Bas and Lokes watch straps adoring an Omega Speedmaster. Source: Bas and Lokes
Australia is mad for watches.
In recent years, the combination of COVID-19 lockdowns, rock-bottom interest rates, and cancelled holiday plans encouraged some lucky Australians to spend big on luxury timepieces.
Revenue at watch and jewellery retailers hit $4.5 billion in 2022, a 3.9% increase over the year, according to IBISWorld data.
Even now, Melbourne’s Collins St district is peppered with new and recently-renovated boutiques — despite nearby retailers bracing against a consumer spending downturn.
This holiday season, spending big on a Swiss, Japanese, or German watch might be out of the question.
However, a network of Australian craftspeople, artists, and technicians are ready to provide small business gift options for the watch-lover in your life.
Here is a list of gift ideas for the 2023 holiday season, directly from SmartCompany‘s resident timepiece obsessive.
Watch straps
A new watch strap can revitalise an old favourite, give it an entirely new personality, or improve its daily wearability.
Fortunately, Australia is dotted with craftspeople who specialise in handcrafted or bespoke options.
Consider Bas And Lokes, a strap-maker based in Sydney.
Co-founded by sisters Jade and Lilly Bas, Bas And Lokes offers handmade leather watch straps in a wide variety of colours, materials and configurations.
The business guarantees its wares for “a very long time”, with proper care.
That level of durability and detail commands a price tag of about $110 and upwards.
For the watch-lover more likely to wear a watch on a surfboard than in the boardroom, take a look at Frogsquad straps.
These military-style straps are hand-stitched in Australia from durable, waterproof, and elastic materials.
The Brisbane-based brand offers straps starting at about $50.
Of course, your local leatherworker or tailor may be able to create a totally bespoke watch strap.
Check in at nearby markets to see if a neighbourhood business has the right option for you.
A quick note on buying watch straps: if you can, find out what kind of watch your gift recipient owns, and search for its “lug width”.
This will determine how wide the strap must be.
Watches generally have a lug width between 16mm and 24mm, and most strap-makers will offer options to suit.
If you’re buying a strap for an Apple watch, make sure the strap is compatible with Apple’s unique strap system.
Watch refurbishment
Mechanical watches are appealing for their longevity: with proper care and maintenance, a good watch can be handed down for generations.
Many watches that have stopped ticking can be brought back to life.
In some ways, this makes watches one of the first mass consumer goods to promote conscious consumption, and the idea of buying less, but buying better.
With the watch owner’s approval, consider taking a stopped watch to a local (and reputable) watchmaker for a diagnosis.
Sometimes, all a good mechanical watch needs is an adjustment and some lubrication applied to its gears.
Experts can also replace cracked or scuffed crystals, and polish scratched cases (although you should definitely ask the watch owner if they want those cosmetic updates, as some collectors prize the ‘as-is’ aesthetic).
Of course, vintage and antique timepieces can have more complex issues, and finding the right parts and expertise to work on old watch movements can be challenging.
Some of these more complex tasks may take a while to complete, and could blow past the holiday gift-giving window.
Nevertheless, independent watchmakers are still dotted around the country, and may have the right tools, skills, and time to rescue a family heirloom.
Watch art
Perhaps your gift recipient already has all the watches, straps, and accessories they could possibly need.
This kind of completed collector might appreciate an artwork featuring their favourite timepiece.
Jeesoo Kim is a Melbourne-based artist and illustrator who specialises in photorealistic, hand-inked depictions of legendary wristwatches.
Her prints appear like a perfect fit for the James Bond fan in your life, who might want to showcase their love for the Rolex Submariner or Omega Seamaster range.
Kim’s small giclée prints start at $150.
Melbourne is also home to Xi Wang, whose vibrant watch artworks have been featured in the New York Times.
The painter is not currently open for commissions, which is admittedly an complicating factor for this 2023 holiday gift guide.
However, her Instagram shows what is possible when Australian-based artists are asked to create custom artworks depicting fine watchmaking.
Reach out to your favourite local illustrator, painter, or sketch artist, who may have time to create a one-of-a-kind piece by the gift-giving season.
Australian watches
If you’ve committed to buying a luxury wristwatch these holidays, give a thought to the handful of Australian watchmakers competing against the international giants.
Adina watches are designed and assembled in Brisbane, Australia, with internationally sourced components. Its Countrymaster work watch line starts at $189.
Sydney’s Galvin Watch Company is the horological venture of Susan Galvin, who SmartCompany interviewed in 2022 after a smash-hit Kickstarter campaign.
The Omega alum’s timepieces, inspired by the natural beauty of Finland, are available from $669.
Stepping up the price bracket is Bausele, whose tough but vibrant watches are designed around the Australian coastal lifestyle.
Boasting colourways like ‘Pacific Blue’, ‘Orca Black’, and ‘Good Vibes Yellow’, Bausele watches also come with Swiss movements from Sellita — a manufacturer that powers many top timepieces from across the world.
Bausele timepieces start at around $1,100.
Nicholas Hacko is a brand committed to Australian watchmaking innovation and combines high-end, precision machining with old-school horological prowess.
The family-run brand prides itself on fine dial and hand construction, allowing its Mark II “Curl Curl” watch to shimmer like the waters of its beachside inspiration.
Its timepieces are available from $4,200, with the Mark II “Curl Curl”, which is subject to availability, coming in at $7,900.
And if your pockets match your appreciation for extremely fine watchmaking, get in touch with Reuben Schoots, the young watchmaker following in the footsteps of industry legend Abraham-Louis Breguet.
The self-taught artisan, based in Canberra, is executing handmade watches to a degree rarely seen outside of Switzerland or Germany.
His work has already caught the attention of global watch experts, as evidenced by the sensational aftermarket auction results for one of his first watches.
Be warned that you might not see a new Schoots timepiece this year: work on the Series Two collection is still underway.
His work is also for the serious and seriously-moneyed collector, with the Series Two watches costing $57,500, excluding tax.
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