“I always knew I was going to do something different from 9 to 5,” Robert Kwok said with a laugh, aware of the irony that as founder of Beaufort Watches, all he does is work with time.
Mr Kwok, 25, from Auckland, attributes his outlook to barely making it through high school. But he said he “really snapped” when he entered Auckland University of Technology in 2016 and his journey to creating one of New Zealand’s few watch brands began for good.
“My goal was to start a business before I finished school,” he said during an interview at the Beaufort store in the affluent suburb of Ponsonby. The boutique, which opened on November 30, has a contemporary look with low-slung leather armchairs and a cocktail lounge area. Versions of the brand’s two current models were on display: the sleek 40-millimeter Aerotimer MK11 (NZ$559, or about $340) and the sportier 39-millimeter Seatrekker ($649), in several colorways.
Both are powered by the STP 1-11 automatic movement, made by Swiss Technology Production, with cases made in Hong Kong and leather straps made in Italy (stainless steel bracelets and rubber options are available).
All Beaufort watches were designed by Mr. Kwok, who sends scans of his sketches to his factory, which turns them into technical drawings for sourcing parts. “I’m a terrible artist,” he said, “but I know what I want the end result to look like, so there’s some back and forth with the factory to get there.” As of last year, all Beaufort watches are assembled in Taupo, New Zealand.
Mr. Kwok focused on the technology sector during his university years, dabbling in a few start-ups, including an on-demand delivery app. But when he wanted to treat himself to a new watch that would cost around NZ$500, he decided to change course.
“None of the watches of that value were my thing, so I started window shopping outside of my price range,” he said. “I figured if I was going to invest that much money into a watch, maybe I should consider starting my own watch company. So in 2018, I put my degree on hold, got my money together, and thought I’d give it a shot.
While New Zealanders pride themselves on what is known as “Kiwi ingenuity” – the ability to solve problems or fill gaps in a practical, pragmatic way – this has not extended to watchmaking. “There’s also Draken, Paceracer and Magrette here in Auckland,” Mr Kwok said, referring to the three other New Zealand brands.
But the absence of local industry – or watchmaking heritage – has not deterred Mr. Kwok. “First, I spent two months taking an online watchmaking course to understand the process,” he explains. “I wanted to make sure I knew what I was talking about. Then I spent a few months researching launch and crowdfunding strategies.
He also sent emails to factories in China, asking about research and development costs, details of minimum orders and whether he could actually start with his initial budget of NZ$5,000. The responses were all positive, he said, and since he had an uncle in Hong Kong who was happy to let him stay, he began visiting businesses.
In 2019, Beaufort Watches was launched on the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform. Mr Kwok wanted a name with a historical connection, so he named his company after the Bristol Beaufort, a British torpedo bomber used by the New Zealand Air Force during World War II. He noted that he also admired the vintage design aesthetic of the era, which also motivated his choice.
Its first model, the 40-millimeter Aerotimer Automatic in stainless steel and a selection of pastel-hued dials, was introduced to the platform late that year, priced at NZ$539 and with the aim to attract $15,000 in pre-orders. In the end, 185 donors sent more than $109,000.
“It was crazy,” Mr. Kwok said. “I was 20 years old and suddenly had over a hundred thousand dollars in my bank account.”
It planned to ship orders by early 2020, but the pandemic delayed the schedule until mid-year.
“Everyone from the Kickstarter campaign was very understanding and very kind about the delay,” he said, “but once we started, we shipped everything within a week.” Subsequent introductions were the 39-millimeter Cavalli dive watch and a limited edition version of the Aerotimer with dial colors named after native birds, such as the Kakapo Green and Tui Blue, all of which are sold out.
Jarrod Gill, who founded the New Zealand chapter of watch enthusiast community RedBar in 2016, said the country has many watch enthusiasts who buy “everything from cheap to expensive watches”, but that people are “less obvious about their collections” than watches. collectors from other countries.
He added that as far as Beaufort is concerned, “Robert is doing a very good job. The quality is really good, the price is really good and people really like them.
Mr Kwok has a chronograph due to launch next month, which he expects to cost around NZ$2,500, the highest price the brand has ever offered. Three more models are expected to debut later this year.
Although Mr. Kwok said he would like to make custom watches at some point, for now he is content to simply expand his business.
“My job here is to raise awareness about watches among the general public,” he said. “Most people don’t really know the difference between a mechanical watch and a quartz watch and fall into the trap of seeing the price and thinking it correlates with the quality of the product.”
He added: “Beaufort is aimed at people looking to get into a serious automatic movement watch, at an entry level. »