Aiden Tumminello ’28 turned a hobby built from tinkering, design and mechanics into a business after arriving at Yale. The mechanical engineering and architecture double major now runs Elm Street Watches, a project that began with a watch he made for his younger brother and has grown into designs inspired by campus buildings.
Key facts
- Tumminello is a Yale student in the Class of 2028 and a double major in mechanical engineering and architecture.
- He started building watches before his first year at Yale and launched Elm Street Watches only a few weeks into his first semester.
- His watch designs draw on Yale landmarks, including Paul Rudolph Hall.
- He is now working on a watch inspired by the Beinecke Rare Book Library.
- The new Beinecke design will include a real marble dial and an engraving on the back reminiscent of the building’s facade.
How Yale classes shaped the move from hobby to business
Tumminello says Yale’s engineering coursework helped him turn a personal interest into a product he could actually make and refine. He pointed to “Intro to Engineering Innovation and Design” with Dr. Larry Wilen as the first class that taught him how to prototype, iterate and use tools including coding, soldering, 3D printing and laser cutting.
That training matters because his watches are not just decorative objects. They combine mechanical design with architectural inspiration, and he says the flexibility of Yale’s mechanical engineering program let him connect work from engineering and architecture in both directions.
- Who is affected: students trying to combine design and engineering interests.
- What changed: watchmaking moved from a personal project to a business.
- What to watch for next: a Beinecke Rare Book Library-inspired watch made with an outside partner.
What inspired Elm Street Watches?
The business began with a watch Tumminello made for his brother and a matching one for himself. He said wearing that watch during his first weeks at Yale reminded him of home, and classmates’ reactions made him think about whether he could create more designs for more people. That led him to launch Elm Street Watches.
The name comes from the street where he lived during his first year at Yale, which he described as a personal reminder of home. He also said the name felt like a familiar “main street” concept that many towns share.
Which Yale building has influenced his designs most?
One of the watches Tumminello wears most is based on Paul Rudolph Hall, Yale’s Art and Architecture Building. He said the design reflects the building’s simple brutalist form and the bright orange carpets in the library, while also carrying visible marks from studio projects.
He said that watch is especially personal because it has “scuffs and paint marks” from his own work in the studio, making it both a design object and a record of his time in the building.
What is he designing next?
Tumminello is now working on a watch inspired by the Beinecke Rare Book Library. He said it will feature a real marble dial and a back engraving reminiscent of the library facade. It is also his first women’s-sized watch, and he is developing it with an outside partner.
He described the project as a new step for Elm Street Watches because it combines a campus reference, a smaller case size and outside collaboration in one design.
Can alumni already see one of his collaborations?
Yes. Tumminello said he created a design for the Yale Alumni Magazine that served both as a celebration of the magazine and as one of the prizes available to alumni who completed a survey. He said that watch drew on the magazine’s coverage of a 1930s article about Yale alumnus Lincoln Ellsworth, class of 1903, a polar explorer shown with a Yale flag at the Arctic Pole.
