About Us
COME BY OUR RETAIL LOCATION
160 S. Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
CORNER OF BEVERLY DRIVE & CHARLEVILLE BLVD
Quality, Care & Authenticity. Guaranteed.
Our Company / Our History
Second Time Around Watch Company specializes in the sale, purchase, repair, and appraisal of vintage watches and modern wrist and pocket watches. Our current watch inventory includes hundreds of collectible and rare, vintage watches. Our owner, Jon Goldfarb has been an avid watch collector and enthusiast for many years. We are dedicated to ensuring that all Second Time Around Watch Company customers are 100% satisfied.
Located in Beverly Hills, California in the South Beverly Drive Shopping District, we have been serving the Los Angeles area since 1976. Our address is 160 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90212, one block south of Wilshire Boulevard, and just 2 doors north of Charleville Boulevard, at what is know as the Four Corners. Metered Parking is available on Beverly Drive, plus there are two first 2 hours free Public Parking Garages within less than 1 block south and 1 block north on Beverly Drive just north of Wilshire Boulevard, and there is also 1 hour parking on residential streets both to the east and to the west of our new store.
If you’re not in the Southern California area please call us at 310-271-6615 or toll free at 800-977-7615 or email us at info@secondtimearoundwatchco.com. It’s likely that we have the watch you are looking for or know how to find it. We ship via UPS Overnight Next Day Delivery within the United States and FedEx International Priority to most countries worldwide. All shipments are fully insured.
- Our Experience
Today, after 40+ years in business, our company's goal is the same as it was when we first opened our doors - to find the most exceptional and rare watches for our customers to wear and enjoy. Every watch we sell is carefully restored by expert craftsmen with the following objectives in mind:
- Maintaining the integrity and originality of the timepiece
- Ensuring that the watch's time keeping is as accurate as possible.
- Remaining true to our responsibilities as craftsmen.
- Our Commitment
Second Time Around Watch Company is recognized as a premier source for vintage watches and modern watches for collectors, dealers, and enthusiasts worldwide. We are dedicated to offering watches that can be worn for generations to come. A full two year warranty is provided on all watches.
- Our Associations
We are proud to be associated with the following respected organizations:
- NAWCC (National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors)
- IWJG (International Watch & Jewelry Guild)
- The National Association of Watch Dealers
WATCHES FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY
Every vintage watch on this website is in store and available for immediate delivery. Every watch offered for sale has been recently serviced by our expert watchmakers, is guaranteed to be 100% genuine and authentic, and comes with a full 2 year warranty. Each watch comes with a new, never-worn strap (only exception are watches with original bracelets or straps which will be stated in the description). All watches are eligible for Full Financing - Revolving Credit Card, Deferred Interest, or Long Term Financing. 7 Day Return Policy.
SERVICE & REPAIR
Our expert watchmakers are available for the repair and service of your vintage or modern timepiece and we charge only the cost of parts & labor, with no markup. Our watchmakers will maintain the integrity and originality of the timepiece, ensuring that the watch's time keeping is as accurate as possible. We remain true to the responsibilities of the watchmaker's craft.
Bring in or mail us your modern or vintage watch with a description of the issues you are experiencing and we will provide an estimate.
HOURS & TELEPHONE
Hours: Monday - Saturday, 10am - 5:30pm
Main: 1 (310) 271 - 6615
Toll Free: 1 (800) 977 - 7615
For inquiries, email us at info@secondtimearoundwatchco.com
Address: 160 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
HISTORY OF THE BUSINESS
The history of Second Time Around Watch Company is also the history of Los Angeles. Sigmund Shonholtz (1882-1946), as the story goes, in his youth, enjoyed betting on the horses at the local race track, and one day he did particularly well. He returned home to his family and announced he would be moving to America. He immigrated to the United States from Austria in the late 1890’s and moved to Philadelphia, where he founded his own jewelry store along the city’s famed Broad Street. By 1910, he had become a naturalized citizen, and began to think about moving to Los Angeles with his new family. He finally took the plunge, and settled with his wife, two daughters, and three sons, in East Los Angeles in the middle of the 1910’s. Sigmund founded S. Shonholtz & Sons as a watch and jewelry store in 1921, in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights, just east of the Los Angeles River. The store became a fixture of Los Angeles’ Brooklyn Avenue, and Sigmund’s three sons, Louis, Sidney, and David, each joined the family business, which continued to grow with the rapidly expanding city.
(At left, war bonds purchased on behalf of S. Shonholtz & Sons. Right, youngest son David Shonholtz's Bar Mitzvah is featured in the paper above a report on the Dillinger gang.)
Sadly, Sigmund passed away in 1946, and in response, his three sons regrouped their efforts, and, as announced on the front page of the September 8th, 1948 edition of the Eastside Journal, the brothers hosted a grand reopening in a new and modernized storefront location on Brooklyn Avenue.
(At left, the Shonholtz sons are featured on the front page of the local paper. At right, S. Shonholtz & Sons grand reopening on September 9th, 1948.)
During the 1950s, the bustling store thrived and eventually expanded to other locations, including a storefront in Los Angeles’ “Miracle Mile”.
(At left, pictured center, eldest son Louis Shonholtz riding on a parade float in east Los Angeles. At right, the three brothers in their store.)
S. Shonholtz and Sons continued strong through the 1960’s, but in the 1970’s, changing tastes and the Swiss “Quartz Crisis” greatly impacted the watch trade. People became enamored with inexpensive, non-Swiss, quartz or battery wristwatches, and the market for fine mechanical timepieces rapidly declined.
(At left, David Shonholtz holding court in S. Shonholtz & Sons in the 1970s. At right, the team of watchmakers and staff in the 1970's Boyle Heights location.)
David Shonholtz, Sigmund’s youngest son, closed his store in 1984 after 63 years in business.
(At left, an S. Shonholtz & Sons ad for quartz wristwatches from a local paper. Center, "David Shonholtz says goodbye to his clients...". Right, vintage S. Shonholtz & Sons business card holder stating "Since 1921... Oldest Established Jewelers in East L.A.".)
David’s son, ‘Sig’ Shonholtz, now a third-generation watchmaker, founded Second Time Around Watch Company in 1976 as a full watch and jewelry restoration center, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Sig had, what was at the time something unheard of: the visionary idea of selling restored “vintage wristwatches”. People laughed at him — serious collectors of the day were only interested in clocks and pocket watches. In fact, while it was challenging to get people interested in vintage timepieces, it was nearly as hard to find people selling them -- no one thought they were worth anything! Through partnerships in supplying Ralph Lauren, Neiman Marcus, Saks, and Tourneau, he developed a strong business and clientele. In 1983, Second Time Around Watch Company moved in with the grand opening of the “Antiquarius Center” building, a luxury emporium of antiques and vintage jewelry located at 8840 Beverly Blvd in West Hollywood (a year before the city’s incorporation). The business thrived there as a resource for lovers of fine vintage and antique timepieces.
(At left, our old location in the original Antiquarius Center Building, destroyed in the 2008 fire. At right, our old transitional location on Rosewood Avenue.)
Jon Goldfarb, a 23-year veteran of the automotive warranty business and the Father of America's Best Warranty, who had worked for two major manufacturers/importers, purchased Second Time Around in 2006 from Sig Shonholtz, and continues to run operations to this day. In 2008, a fire destroyed the Antiquarius Center and Second Time Around was forced to temporarily move to nearby Rosewood Avenue, just off Robertson Boulevard. As of 2013, Second Time Around Watch Company has been located at 160 S. Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, California, just one block south of Wilshire and one block east of Rodeo. We are happy to continue to provide the Los Angeles area (and thanks to the internet, the world) with restoration services and a curated selection of fine vintage timepieces, fully serviced by us and available in our store or by overnight delivery.