Unique Selection of Watches at AZ Fine Time
From a dream to a reality
This morning I was sitting at my desk admiring a brand new Grand Seiko Titanium Chronograph watch that I just received, and it’s beauty and unique style reminded me of why I am in the premium watch business. I remember as a teenager working in my father’s retail store, learning the art of sales and purchasing from him. And I always admired the beautiful watches that the sales people who would visit him would wear.
A few years down the road, I began working at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. My admiration for watches was sparked again, but on a whole new level. Many of my mentors and colleagues wore some amazing timepieces from brands like, Rolex, Cartier, and Patek Phillipe. I immediately started collecting watches and was fascinated with the boutique and unusual brands. The thought of opening a boutique watch store rested safely in a corner of my mind for the time being.
Once I started the Cigar King, as a place where people could enjoy a premium cigar, I began to re-think the watch store concept. A captive audience with a fondness for the finer things in life would be the perfect place to begin my dream to create a boutique watch store. As I always gravitated towards the boutique watch brands personally, I began to stock several of these types of brands in the store.
Today, I stock over fifteen unique lines that are exclusive to AZFineTime.com in Arizona if not the entire US. That little dream I had blossomed into a solid business that allows me to work on a project that I have been passionate about for 40 years. Now that’s what I call the good life!
View more articles from this columnist »
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mitchel Hirsh - Cigar King
Mitchel Hirsh, owner of Cigar King and Arizona Fine Time, has been working the retail trade since 1960. His father started one of the 1st discount beauty stores in the Chicago area and began teaching him the ins and outs of retail at a very early age.
Throughout out his life, premium cigars, fine watches, and luxury goods have always been a hobby and a passion. After a successful run as a commodity trader at Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Mitchel decided to retire and return to his roots in retail. He purchased his father’s business and began the transformation from a discount store into one of the premier retailers for premium cigars in the country; The Cigar King was born.
The Cigar King is a place where customers can smoke and enjoy a premium cigar and choose from a selection of 200 brands. Displays filled with any type of accessory the mind could imagine line the store, and a beautiful lounge is available for consumers to smoke their cigars in comfort. Realizing he had a captive audience of consumers with a fondness for the finer things in life, Mitchel called on one of his other passions and created Arizona Fine Time, a boutique watch store.
Today, Arizona Fine Time stocks over fifteen unique lines that are exclusive to AZFineTime.com in Arizona if not the entire US. Built beautifully into a nook at the Cigar King, his dream blossomed into a solid business that allows him to work on projects that he has been passionate about for over 40 years.