Growing up, Tania Duong spent countless hours in the back room of her family’s watchmaking shop in Springvale, Melbourne, fascinated by her father and grandfather’s careful work.
“I remember their watchmakers’ benches, lit up by these large lamps, with the two of them hunched over their work, moving with such ease and control,” she recalls.
Her maternal grandfather honed his craft in Vietnam, before migrating to Australia and passing the trade to his son-in-law. As Duong got older, her parents entrusted her with small tasks in the shop.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but I was handling vintage Rolex, Omega, Cartier. To me, they were just boring old, scratched-up watches. How naive I was,” says Duong, now 36.
Earlier this year, after giving birth to her second child, Duong decided it was time for a change, swapping a career in pharmacy to attend WOSTEP, a prestigious watchmaking school in Switzerland.
There – where Duong is the only woman in her class of eight – she’s keeping an ageing craft alive in the hope of preserving her family’s legacy (their business, The Watch Culture, has since relocated to Chadstone).
“From the outside, the industry can seem quite intimidating, but I hope my experience can show other women that it’s possible to enter this field, even with minimal experience,” she says.
Historically, women have been underrepresented in the watch industry – be it in the workshop or as consumers – despite the fact wristwatches were first popularised as accessories for women (the first known design was made for the Queen of Naples in 1816).
But this is changing, driven by celebrities like Zendaya, Taylor Swift, Peggy Gou and Lana Del Rey flaunting wrist bling from heritage brands and reclaiming the old-school accessory.
Data from eBay found that 30 per cent of 25- to 34-year-olds are more interested in analogue watches than they were three years ago.
The resale platform, which recently launched an authentication program for eligible vintage watches, says “vintage watch” is the top watch search term for the past year.
Alastair Low, country manager for eBay’s Live platform in Australia, agrees women are increasingly investing in the accessory. He points out vintage men’s watches are smaller than today’s, with most consumers doing away with arbitrary gendered labels.
“The younger generation aren’t following the rules of what’s traditionally a ‘men’s’ or ‘women’s watch’,” he says. “They’re purchasing watches that reflect their style and that might be a conversation starter.”
Anastasia Tarassova, founder of Atceatera, has witnessed younger generations’ blooming love for vintage watches first-hand at weekly markets around Melbourne, and a pop-up store in Lygon Court, Carlton (open until November 1).
Tarassova inherited the horology bug from her architect grandfather – a man of great taste, as she recalls. Growing up in Paris, watches were a way to assert personal style in a sustainable way.
“Watches are very classic, but there’s romance too. They carry memories from childhood,” she says.
“It’s the joy of having something that has been made a long time ago and passed the test of time. It’s still working, and the beauty in the detail of the craftsmanship … you can’t even imagine how many people were involved in making watches.”
Since opening her store in 2020, Tarassova says business is booming, with the most popular brand being Seiko watches, while daintier, petite cocktail watches are back in fashion.
New York City-based Brynn Wallner, founder of Dimepiece, a popular platform dedicated to women and watches, has been a fierce defender of small timepieces for years.
“I was just getting into watches … and I noticed that small watches were an afterthought in conversations with journalists, dealers and sales representatives,” she says, attributing the popularity of small watches to their versatility, being easier to “wear, style and stack”.
She points out more high-profile men – like Tyler, The Creator and Bad Bunny – are wearing small watches.
“To see guys in downtown NYC wear small watches is how I imagine it was in the 1990s and 2000s when women started wearing 40mm+ watches, rebelling against what was being sold to them,” she says.
Last month, former marketing executive Clare Smith started vintage watch sourcing business Uncomplicated Times, after people began coming to her for help via word of mouth.
While her clientele is diverse, it skews more female – including men buying gifts for partners.
After almost a decade at luxury Swiss brand Jaeger-LeCoultre, she had honed an intimate appreciation for, and understanding of watches.
“I saw a strong interest in people wanting to know where or how to buy a watch … and not understanding what you could get for your value. I want to show people that you can own a vintage Rolex for under $10,000. People just automatically assume it’s a $30,000 watch,” she says.
“It’s still an investment, but you can find something that has greater value and meaning than something that’s just in a boutique … we try to find something that has a sentimental value and resonates with their day-to-day.”
Smith, who operates on a more luxury end of the market than vendors like Tarassova, says trust – and her network – are key to her business in an industry that can feel inaccessible and intimidating to many buyers.
Cal Best, 27, who started collecting Casio G-Shock watches in high school, has translated this love into a successful eBay business.
He thinks the watch boom became supercharged during COVID when “you couldn’t physically leave the house, but people still had money to spend”.
While his core audience is young men, he’s seen an uptick in female customers, with many coming to him through “live” auctions that allow him to flaunt a level of showmanship not possible through a website.
For Best, growing interest is also a way for Gen Z to invest.
“The property market is so inflated. So they’re finding a watch to put their money into. I’m even seeing some skip out on buying their first car to buy one,” he says.
Tips for buying a vintage watch
- “Buy the dealer, not the watch!” – Brynn Wallner, Dimepiece founder.
- “Go to the boutiques, try on watches, try on sizes and don’t be afraid to ask questions. And follow the right people – whether that’s female or male voices that you want to learn from and can help educate you and make you feel more confident in making your own decisions.” – Clare Smith, Uncomplicated Times founder.
- “Follow your heart instead of being guided by brands; ask lots of questions – including about the store’s policy on warranties and repairs – and research the watch you are buying and the vendor.” – Anastasia Tarassova, Atceatera founder.
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