Our Story

Built by Enthusiasts, for Enthusiasts

Arklin was founded by brothers Tony and James, who share a simple belief: the right strap can completely transform the way a watch looks and feels on the wrist.

"We celebrate that moment when a fresh strap brings a forgotten favorite back into rotation," James says. "That's the inspiration behind this whole journey."

"We come from blue-collar roots," he continues. "I'm a third-generation mason who worked his way from the field into project management. Tony was the only one in the family to break away from construction, he became an ASE Certified Mechanic, moved into automotive equipment repair, and later started his own automotive accessory business."

That hands-on background shapes the way the brothers approach everything at Arklin.

They've always shared their passions. "When we were kids, I talked Tony into buying a guitar," James recalls. "We must have spent thousands of hours learning to play." Those self-taught skills led to a band that would go on to dominate a decade of their lives, two albums recorded, radio play, and gigs at some of the best venues on the East Coast, including Hard Rock, House of Blues, and The Troubadour.

During the band years, Tony picked up videography and began shooting music videos. Years later, he convinced James to take up photography. Sharing hobbies is just what they do, so it wasn't long before James got Tony into watch collecting.

Today, James brings 25 years of watch collecting knowledge and runs his own YouTube channel, Blue Collar Luxe. Tony continues to feed his love of videography and photography through his channel, Camera Fusion.

"Tony is the guy who brings our visions to life," James says. "He just gets the technical side of things, I guess that's the mechanic in him. We pitch ideas at each other constantly, and the moment we land on one we love, he's already designed it and started 3D printing."

Between them, the brothers cover every side of the business, from A to Z: product development, web design, product photography, content creation, advertising, customer service, and shipping.

Every strap in the Arklin lineup represents two brothers turning a passion into a way of life  and a desire to share that passion with fellow watch enthusiasts and collectors.

“When new strap day feels more like new watch day”  that's what Arklin is all about.