Wristwatch Doc, 4601-B Forest Drive: 9 May 2011 (expanded) 8 comments
Wristwatch Doc is the follow-on operation to Jewelery Mart in the Bruegger's building on Forest Drive next to Cardinal Newman. When they were setting up, their sign went up in the old Jewelery Mart spot on the roadside marquee:
and the shop door:
but was shortly joined by a sign for Artisan Jewelers:
That, I figured, was the "official" name for the place, but in the event it appears I was wrong and Artisan and Wristwatch Doc were separate businesses sharing retail space. In the event, Wristwatch Doc has now gotten their own storefront on Fort Jackson Boulevard, and has added gold buying to their portfolio. I did stop in once at the Forest Drive location, and they changed my watch battery quickly and with no problem (especially compared to a memorable battery change in Augusta Mall when I thought I might be getting my watch back in pieces..)
UPDATE 13 July 2011: Changed "(moved)" in the post title to "(expanded)" to account for the Jackson space. Also, they have a new sign on Forest now:
8 Responses to 'Wristwatch Doc, 4601-B Forest Drive: 9 May 2011 (expanded)'
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Dennis
16 May 11 at 3:08 pm
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Well that would explain why he seemed to know what he was doing..
As for grandfather's pocket-watch, I learned as a 10 year old that there's a lot more mechanism inside it than will go *back* inside it..
ted
16 May 11 at 4:27 pm
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I should take a couple of non functional pocket watches for repair, minus the quartz sacrilege.
ChiefDanGeorge
17 May 11 at 5:24 am
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Another watch repair shop is opening soon across from Andy's Deli in Five Points
17 May 11 at 2:29 pm
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hey Terry u beat me to it re the watch repair shop which just two days ago and only for about four months was formerly known as compmart2 which sold refurbished comps. I never saw one person in there and as they couldn't offer a warranty (even if they could odds of them being around were low to begin)
Mike D
17 May 11 at 2:52 pm
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The guy that ownes wristwatch Doc is not a watchmaker not even close, I had a rolex repaired by him and he could not get the parts, so I had to go to NC. and the wachmaker there told me he knew John and he was not a watchmaker cause he drenched my rolex in oil, finger prints on the dial finger prints on the movement and the watch did not even work when I got it back. and he was very Rude,
Steve
6 Jun 11 at 6:26 pm
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The forest drive location is now closed.
Jackson
26 Apr 14 at 1:01 pm
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The Wristwatchdoc is now in Cayce accross the street from the new BC HS stadium on Knox Abbott Drive...
Melissa Poage
17 Jul 14 at 12:16 am
John Gawronski is the Wristwatch Doc and Cynthia Gawronski is the artisan of Artisan Jewelers.
Last week (5/10) John told me that he is upfitting the retail space on Forest Drive to make a nice store for both businesses, and will keep the spot on Jackson Blvd. as a workshop not open to the public.
John is sort of the Gerald's Shoe Shop for expensive watches. He is also one of the very few actual watchmakers in SC. A great service he offers is to take the old finicky mechanical movement out of great grandpa's or grandma's watch that has sentimental value and replace it with a dependable quartz movement. It will look the same and no one will know but you.
Of course you would not want to do this to a truly valuable collectors' item.
Cynthia is hand making unique jewelry that she calls steampunk style, using pieces and parts that were not necessarily meant to be jewelry. Some pretty expensive and some not.