From watch seller to book writer, one woman embraces life
Renette Torres is not your typical 80-year-old.
For one thing, she’s just published her first book, and for
another, she is one high-energy individual.
Blonde and tanned, she plays golf and tennis, keeps up with her
children and grandchildren, and is also hashing out an intense
strategy to sell this book of hers.
From watch seller to book writer, one woman embraces life
Renette Torres is not your typical 80-year-old.
For one thing, she’s just published her first book, and for another, she is one high-energy individual.
Blonde and tanned, she plays golf and tennis, keeps up with her children and grandchildren, and is also hashing out an intense strategy to sell this book of hers.
The book is a little unusual. Part personal memoir, part business advisor, it’s called “Ya Wanna Watch? I’ll Let Ya!” and tells the tale of how Renette made her way through the male-dominated world of watch and jewelry sales, ultimately to found her own very successful watch business.
Torres, a resident of Hollister for 20 years, said she began writing the book because “I needed something besides golf.” She also needed a project after her husband, Dan, died two years ago.
“I sat down at the computer, and it just flowed,” said Renette, who has instant recall of all the names and places from decades ago, and can spin stories for hours about her experiences. “People ask me, ‘How could you remember all that?’ But it’s like it happened yesterday.”
Renette recently self-published her book and is now working to get it into area bookstores and gift shops; it can be found currently at Bookshop Santa Cruz and Capitola Book Cafe, with more locations coming soon. She’ll do a personal appearance and book signing at the Ridgemark Golf and Country Club Mother’s Day brunch on May 9, noon to 2 p.m.
Anyone who buys a book will receive a free watch, Renette said.
That’s entirely apropos, since watches have been this woman’s life for a very long time. Her company, It’s Time, was responsible for many novelty and themed watches that many of us in this area remember fondly.
She came up with the idea for watches with company logos, for instance, which businesses could hand out to loyal employees or customers. She also originated holographic watches that shifted colors and pictures, as well as the cable car watches sold at tourist spots in San Francisco.
You wouldn’t think that selling watches would be such interesting work, but Renette brings such joie de vivre to what she does that it’s irresistible. The book actually has some wonderful lessons for anyone who wants to be a salesperson, or who would like to open a business.
She got into selling jewelry and watches while still a young mother, at a time when it was more unusual for moms to have careers. But her husband supported her decision, and Renette soon found she had a knack for it.
“I found I was working in a man’s world,” Renette recalls. “Some of these companies had never hired a woman before.”
She worked for several different companies, including Besco and Kay Jewelers, before coming up with the spark that prompted her to strike out on her own.
She designed an LED clock (when such things had just hit the market) in the shape of a little slot machine. Casinos went nuts for them. Renette founded It’s Time in 1981 and has had to learn how to build her business from the ground up, which involved dealing with a manufacturer in Hong Kong and keeping all her customers happy.
In the midst of her greatest success, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and chose to have a double mastectomy. She has now been a cancer survivor for many years, and at no point did she let it slow her down.
By anyone’s standards, Renette is an amazing person. She still has her watch business. She also has a website, and how many 80-year-olds can say that? (Make that almost 8 – her birthday is coming up in two months.)
You can purchase the book at renettetorres.com, if you can’t make the Ridgemark book signing.
Renette is now applying her sales know-how to selling her book.
“After all,” she said, “who can sell me better than me?”
