Frequently Asked Qs
Q: Do you carry Esoterica tobacco? Germain Tobacco?
A: We do, however we get very little and every time we try to sell it online it is almost immediately bought up by foreign buyers who make multiple orders for the product limit to be shipped to shady Freight Forwarding Companies here in the USA. Then we have to manually cancel all those orders, refund and recalculate and adjust the inventory. We also have to deal with hundreds of whining, incessant, obsessive calls from mentally ill folks who have made the procuring of Esoterica their life's goal. We no longer wish to partake in that nonsense.
IF we have Esoterica in stock, it will be sold in limited quantities only to those customers who purchase one or more of the following pipe brands from us- Daniel Mustran, Ascorti, Brandon Brooks, Nording, 4th Generation and/or Chacom.
Q: Why do you call yourself “Watch City”?
A: Our cigar store started in 1996 the tobacco section of a convenience store on the main drag in Waltham, Massachusetts - also known as the "Watch City" because it was home to the famous Waltham Watch Co. Your dad or granddad may actually own a Watch City pocket watch! Buy him a Watch City cigar or pipe and start up a conversation!
Q: Do you really blend your own tobacco, or do you just re-name bulk tobacco blends?
A: We absolutely DO blend our own tobaccos! Every tobacco with the Watch City name is formulated and blended on the premises!
Q: How did you guys learn how to blend tobacco? Is there a book on the subject?
A: We certainly wish there was a book on the subject! We would have started blending a lot sooner! When we first got a notion to start blending, we invariably came up with some horrible un-smokable crap. Pipe tobacco blending knowledge is a very tightly guarded area, and when asked, most “master blenders” would shut up tighter than a constipated librarian at a Slayer concert. Trial, error, error and more trials got us started. A very few notable blenders in the industry (you know who you are!) Have shared bits of their knowledge with us along the way and to them we are indebted!
Q: Does your Framingham Location have a smoking lounge?
A: In a word, No. While we do have a small ventilated room, we made a decision to close it to the public. We have restricted use of the room to "regular customers" only (Those who spend in excess of $300.00 per month). We DO NOT host private events or otherwise "rent out" the room under any circumstance.
Q: Can you make a custom blend for me?
A: At this time, we do not custom blend for individual customers, however we have been known to formulate and produce blends on a larger scale for pipe clubs. If that’s the case, give us a call with your requirements and we’ll be happy to quote you!
Q: When I order a pipe, will I get the pipe I see on the page?
A: We can't believe that this is actually a question we get asked frequently, and we can't believe that some outfits use "Getting the same pipe you see" as a marketing strategy. Of course you get the pipe pictured! We've sold ad infinitum number of pipes over the years and our tobacconists have personally bought many pipes from online retailers and Not once has the "old switcheroo" ever taken place....any outfit that shows you one item and sends you another wouldn't be able to stay in business very long.
Q: How are your pipes measured?
A: Our pipes are measured with a Digital caliper and measurements are given in Imperial units. (That’s inches, folks). Measurements are approximate.
- Length: This is the overall length measured from the tip (lip) of the stem to the part of the bowl which is furthest from you while smoking
- Bowl Diameter: We measure from the left side of the bowl to the right side around the rim. In cases such as dramatically shaped oval bowls, dimensions from front to back are given as well.
- Bowl Height: We measure from the center of the top of the bowl to the furthest point directly under the bowl
- Chamber Diameter: This is a measurement of the tobacco chamber, and it a measurement of the width from one side of the inner wall to the other at the uppermost edge. "Conical" or "Tapered" bowls are marked as such.
- Chamber Depth: We measure with a device called a "Depth Gauge" This measurement is taken from the bottom center of the bowl to the edge of the rim.
Q: Why don't you accept PayPal
A: We tried, but PayPal now refuses to do business with new internet tobacconists. Originally they grandfathered the ones they had, but the rumor is that is going to change.
Q: What about special orders?
A: We’ve been in business for a long time and can get pretty much anything. If you don’t see it, just shoot us an email and we’ll see what we can do!
Q: Do you sell Cuban cigars yet? I heard they are legal now!
A: Cuban cigars are ABSOLUTELY not legal to sell in this country. Regardless of what you may have heard, nothing has changed with the embargo as far as retailing Cuban cigars in the USA.
Q: OK, but really...do you sell Cuban cigars
A: On occasion, a customer will forgo the fact that we’ve been in the cigar biz for over 25 years, and insist that Cuban cigars are, in fact, legal for us to sell. Please understand that this will not change the fact they unquestionably are NOT legal to sell in the USA and that further attempts to “educate us on the subject” will not be met with a sensitive reply.
Q: Do you ship Cigarettes or RYO Tobacco?
A: It is illegal to ship cigarettes or RYO tobacco in the USA. Locals can feel free to visit our store for all their Cigarette and RYO needs!
Q: Why are you guys so Rude?
A: Dude. Our motto literally is "We're Not Rude, We're Boston Nice". Really though? We're New Englanders. Born and raised. There's a certain way we do things. We used to try and conform to the phony "Retail Affability" but it always felt like we were acting. Look...If you call us and tell us there was an issue with your order? We're gonna bend over sideways to make it right. You want tobacco recommendations? It is our absolute joy to get to know your particular tastes and find something that you'll come back for. You wanna come in/Call and give us business advice? You want special treatment? You want to come in and showroom us? (Touch every goddamn cigar in the store, then go home and buy it online elsewhere)? Nah. Ain't nobody got time for that happy B.S. In the end, yeah we're jerks but we're your jerks! If you want great tobacco, great advice and unique pipe blends? We got your back. You want to call and chat for 5 hours? Want us to give you a pat on the back and an "'atta boy" for showing us the great box of (fake) Cohibas you bought from a homeless guy on a beach in the Bahamas for 50 bucks? Nah.
Q: I bought a whole pound of Simply Red (or Rhythm and Blues or etc...) based on the fact that it's hard to get. I don't like it at all. Can I get my money back? Store Credit? Exchange for something I do like? Can you sell me the ingredients to make Simply Red into Rhythm and Blues?
A: No, no, no and um...no. We realize that the limited availability of special release blends can kick up psychiatric issues with some of our customers, however purchasing a larger quantity based on hype and not liking it? Well that's life. Trade it on a forum. Give it to someone who may enjoy it....but please understand that it is not the responsibility of Watch City to rectify the mistake of not buying a 2 ounce pouch before buying an entire pound of a new blend because it's "rare".
Q: Why do you make so many Limited Edition blends and then never release them again? I want to hoard 1000 pounds in my room in my mom's basement which I've nicknamed "Bates Motel". I want to cellar each pound in a mason Jar and call them "my precious".
A: Often times we come upon a stash of tobacco that is unique (Like the English Cavendish in our 2021 Christmas Blend "Elf Dandruff") or in short supply (Like the vintage 1990's oriental in our "Glass Slipper") or just plain impossible to find stuff (like the 15 year old Perique and Syrian Latakia that went into our "Justice Mixture 15th Anny Edition...we only had enough for around 40 tins!!!)
When we come across rare stuff like that there are three choices- Leave it and don't bother, buy it and produce something unique and make some people happy or do what some cigar manufacturers do and replace the rare ingredient with something available and continue to produce the product long after the rare stuff has run out...which is dishonest. We choose to make some people happy....damn the torpedoes. Most Limited blends run out in under a couple hours and we are beyond flattered every single time...but we aren't greedy and we aren't a big operation and have no plans to expand to the point where we are just another one of the big guys. Producing small amounts of quality tobacco is what we do..and we plan on continuing to do just that!
Q: You sent me a request to review items I've purchased but I haven't received my order yet!
A: Settle down, Boomer. There's no full time employee sitting at a screen typing individual emails to every customer who's made an order. These emails are automatically sent by our system to customers several days after an order is placed. It's part of our marketing and part of the marketing of just about every internet retailer. So...If you get a request to review before your items arrive and you write a poor review stating "I haven't received my order yet", you've just wasted 30 seconds of your life because it's gonna get deleted. Because it's not a review...it's a whine...and here at Watch City, we ain't got no whine.
Q: I ordered some tobacco tins. One or two are dented on the bottom. I want my money back or a replacement.
A: Yeah, no. Watch City is in the business of selling tobacco for and to people who intend to smoke it. If you want to frame a tin and put it under your pillow, good on you. Today's tins lack the stabilizing "ridge" on the bottom that tins of just 5 years ago had. The old tins are no longer made. These new tins hold a vacuum seal extremely well but lacking the ridge, they can easily "Buckle" in on themselves while retaining the seal. It's just the way things are now. Our responsibility ends when you accept delivery of a sealed tin. Buckling and denting are part of the deal now. If you want to frame a tin and put it under your pillow for 20 years, feel free, but we aren't gonna replace crap that doesn't need replacing.