With the help of the watch community, Ed Sheeran’s watch dealer in the US was able to connect Delugs with the singer’s team. However, instead of bringing Sheeran to the Delugs showroom, they would try to get Kuan and Chia backstage passes to meet him.

A rollercoaster of emotions ensued as the founders did not receive any confirmation or updates for the next week, and had even put up another post on social media the night before Sheeran’s first show to manage the expectations of the watch community who had been closely following the progress of their endeavour online.

On the morning of the first show in Singapore on February 16, however, Kuan made a final attempt to reach out to Sheeran’s team and received a reply saying the team would finalise details of the meet-and-greet soon.

The couple cleared their schedule for the day and eventually, after much anticipation, met Sheeran backstage that evening before his concert at the National Stadium. During the brief encounter, they presented him with a watch case customised with the singer’s tour logo handpainted by Chia containing some Delugs watch straps that they had carefully curated for him based on their research of the watches he owns.

During this first meeting with Sheeran, the pair were able to chat with the singer’s team, among whom several were also watch fans and interested in getting some Delugs straps of their own. This led to Kuan and Chia being invited back the next day to pass the team their straps, along with two more straps for Sheeran that they helped fit on him. These straps included the navy blue CTS rubber strap that Sheeran wore that same night on stage, with his Patek Philippe World Time 5230G piece unique.

Below, Kuan shares how he felt watching the singer perform with a Delugs strap on his wrist and more about the exciting experience.

Looking back on the whole encounter with Ed Sheeran, how would you describe your feelings?
Honestly, it’s still quite hard to believe. Going into this, I thought we would give it a shot but even if it doesn’t work out it’s fine because it’s going to be a fun experience. The team had fun doing the video and enjoyed this whole process, but to actually see it happen was quite surreal. We never imagined that one day this business or hobby would allow us to interact with celebrities like Ed Sheeran. We’re very thankful to everyone that made it happen because we couldn’t have done this on our own. I had no connections and it was really the watch community that made this happen.

Did this experience change your perspective of the watch community in any way?
We always knew that the watch community was ready to share and help one another just because it was bound by the same deep passion for horology. And we knew we had a strong community and following, but to see everyone rally together, rooting for us as we go through this journey, that was very heartening. We also don’t take it for granted that the watch community would just support anyone on their endeavours. It took years of us contributing and building up our reputation—not just as founders of a strap brand but as part of the community and as fellow collectors. I think everyone who helped to refer someone in this journey was also putting their name and reputation on the line, basically vouching for us and our brand, so we are super thankful that people are willing to do that for us.

How did it feel to watch Ed Sheeran perform while wearing a Delugs strap?
It was a huge honour that he actually likes the strap enough to wear it for a performance. We started this whole company because we just wanted to make good quality products for watch owners, and I guess this shows that celebrities are not that different from regular people. It’s really quite the dream come true, because knowing that Ed has a specific use case; that he wanted straps like this and then being able to provide the strap for that requirement and actually seeing him use it in that scenario is a reward in itself.

Not many people would pair their Patek Philippe watches with a rubber strap like Ed Sheeran did. What is your take on this?
As much as I would like to think that most people think about changing their watch straps, the reality is when most people buy a watch, they don’t think about it or they don’t even know that they can change the strap. It’s very hard to break stereotypes and norms so I think having someone like Ed Sheeran wear a dress watch on a rubber strap really helps with that, in two main ways. Firstly, it helps people realise that there are many aftermarket strap makers or individual leather crafters that can make straps for your watches, not just the watch brand.

Secondly, there’s a mindset that certain types of straps belong on certain types of watches, which is not true. Like Ed Sheeran, you really should think about how you intend to use the product and then get the strap that fits that lifestyle. That being said, I don’t think there are that many people who wear a Patek Philippe Grand Complication to perform on stage so I think leather straps on dress watches will still be the prevailing norm. But I think it shows that you can do it, and you’re not alone if you do it.

Did you notice any increased interest in Delugs after this experience with Ed Sheeran?
Most definitely. We’re quite known in the international watch community but that’s a very niche group. We’re a homegrown brand but we don’t focus much on publicity so some Singaporeans don’t even know we’re a Singapore brand until they realise that the package that arrives was shipped locally. So, this has helped to shine the spotlight on our brand and we hope that this episode can inspire other local brands to also try to chase their dreams and see what’s possible.

What is your biggest takeaway from this experience?
I think it’s really about this message of dreaming big and just giving it your best. A quote I like to come back to is “Hard work creates good luck”. Sometimes in hindsight, you see a series of lucky events that happened. But I think you have to be present and put in the work to be there when the opportunity comes along, and then just take whatever opportunities come. The effort of trying something is the hard work that you need to put in, whether it leads to a successful outcome or not. If you don’t try, you’ll never have the chance to find out.

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