It seems an odd name for a watch—Whiskey Espresso—until you discover that the elegant timepiece from Original Grain is actually made using wood from repurposed bourbon barrels. A recycled wood watch may already be a surprise, but the company, founded by brothers Ryan and Andrew Beltran, also plants a tree for each one sold. Not only that, but it also raises money to support veteran causes with watches made from reclaimed military equipment.
The Beltran brothers started with a couple hundred specially designed watches and a couple of Kickstarter campaigns, and they turned it all into a multi-million-dollar watch brand. “The story really starts back in 2011, when I decided to go to Hong Kong to pursue my dream of starting a fashion brand,” says Ryan in a video on their website. He came across wooden watches, and they gave him an idea. At the time, Andrew was serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, and while returning from deployment, he stopped in Hong Kong for R&R. Ryan showed him the product, and it reminded them both of their childhood in Oregon, where they spent a lot of time outdoors. Inspired, they got to work.
They decided to focus on making watches with reclaimed wood, a material that would immediately set them apart and introduce an environmentally positive aspect. They could also incorporate stonewashed steel, which creates unique patterns on the watches. By 2013, they had perfected their design and produced nearly 200 watches. Two Kickstarter campaigns later, they had raised nearly $1 million.
The Beltrans found they could bring more of a story to Original Grain, written in the wood itself. They began making watches using old whiskey, tequila, and beer barrels, and then they went even further, designing models that took wood from old stadium seats from the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs. Suddenly, buyers with strong attachments to those teams were willing to pay nearly six times as much.
Military surplus is one of their most recent sources. They use wood from ammunition crates, leather from bomber jackets, and even canvas from old tents. “If these materials could talk, what were the stories they could tell?” says Andrew. The deeper story of these materials is of service, a connection to the mission central to their brand: supporting veterans. A portion of every sale goes to organizations that provide assistance to veterans and their families.
As Ryan puts it, each of their watches is “not just a timepiece; it’s a piece of time.” In a world of mass production and duplication, their approach offers a final product that is truly unique: “No two watches are the same.”
