Perthshire watch firm joins crypto revolution

A SCOTTISH watch company has revealed it is to start accepting cryptocurrency as payment for its timepieces.

Perthshire-based Marloe Watch Company says consumers can now purchase any of its mechanical watches with Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. The move comes shortly after Elon Musk announced that people could buy Tesla cars using Bitcoin, which lifted the value of the cryptocurrency to a record high last month.

In a statement outlining the move, Marloe noted that it had been an early adopter of alternative finance models, having crowdfunded the launch of its first product in 2016. The business raised nearly £180,000 from the drive, eclipsing its

£30,000 target, and has now launched six collections.

Marloe’s founders, Oliver Goffe and Gordon Fraser, said they believe cryptocurrencies could offer the opportunity for people to discover the brand in the future. Mr Goffe said: “We’re really excited to offer cryptopayments as another option for our customers. We’ve seen a growing interest in the last year or so of customers looking to enjoy the profits their crypto-investments have made. It’s a sector that shows no sign of slowing down.”

Marloe is on track to move from Perth in early summer to new premises on the banks of Loch Leven, Kinross, where it will be one of the first tenants in a £1 million creative hub. It will occupy the one-time farm alongside Studio LBA, the architect which designed it. The move will allow the company to realise its long-held ambition to assemble its mechanical watches, which range in price from £299 to £975, in Scotland.

However, the actual watch manufacturing will continue to take place overseas.