Team

PAUL HOYT
Paul grew up around watches as his father is a longtime collector. An interest in team leadership led him to the business world, and prior to founding Connoisseur of Time, Paul held an executive position within a training and development firm based in Atlanta.

Paul founded Connoisseur of Time in 2005. Since that time the company has grown to become an internationally trusted seller of collectible vintage and luxury watches and is privileged to count among its clients leaders of industry, entertainment, and government, and museums. Paul has overseen several thousand servicing and restoration projects and bought and, alongside the COT team, helped to sell thousands of watches of different brands, ages, and types, from simple time-telling watches to complicated masterpieces.

Paul has been asked to contribute to major watch publications.

paul@connoisseuroftime.com

BRANDI HOYT
Brandi has a mean watch addiction and loves anything with diamonds on it. Formerly an executive assistant, she has a wealth of experience in making sure that on-the-go individuals have the kind of peace of mind that comes from knowing that all of the details important to them are taken care of to their satisfaction.

brandi@connoisseuroftime.com

DR. JAMES MILLER
A second generation watchmaker and watch and tool collector with over 40 years of experience, Dr. Miller was busy working at the bench in his father’s watch and jewelry store at the age of 13. By 16, he was already performing much of the business’s watch repair work. He prides himself on his ability to employ traditional watchmaking methods and techniques. When not working at his prized “masterpiece” workbench made in 1887 (he has three other benches to work at as well), he enjoys making his own watchmaking tools.

jim@connoisseuroftime.com

GRIGORIY SIKORSKY
Grigoriy is a Russian trained master matchmaker with 34 years of experience. An extremely well-rounded watchmaking expert, Grigoriy worked in a number of different watchmaking roles in production factories in his motherland, learning and performing a different, specialized watchmaking skill in each. He now focuses on the servicing of timepieces by Rolex, Cartier, Omega, Patek Philippe, Vacheron & Constantin, Panerai and other luxury brands.

grigoriy@connoisseuroftime.com

PAUL SHIBATA
Paul is a Swiss-trained master watchmaker with over 15 years of experience at the bench and is the third generation of his family to be employed in the watch and jewelry business. He holds certifications in both “Watch Repair” and “Microtechnology” as well as a diploma in “Advanced Watch Repair” from the prestigious Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program (WOSTEP) in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Besides his formal schooling, he has also received special, private additional training from Patek Philippe and Omega at their respective factories. Paul always sees his restoration jobs through to completion with a goal of perfection, even if it means hand-crafting factory quality new parts to replace those no longer available.

JERRY GRAJZL
As both a lifelong watchmaker and jeweler, Jerry’s unique set of skills perfectly prepares him to do an exceptional job restoring watch cases to their former glory. Jerry trained in the former Yugoslavia for three years, then in Austria for one learning the trades. Having started as a watchmaker in 1947, Jerry has an incredible 61 years of experience.