Made in Earth expands into watches

Posted June 14, 2011 | By Sonia Nair

Unusual-gemstone jewellery supplier Made in Earth has branched out into gem-set watches and will launch the new range in August, in the lead up to the International Jewellery Fair in Sydney.

The men’s watches will be made in stainless steel while the women’s watches will come in sterling silver. True to Made in Earth’s niche jewellery offerings, the watches will have unusual stones set in their straps such as American turquoise, malachite, staurolite, astrophyllite, sikhote-alin meteorite, tiger eye and Herkimer diamond.

Made in Earth made the move to expand into timepieces after testing the waters with sample watch models at the Reed Gift Fair in Sydney this February, according to Made in Earth owner Bunny Bedi.

“They did very, very well and we sold out at the last Sydney Reed Gift Fair, so we decided to launch an extensive watch collection,” Bedi said.

He also revealed that the expansion into watches was intended to strengthen the company’s offerings for men.

“We already do cufflinks and a lot of men’s rings so I thought men’s watches could be a good idea. I’ve always loved watches and I wanted to do something different because I love my gemstones, so I’ve incorporated the two,” Bedi said.

The watches have unconventional designs that Bedi believes will appeal to more “flamboyant” watch wearers.

“For the women’s range, I’m designing more of a bracelet-cum-watch with facetted stones so it looks like jewellery. I’m doing a lot of ornate work with the women’s watches while the men’s watches will appear to be good dress watches,” Bedi said.

To maintain a masculine edge to the watches, Bedi said he has carefully handpicked particular gemstones that are more likely to appeal to men.

Bedi has started wholesaling some of the watches to his existing retail base and says so far they have performed well. He also hopes to acquire new stockists for the watches at the upcoming Sydney fair.