Talking to him, it was clear that he was motivated to produce a watch of the highest quality As with any successful design, the devil is in the detail - the smallest elements of the watch have been thought out with the greatest care. The watch is based on very British elements - influenced by the design of lighthouses of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The watch is, at 44mm, slightly larger than I would normally wear, but having tried it, I would revise this view. The case is large and chunky, but so intelligently made, curved, angled and proportioned that it looked fine, even on my slim wrist. The GMT function enables you to keep time in another time zone without having to adjust the watch. There is also a power reserve indicator. The movement is a high quality Soprod Swiss automatic, beautifully finished (but the owner will never see this).
Everything about the watch and the accompanying accessories is beautifully presented. To continue the British theme, some of the straps are made from British materials - Moon Mills tweed, British Millerain waxed cotton and, to come, Ventile. All these materials I'm covering in other posts this month in the context of the best of British fabrics and fashion. (I'd love to see these produced in other sizes, 20mm and 22mm, for other watches - these are the sort of well-designed and attractive British product that deserves a wider audience).
Finally, among the accessories available is a mouthwatering (I never thought I'd use that adjective, but it's apt here) watch case that has been made in collaboration with Cherchbi. I was delighted to see that the Herdwick wool has been used in its construction. I mentioned this Cumbrian sheep in my post here. Farmers have sometimes had to throw their fleeces away due to its low value. Yet here we have a sheep that has been farmed in an area of England (which I love and visit regularly) since the Vikings lived there. So, to see a product which uses its fleece was very welcome. We should support such collaborations and wear them with pride.
So, once again, a great British-designed product made with passion and attention to detail.
Hi Dave,
ReplyDeleteno comments on a watch article; can't have that! As you probably know these have been discussed over on TZ-UK (where after the goings on with Bremont, British watches get a pretty frosty reception). I like the look of the dial but was immediately put off by the thickness of the design. Any watch that tall is just asking to get bashed. Also, as you say at 44mm way too large as this means the lug to lug distance will be way over 50 mm, which is my personal limit. The star of the range is the tweed finish strap; where can I buy one?
Cheers
Gruntfuttock
I relied on my inspection of the watch when writing this. It's worth seeing one in the flesh and talking to Giles to find out more - this sort of British-designed quality and enterprise deserves support. Regards, GF.
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