BIOGRAPHY
Alexander Shorokhov, founder and namesake of the Alexander Shorokhoff watch manufactory, was born in Moscow in 1960. He is a trained civil engineer and also studied architecture – where he developed his flair for shapes and colors and his talent for exceptional design.
Due to his achievements and commitment, he was sent to Germany with 20 other managers in 1991 following an agreement between German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and President Mikhail Gorbachev to learn about and study the free market economy at the Hessian Ministry of Economics.
Just one year later, in 1992, he founded a watch distribution company for the Europe-wide marketing of the then largest and most important Russian watch brand Poljot, until he established his first own watch brand Poljot-International on the watch market in 1994.
Anyone who knows Alexander Shorokhov knows that he is not satisfied with half measures. He wanted to produce watches under his own direction and to his own high standards – that was his goal.
In 2003, he took the next step in Germany: in picturesque Alzenau in Bavaria, he founded Alexander Shorokhoff Uhrenmanufaktur – under his own name. The two “f ”s emphasize his Russian origins and the history of the brand, of which he is very proud.
Alexander Shorokhov is a cosmopolitan. He travels through many countries and cultures and draws his ideas from them. He is most strongly inspired by his Russian soul and his Russian roots, based on a rich thousand-year history of art and culture. The unique combination with German precision creates the unusually individual design of the watches, paired with a great deal of dedication, excellent quality and the highest possible precision.
Ich bin rundum zufrieden 😊. Die “Winter” ist eine wunderschöne Uhr, hat eine tolle Größe, ein außergewöhnliches Ziffernblatt mit Diamantstaub und glitzert daher richtig schön im Licht. Ich würde mich immer wieder für diese Uhr entscheiden 🥰
I only buy watches to wear. None live in a safe awaiting the day they will be resold to another collector. In fact, I have only sold one watch in my life (a gold Rolex President with diamonds) because it was a dated look for me and the diamonds were after market. (I bought a limited edition Breitling with an in-house movement to update my look in case you are wondering.) My heirs will have to resell the rest.
The Alexander Shorokhhoff Kandy Orange watch is flawless and beautiful and feels perfect on the wrist. This is my first watch from Shorokhhoff. I was admittedly nervous thinking this was an overpriced rebirth brand made in China. My initial concerns were unfounded.
While I find many of these Shorokhhoff watches to be unique and interesting, I had to ask myself when would I wear that watch. I actually have a checklist of things a watch must have before I will consider it, and this watch had almost none of those objective attributes. But something about this watch just literally jumped out at me. Orange you say? Well, I’m a University of Florida Gator graduate (two degrees), so orange is my color. Are the 60, 20, and 40 dial markers unusual? Yep. Do they help you read the time. Sort of. Did I even notice that at first? Nope. Am I an art deco fan? Not really. I was also nervous about buying a watch online sight unseen from a foreign country. I can say that if that is your sticking point, I would not worry about that. If you love the look of this watch, you will get what you see. Exactly. It is a luxury quality product. But once you love the look of a watch, you have to decide if you can afford it. If you can pay the asking price, then you have to worry about whether you are getting ripped off. Unlike some other “fashion” watches that I own (Gucci, Swatch Omega), this is a luxury watch, with a luxury box (which should not matter but it does), with a luxury fit and finish despite the fact that I first heard about the brand on Instagram. While I have more expensive watches, this was admittedly three times over what I would normally pay for watches now, and I had to think about it before making the purchase. It was a splurge when I have so many other options. I don’t have any real watch nerds that I’m trying to impress in my business or life in general. Nobody who is outside the watch world will say, “OH! Is that one of the Shorokohhoff limited edition watches.” If it is not a Rolex, then any cool looking watch is just another watch–and it is not an Apple Watch so what does it even do? There are THOUSANDS of other watches at, or below, this price, but only 2 others like this. I am very pleased with my purchase and I feel happy every time I look at it. In my opinion, the THAT is the real measure of a watch (or any purchase really). If you look at it and brings joy to your heart, then you are doing the right thing. This watch is now on the list of my prized possessions. All thanks to a Russian guy making watches in Germany. I would 10/10 recommend this watch or any watch using this same design template. While I can’t speak to the others, I bet they have the same quality and attention to detail.
P.S. This is an automatic watch but it can be hand wound if you let the power reserve run down. The ETA movement is so precise that for the first few days, I did not think it was winding properly because I could not feel anything when turning the crown after a few turns, so I stopped. When I looked the movement up online, it said 20-40 clockwise turns at position 0 (fully pushed in). Yesterday, I turned it 20 times and it lept to life.
The watch is beautiful and unique enough in my opinion. The finishing is excellent and it’s thin so it wears really very comfortably. With a SW300 movement, the customized and highly decorated rotor, the blued hands and numbers, the two straps (one of which is real Louisiana alligator (one-sided)) – all in a beautiful wooden box. I think it’s fairly prized and thus a compelling offer/package – if you like traditional dress watches with a twist. The customer service was excellent and very responsive. Just be aware that each watch is assembled upon order, so the total lead time is about 2 weeks (assembly plus shipping within Europe).
The watch has an exquisite design better upclose than in the pictures. I enjoy the watch every other day and it is worth the money.