The Sons in Bulang and Sons

Dear friends, over the years I am often asked about the ‘Sons’ in our brand name. When I started B&S in 2012 the name represented the connection between generations and shared stories and we strived to offer products that had been part of personal history and adventures or high quality products with timeless values. All that we offer and present at Bulang and Sons should have the quality to become part of your story and the watches we supply, we hope, will be passed on to the next generation.

However, today I am happy to introduce to you the real sons and their shared passion for both the watches and the company and share their contribution to the business during these strange times. Bulang and Sons has truly evolved into a family business with my wife handling customer services and even my daughter showing signs of a love for watches. Due to these new circumstances that we all face, both of my sons have been closer than ever and now it literally is Bulang and Sons!

Actually I was the Son

I guess all of this began with my father. He was a collector and although he collected different things to me, I inherited his interest and values to search for beautiful things, learn about them, understand the deeper magic and make a connection with them. The objects he collected were never just ‘things’ and it wasn’t just about the value of them. I also learnt the value of connecting with the people with a shared passion. I enjoyed many, many trips and deep talks with him in my youth.

I have collected different things through my life, all related to aesthetics, vintage, stories and craftsmanship. For the last 15 years, watches have become my primary passion; a passion that has led to great friendships and an understanding of ‘values’ that are far greater than the rarity of the grail pieces I had the honour to collect. History repeats itself and I am now the father, who has shared his passion with his family and kids. They have accompanied me in my discovery of this passion – traveling to meet the people, finding new pieces, visiting fairs and joining me at the famous Passion Meetings.

The Kids – growing up in style

My children, two boys and one girl, have grown up with the joy of great vintage watches and meeting friends from all over the world. They have been interested in them and their stories since before they could even walk! When surfing the family photo albums, some crazy pictures pop up. Them wearing Big Crowns, McQueen style, a Daytona or Comex watches. Crazy times! But what I love most about it is that they have never seen them as bling, ‘posh’ or a bragging right. They have discovered the connoisseur values of these vintage pieces and how to enjoy them privately for one’s own joy. All my kids have found their own vintage watch now and proudly wear them!

Berend Bulang – Welcome to the next generation

I am proud to introduce to you all Berend Bulang. He is joining the company for his final internship as part of graduation in marketing/communications studies. Since joining us in March, he has been helping us with our online presentation, new media and new concepts to spice up our online presence. Berend also wanted to get a deeper insight into and learn about the watch business.

Berend has always been involved in Bulang and Sons. Over the years he has accompanied me to watch fairs, even taking charge of the booth in the early days of Bulang and Sons (whilst I ran around buying watches) and also joining me on countless watch trips. He shares a great interest in the watches and loves his Rolex Datejust that he received as a very generous gift from a dear client/friend back in the beginning of Bulang and Sons, when he was 13 or 14 years old. He had to wait until his 18th birthday before he was able to fully own the watch, before that he was only allowed to wear it on special occasions. Now, however, he now enjoys it every day and it has become part of his life and future stories. And it will forever connect him to the dear person who gave it to him.

Berend is with us full time until the summer and he has taken on the challenge of sharing his love and learning about the watches with people of his own generation. So, from now on you will see more of Berend on Instagram and a younger perspective on vintage watches. He hopes to get more young people on board, getting interested in vintage Rolex and Tudor Oysters and Datejusts – especially as he loves them so much and is so proud to own one.

Berend might become the next generation in the family business after he finishes his next studies in business economics. In the meantime, we hope that he will enjoy his time with us now and during his studies.

So Berend – go and spread your love for watches!

Bram Bulang – Return with a vengeance

We are all living in challenging times and for many people in the world, these days are full of uncertainty. This will forever be known as the era of lock-downs and social distancing. And since the onset of the ’smart’ lock down here in The Netherlands, the kids are all at home with us, including our eldest son. And as challenging as these times might seem, they also have their magical moments.

Bram joined the Dutch Air Force to become a fine officer and gentleman and in normal times he would rarely stay with us longer than a weekend during his Air Force Academy training. Most of the time he would be far away from us. During the lock-down, however, he was sent home to study online during this phase. It has afforded us some truly special moments to have the full family back home.

So what’s the great news for Bulang and Sons and you guys? Bram was part of the team for one year before he joined the Air Force, which was his childhood dream and I never expected him to get back into the family business other then talks during walks or breakfast at the weekends. But Bram discovered his joy for photography during the last year and I really loved his images. And guess what? Whist he is now ‘locked-down’ with us until the summer, I asked him to do the wrist shots of the watches and some mood shots for me in our home. So I hope you love the wrist shots lately just as much as I do. They have been done by my two sons, in front of and behind the camera – working as a team. A love for watches has led to Bram buying his first vintage Rolex. A beautiful silver Rolex Datejust that he is now wearing proudly in rotation with his Bell & Ross Chrono that I bought for his birth and he got when he turned 18 years old.

Home is where the heart is

Our home has become our base. I currently work mainly from home and it is a great joy to see the 2 boys – now becoming grown men – working together and teaming up with me to bring you the spirit and vibe of the great watches we offer each week. And it is so great to see that they naturally understand what to show and how to share the character of these watches.

I am so proud of the whole family for helping to keep up with the great demand and growth of the brand. And I am so proud of the rest of the team working remotely and keeping up the spirit and great work to keep Bulang and Sons at the forefront, fresh and moving forward.

Yes these are challenging times, but they are also very special times with the ‘Sons’ next to me pushing forward.

I am very thankful to all you great customers and our special community. And I am so thankful for having such great family and team.

Keep up the great spirits and stay safe.

Bernhard Bulang