Wrist Action

Homegrown watch strap and accessories brand Delugs is making waves across the international watch scene. Co-founders Chia Pei Qi and Kenneth Kuan share how their passion project blossomed into a burgeoning business with an even stronger community

- Annabel Tan

Local news outlets were abuzz when English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was in Singapore this February, not just because he played two sold-out shows but also for what he was wearing on his wrist. Images of the four-time Grammy Award-winner and avid watch collector performing on the Capitol Theatre stage wearing his bespoke Patek Philippe World Time 5230G watch were shared across various platforms. Granted, the watch is a one-of-kind masterpiece, but the topic of conversation was how Sheeran had paired the luxury dress watch with a navy rubber strap from homegrown brand, Delugs.

The headlines certainly brought the watch strap and accessories brand on the radar of more Singaporeans. Co-founders Kenneth Kuan and Chia Pei Qi say they experienced increased interest from locals through Instagram, the Delugs website and at its showroom. But to the global watch collecting community, Delugs has been a well-known strap maker for some time now. Currently, its largest market is the US, which makes up about 40 per cent of the customer base.

Kuan and Chia, who are married, picked up leather crafting in 2016 from online tutorials and YouTube videos. Making small leather goods like key fobs, cardholders and watch straps, the self-taught hobbyists took on a few commissioned orders in the beginning and soon noticed a gap in the market.

"As we received more projects, we realised that there was a long wait time for customers who wanted to buy a good-quality handcrafted strap from leather crafters like ourselves-it can take months or even years," says Chia, who oversees business development and operations, while Kuan helms product development and marketing. Both look at the overall strategy of the company. "And on the other end of the spectrum [with] ready-made straps, the options were limited in terms of length, lug width, quality and design. So we decided to fill that gap with quality handcrafted straps that were readily available."