Helen Gregory never envisaged a future running a best replica watches and jewellery business, employing 150 people in boutiques and workshops in Sydney and Melbourne. On completing secondary school in Sydney’s Woolwich, she studied architecture at the University of NSW.
“I’d just finished my degree when my dad and uncle opened a store at Westfield [Bondi Junction],” she tells The Australian Financial Review Magazine. “That was 2004, and I said I’d like the opportunity to run and manage it.”
Her plan was to do that for a year then return to architecture. “But within a very short time, we were working with watch brands, and it opened up much excitement. I loved the inner workings, the storytelling and seeing customers smile when they’d pick up that watch and wind it.”
Gregory is now joint CEO with her cousin Edward of the eponymous Gregory Jewellers, which has its origins as a jewellery manufacturer in Turkey. “My father and uncle founded the business and established it in Australia on their arrival in 1976. I was born six months later, and remember coming into workshops they had in the city where Dad was working on the bench,” she says.
Jewellery still makes up half of the company’s business, with bustling workshops backing the boutiques. “We watched our parents work very hard, investing everything back into the business, no flashy homes or cars, and that’s something we admire and are proud of today. Along with two sets of siblings, the dads are still around. They’re working six days a week, not in the day-to-day running, but in the workshop, visiting boutiques, meeting with clients.”
The pivot to UK top fake watches came in the late ’80s when the family sensed the need to open their own retail outlets, given challenges affecting wholesale businesses. The first brand offered was Tag Heuer, and was soon followed by others. Tag has continued to perform for them, especially during COVID-19: “We couldn’t get stock and if we did get it, we sold it at a rate that was incredible.”
Gregory says the current climate is rather different. “Buying a watch today is not the quick decision it used to be. You could convince a client to reward themselves, and they would, but nowadays it’s more challenging. We’ve got cost-of-living pressures, interest rate hikes – people are being more cautious with their choices, their spending, especially around the luxury sector.
“Couple that with price increases, and it does have an impact on the end consumer. I think brands are sometimes exposing themselves to risk because there can come a point where the consumer just won’t buy it.”
The good news? The growing enthusiasm of women for high quality replica watches. “Maybe they’re late bloomers, but women have embraced watches. They’re coming in and joining the conversation, trying on pieces, and they’ve got a collection – it’s not just the one watch they have; it’s gone from that to being a hobby, swapping out watches, thinking about what to add.”
As to their preferences, Gregory notes a strong shift to colour and larger pieces. “Now it’s ‘give me more colour’, and they’re buying perfect copy watches that were traditionally skewed towards a male audience.”
Her own preference? “I’ve always worn a larger size, even with my first watch, a Tag model. I really wanted the big one which was 40 millimetres; instead, my parents got me the 28-millimetre version. I’ve still got it, but if they’d given me the big one I’d still be wearing it!”
No surprise then that when asked what she might recommend to the fledgling female collector, she nominates two brands long associated with masculine timepieces: Panerai and Breitling replica watches for sale.
“Panerai has new models with attractive feminine features, mother-of-pearl dials, pink straps; and Breitling has found a way to elevate its women’s offering. There’s a slimmer case, smaller lugs, bright, beautiful colours, nice materials, and there’s an automatic movement, so you’re buying into the real world of cheap fake watches.”
She also puts forward Zenith’s Defy three-hander, adding: “There is the ladies’ size and it’s a lovely piece, but why wouldn’t you buy the gents’ size?” And if it really must be something petite? “I think Longines does a fantastic job. Their Mini DolceVita is just so pretty.”
As to what Gregory might add to her own collection of about 30 pieces, “I was saying to my cousin Edward, Omega has just released this amazing white dial Omega Speedmaster super clone watches wholesale . . .” A refreshingly candid endorsement given it’s not a brand the family stocks.