Entrepreneur manufactures his own brand watches in Cuba
HAVANA, Aug. 29th – The constant attempt to reverse the economic problems in Cuba today even brings curiosities such as some entrepreneurs dedicated to producing their own brands of wristwatches.This curiosity is in the shadow of the development of MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized companies), something that is gaining momentum these days, when these people, with great effort, try to position themselves in the creative and production panorama of the island.
The complicated manufacturing work and the wide variety of the assortment of the only Cuban company dedicated to the production and sale of analog watches has the name (brand) Tiempo de Luz, with the aim of reaching the national and international tourist market.
This is the case of Ernesto Barrios, owner of the company, who explained to Prensa Latina that his entity has been producing these one hundred percent renewable measuring instruments since 2021 since it uses raw material, parts and pieces of other equipment depreciated by customers or placed in liquidation by companies such as the Cimex Corporation.
He also takes advantage of the disuses of the Caribbean Store Chain (TRD), both wind-up, analog, and batteries.
The owner of Tiempo de Luz, who has a contract with the Empresa Comercial Caracol S.A., specified. (chain of stores in this country).
Said marketer specializes in the most autochthonous of this archipelago such as cigars, rum, coffee and souvenirs. Said alliance of the entrepreneur with Caracol is for the production and commercialization of these watches on the island, in hotels and stores, a true novelty.
Approved by the Government in October 2021 as one of the first 60 companies created in Cuba (under the name of Mypimes), it does not invest in raw materials since it takes advantage of everything, and in that sense, a carpenter uses different types of discarded wood to the creation of the box, which can be ácana, mahogany, majagua or jiquí (wooden watches).
Likewise, Barrios, a glazier from the origin, conceives the glass, and a saddler is dedicated to making the strap, handle, bracelet or bracelet.
The owner says that his brand (Tiempo de Luz) has already been registered and patented by the Cuban Office of Industrial Production (OCPI), which confers Industrial Property (IP) rights in the Republic of Cuba.
It meant that today they already manage to produce chronographs for stores in the capital, for the Meliá Habana and Nacional hotels, and they have another contract with the Heritage Attention Office, in the Historic Center of this city, which allows the trade of these instruments in stores like La Guayabera and La Habanera.
Barrios outlined that several relevant Cuban artists, such as the musician Alexander Abreu, leader of the band Havana D’Primera, prepared the promotion of these products. In addition, other artists such as Pancho Amat or the troubadour Eduardo Sosa have already bought watches from this brand.
In addition, the watchmaker and his team also assemble similar instruments, but tables or living rooms, and walls, of different types and formats, however, -he pointed out-, that his firm manufactures parts and pieces that are imported by Cuban state companies.
He concluded that in a very short time, they were able to sell hundreds of these watches, mainly wristwatches, especially in Caracol stores.
