Accepting Crypto | Interviewing ERA Timepieces CEO Michael Galarza

ERA Timepieces (www.eratimepieces.com^[1]) is a new luxury watch company that has taken haute horlogerie complications and made them accessible to the common man. And with various forms of cryptocurrency now spreading globally, Michael and his team have begun accepting forms of it as payment, making his company the first ever to receive two different types (Bitcoin and Ethereum) for the sale of a watch.

We sat down with Michael to learn more about his thoughts on crypto, his upcoming timepieces, and if he thinks more retailers in his industry along with crowdfunding websites will start accepting various forms of crypto in the future.

What were your original motivations for getting into the timepiece and e-commerce world?

We felt like there was a huge gap in the market. For these complications, you would only be able to get 5- and 6-figure watches, and being from the sourcing and e-commerce world already, we knew there was a way to get these things made for cheaper without the crazy price gouging that goes on in order to fuel crazy celebrity endorsement marketing budgets.

When did you first become aware of cryptocurrency?

I first bought Bitcoin in 2013, when it had a little mini run-up in price

What are your views on cryptocurrency, whether it be positive or negative?

I think cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, in general, are quite revolutionary and in particular Bitcoin itself, as it’s proven to be quite censorship resistant in spite of many countries’ attempts to ban it. Especially in the fields of finance/accounting, I think it has revolutionary use cases. But 2017 brought in a wave of speculators, and everyone just tried to apply the same dot-com bubble blueprint by trying to slap