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In a 2020 interview, Los Angeles watchmaker Josh Shapiro described a path from machine-shop curiosity to engine-turned dials and an ambition to make more of a watch under one roof. His Infinity Series paired intricate dial work with a movement he said was made by Lang & Heyne employees; at the time, he was also developing a time-only movement with substantial in-house component production. Those were plans and descriptions from the interview, not confirmation of the company’s present-day manufacturing setup.
How Josh Shapiro found his way into watchmaking
Shapiro told Erik Slaven that he grew up around his father’s and grandfather’s machine shop, where metalworking and machinery were familiar parts of life. He later worked as a teacher and school administrator. A Chronoswiss Opus poster in a Los Angeles watch shop caught his attention, and he began learning watchmaking and skeletonizing as a hobby.
He said he started with ETA 6498 movements and studied through the British Horological Institute’s distance-learning program. He completed much of its curriculum but did not travel to Britain for the examination. He had also read George Daniels’ Watchmaking. Over time, Shapiro found himself more drawn to dial-making, engine turning and production than to a career centered on servicing watches.
By his account, he spent roughly three years refining his dial-making before releasing professional work. He first made dials for other watchmakers and created one-off custom watches, then developed the Infinity Series under his own name. These milestones are Shapiro’s recollections in the 2020 conversation.
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What makes the Infinity dial distinctive?
Shapiro described the Infinity weave as a nested basket-weave pattern: a smaller weave is cut within a larger one. He compared the scale of the cuts to a human hair. From normal viewing distance, the overall pattern reads clearly; magnification or macro photography reveals finer detail.
The design draws on traditional engine-turned motifs, including basket weave and barleycorn. Shapiro said his usual dials were silver with a frosting technique that created a matte white appearance. He also discussed experiments with rose gold, flame-blued steel and meteorite, as well as a limited run made with Collective Horology. These material and edition details were reported in the 2020 interview.
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- [Waterproof] Water resistant to 30m (98FT) -suitable for daily water resistance, withstands splashes and light rain. Not for swimming, showering or diving
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What did “integrated manufacture” mean in Shapiro’s 2020 plans?
Vertical integration describes how much of a watch’s work a maker carries out within its own operation, rather than buying finished components or relying on outside suppliers. It is a spectrum, not an all-or-nothing label: a watchmaker may produce a dial or movement components in-house while sourcing other parts.
At the time of the interview, Shapiro said the Infinity Series used a UWD movement made by Lang & Heyne employees. He also said his workshop was developing a time-only movement, making a substantial portion of its components and using some vintage American movement parts for the rest. Separately, he described work on a tourbillon moon-phase project.
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The conversation establishes what Shapiro said was current or in development in 2020; it does not establish whether those projects were completed, whether the same movement is used now, or how the company’s present sourcing and production are arranged. For Shapiro’s account, see Erik Slaven’s 2020 interview with MONOCHROME Watches.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Shapiro’s view of American watchmaking
Shapiro offered his own interpretation of American watchmaking’s decline, pointing to tariffs, the movement of labor into other industries during wartime, and the quartz crisis. These were his explanations in the interview, not an independent historical account. He also spoke about other American makers and hoped the country could support a broader range of production, from higher-volume manufacturing to high-end independent work.
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“What I hope is that American Watchmaking in twenty years will become what Germany and Japan are now,” Shapiro said in the 2020 interview. The remark captures his aspiration at that time, rather than a prediction or a description of the industry’s current position.
How to assess an integrated watchmaker
The interview points to useful questions for understanding a maker’s approach, without providing a current specification sheet or a price comparison:
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →- What is made in-house? Look separately at movement components, dials, cases and final assembly; “in-house” can refer to only part of the watch.
- What is sourced, and why? A maker may combine its own components with outside movements or vintage parts. The origin and role of those parts matter more than the label alone.
- Where is the craft concentrated? Shapiro’s account emphasizes engine-turned dial work, where the pattern’s fine detail is central to the watch’s character.
- Is the work custom or repeatable? One-off commissions, small series and larger-scale production involve different manufacturing priorities. The interview describes Shapiro’s progression from custom work toward a named series, but does not give current production figures.
The account is a portrait of one watchmaker’s route and ambitions, not evidence that every component of a Shapiro watch was made in America or in his own workshop. Its value lies in the specific combination he described: specialized dial-making, a sourced movement for the Infinity Series at that time, and development work intended to bring more movement production into the workshop.
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