‘If someone wants to bring a watch here, they can. We have long-standing customers. I try to carry out every service, whether it’s a simple bracelet change or even an aesthetic alteration to the watch.’

How did this joint project come about?

The Watch Garage project became a reality about two years ago. André began to feel a strong desire to have a physical space to complement the online part. But then we had pandemics, post-pandemics, wars. Unfortunately in Portugal, there are always obstacles to entrepreneurship, it’s almost suicide. You have to be very brave and adventurous to set up a company, a micro-enterprise. You have to love what you do, persevere, and not want to give up. It’s a daily struggle to achieve success and make our mark here.

Pedro Soares – Founder of Atelier do Relógio

My love of watchmaking was a bit of an accident. When I was young, I liked watches, I had lots of Swatches, and I was given a Swatch for my birthday and Christmas. When I became unemployed, I started working in a watchmaking chain, deepening my appreciation of a watch. We worked in the lower-middle range, but that’s where my taste for watchmaking began. I’ve always been curious. I started to become more interested in the technical side. At the time, everything either went to the brands, or we had two or three places here in Porto to direct customers.

The full article appears in Luxury Watches 11.