When Kenneth Kuan, 30, and Chua Pei Qi, 29, heard that Ed Sheeran was coming to Singapore to perform, they had a “crazy idea”. The husband-and-wife duo are co-founders of Delugs, a homegrown luxury watch straps and accessories company, and big fans of the singer. They wanted to invite Sheeran down to their boutique and gift him some of their watch straps.
“Many people are fans of Ed Sheeran, his music is very popular. But we also know him as a big watch guy. Not only is he a good musician, he is also known as a collector in the watch space,” shared Chua. The pair had seen several of Sheeran’s interviews talking about his collection, but one that specially caught their attention was an episode of Talking Watches by Hodinkee, hosted by fellow singer, John Mayer.
“One thing that stood out to Ken and I was that he talked about his watch straps. He talked about wanting to put rubber straps on his watches, he talked about having straps with rubber linings. He was very specific because he travels and performs a lot, and he wanted a strap that would be comfortable even in humid climates. This is exactly the target audience we are building our brand for,” Chua elaborated. “We want people to think about their straps as much as they think about their watches. Ed Sheeran is someone who cares about details. Whether he is a star or not, he’s the right person to appreciate our products.”
The pair admitted that although they had thought about gifting Sheeran their straps last year, “we didn’t do anything about it until two weeks ago,” Chua laughed. “We had the idea, but we never acted on it. We knew that if we didn’t do anything about it, we would regret it.”
It was a shot in the dark as they had no connections to the singer or to his label. So they decided to engage the power of social media. The Delugs team banded together to create a video addressed to Sheeran. In the video, they showed a hand-painted watch case they had put together featuring a curated selection of eight straps, and invited him to come down to their boutique to collect the gift.
The post got the attention of the international watch community, eventually reaching Sheeran’s watch sales adviser based in the US. She was familiar with Delugs and offered to put them in touch with Sheeran’s team. As Kuan said, they were basically crowdsourcing for any leads.
Sheeran’s team eventually reached out to the couple, offering them backstage passes to his show on Feb 16 to meet him. The meeting was only confirmed on the morning of the show. It was a brief moment, where they passed Sheeran the case and straps they had put together.
But that wasn’t the end of it. The brand had also caught the attention of Sheeran’s tour staff, who also requested for straps they could use. As Delugs offers watch straps that are cut to size, Kuan said they will meet them the next day to fit the straps on their wrists.
Then another message came from Sheeran’s team, requesting specifically for straps for two particular watches. “I suspected they were for watches that Ed owns,” said Kuan. “I did have straps for them but I didn’t have it with me at the time. They asked if I was free to come by Ed’s second concert to put it on him. We cancelled all the bai nian plans that we had that night,” he added with a chuckle.
Kuan and Chua ended up meeting Sheeran backstage again, this time to fit one of their navy rubber straps to his Patek Philippe 5203G World Time. Sheeran wore the strap for his performance that night.
The couple share more about what went down.
HOW DID YOU CONCEPTUALISE THE IDEA FOR THE WATCH CASE?
Chua: I had learnt a bit of leather painting, also known as marquage. I stayed up for one night to finish the box. We were thinking of how to personalise the case so that it's really meant for Ed and the best way to do that was to honour this tour and his visit to Singapore. We have the tour logo right on the top.
The customised watch case painted by Chua. (Photo: Delugs)
WHAT WAS INSIDE THE BOX?
Chua: For the inside of the box, Ken picked out the straps himself. We looked at the range of watches that he might have, or watches that he mentioned he owns. We curated straps that would best match these watches. It was a lot of digging and watching all the interviews he has done.
Kuan: For Sheeran’s Divide Tour, he had commissioned a Tudor Black Bay. The watch has a black face but with the Divide logo on it in blue and white. What we did was we paired it with a strap that's blue and white so it matches the watch. In his interview with Hodinkee, Ed mentioned that he would love rubber straps for some of his Patek watches. These watches are usually very fancy, and come with leather straps. But he said in the video that if he had a rubber strap, it would look very sporty. So we decided to give him a rubber strap so he can see exactly how it would look.
WHAT WERE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF ED SHEERAN WHEN YOU MET HIM?
Chua: He was very nice. He came across as a really genuine guy. We were surprised because we sat down and he said "tell me more about your story and how you started?". It was not a question that we expected, but he genuinely wanted to know more about us and we were happy to share. Later on, we showed him the mock-ups we had prepared of his watches with our straps. He was scrolling through and his reaction was priceless. He said things like “this combination looks so good, that combination looks so good”.
Kuan: He was really interested in what we showed him. He wasn’t there just to “show face” or get some free products. He was excited to see how we could do something different with his watches. It really felt like I was talking to another watch collector, not just a celebrity.
WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU ABOUT HIS WATCH COLLECTION?
Kuan: He knows his watches. He’s really into them not for the prestige or status symbol. When people think of celebrities and their watches, you might think of certain brands that are more showy. For Ed, his collection goes beyond that. You can tell that he’s interested in watches because he appreciates the craftmanship or the stories behind them.
HOW DID IT FEEL TO SEE HIM WEAR YOUR STRAP WHILE PERFORMING?
Chua: It was pretty surreal. We really couldn’t believe it. At the end of the day, despite how excited and happy we are, we hope that the straps are comfortable for him and that he will continue wearing them. As much as we see him as a celebrity, he is still a watch collector, so having something that goes with his style and fits his lifestyle, that’s the most important for us. We hope to be able serve customers of all walks of life, and now that has led us to Ed Sheeran. That's the most fulfilling for us.
Sheeran wearing the watch strap with his Patek Philippe watch during his show. (Photo: Delugs)
Kuan: For me, it’s about a shift in mindset. People who own watches usually think they have to use the original strap or bracelet. But someone of his stature going out there to show that you don’t have to, that you can switch things up, hopefully it will open up people’s minds. You don’t have to put a leather strap on a dress watch, you can put it on a rubber strap, for example. These are stereotypes that as a brand, we want to educate people about.
NOW THAT YOU’VE GOTTEN ED SHEERAN TO WEAR YOUR STRAPS, WHICH OTHER FAMOUS CELEBRITIES ARE NEXT ON YOUR LIST?
Kuan: JJ Lin performed with Ed during his Friday show, and he is also a watch collector. He is Singaporean too, so it would be great if we could make straps for him and have him come by our boutique and just chill and talk about watches.
John Mayer is also a watch collector, so that would be super cool. Jay-Z is a huge influence in the watch space too, as well as Kanye West. Those guys are trendsetters. When they wear a watch, the prices sky-rocket. It would be crazy if we could have our straps on their wrists as well.
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“Many people are fans of Ed Sheeran, his music is very popular. But we also know him as a big watch guy. Not only is he a good musician, he is also known as a collector in the watch space,” shared Chua. The pair had seen several of Sheeran’s interviews talking about his collection, but one that specially caught their attention was an episode of Talking Watches by Hodinkee, hosted by fellow singer, John Mayer.
“One thing that stood out to Ken and I was that he talked about his watch straps. He talked about wanting to put rubber straps on his watches, he talked about having straps with rubber linings. He was very specific because he travels and performs a lot, and he wanted a strap that would be comfortable even in humid climates. This is exactly the target audience we are building our brand for,” Chua elaborated. “We want people to think about their straps as much as they think about their watches. Ed Sheeran is someone who cares about details. Whether he is a star or not, he’s the right person to appreciate our products.”
The pair admitted that although they had thought about gifting Sheeran their straps last year, “we didn’t do anything about it until two weeks ago,” Chua laughed. “We had the idea, but we never acted on it. We knew that if we didn’t do anything about it, we would regret it.”
It was a shot in the dark as they had no connections to the singer or to his label. So they decided to engage the power of social media. The Delugs team banded together to create a video addressed to Sheeran. In the video, they showed a hand-painted watch case they had put together featuring a curated selection of eight straps, and invited him to come down to their boutique to collect the gift.
The post got the attention of the international watch community, eventually reaching Sheeran’s watch sales adviser based in the US. She was familiar with Delugs and offered to put them in touch with Sheeran’s team. As Kuan said, they were basically crowdsourcing for any leads.
Sheeran’s team eventually reached out to the couple, offering them backstage passes to his show on Feb 16 to meet him. The meeting was only confirmed on the morning of the show. It was a brief moment, where they passed Sheeran the case and straps they had put together.
But that wasn’t the end of it. The brand had also caught the attention of Sheeran’s tour staff, who also requested for straps they could use. As Delugs offers watch straps that are cut to size, Kuan said they will meet them the next day to fit the straps on their wrists.
Then another message came from Sheeran’s team, requesting specifically for straps for two particular watches. “I suspected they were for watches that Ed owns,” said Kuan. “I did have straps for them but I didn’t have it with me at the time. They asked if I was free to come by Ed’s second concert to put it on him. We cancelled all the bai nian plans that we had that night,” he added with a chuckle.
Kuan and Chua ended up meeting Sheeran backstage again, this time to fit one of their navy rubber straps to his Patek Philippe 5203G World Time. Sheeran wore the strap for his performance that night.
The couple share more about what went down.
HOW DID YOU CONCEPTUALISE THE IDEA FOR THE WATCH CASE?
Chua: I had learnt a bit of leather painting, also known as marquage. I stayed up for one night to finish the box. We were thinking of how to personalise the case so that it's really meant for Ed and the best way to do that was to honour this tour and his visit to Singapore. We have the tour logo right on the top.
The customised watch case painted by Chua. (Photo: Delugs)
WHAT WAS INSIDE THE BOX?
Chua: For the inside of the box, Ken picked out the straps himself. We looked at the range of watches that he might have, or watches that he mentioned he owns. We curated straps that would best match these watches. It was a lot of digging and watching all the interviews he has done.
Kuan: For Sheeran’s Divide Tour, he had commissioned a Tudor Black Bay. The watch has a black face but with the Divide logo on it in blue and white. What we did was we paired it with a strap that's blue and white so it matches the watch. In his interview with Hodinkee, Ed mentioned that he would love rubber straps for some of his Patek watches. These watches are usually very fancy, and come with leather straps. But he said in the video that if he had a rubber strap, it would look very sporty. So we decided to give him a rubber strap so he can see exactly how it would look.
WHAT WERE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF ED SHEERAN WHEN YOU MET HIM?
Chua: He was very nice. He came across as a really genuine guy. We were surprised because we sat down and he said "tell me more about your story and how you started?". It was not a question that we expected, but he genuinely wanted to know more about us and we were happy to share. Later on, we showed him the mock-ups we had prepared of his watches with our straps. He was scrolling through and his reaction was priceless. He said things like “this combination looks so good, that combination looks so good”.
Kuan: He was really interested in what we showed him. He wasn’t there just to “show face” or get some free products. He was excited to see how we could do something different with his watches. It really felt like I was talking to another watch collector, not just a celebrity.
WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU ABOUT HIS WATCH COLLECTION?
Kuan: He knows his watches. He’s really into them not for the prestige or status symbol. When people think of celebrities and their watches, you might think of certain brands that are more showy. For Ed, his collection goes beyond that. You can tell that he’s interested in watches because he appreciates the craftmanship or the stories behind them.
HOW DID IT FEEL TO SEE HIM WEAR YOUR STRAP WHILE PERFORMING?
Chua: It was pretty surreal. We really couldn’t believe it. At the end of the day, despite how excited and happy we are, we hope that the straps are comfortable for him and that he will continue wearing them. As much as we see him as a celebrity, he is still a watch collector, so having something that goes with his style and fits his lifestyle, that’s the most important for us. We hope to be able serve customers of all walks of life, and now that has led us to Ed Sheeran. That's the most fulfilling for us.
Sheeran wearing the watch strap with his Patek Philippe watch during his show. (Photo: Delugs)
Kuan: For me, it’s about a shift in mindset. People who own watches usually think they have to use the original strap or bracelet. But someone of his stature going out there to show that you don’t have to, that you can switch things up, hopefully it will open up people’s minds. You don’t have to put a leather strap on a dress watch, you can put it on a rubber strap, for example. These are stereotypes that as a brand, we want to educate people about.
NOW THAT YOU’VE GOTTEN ED SHEERAN TO WEAR YOUR STRAPS, WHICH OTHER FAMOUS CELEBRITIES ARE NEXT ON YOUR LIST?
Kuan: JJ Lin performed with Ed during his Friday show, and he is also a watch collector. He is Singaporean too, so it would be great if we could make straps for him and have him come by our boutique and just chill and talk about watches.
John Mayer is also a watch collector, so that would be super cool. Jay-Z is a huge influence in the watch space too, as well as Kanye West. Those guys are trendsetters. When they wear a watch, the prices sky-rocket. It would be crazy if we could have our straps on their wrists as well.
Continue reading...