I only needed 7 minutes.

Where I come from

My name is Tenzin, and I come from Nepal's Sherpa community.

Nepal is a small country with the biggest mountains on Earth. Eight of the world's ten highest peaks are found here, Everest among them. The Sherpa people settled in the high valleys of eastern Nepal centuries ago, and the name itself means "people from the east". Up there, life follows the mountains: the seasons, the snow, and the narrow trails that connect one village to the next.

For generations, my family has helped climbers navigate the Himalayas and return home safely. My grandfather carried loads to the base camps. My father guided expeditions. I learned to read the weather, the ice and the rock before I could read books. With my wife, I ran a small lodge for trekkers on the trail: a few rooms, a warm kitchen, and a cup of tea for anyone who knocked on our door.

Seven minutes

In the mountains, you learn to respect how fast things can change. Avalanches, rockfalls and floods from melting glaciers are part of life in the high Himalaya.

Then, in just seven minutes, everything changed.

A devastating ice and rock collapse struck our region. We had only seven minutes to escape.

There was no time to save our belongings, our business, or the life we had built. There was only time to get my wife and children to safety.

We ran for higher ground.

My family survived. Many others did not.

Starting again

I lost almost everything: the lodge, our savings, the things my parents had left me. But I was given the chance to start again.

The watch I was wearing that day was a Poedagar. It was one of the few things I still had from the life before. Now, every time I look at it, I remember how quickly life can change and how precious every minute truly is.

Because sometimes, seven minutes is all life gives you.

Why 7 minutes

That is the meaning behind 7 minutes. We offer beautiful, affordable watches designed to remind you to make your time count: to call the people you love, to say what matters, and to stop waiting for the perfect moment.

Make yours count.

Tenzin