“The good guy from Porto”

For those who don’t know, what is Watch Garage?

Watch Garage was created eight years ago; at first, it only offered vintage watches. Because people started asking for more modern watches and more up-to-date things, I started offering a mix of vintage watches, modern watches, and multi-brands. At the moment, we have watches ranging from an affordable 250 euros to 15, 20 thousand euros. I don’t have a favorite brand or favorite model. To this day, I maintain this trend and we have watches for all purses.

Watch Garage doesn’t live by watches alone…

True! I’ve always been a bracelet fanatic. And I wanted to have bracelets made in Portugal. It was an adventure to find someone who wanted to do what I asked. I found someone in São João da Madeira who had a company that made bags and wallets. I spent almost two years working with him until we created a line of bracelets made in Portugal. The watch rolls and boxes were also made here. Since 2019 we’ve also had a Watch Garage accessories line, designed and idealised by us and made in Portugal.

“Was having an online-only presence a challenge?

Trust is fundamental. That’s the difficulty of working online. It takes time because it has to be built, and it’s something that comes from your customers. About two years ago, I saw people in forums questioning whether it was safe to buy a watch from Watch Garage. One of the things that made it click for me, that made me say, ‘Alright, I’ve made it,’ was when I saw people asking these questions and someone responded: ‘The good guy from Porto.’ After that, it’s about maintaining and continuing to work hard. A customer to whom you sell a watch can make a post and reach 10,000 people. That’s a very large audience.

Read the full interview at JOIAPRO LUXURY WATCHES 11.