Category: Brands British Top List UK
Source: https://top-list.co/top-famous-british-watch-brands-v9447.html
- Bremont
- Arnold & Son
- Graham
- Pinion
- Christopher Ward
- Garrick
- Speake-Marin
- Schofield
- Robert Loomes
- Roger Smith
Bremont
Among all the brands that have emerged in the previous two decades, Bremont may be the most iconic. Since its inception in 2002, this top watch brand has grown to become the largest manufacturer in the British Isles. Nick and Giles English, brothers, continue to take a superb approach to novel mechanics and new designs, all while bringing more and more of the business in-house.
It’s no wonder, therefore, that aviation-style machines with the SOLO or MBII designations are still the stuff of folklore. Bremont also makes some genuinely amazing diver’s watches, such as the Supermarine Type 301. The SOLO, a vintage pilot’s watch based on aviation timekeepers from the 1940s, is also among its offerings. Bremont, on the other hand, offers a divers’ watch with a water resistance of 2,000 meters.
Best featured products: Limited Edition Bremont: The classic yet contemporary design of the Limited Edition Bremont Longitude marks a significant milestone in this journey. Not only does the Longitude house the brand’s first manufactured movement from its new ENG300 movement series but it also incorporates original brass from the historic Flamsteed Meridian Line at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, London. At Greenwich, the brass Flamsteed Meridian line marks the historic position where the first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, made his observations and laid the foundations for accurate timekeeping and navigation.
Bremont has made considerable investment into new machinery, staff, and training and the firm’s in-house technical team has modified the base K1 caliber, for which it has acquired the full rights to manufacture and re-engineer from Swiss firm “THE+”. The ENG300 series is the result of Bremont re-engineering 80% of the base caliber, including making a number of design improvements, in order to build a proprietary movement to the brand’s unique specification.
Detailed information:
Founder: Nick English, Giles English
Year established:2002
Price:from $4,400.00
Website: www.bremont.com
Bremont
Arnold & Son
Arnold & Son, located in the horological hotspot of La Chaux-de-Fonds, is a watchmaking firm that combines the bells and whistles of Swiss craftsmanship with the British legacy of adventure and sea-based exploration. John Arnold started the brand in 1787 and specialized in the production of ship chronometers. This one-of-a-kind nautical equipment was used on the ships of Captain Thomas Butler, Sir John Franklin, and even Captain James Cook during their renowned sailing adventures.
While the company is now based in Switzerland, Arnold & Son continues to honor its British heritage by selling nautical-inspired watches in two collections: the Royal and the Instrument. It marked its 250th anniversary in 2015 by unveiling five new in-house movements. The moon has long been used to guide ships at sea as a point of reference. In keeping with the significance of this celestial entity, the Arnold & Son Double Hemisphere Perpetual Moon with a highly appealing moon phase complexity is only one example of the perfection that this British watch manufacturer produces.
Founder: John Arnold
Year established: 1736
Price: from £2,595
Website: arnoldandson.com
Arnold & Son
Graham
Graham is a classic British watch manufacturer that has been revitalized by The British Masters, a Swiss firm. It is a sibling firm of Arnold & Son, and its brand name is based on George Graham’s name. Graham is well-known for its chronographs, which can be found in practically every watch in the company’s collection.
Graham, on the other hand, is capable of bringing aesthetically fascinating and unexpected twists to its watches. For example, the crown on the left side of the dial of its motorsports-oriented timepieces recalls the TAG Heuer Monaco. Its UK watch bestiary includes, among other things, watches with bicompax GMT chronographs and chronographs with skeleton displays. Above, you may see: The Graham Chronofighter seen above is a large 47 mm chronograph.
CHRONOFIGHTER VINTAGE BOLT – LIMITED EDITION: The Chronofighter Vintage was inspired by the timepieces used by military pilots in the 1940s. The Chronofighter Vintage, like several other Graham models, has a distinctive trigger system. The thumb-operated trigger, located on the case’s left side, is extremely easy to use. Its form and position make it easy to use the chronograph capabilities, ensuring that recorded timings accurately represent the duration of an event.
When a watch is worn on the left arm and the wearer bends their wrist, the protrusions on the right flank of the case often gouge, chaff, or obstruct free movement. The Chronofighter Vintage may be worn without these issues by placing the crown and trigger system to the left side of the case.
Founder: George Graham
Year established: 1695
Price: from $2,500
Website: graham1695.com
Graham Watch
Pinion
Next on our list is an Oxfordshire-based startup created in 2013 by skilled British digital designer Piers Berry. As an app creator, Piers may appear to have an unusual background for watchmaking. This horology fanatic, on the other hand, is a perfect illustration of how a passion for mechanical timepieces can lead to true workbench invention.
He is also firmly British, with the corporate concept that his UK company should not be affected by any other factors. This is mirrored in his employment list, with Piers bringing together seasoned members of the British Horology Institute (BHI). The AXIS was Pinion’s first wristwatch line, consisting of timepieces with automatic movements modeled after World War II instrumentation.
It was quickly followed by the AXIS Pure and Revival 1969 collections, both of which were based on hand winding calibers. The automatic Axis II has a very traditional dress watch style to it, with a visually striking hunter green winding rotor embellishing the modified ETA 2824-2 ticking within.
Founder: Piers Berry
Year established: 2013
Price: from £790
Website: www.pinionwatches.com
Pinion Watch
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward was founded aboard a yacht cruising down the Thames by three university graduates. The leadership of English watch companies is led by Mike France, Chris Ward, and Peter Ellis, who take a different approach to watchmaking and selling than their contemporaries. It is a corporation that tries to eliminate intermediaries and sell straight to clients. Rather than recruiting high-profile brand ambassadors to promote its product lines, it has decided to focus on emerging athletic talent through its Challenger program.
Its collection ranges from divers with helium escape valves and water resistance of up to 600 meters to beautiful slip-under-the-cuff dress watches with a moon phase mechanism and even bigger pilots’ clocks. Christopher Ward’s mission is to deliver the proper sort of UK watch to the everyday man at an accessible price, and the company has even developed its own in-house movement, the Calibre SH21. Its JJ Calibres series is an intriguing and artistically beautiful collection of various complexities.
The Single Pusher Chronograph LE, shown above at 43 mm, is an extremely crisp, clean dialed watch with chronograph capabilities powered by its monopusher.
Founder: Christopher Ward, Mike France, Peter Ellis
Year established: 2004
Price: from £450
Website: www.christopherward.com
Christopher Ward
Garrick
This London-based firm is another English watch brand on our list that aims to help revive Britain’s watchmaking legacy. David Brailsford, an entrepreneur, full-time watch collector, and horological enthusiast, founded Garrick. With his deep interest in traditional High Horology, he even collaborated with one of the most talented watchmakers in the world, Andreas Strehler, to develop an innovative hand-wound movement.
Brailsford set out to build the greatest clocks while adhering to historic British watchmaking ideals. Garrick was able to create its own high-end UT-G01 movement, which is produced and completed in the Garrick workshops in Norwich, by collaborating with Strehler and his business UhrTeil AG. This movement is specific to the Portsmouth and S1 timepieces and has everything a genuinely superb watch needs. To get it as perfect as possible, no expense or effort was spared.
Garrick currently has four collections: the Norfolk, Regulator, Portsmouth, and S1. Furthermore, Garrick allows clients to design their own watches, demonstrating that the consumer is still king and that their watches are more of a horological jewel than a plain mass-produced timekeeper. Garrick isn’t afraid to go the additional mile when it comes to improvements. Whether it’s heat-blued hands and screws or their own free-sprung in-house balancing wheels, the brand can demonstrate its vast knowledge in a number of ways.
Founder: David Brailsford, Simon Mychlmayr
Year established:2014
Price: from £2,100
Website: https://garrick.co.uk/
Garrick Watch
Speake-Marin
This British-themed watch brand’s namesake and creator is Peter Speake-Marin. This English watchmaker, born in Essex, England, and once worked at Audemar Piguet Renaud et Papi, eventually ventured out on his own road and debuted his first wristwatch model Piccadilly in 2003. Speake-Marin is situated in Bursins, Switzerland, although its models are generally distinguished by traditional English styles.
It is a firm that has just recently begun to gain significant traction among horological aficionados. It provides limited-edition clocks featuring perpetual calendars, tourbillons, and minute repeaters in its three collections (the Spirit, J-class, and Cabinet des Mysteries). The Magister Vertical Double Tourbillon is visually stunning, and it also has timekeeper mechanisms. It’s a 46 mm 18k white gold manual winding watch with a 60-second tourbillon.
Speake-Marin Vintage: Speake-Marin promises to resuscitate ancient movements in new designs, similar to the refurbishing trend in the design furniture or automotive industries. The London Chronograph line is an annual watch collection idea that re-edits renowned antique movements.
A homage to the legacy of excellent watchmaking. The goal of this series is to remind consumers of the watch industry’s expertise in movement creation. The great movements of the past continue to inspire today’s designers and engineers.
Founder: Peter Speake-Marin
Year established: 2002
Price: from $11,500
Website: https://www.speake-marin.com/
Speake-Marin Watch
Schofield
Schofield is a newcomer to the UK market with some intriguing items and an innovative business model. It is a British watch manufacturer from Sussex that makes aviation watches with an old-world feel. It was founded by Giles Ellis. While its timepieces were originally emblazoned with “Made in Germany” lettering on their dials, and certain models were partially made in Germany, the company’s watches are now wholly manufactured in England since 2013. This is a major source of pride for this firm.
The Soprod A-10, a modified ETA 2892, is the motor that ticks within many of its clocks. In terms of complexities, it generally includes a power reserve, a date display, and GMT functionality. The primary distinguishing feature of a Schofield is its uncluttered dial. The three complexities are aesthetically subtle and do not detract from the watch’s excellent graphics.
Schofield Signalman timepieces are obviously designed for the man or woman who likes their timepiece neat and tidy in the finest British tradition, but who still values a distinctive timepiece with some degree of practicality on their wrist.
Founder: Giles Ellis
Year established: 2011
Price: from £3,180
Website: https://schofieldwatchcompany.com/
Schofield Watch
Robert Loomes
The Loomes family’s watchmaking roots date back to the 16th century. He manufactures watches in modest quantities, generally a maximum of 50 to 100 pieces, as the son of a literature specialist on antique clocks. The fact that this UK watchmaker produces small batches isn’t its only distinguishing feature. Robert Loomes also manufactures old stock Smith movements, the same caliber kind that was on Sir Edmund Hillary’s watch when he scaled Mount Everest in 1953.
Building on this tradition, Robert Loomes took part in a second trip to the mountain in 2015, developing fully revised Smith movements and incorporating them into its Robin watches. The beneficiaries of these redesigned clocks were troops from the elite Royal Gurkha Regiment, who were honoring the 200th anniversary of the creation of India’s first Gurkha regiment and nearly 62 years after Hillary’s iconic Mount Everest trip. You can’t make this stuff up, guys.
The Robin & The Robina: The Robin is 39mm in diameter, and the Robina is 30mm in diameter. Tells you only what a classic dress watch should – the time. Each is totally handcrafted in England, with modern casings, dials, and hands, as well as old stock movements that have been modernized for the twenty-first century.
The movements are from the 1950s and are new old stock. Before the plates are gilded and the watch is assembled, each is stripped and meticulously reworked with extra jeweling and manually engraved.
Founder: Robert Loomes & Robina Hill
Year established:2008
Website: https://www.robertloomes.co.uk/
Robert Loomes
Roger Smith
While the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea is not a part of the United Kingdom, it is nonetheless a British Crown dependency. Roger Smith, the company’s creator, is a protégé of George Daniels, widely considered as the best watchmaker of the twentieth century and the developer of the co-axial escapement. Smith’s legendary tutor handed him the complete workshop, and it’s a studio dedicated to building clocks from start to finish. Smith is vocal about the present status of watchmaking in the United Kingdom, sparking a debate regarding the viability of British watch businesses in the face of Swiss movement domination.
The Series 2 is one of his most notable creations: a highly sophisticated dress watch that incorporates old workmanship and is created with the modern professional in mind. It’s a highly limited series, with just ten pieces made each year. Its Daniel’s co-axial escapement adds to its premium allure: a specific adaptation of the lever escapement with detent escapement characteristics that is regarded as one of the most significant horological innovations in general.
Smith has also designed the Series 4 Triple Calendar Moonphase clock in 18k red gold, which sells for a premium price of 250,000.- GBP. Smith is also a watchmaker who may be commissioned to construct a customized, one-of-a-kind wristwatch from the ground up. However, be prepared to sign up for a waiting list for a one-of-a-kind UK watch from the brand’s forges, as the current wait period for a Smith timekeeper is up to two years.
Founder: Roger W. Smith
Year established: 2001
Website: https://www.rwsmithwatches.com/
Roger Smith Watch
