Dec 13, 2019
Up Close: J.N. Shapiro Infinity Series
An educator by profession, Josh Shapiro had a longtime interest in watchmaking, which sharpened into a pursuit of traditional engine turning in 2013. After several years of practice – and a roomful of guilloche machines – the self-taught guillocheur and watchmaker produced a handful of dials for American watchmaker David Walter in 2016. And last year Josh launched his own brand, J.N. Shapiro, which he now pursues full-time, while remaining a part-time vice principal at a high school in Los Angeles. His debut watch was the Infinity Series, named after the Infinity Weave, a proprietary guilloche pattern he invented. The first J.N. Shapiro Infinity Series delivered, the watch pictured here, was finished earlier this year – and is numbered “N.01”. Though Josh offers a variety of options for the case and dial colours, this watch hews closely to the prototype, with a rose gold case, silver dial, and blue hands. It’s important to note this is actually the first watch Josh sold, and consequently shows some of the inevitable inconsistencies of a watchmaker’s early work. There are a couple of stray marks and burrs on the dial, and a bit of lint, but the early work of independent watchmakers is usually inconsistent, which is part of the hand-finished charm, and also proof of how artisans evolve. Josh’s subsequent dials have improved tremendously. Josh Shapiro with one of his straight-line machines. Photo – J.N. Shapiro The Infinity Series has a simple but effect...
Time+Tide
