Interview with Jonathan Kamstrup, Co-Founder and CEO of REC Watches

Fashion - Interview

by Mehmet Kaplan

In our daily life, we use many products made from recycled materials. However, very few of them carry the characteristics and legacy of the product they were previously part of. In order for this to happen, firstly, the product decomposed for recycling must have a commercial and spiritual value, and there must be the idea of ​​making a product that will reflect the legacy of the part donor. REC Watches is the second part of this philosophy. Jonathan Kamstrup and Christian Mygh brought to life the idea of ​​designing a watch by using the recycled parts of iconic cars. Each of the watches they create carries the design details of the donors. Each REC watches has an original ID because of being limited-edition, this makes them even more special. As a watch lover who uses one of the REC watches, if you meet someone using the same watch you're using, you can be sure that the spirit of the same donor lives in your watches. I talked with Jonathan Kamstrup, Co-Founder and CEO of REC Watches, about the story of REC Watches.

Jonathan, before talking about REC, could you tell us about your career and industry experience? Why did you decide to pursue a career in watchmaking industry? What inspired you?

I have always been very interested in watches – and a petrolhead to the bone. I actually have no industry experience what so ever – but I always had a dream to introduce my own brand. And do things very differently in the conservative world of watches.

REC Watches 901 RS

When did you meet with Christian Mygh? How did you come up with the idea of this concept?

Christian is a childhood buddy of mine – and he is also the co-founder of REC Watches. Regarding how we came up with the concept. Well, not all good ideas in history start with a bottle of Scotch – but this one did.

Sitting one Autumn evening in Copenhagen with Christian, we talked about our greatest passion – cars and watches. And on that cold November day, we thought to ourselves, “Why not merge those two passions?”. Three months later a truck the size of the Empire State building pulled up with several pallets of our first timepiece collection.

A lot has happened in the past four years since Christian and I tried to fit our first batch of watches in his 3-bedroom apartment in Copenhagen. Today, we work with some of the most recognized design agencies in the watch industry in Switzerland and have our watches distributed in more than 60 countries.

That being said, our journey has just begun, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that you decided to join the ride! REC Watches was born from a passion for timepieces and cars, and our promise to you is to keep that passion intact, delivering stunning watches in the highest quality.

REC Watches Cooper

Could you tell us about the REC and details of the concept?

Sure, every single REC timepiece incorporates salvaged, recycled parts from iconic vehicles that are beyond repair. A concept we named RECOVER, RECYCLE, RECLAIM - or just REC for short.

Due to the variations of patina in the recycled dials, all of our watches are visibly unique, has its own story to tell and features design references to the car from which it was partly made.

You have 5 different watch collections that are produced by using 5 different vehicles' parts. Could you tell us about your collections and their features?

What’s important for us to track down an organ donor with an interesting story. Once we find the organ donor with just the right story, the design process begins. And the design has to reflect the icon meaning every watch collection has several design references to the icon.

REC Watches Mark I

What are the distinctive features of REC watches?

• They are all born with a story (their organ donor)
• Every watch is visibly unique due to the patina in the dial cut from the organ donor
• They have several design references to the icon from which they are made.

What is your next project? Is it possible to create a new collection with space shuttle parts in the future?

Still a secret ;-) Shuttle parts? Yeah, why not. We just have to find one first, haha.

REC Watches P51

Besides vehicle parts, which materials do you prefer to use on REC watches? How do you decide to right material for each part?

We always use 316 Stainless steel for all our timepieces as this has proven the most durable.

What do you enjoy most about using REC watches?

Wearing them we guess ;-) And looking at that beautiful unique dial and exploring all the amazing design details.

REC Watches The RJM

Social media is like a big showcase for watch brands. How can our readers follow you?

Your readers can follow us on @recwatches. We are sharing images of our automobile design in beautiful surroundings.

How can our readers buy REC watches?

Your readers can order their REC Watch directly on www.recwatches.com

Thank you Jonathan for your time.

For more information, please click here to visit the website of REC Watch

This interview was conducted in a Question-and-Answer format. The answers were checked for grammar and punctuation and published without any additional editing. Tuesday, April 30, 2019. All photos are the property of their respective owners.