History
MEN OF THE CLOCK
To come up with your own line of watches you need to take your time. That is what Tom Douben, Richard Bex, and Arjen Heinen found out. The threesome saw the fulfillment of the dream of their youth with the first samples of their own line of Eysink Watches in 2015.
On the upper floor of a house in Grathem in central Limburg it is apparent how serious the plans of the 3 men are. The cozy room is protected by a steel door. The room is full of second, minute, and hour hands, cabinets, timepieces, and other related watch parts. It is the workplace of Richard Bex who for years worked in the Swiss watch industry. He has used his expertise in assembling the beautiful Eysink watches.
Aiming for Quality
Having your own watch brand… It sounds more like something James Bond would have for his secret missions. For Arjen Heinen, Richard Bex, and Tom Douben it was like a dream come true. The trio share a love for the mechanisms that make watches work and the techniques involved. Two years before after a visit to the jewelry market in Basel, they decided to proceed with the fulfillment of their dream to design their own watch brand. They immediately had a clear picture in mind: stylish watches for gentlemen who could appreciate quality and technique and would be willing to pay for it. Plus, the watches had to have a Dutch flavor to them in the design, features, and character. The trio decided to divide the timepiece into the different pieces and would make sure that every facet would be of the highest quality.
Tom said, “We approached each piece individually and decided to start with the inner workings of the watch. The gears come from a Swiss business known for the quality products it produces for various watch brands.”
Swiss Secrets
Choosing the parts and assembling them became quite the journey through the watch making industry concentrated mainly in Switzerland. If you want the highest quality, you must be prepared to have a network in place to assist you. The Swiss watch industry is not open to just anyone wanting to make watches. When they saw the genuine passion of the three Dutchmen, they opened their doors and were prepared to share their secrets with the Eysink watch makers. Richard, Arjen, and Tom glow with pride when they speak about the unique features of the watches: the alligator skin wrist band; the encasing; the hour, minute, and second hands; all of it has been carefully thought out.
Arjen says, “The finished product is basically like the sketches we started with two years ago. It required many trips to Basel and surroundings, but now that I am wearing the watch it has certainly been worth it.”
Every Eysink watch collection will be produced in limited numbers. All watches can have a complementary ‘watch winder’, a stylish gadget that can be set in a prominent area to be used to reload the watch. The men are as proud as peacocks. Their goal now is to see Eysink watches first being a success in the Netherlands and then in the rest of Europe.