A Quick Interview with Ken of Delugs Straps

I came across Delugs from Watchuseek and got interested in the brand. Photos from their website look good and they seem to have a following from my local forums. I decided to try his straps and got a chance to ask Ken of Delugs some questions about his brand.

How did the name Delugs come about?
The name Delugs was a play on the two words we want to be associated with – lugs and deluxe. Hopefully our customers who receive their straps would feel that they are getting something deluxe for their watches!

What was your inspiration in setting up the company?
You can read our story here.

Is the manufacturing / production headquarters also situated in Singapore?
Nope, manufacturing is done elsewhere in Asia. While Singapore has no shortage of crafters, cost of living is just too high here for the straps to be crafted and sold at a reasonable price.

What are some of the challenges you encounter in the strap making business?
Crafting wise, just the act of handcrafting watch straps is REALLY challenging. Ask anyone who has tried making this by hand – whether its their first time doing leathercrafting, or whether they are a full-time leathercrafter. You will quickly realise that trying to make these on your own just doesn’t make sense. The tolerances required in making a watch strap means that there is little room for error – if you need a 20mm watch strap, 1mm off wouldn’t be good enough.

In terms of the business, one challenge is in getting so many straps in stock – across various leather, styles, widths, lengths etc. We try to cater to as many people as possible with our ready stock section, but there will be some folks that can’t find what they want. But that’s also why we have the custom strap segment!

What are some future products you plan on releasing?
Our primary focus is still in getting our core strap business stabilised – making sure we keep in stock popular models, staying on top of custom orders, and expanding the range of widths and lengths. In the immediate future, we will be releasing watch cases. We have already opened up pre-order for our Zip Case Duo. Another case is coming up soon – we will be announcing it on IG and Telegram as always once its live.

Also in the pipeline are Apple Watch straps, and straps made for Panerai. We have some custom hardware for the Panerai straps that we are really excited about, and we think the Panerai community will be pleased with!

Do you have any famous personality using your strap? If not, who do you hope who will be using one?
Not that I know of! If I had to choose one – Daniel Craig. Would love for Bond to wear one of my straps!

Do you wear any watches? If so, what are they?
Oh for sure! I am not just a strap maker – I am a fellow watch enthusiast just like everyone else. My collection is ever-changing – currently it has a few Grand Seiko and Speedmaster. I like the brand ethos behind Grand Seiko and do identify myself and Delugs with it – putting out some extremely solid products at a decent price point. Speedmasters just because of the heritage and the look – such a strap monster!

I would love to thank Ken for taking the time to answer my questions. Stay tuned for my review!

All the photos were taken from the Delug’s website.