Ten years of DezDez with Lourenço Salgueiro

The DezDez Forum is turning ten. To celebrate the anniversary of one of the most emblematic watchmaking platforms in our country, we went to talk to its founder, Lourenço Salgueiro. In the whirlwind of social media, where everything is used up in seconds, there are still those who prefer a good conversation, well-founded advice, or simply a place where watches are discussed with passion and knowledge. That is precisely what the DezDez Forum offers — an online community entirely dedicated to watchmaking in Portugal.

Created in 2015, the DezDez Forum was born of the wish to create a space for sharing among enthusiasts, aficionados, collectors and the simply curious from the world of watches. From the most affordable models to the most exclusive, from technical questions to personal stories, everything has its place there. With a clear, well-organised structure, the forum has grown steadily over the years, becoming a true meeting point for the Portuguese watch community.

The pulse of the community

As of today, the forum has:

• 898 registered members

• More than 44,000 posts published

• Hundreds of active topics, from technical debates to emotional memories.

Participation peaked in April 2021, with 279 users online at the same time — an impressive figure for a national, single-topic forum.

What is discussed on DezDez?

The content is organised into several sections:

• Watches in General – the heart of the forum, with more than 25,000 posts;

• Vintage Watches and “Made in Portugal” – a dive into the past and into national pride;

• Haute Horlogerie – where languages such as “tourbillon”, “minute repeater” or “perpetual” are spoken;

• BBB – Good, Pretty and Cheap – because style and passion do not depend on price;

• Watchmaking and Repair – for those who like to tinker, open, adjust and give new life to time machines;

• Classifieds – buying, selling and swapping between members, with transparency and reputation ratings.

In addition, the DezDez Library is a real treasure trove, with catalogues, brand manuals, reference articles and curiosities for those who like to dig deep.

Beyond the forum

DezDez's presence also extends to its official Instagram, where members' watch photos, news and a bit of horological humour along the way are shared.

Partnerships with the Instituto Português de Relojoaria, the magazine Espiral do Tempo and the Museu do Relógio strengthen the forum's link to the real world, to events, courses and cultural initiatives.

Why is it worth joining?

Because here there are no algorithms, no disguised advertising, no noise. There is time. Time to write, to reply, to learn. The DezDez Forum is one of the few places online where you can feel a respect for the craft, for knowledge and for civilised fellowship.

Interview with Lourenço Salgueiro - creator of Dez e Dez

What led you to create the DezDez Forum? Do you remember the moment you had the idea?

DezDez was born because I missed having a single space dedicated to people with a common interest: watches and watchmaking. This was at a time when forums were still widely used tools for online communities, before social media became the dominant means of communication and promotion. I was looking for a place where enthusiasts could discuss a variety of topics and where beginners could get their questions answered.

Although there were already several well-known international forums in which I took part, there was nothing in Portugal that matched what I was looking for. I only found the odd topic or sub-topic about watches on non-specialist forums, but I missed a dedicated "home" for the subject. The more I thought about it, the more I asked myself: why not create a watch forum in Portugal? And so it was. With no previous experience of this kind of project, I researched the existing services, looked for inspiration in forums whose atmosphere and content made sense to me, and got down to work.

Why “DezDez”? Was the name chosen for its meaning or did it come about by chance?

I think any watch enthusiast will understand the reason - it's a reference to the usual position of the hands when watches are photographed. They say it's the most harmonious position, and it also lets you show various elements of the watch, including the brand. Besides that, I wanted something simple, easy and quick to say and write. Something that could work almost like a brand in its own right.

What was the watchmaking scene in Portugal like at the time? Did you feel a space like this was missing?

It's important to point out that I was never 'inside' the watch world in Portugal. I liked watches, full stop. Every now and then I had access to specialist magazines, or catalogues in shops, but it went no further than that. I didn't know anyone in the field, and I didn't have much perception or knowledge of watchmaking in Portugal.

Perhaps that is why, as my interest grew, I began to feel there was a lack of a space where Portuguese people could discuss watches openly and without inhibitions. It wasn't unusual to discover, by sheer chance, Portuguese enthusiasts on foreign forums. There were some quite popular forums in Brazil and, although the language was the same and there were members from Portugal, it wasn't the same thing. I wanted to create something in Portugal, for our specific reality.

As I got to know people, I had the feeling that this world was very closed or restricted, and that it was hard to meet other collectors, watchmakers and enthusiasts. Watchmaking is a niche in itself, and in Portugal, despite our rich horological history, it really is quite a small universe.

Have you ever thought about giving up?

Honestly, I can't say I haven't, but I don't intend to do so either (at least not in the near future). From the very beginning I have done this alone, in my spare time, and I have already devoted many hours to this project. Despite the effort, and the fact that I get no financial return of any kind — quite the opposite —, it was through the forum that I learned new things (especially about Portuguese watchmaking), met and joined a very interesting community, shared good times and had access to initiatives and projects that I would hardly have managed to reach had I stayed at home looking at my phone.

How do you decide what goes into the sections and what doesn't? Or do you let things flow?

As in any forum, there are basic categories that serve to organise and "guide" the content in a general way. However, I try to let things flow naturally. From the start I established that the forum should be developed and led by its members, with as little intervention as possible from me or the moderation team.

Do you think forums still have a place in a world of instant social media?

DezDez was created at a time when, although some well-known social networks already existed, forums were still the preferred space when you really wanted to go deep into a subject — be it watches, cars, motorbikes, coffee, computers, barbering, etc. But with the development of social media and its easy access via mobile phones, these inevitably began to take the place of forums.

Many people have asked why the forum isn't on Facebook, for example (the forum has an Instagram account for promotion and general communication), and the answer has always been the same: what I want for DezDez is for it to be a single-topic space dedicated exclusively to the world of watchmaking. Jokingly, I wouldn't want to see a thread with questions about how to restore grandad's pocket watch mixed in with videos of my cousin's neighbour's cat.

That said, the forum is public and open to everyone, but by "forcing" members to register in order to take part through a specific platform, it also means that those who do so come with a specific mindset focused on the subject at hand, without the everyday distractions that we know are more readily found on the various social networks.

Of course, this was, and is, a very conscious option and choice of mine from the beginning, while naturally not overlooking the merits, ease of discussion and global reach that social media also offer us today.

If you have a watch you really love, one you want to sell, a question you don't know who to ask, or just curiosity — DezDez is for you.

Join the conversation: dezdez.pt