South Bend attorney is turning obsession with time and watches into a legacy

"If I could not find something I liked, I made it," Buari said. "I make beer, and the reason I home brew is because I could never find anything on the shelves that I wanted. So I said, let me see if I can make one on my own."

An attorney with an affinity for wearing watches, Buari brought that same do-it-yourself spirit to the timepieces that adorn his wrist and the wrists of other people in Michiana and around the country. Buari owns BLAK Watches, and he takes a lead role in selecting the materials and designing the watches that reflect his own exacting standards.

Buari's entry in the watch business is a part of a trend of African-American-owned watch companies to have entered the retail market in recent years. Those brands include Talley & Twine, Benson Watch Company and Banneker Watches and Clocks, a company named in honor Benjamin Banneker, a free Black man who made a wooden clock and was a part of the team that surveyed the land for what would become Washington, D.C.

Buari said he was not aware of those companies when he founded BLAK Watches around a year ago. He knew what he wanted in a watch and decided to design one that met his preferences.