The best British watch brands reviving a traditional craft

Borna Bošnjak

The go-to word for instant credibility these days is “Swiss made”, and while Japanese, German and even Chinese brands have made strides to topple the neutral state’s dominance, it is thanks to the once flourishing British watchmaking industry that us watch lovers have a hobby to obsess over today. From Mudge’s 1755 lever escapement and Arnold’s chronometric pursuit, to Harwood’s automatic winding and Daniels’ co-axial escapement, some of the most notable innovations in watchmaking are courtesy of the Brits. It would hurt not mentioning the likes of John Harrison, Thomas Earnshaw, and Derek Pratt, too, all hugely influential in horo-history. Honouring them, and the recent resurgence of the British watchmaking industry, we look at the best watch manufacturers and horological artisans the British Isles have to offer.

Mr Jones Watches

Though it seems counterintuitive, some watches are less about telling the time to the exact second, and more about reminding you of the time’s value (or perhaps not even that). Most of Mr Jones’ offering sits firmly in the latter category, as these watches are more artistic expressions of the passing of time, that also just happen to tell it. Best of all? They’re wonderfully affordable.

Borna’s pick: Mr Jones Watches A Perfectly Useless Afternoon. Price: £225 (~US$300)

Paulin Watches

After recently joining forces with anOrdain (spoilers for further down the list), Paulin has continued to produce quirky, design-forward pieces at affordable price points. There’s both quartz and manual-winding on offer, with the former even offering a display caseback. It’s little novelty elements like that one that best-define the brand, with a noteworthy element being Paulin’s openness about where it manufactures and assembles its pieces. The dials, for example, are made in the UK or Germany, cases are sourced from China, and hands are from India (from one of the biggest watch hand suppliers worldwide).

Borna’s pick: Paulin Modul C Quartz. Price: £450 (~US$600)

Studio Underd0g

You can’t have a list of best British brands without Studio Underd0g. There isn’t much more we can say about this brand than what we already have, but its approach to watchmaking is unique in the fact that it doesn’t take itself seriously at all. We loved the watches so much, in fact, we decided to offer them in the Time+Tide Shop.

Borna’s pick: Studio Underd0g Series 1 Watermel0n. Price: £500 (~US$650), available from the T+T Shop

Cabot Watch Company

Cabot Watch Company has a curious history. The dawn of the quartz crisis in the 1970s saw multiple brands shut up shop, but not so for CWC. Quite the contrary, in fact, as the brand was founded in 1972 as a direct result of Hamilton pulling out of the UK market and no longer supplying the British Ministry of Defence with watches. Ray Mellor, the gentleman in charge of those contracts, decided to continue working with the MoD, producing watches under his own brand. CWC supplied the MoD with numerous watches, but most famous was perhaps the Royal Navy Diver Automatic, the watch that replaced the legendary Rolex MilSub. The collaboration between CWC and the British military continues to this day, and though the brand reissued the 1980 MilSub replacement, it was only a limited edition of 600 pieces that have long sold out. Here’s hoping.

Borna’s pick: CWC 1983 Royal Navy Divers Quartz Re-Issue RN300-83 QS60. Price: £750 (~US$1,000)

Farer

For a brand that’s only been around for a decade, having more than a dozen collections could be considered quite the feat. Despite the numerous references, Farer manages to keep a consistent design language across them all, relying on entry-level Swiss movements for the most part. The bold, block colours that dominate the range give a whiff of Bauhaus, though Farer has branched out into dressier territories with the likes of the Cushion Case collection.

Borna’s pick: Farer Lander IV 36mm GMT. Price: US$1,465

Vertex

Vertex is yet another brand with a curious heritage, originally set up as a re-caser of Swiss movements in 1912 – a practice that was very common in the time period. It was a producer of military watches in both world wars, most famously part of the Dirty Dozen in WWII. Despite launching a range of dive watches at the height of their popularity in the 1960s, Vertex would go under during the quartz crisis in 1972 and lay in dormancy for 43 years. Come 2015, great-grandson of Vertex founder Claude Lyons, Don Cochrane, resurrected the company, with the official relaunch coming in 2017. Today, the Vertex line-up is focused on military-inspired pieces as one would expect, but now all carrying the “Swiss Made” dial text.

Borna’s pick: Vertex M36. Price: £1,792 (ex. VAT, ~US$2,400)

Fears

Fears’ tale is one that began midway through the 1840s, ended in 1976, and began again four decades later in 2016, all the while staying a family business thanks to managing director Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, once a Rolex watchmaking apprentice. All Fears watches are assembled in Bristol, the brand’s headquarters, with British, Swiss, and German components, with most of the collection based around the Brunswick cushion shape. Though mostly hovering in the same, relatively affordable, price range of a Black Bay 58, Fears also offers high-end models like the luxuriously hefty Brunswick Pt above or the hand-finished Garrick collaboration with its huge balance wheel.

Borna’s pick: Fears Brunswick 38 Copper Salmon. Price: US$3,500 (ex. VAT), available from the T+T Shop

Christopher Ward

To those that are already familiar with Christopher Ward, I hear you. The Bel Canto isn’t really an example of the brand’s usual aesthetic, but if we’re letting Christopher Ward put its best foot forward, this is about as good as it gets. Not only is the brand a shining example of making complications affordable, but the very idea of a microbrand began with Christopher Ward back in 2004. It was the first online-only watch brand priced as entry-level luxury, selling directly to their consumers, in a move unheard of at the time. While CW may be responsible for the popularisation of the now-overused “cutting out the middleman”, its impact on the British watchmaking industry and one as a whole is remarkable, especially since integrating with manufacturing partner Synergies Horlogères in 2014.

Borna’s pick: Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto. Price: starting from US$3,795

an0rdain

We go north to enamel artists anOrdain. Founded by Edinburgh-based architect Lewis Heath, the brand prides itself on its fumé enamel technique that was the result of a fortunate mistake while making a regular vitreous enamel dial. The most impressive thing is that all the dials are produced in their Glasgow workshop, from custom die stamping to pad printing. Though some components are Swiss-made, like the hands and movements, both are modified to anOrdain’s needs by their own watchmakers, the same experts that assemble and regulate the finished products. The movements often need a change of wheels to accommodate the height of the enamel dial, while the hands are shipped to Scotland as raw blanks, only to be treated further in-house. Just like many successful micro/independent brands, anOrdain prices have steadily risen with time, though the product has undoubtedly improved too.

Borna’s pick: anOrdain Model 3 Method Aqua. Price: US$4,879

Bremont

Bremont has had a tumultuous time as of late, with the first batch of releases after Davide Cerrato’s ascendance to CEO receiving less than favourable feedback. Recent history aside, Bremont has made commendable strides in addressing the alarming lack of mass movement production in the UK, and in its desperation to produce an in-house movement, proved just how challenging that can be. Now settled in at its new headquarters at The Wing, coincidentally the largest watchmaking joint in the UK, Bremont’s investments are split between reviving luxury British watchmaking, and offering adventure-ready pieces at lower price points. Acquiring the rights to produce a modification of THE Plus’ modular calibre, Bremont has began to integrate a “Made in England” movement into more and more of its watches, testing it to the same, extreme, levels as the Martin-Baker line, which involves watches being shot out of jet fighter cockpits via the MB ejector seat. With time, and given the brand listens to loyal customer feedback, there’s no doubt it’ll find its feet again.

Borna’s pick: Bremont MBII. Price: US$5,150

Garrick

Garrick is the next watchmaker on our list. Headed by David Brailsford and Simon Michlmayr, the brand has dedicated to producing as many watch components as possible in its Norfolk workshop. 2016 saw the release of Garrick’s very own Calibre UT-G01 made in collaboration with Andreas Strehler, and served as a base for three further movements, the most recent of which featured in the Fears collaboration. Taking inspiration from classical pocket watches, even the most basic models like the S4 include a multitude of hand-decorated bits, including a very handsomely decorated Unitas calibre with a frosted three-quarter plate, polished countersinks and an intricately engraved crown wheel and barrel plate.

Borna’s pick: Garrick S3 MK2. Price: £27,495 (ex. VAT, ~US$36,000)

Robert Loomes

Being the chairman of the British Horological Institute must mean you’ve done something right when it comes to watches, my point proven by Robert Loomes’ Stamford workshop. Having made a name for himself in restoration work, the maker’s pursuit of making watches using only British parts has lead to making everything in-house, from enamel dials to hand-crafting movement wheels on an ancient machine. For a long time, Loomes used new-old-stock Smiths movements from the 1950s, a product of another great, now defunct, watchmaking operation in Britain. In 2016, however, Loomes made a great leap forward, introducing his very own movement. Albeit certainly inspired by the vintage Smiths calibres Loomes has worked with extensively, this new movement was produced in the brand’s workshop, or “within an hour’s drive from Stamford for convenience”, according to Loomes. This includes the jewels for the bearings, hairsprings and pallets – all components whose production is largely outsourced to industry giants.

Borna’s pick: Robert Loomes The Loomes Original. Price: £68,500 (~US$90,000)

Charles Frodsham

If you’re a purveyor of the finest crafts watchmaking has to offer, you’re likely to have heard of Roger Smith, Philippe Dufour and Rexhep Rexhepi. How about Charles Frodsham? Admittedly, it isn’t a name synonymous with wristwatches, but rather those of the pocket variety, with its inception going back all the way to 1834. It has continuously operated since being founded, albeit under different ownership, mostly focusing on restoration work in its most recent history, including the completion of Derek Pratt’s incredible H4 marine chronometer. This changed with the introduction of the Double Impulse Chronometer in 2018, using a natural escapement conceived by Breguet and perfected by Daniels and Pratt.

All but a few components are made in the brand’s London atelier, and though not decorated in the flashy manner of striping and perlage we’ve become accustomed to, the Frodsham’s finishing is absolutely top-notch. No wonder it’s the only watch on the list with two pictures dedicated to it.

Borna’s pick: Charles Frodsham Double Impulse Chronometer. Price: ~£90,000 (~US$120,000)

Struthers

Among the younger brands on this list, Struthers began as a restoration operation by the classmates-turned-soulmates Rebecca and Craig Struthers. With backgrounds in jewellery and design, the Struthers’ watchmaking project really took off after their platinum pendant sporting a teeny-tiny Universal Genève movement won a Design Innovation Award in 2013. The very first series, named Project 248, was launched as a subscription, the Struthers taking five years to deliver this remake of an ancient English lever escapement that was inspired by a late 19th-century English pocket watch and its slow 2.25Hz beat rate.

Borna’s pick: Struthers Project 248. Price: on request, orders closed at the moment

Roger W Smith

You’re likely to have seen this coming, and what more is there to say than, of course, Roger Smith would make the list. A lonely disciple of the revered George Daniels, Smith’s creations continue the legacy of arguably the greatest modern watchmaker, with the required contemporary twist that has made his watches his own. For reference, the watch that gained him his apprenticeship with Dr Daniels sold at auction for US$4.9 million, while his collaborative work with Daniels’ Anniversary series is the stuff of legends.

Borna’s pick: Roger Smith Series 5 Open Dial. Price: on request