Meet the Team – Watch Expert, Haydn Ashcroft

Haydn has been with Laings for three years, guiding watch buyers through the different luxury brands and models so that they find the watch of their dreams.

So let’s find out a bit more about the watches he loves…

Describe your role in a nutshell and what does your typical day involve?

My role is to ensure the smooth running of the watch department along with the watch manager. Typically, after our team brief we'll be chasing up leads, making stock enquiries, placing orders, along with attending to new customers who come through the door. We're also responsible for stock replenishment and liaising with suppliers to arrange appropriate stock for the showroom. The bulk of my day is spent attending to clients and ensuring they have a good experience. Some sales last 15 minutes, and others can last hours, so it's often quite unpredictable.

Why did you want to work with watches?

I started off working weekends in a jewellers and always took more of an interest in watches, mechanical watches in particular. I found them really fascinating and the more I learnt about them the more I enjoyed working with them!

What’s your favourite watch that you own?

I love wearing my Breitling Superocean. It’s powered by a self-winding mechanical movement which has been manufactured by Breitling, making it a really unique piece. The steel bracelet is also really comfortable and I think the dark dial looks great.

View Pre-Owned Breitling collection

What watch would you love to own?

I’d love to own an Officine Panerai Luminor Marina 8 Days Acciaio PAM00590. It’s a combination of amazing Swiss manufacturing and Italian design. Inside the steel case is Panerai’s P.5000 calibre hand-wound movement which has an impressive 8 day power reserve. It’s just a fantastic example of expert watchmaking and it also looks really stylish and stands out.

View the complete Panerai collection online

What’s the best part of the job?

The product!

At Laings we have some of the most luxurious brands available. There’s Rolex and Patek Philippe, as well as Cartier, IWC and Jaeger Le Coultre. All the watches have their own individual stories to tell and getting to know each watch we have in is a fascinating process.

What’s your most memorable work moment?

Probably taking delivery of a Patek Philippe 6002G Sky-Moon Tourbillion (c£1 million at the time). Patek called it ‘a sculpture for the wrist’ and it was their most complicated wrist watch ever. It was amazing to be able to work with such a historical timepiece. A really magnificent watch.

We hope you enjoyed finding out more about our watch expert Haydn! Keep up to date with our latest news on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or if you have any questions pop us an email at [email protected].

Bye for now, Laings xXx