About
Hello! My name is Michael Fields and I am Respektiv. I am a married father of 2, a University of Kentucky graduate and an Army Veteran. Respektiv is a blend of new technology and old craftsmanship applied to watchmaking. I have set out to create Individual and Specific watches. Respektiv (the pronunciation spelling of respective in the dictionary) means relating separately to each of two or more people or things. Personal. Specific. Individual. Respektiv.
When I was a kid, my grandfather gave me his Gold toned Bulova mechanical watch. I would take the back off and marvel and the micro mechanics within. I have been fascinated with mechanical watches my whole life.
Shortly after getting out of the Army, I enrolled in the Timezone school of watchmaking and ≈2006, I have been hooked. I started out servicing simple movements. I then moved to slightly more complicated pieces like automatics, date, and day-date. I started looking at watches differently. Given my understanding of watches, I began to appreciate the value of them and I started to question the value of them. I'd look at a nice watch and begin to think that if I had built it, I'd do this or that differently. So I did. I found supply houses from around the world that sold amazing components that I could source and assemble into my own creations. I shopped the world for broken watches to fix and modify. I have built or repaired countless watches for family, friends and my own collection. I have used my skills in photography, artistic design, website design and watchmaking to finally create Respektiv.
The Respektiv style is to resurrect old parts and meld with new to make unique creations. I love the look of decay and that is my style. My finishing techniques result in pieces that are a little rough, imperfect and look their age. If you seek a perfectly sleek piece, look at the Construction collection but if you like a little dinge with an artistic flair and a vintage feel, Heat, Acid or Inked might be your style. Rather than build the same watches, I'd prefer to corroborate with my clients to build unique pieces.
My shop is a small, low volume enterprise based just outside Memphis, TN in Olive Branch, MS. This is my passion, not my livelihood. I will strive to keep my pricing low so that everyone who chooses Respektiv can do so. Rarely will any Respektiv pieces exceed $400 yet I strive to deliver a product worth 2-3 times the cost. I don't do much advertising to keep costs low. I prefer to keep my clients as partners and work off word of mouth and referrals. My daughter races mountain bikes so if at the end of the year I can afford to buy her a new race bike, I have met my sales goal. If you ever have a question, don't hesitate to reach out to me at michael@respektiv.com
