Local watchmaker grows from home start-up to over £1.9m business

Pictured (L-R) are Peter McAuley, CEO and founder, Nomadic Watches and Iain Joannides, Head of Eastern Regional Business, Invest NI

Nomadic Watches has grown its business to over £1.9 million sales and plans to create 20 jobs, with support from Invest Northern Ireland.

Founded in Carrickfergus in 2021, Nomadic Watches began with CEO and founder, Peter McAuley, working from his home. 

The company now operates from its store in Belfast and employs 14 staff, where it designs and manufactures luxury watches inspired by Belfast’s shipbuilding heritage. The company is continuing to expand with the creation of 20 new jobs, 3 of which are already in place.  

Peter said: “Growing Nomadic Watches from a one-person operation at home to a viable business has been an incredible journey. Invest NI has supported me since 2023, when I joined its Ambition to Grow programme. That support helped me to strengthen our marketing, expand the team and build the capacity we needed to secure our significant sales to date.  

“We’re proud to be designing and manufacturing our watches here in Northern Ireland, inspired by our local heritage. While the US is our main market and we plan to continue our growth there, we’ve also designed signature watches closer to home for Van Morrison and the Irish Football Association. We’re excited to build on our current momentum with further support from Invest NI.” 

Invest NI has provided £140,000 of support towards the creation of the new jobs and marketing development.  

Working with Invest NI’s trade team and in-market teams in the US and Asia, Nomadic Watches has accelerated its international growth by exploring retail partnerships in key locations, having already appointed retail partners in Dublin, Dubai, Brooklyn and Indiana.  

Iain Joannides, Head of Eastern Regional Business at Invest NI said: “Nomadic Watches is a great example of local ambition in action. From starting out as a home-based business to growing a team in Belfast, Peter has created a distinctive brand with real international potential.

“It’s been fantastic to see Nomadic Watches start to scale with the help of our Ambition to Grow programme. We’re now helping the company to double its headcount, and I’m looking forward to seeing how our international teams will support Peter’s continued growth journey by building on its impressive sales in global markets.”