Adina watches have been adapted to suit the Australia lifestyle, including features such as waterproofing. General manager, and son of founder Bob, Grant Menzies comments on style and practicality.
“100 metre and 200 metre water resistant watches from the 70’s are still popular today, especially in our ladies market, we treat these watches as functional fashion – they work for both a dinner party or an afternoon swim,” said Grant.
“We want to make sure we are current and relevant in a fashion sense but we also want to be relevant in the functionality.
“Australian’s want something that suits every lifestyle.”
Grant also acknowledges the importance of Australian made products to Adina.
“We’ve always endeavoured to do our production in Australia, which allows us to control the quality of each of our watches. We have an apprentice program which ensures a quality level through local talent and people learning the art of watchmaking in our workshop.”
When Adina first began in 1971, the brand was actually named Rolma; however, a Swiss brand, Olma, encouraged them to change their name since it was too similar. Once when Bob was on the way back from a trade show in Switzerland he saw the word ‘Adina’ in a Reader’s Digest. It means ‘very good’ in Aboriginal dialect, and the company rebranded.
Watch making has been within the family for generations. Bob completed his apprenticeship in 1956, and his Father before him, Arch Menzies, was a watch and jewelry salesmen in the 1940’s.
“Family business is incredibly important to our business, most of our 300 retailers are family businesses too. It is great to have the understanding of how a multi-generational business works because that’s a big part of our extended network.
“Also, within our design workshop, my father and I have two very different opinions which works really well. I have four children who aren’t quite at the age to join the business but I’m sure when they are ready they will play some part in Adina Watches.”
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