Interview with Fabian op de Weegh, Founder and CEO of Van Speyk Watches

Fashion - Interview

by Mehmet Kaplan

The name of the Van Speyk brand is coming from the Dutch National Hero Jan Carel Josephus van Speyk, who lived two centuries ago. They also inspired from Jan Carel Josephus van Speyk. Holland, Dutch Diver, and Dutch Pilot collections are consist of traditional and functional design watches. They aim to offer their designs to the consumer with the most affordable price. From the design of the watches to the name of the brand, it is possible to find different characteristics of Dutch culture. In order to learn more about Van Speyk Watches and their future plans, I asked Fabian op de Weegh, Founder and CEO of Van Speyk Watches.

Fabian, could you start by telling us about your background and watchmaking experience?

We started Van Speyk watches in 2011. Our brand is the result of a cooperation of 6 entrepreneurs who love watches, its technique and design. Our background is therefore very different but we have experience in the field of watchmaking, designing and technique. We combine this all to create our Van Speyk watches.

What inspired you to create Van Speyk watches?

We believe that a cooperation of different people, with different backgrounds, education and ideas lead to the best result. Mainly we wanted to create a real watch brand, with own design and eye for detail, which offers quality for a reasonable price.

Van Speyk Watches

Could you tell us about the Van Speyk watches and collections?

I would describe our Van Speyk watch collection as traditional and functional. We have a focus for good quality which is the result of solid movements, sapphire glass, stainless steel and for example handmade leather straps. Our collection is just for men and contains different series, from aviation style to sportive to classic.

What were the biggest challenges you faced in designing and production processes? How did you solve?

One of the biggest challenges is to offer the best quality for a reasonable retail price. It’s important to have a clear idea about the watch design, materials and specifications. A strict budget is important as well. Being creative and flexible as a small watch brand is important.

Which parts of the Van Speyk Collections mostly reflects Dutch design culture?

Not only our brand name is Dutch, Van Speyk was a Dutch hero who defended our country, our latest watch series are all designed and made in the Netherlands. We are influenced by Dutch architecture, design, and nature.

Could you tell us about the features and story of your watches?

We have three series at this moment; Holland, Dutch Pilot, and Dutch Diver. The Holland series with a classical design was our first followed by the Dutch Pilot with an aviation style. Our latest series is the Dutch Diver which is a great diver watch with 300m water resistance, sapphire glass, automatic Miyota movement and stainless steel bracelet.

Which materials and movement do you use on Van Speyk watches? How do you ensure the sustainability of quality?

We use the best materials and movements available in this price class. Therefore we use Swiss made quartz movements and Japanese automatic movements from Miyota. For the glass, we only use the best sapphire glass which is extremely durable and strong.

Could you tell the story behind your sponsorship of Vitesse? What are the contributions of this sponsorship to the Van Speyk brand?

Vitesse approached us to become their official timekeeper 3 years ago. Vitesse is a football club and after Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV the biggest club in the Netherlands. Together with Vitesse we developed a special Vitesse watch for fans and sponsors which is a great success. Since this year we are no longer official timekeeper as we wanted to focus on other sports and events as well. The cooperation with Vitesse brought us visibility to a larger group of consumers. The Vitesse watch is still available for Vitesse fans.

There is a big contention among analog and smartwatches. What do you think about this?

In our opinion, analog and smartwatches can exist perfectly next to each other. We believe that real watch adepts can have both. Thereby hybrid systems are interesting as well. With Van Speyk we believe in traditional watchmaking for timekeeping but also as a jewellery accessory for men.

Van Speyk Watches

The influence of social media on consumers grows day by day. How do you use social media for Van Speyk watches? Which one do you prefer?

To be honest we don’t use social media a lot at the moment. Social media has a lot of advantages but also a lot of disadvantages. We choose a more direct method of reaching out to interested watch lovers. Thereby we notice that interested consumers who really want to buy one of our watches can find us easily and contact us directly via our website.

Maybe not all of our readers are Vitesse fans, but your Diving and Pilot collections are already available for all. How can our readers buy Van Speyk watches?

We have several dealers (jewellers) offering our Van Speyk watches worldwide. Of course, readers can also visit our website www.vanspeyk-watches.com and order directly online. info@vanspeyk-watches.com

What are your future plans for the Van Speyk Watches?

The Dutch Diver is still a great success and we notice an increasing demand this year. Nevertheless, we are developing a new Van Speyk watch; traditional, stylish and classical. We plan to launch this watch mid-2019.

Anything you would like to add that I haven’t asked?

Not really…Thank you for your interview questions.

Thank you Fabian.

For more information, please visit website of Van Speyk Watches

This interview was conducted in a Question-and-Answer format. The answers were checked for grammar and punctuation and published without any additional editing. Tuesday, August 14, 2018. All photos are the property of their respective owners.