By Hannah Yakobi

Photography courtesy of TW Steel

This Tuesday was a busy evening at the Thompson Toronto’s rooftop, with a TW Steel VIP party being hosted at the venue for select guests and media. The company’s CEO, Jordy Cobelens, was visiting Canada for the first time and chatting with attendees about the philosophy and vision behind the brand, as well as its latest selection of watches.

Models walked among guests throughout the night, and each carried a large, tray-shaped display with various pieces from the TW Steel collection.

The brand was established in the Netherlands, and is led by the energetic Cobelens who focuses on the day-to-day side of the business, while his father, Ton, is in charge of the design process for every timepiece. Cobelens has a true entrepreneurial flair, and one of his achievements includes being recognized in 2011 as the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year at the prestigious Ernst & Young Business awards in the Netherlands.

Jordy Cobelens (left) and Ton Cobelens.

So what is TW Steel bringing to Canada? “Something new that is very luxurious,” Cobelens told FAJO. “We have been selling our watches here for two-and-half years, and we are focused on oversized watches – that is really part of our DNA and what we stand for. Our philosophy is about affordable luxury.”

With case dimensions of up to 50mm, TW Steel is well-known as one of the “big boys” in the watch market. The pieces are quite trendy, yet with a classic touch. A particularly eye-catching number is the Canteen pink watch for the ladies (it is also available in black and white). The stand-out feature on all Canteen pieces is the use of 56 Swarovski stones set on each bezel. Each model uses a Miyota 2415 three-hand movement with a two-colour combination on the hands – the part nearest to the centre also matches the colour of the dial.

TW Steel's Canteen pink watch with Swarovski crystals.

TW Steel was born in 2005 with a simple four-model collection that has now expanded into a range of 140 individual executions, available in 80 countries, across 4,000 retail outlets. The company also has many celebrity ambassadors, including Dario Franchitti, David Coulthard and Kelly Rowland.

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