of how a watch colors our world and the legacy she is leaving to her daughter.
I knew I had to make contact and let her know that she unknowingly threw me a lifeline in the middle of the pandemic and that I was so grateful to find a similar vision and voice in the watch world. I contemplated all the different ways that I could say thank you and finally settled on giving her Rise, one of my favorite timepieces. It was the perfect watch with the perfect message—her story was helping me rise and feel connected to something bigger than my vision alone.
To make a long story short, with that kind of synergy, a collaborative partnership was a natural next step. We are now working together because we both believe that a watch is part of you and your story, and that by having a beautiful and meaningful timepiece that you can really connect to, your day will be a little bit better.
Celeste and the Ben Bridge University Village team.
* In 1912, Samuel Silverman, a fine guild watchmaker, opened his first store in downtown Seattle. Ten years later, his daughter Sally married a man named Ben Bridge, who joined his father-in-law’s company as a partner. When Sam moved to California in 1927, Ben purchased Sam’s interest in the business, renamed the store Ben Bridge Jeweler. Since then, the company has expanded to over 70 retail stores in 11 different states, primarily in the western United States. In May 2000, Ben Bridge Jeweler was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway Today, the company continues to be family-operated and is currently managed by Ben's great-granddaughter Lisa Bridge.
