"My passion for photography started in my native homeland of Cuba. I was a competitive swimmer at the national level and in my solitary, underwater world the images of my curiosity would flash in my mind with every stroke. Later, using a gifted 1973 Olympus OM10 camera I was able to capture those flashing images on film. My focus on the atypical elements of Cuban life; the deterioration of majestic colonial structures in Old Havana, the remnants of the collapsing Soviet influence on the island, and even the weathered faces of Cuba’s tobacco men, brought me immense pleasure. But by the late 1990s life in Cuba was becoming more and more difficult. I finally escaped the island nation in late 2000 and the freedoms and opportunities afforded to me in the United States of America gave new life to my passion for photography and art. I began to collaborate with some of the biggest names in publishing, music and fine cigars. And it was through those relationships that I was invited to conceptualize and design a timepiece for one of the world’s preeminent watch companies. This work has opened doors into new worlds with exciting opportunities that I can’t wait to share with you." - Manny Irarte