One to Watch: Independent Edition

Starting to make a buzz around some watch forums, eBay and YouTube is PyroLume Watch Works. Pyrolume is a US based independent watch company started by New Jersey anesthesiologist Pejman Foroush. Dr. Foroush took his passion for timepieces to a new level when he began building one off custom pieces and prototypes for friends and family approximately 2 years ago. Initially testing the waters of selling on eBay, he has since sold an estimated 350-400 watches worldwide since PyroLume's inception. Each of these creations has been a custom piece experimenting with different designs, movements, & materials.

There are two defining characters of PyroLume watches; first is the high volume and creative use of luminescence material Pejman applies to various parts of the watch in a wide variety of colors, and second is the custom dials he produces using an in-house CNC mill. Pyrolume often plays with varying dial materials including [but not limited to]; thin aluminum sheets, copper, and composite materials ranging from carbon fiber to silver and gold texalium and even Mother of Pearl. Recently he has been toying around with using a black, or charcoal colored lume which is somewhat of an oddity that is starting to be sought after by collectors more and more.

Below are just a few examples of PyroLume's offerings:

Ground breaking use of lume on the underside of a dial.


Caseback in day, or standard, light conditions

PyroLume's take on the classic California dial


Half Skeleton 'Aviator' with orange lume.


The caseback of the above 'Aviator'


Mother of Pearl dial


Drenched in lume to give it a halo effect

PyroLume offers a little bit for every price range with pricing starting around $200 for prototype and quartz pieces. If you are looking to spend a bit more PyroLume also offers several variations using Asian produced "ETA/Unitas 6497" clones [mainly Seagull and Hangzouh movements] in titanium cases in the $350-400 price range. Foroush really seems to be currently focusing on this second tier line of products. For those not familiar; the venerable "6497" styled movement, by design, is very robust and reliable and is still desirable to many, which is a great jumping off point for PyroLume's line of watches. Though some of the Asian made versions are known to have questionable quality control the good doctor is doing all he can to pick up the slack in that area stating; "My solution to this was simple, each and every Chinese movement regardless of source is torn down, inspected, properly lubricated, reassembled and regulated on my Timegrapher machine." PyroLume has also begun to roll out a third tier of pieces using Swiss made movements and overall higher quality materials, starting in the $600 area and going up from there. Considering the attention to detail, the attraction of the crazy amounts of lume, and the in-house manufacturing of dials...His prices are quite reasonable; which opens the door to many collectors still in search of a custom piece that doesn't make their wallets implode.

Pyrolume Watch Works film of the very attractive "Luxe Turbofan" with a rose gold colored skeleton movement

Looking ahead Pejman seems very excited about the future of PyroLume; "I have recently moved the PyroLume Watch Works from my garage into some local industrial space. I will also be investing in new machines as well as bringing on two full time employees to help take my vision to the next level." he is also currently working on a display for the BaselWorld 2010 fair next April.

To see many more of PyroLume Watch Works' custom creations you can browse through their gallery at www.pyrolume.com, or visit their YouTube channel HERE. To follow along on projects check out the PyroLume Watch Works blog HERE.

To see what is currently available from PyroLume click HERE for a current eBay search.

I would like to thank Dr. Foroush for taking the time to answer some of my questions about PyroLume Watch Works, its origins and their product line.