Singapore-based watch strap company Delugs incorporates a clear mission – they need to form strap-changing a way of life. “Oftentimes, individuals alter their watch straps as it were when they’re broken or require a substitution. But that doesn’t need to be the case,” said Chia Pei Qi, co-founder of the company. “You can alter it based on the event, what you’re wearing. Like how we alter our dress each day, why not alter our straps?”
In six a long time, Delugs has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Its straps indeed found their way onto the wrist of artist and noticeable watch collector Ed Sheeran (more on that afterward).
Chia, 30, and her spouse, Kenneth Kuan, 31, were gracious workers sometime recently setting out on their business enterprise travel. As a side hustle, the combine picked up calfskin making in 2016, making little calfskin products such as cardholders and key coxcombs, as well as watch straps.
After sharpening their ability within the last mentioned, they took in commissioned orders. “We started as calfskin crafters who needed to bring high-quality calfskin straps to the watch devotee market,” said Kuan. It was at that point that the match took note of a crevice within the advertisement. “People who needed high-quality straps often had to hunt for calfskin crafters like ourselves, but that frequently comes with a long holding up time and tall costs. On the off chance that you wanted something promptly accessible, with a wide determination and high-quality generation, there’s not an alternative out there.”
And so Delugs was born in 2018. As an internet retailer, it incorporates a prepared stock of straps in changing materials, colors, and sizes that clients can purchase right away with the press of a button. Clients can moreover select to go down to the company’s showroom and office space in Ubi, which they opened in 2022 after working out of Kuan’s room for a number of a long time.
“We were fair bursting out of the bedroom,” Kuan said of the move. “Everything took place in his room. We were creating in his work area; photography was put beneath the work area. It was a favoring in mask that our items are very little, so you do not require a part of space,” Chia recalled.
The couple knew that to grow their item, they required a greater space. “We had a parcel more thoughts on modern items that we needed to present. Moving into a greater space permitted us to extend the group and bring on a parcel more individuals, whether it was for fulfillment, promoting, item advancement, or commerce development.”
Watch Strap Innovations of Delugs
Nowadays, Kuan handles item improvement and showcasing at Delugs, whereas Chia manages trade advancement and operations. The group has advanced well past its introductory two-man setup, presently comprising 19 staff individuals in Singapore and eight within the Philippines. Their watch straps are presently made by a group of calfskin crafters in Vietnam.
The US is right now the company’s biggest showcase, bookkeeping for 40 percent of its client base. Singapore positions as the second-largest showcase with 15 percent, whereas the remaining clients come from other parts of the world, including the UK, UAE, Hong Kong, Australia, and Germany.
Delugs stocks a wide run of calfskin straps that match with watches from brands such as Tissot, Cartier, MB&F, Panerai, Vacheron Constantin, and more. Aside from straps, the company also offers watch capacity boxes. It propelled its claim for spring arrangement clasp in June.
On what sets the company separated from other calfskin crafters out there, “we center on item quality and innovation,” Kuan accepts. “We are continuously attempting to push the boundaries within the items that we’re creating.”
Chia included, “We do not need to rehash items that are as of now out there, since it wouldn’t make us any diverse. It would fair be a cost war.”
Whereas Delugs started with calfskin straps, they extended their offerings by launching elastic cut-to-size (CTS) straps in 2023, which can fit any wrist estimate. Whereas the CTS strap concept isn’t modern, it used to be limited to extravagant sports watches. “What we did was to bring the comfort and see of a CTS elastic strap to anybody with a watch, whether it’s a Seiko, a Patek, or anything in between,” Kuan said.
With their elastic straps, the match too needs to encourage watch collectors to investigate diverse materials. “Even if you’re wearing a dress watch, you do not fundamentally need to match it with a calfskin strap. We teach clients about diverse alternatives and conceivable outcomes. For occasion, individuals might not consider an elastic strap for a Patek dress watch, but able to appear that it still looks good,” joked Kuan.
Delug has Been Approved by Celebrities
Matching a dress watch with an elastic strap was accurately what Ed Sheeran did. On the moment night of the British singer-songwriter’s moment visit halt in Singapore back in February, he performed at the Capitol Theater wearing a bespoke Patek Philippe World Time 5230G combined with a naval force elastic strap.
The strap had been talented to Sheeran backstage by Kuan and Chia, who are fans of his music. Before the week, they had put out a video on social media clarifying their crave to meet with him and present him to Delugs. Through the assistance of the watch community, the video caught the consideration of Sheeran’s watch merchant within the US.
Since that dreamlike involvement, intrigue in Delugs has developed, the couple shared. “While we do not advertise particularly to celebrities, through a few associations, James Brittain-McVey, the lead guitarist from [British pop band] The Vamps, is also using a few of our straps,” Kuan uncovered. American rapper Swizz Beatz has too enquired about their items, he included.
“It’s very cool to see our straps being worn by people of a certain stature of influence,” Kuan said. “Or indeed fair seeing strap pairings that we do not anticipate when a curious combination comes up and they tag us on social media. It’s not around celebrities; it’s the way regular individuals combine our straps that energizes us,” Chia proceeded.
Kuan portrays watch straps as awesome discussion starters. “Often, when we go to watch occasions, individuals take note of the straps we’re wearing. This makes a difference for us to begin a conversation because most of the time, individuals are utilized to seeing the watch with its unique strap. The minute you alter the strap, it already looks diverse. It talks a small bit approximately your identity and your taste as an individual.”
Flying the Singapore Flag
Kuan and Chia have more in store for Delugs. “We have a parcel of thoughts, a parcel of items that we are proceeding to create and launch,” Chia prodded.
As a female watch devotee herself, Chia too needs to assist lock in the female watch community. “Sometimes on occasions, I feel like I’m one of as it were a couple of ladies around. I think building up that community is critical, whether it’s investigating more women-centric items down the line or advertising sizes or carry widths that fit more women’s watches.”
The match point is to collaborate with watch brands. “For the longest time, our center has been on shoppers, but we need to work with watch brands to bring our straps to their watches. We’re certain in our skill and hope to teach watch brands about the finest strap pairings for their timepieces,” Kuan shared.
Collaborating with watch brands will moreover offer assistance to Delugs build up itself as more than fair an e-commerce trade, situating it as a valid brand inside the watch industry, Kuan included.
Having gathered the consideration of the worldwide watch community, the combine takes pride in being a homegrown, Singaporean brand. “Everywhere we show, counting worldwide fairs, we’re exceptionally pleased to speak to Singapore. We work in a really specialty space and we do trust for more Singaporeans to know that we’re a neighborhood brand,” said Chia. “Whether they’re into watches or not, we trust more Singaporeans would come to know of us.”
