Time stands still in Marshall Ferster's shop. Antique and rare watches fill his Uptown storefront, American Vintage, where he has been selling and repairing watches for decades. And along the way he's come to admire the art of damaskeening. The fancy term fits the definition, referring to the decorative pattern on the face of the watch. Those intricate designs are made from very fine scratches using primitive tools. Some damaskeening is two-toned, scraping through the gold outer layer to uncover the nickel plate, yielding stunning results. Appreciating the beauty of this labor-intensive craft never gets old for Ferster, who points out that beauty doesn't always come with a high price tag. "It doesn't need to be rare to be beautiful," Ferster says.
