Categories revealed for the inaugural UK Watch Awards
Watch Insider has unveiled the categories ahead of the first UK Watch Awards, to be held in October of this year.
Taking place at the iconic Goldsmiths’ Hall in London on Tuesday October 20, the night promises to be a celebration of the outstanding people operating day in, day out, within the UK watch industry.
Inclusive of retailers, brands and external suppliers, Watch Insider believes it is the people at the coalface who deserve the credit at an annual ceremony to recognise how the work they do makes the wider ecosystem so great.
With gongs designed to reflect that, as well as businesses operating across levels of the market, the UK Watch Awards team has curated a total of 17 awards which are as follows:
Retail:
Independent Retailer of the Year (average selling price below £1,000)
Independent Retailer of the Year (average selling price £1,000–£4,000)
Independent Retailer of the Year (average selling price above £4,000)
Multiple Retailer of the Year
Pre-owned Watch Retailer of the Year
Sales Team of the Year
Unsung Hero of the Year
Best New or Refurbished Store
The retail category will be voted for by brand teams working within the UK market.
Brand:
Watch Brand of the Year — Volume (average price below £1,000)
Watch Brand of the Year — Affordable luxury (average price £1,000–£3,000)
Watch Brand of the Year — Luxury (average price £3,000–£7,500)
Watch Brand of the Year — Prestige (average price above £7,500)
The brand category will be voted for by UK retail teams.
Other:
Lifetime Achievement Award
Sustainable Business of the Year
External Supplier of the Year
Rising Star Award (retail or brand exec under the age of 30)
Event of the Year
Miscellaneous awards will be voted for by both brand and retails teams operating within the UK market.
Nominations for all categories will open on 19 May and the process will run for 12 weeks, closing on 11 August.
Shortlists will then be announced, and the industry will be given a six-week window to vote for its winners.
“The UK Watch Awards is an event that an industry as magnificent as this one deserves,” said Watch Insider CEO Daniel Malins when launching the awards in March. “In its purest form, a gala event like this should reward those individuals and companies that are working their socks off at the coalface on a daily basis.
“There’s a reason why the UK has had the highest Swiss watch exports per capita in Europe since the turn of the century, and that’s because us Brits love our watches,” he continued.
Adding: “But the key to any industry is about what goes on in the trenches. Who are the companies brave enough to innovate their product, or to expand their store, or to take a punt on a new brand? These are the businesses that I’ve been lucky enough to get to know closely over the past 15 years, and the UK Watch Awards will be a celebration of these people in a way that’s never been seen before.”
Hosting this year’s event will be TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher. Gallacher spent 20 years as one of the main faces of Sky Sports, and will bring a professionalism and charm to proceedings that will make the Awards flow as freely as the drinks.
There will also be a line-up of talks and seminars at the venue in the afternoon on the day of the UK Watch Awards, creating a real sense that 20 October will be a genuine coming together of the leading lights of the British watch trade. The talks and seminar programme will be announced in the coming weeks.
Specialist insurance broker TH March has already been announced as a category sponsor of this year’s event.
