Learning how to repair a wristwatch was enough for Jabulani Mabuza to get an inspiration to start making his own high-tech smartwatches.
The founder of Honour Watches was reselling watches around campus when he received a complaint that an import-branded watch was faulty after three days of purchase. After fixing the faulty watch, Mabuza believed he could make his own.
The BCom in General Management student at the University of Free State then studied horology, the study and measurement of time.
“What I enjoy about horology is learning the deeper technicalities of the art, the whole process – from understanding basic astronomy and how planets move in our solar system, to sort of emulating that in a watch mechanism,” said Mabuza.
“I ended up wanting to learn this, because as I kept on repairing watches, I just felt in love with the thought of making my own and having my brand. Early in 2021, I assembled my very first Honour automatic called Trailblazer 1.0.”
Efforts to promote the brand include selling from his website, university residence and renting a stall at local social markets.
Mabuza, who has made it through to the central regional rounds of the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education competition in the existing business category for studentpreneurs, said his brand has a wide range of social class separated into two.
He added that the basic quartz movement, with less emphasis on the features and qualities, was targeted to students and general workers while the new range, which highlights the quality and features, will be targeted to high-net worth individuals.
The timepieces range between R200 and R5 000, in accordance with the target.
He shared that he has always loved the classy look he always gets from wearing a watch, especially one he bought from Beaver Canoe in 2020, and now he is proud to own one of the proud South African luxury brands.
He dreams of having a production plant locally to secure more jobs instead of importing watches from Japan and Switzerland.
“My company is a year old, and I am still learning the art of watchmaking. Apart from watchmaking, I also co-own a non-profit company that tutors and supports high school learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as the underperforming and average learners on all subjects.
“We provide tutorship, food and we also want to work hand in hand with social workers to give certain learners counseling, as we believe that there are more contributing factors to the learner’s learning abilities than the teaching and learning process taking place in class.”
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