FEATURE
July 2017 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
that otherwise would’ve been
forgotten into something new.”
This has not put REC off from
trying to immerse themselves deeper
into car spaces, as they believe
their brand offers something that
is relatable to all car lovers which
Kamstrup describes as a “niche
market”. Quoting a Swedish
journalist, he goes on to say: “The
only reason a man buys a Rolex is
because he can’t bring his Porsche
911 into the bar with him.”
As well as trying to appeal
to the car enthusiast market,
REC hopes to expand into other
vehicles and iconic structures.
“There’s no stopping at the cars;
it could be U-boats, airplanes, it
could be trains, it could be old
vinyl records.”
Priding themselves on making
products for the lovers of the
materials they come from, deciding
which vehicle to source next is a
collaborative effort between REC
and its customers. “We create a
shortlist of between three to five
different candidates which we
believe are feasible. Then we put
it online on our website on a poll.”
Considering the brand has only
existed for three years and it has
not limited itself to classic cars,
‘‘
There’s no
stopping
at the cars;
it could be
U-boats,
airplanes, it
could be trains
‘‘
of recycling materials that
would otherwise be left to rot
in junkyards, REC admit that
they do not consider themselves
to be an ‘environmental’ brand.
“Don’t get me wrong, but we
are not making these watches to
save planet earth or to save the
baby seals or anything like this.
We have never stated that as an
intention of ours. We want to
create some really cool watches
and that’s more or less it.”
However, Kamstrup states that
he is quite pleased that their bid
to recycle disused material is a
welcomed “by product” of their
passion for cars and watches.
Despite it not being the stated
intention of the brand, it seems
that its recycling nature has
proved to be popular among its
customers, as it has managed to
attract a customer based which
the founders didn’t expect. “When
we originally started out, we made
an assumption [that] 90% of all
our sales would go to car people
that have an affinity for particular
cars… but it’s only something
like 30 or 40%. The rest of our
customer base is just people who
appreciate the concept the design,
the idea of recycling something
REC sees many developments in
its future. While the brand does
not try to lean on the ‘Swiss made’
branding, or pretend to have
the highest level of horological
accuracy, it hopes to make a move
into more mechanical pieces.
Introducing watches that have had
such features over the last year
and a half, REC hopes to build
on that through its new collection
next year. “Right now our core
pieces and mechanical pieces are
quite big in our view.”
JEWELLERY FOCUS
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