The British Watchmaker's Day In Under 17 Minutes
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- čas přidán 21. 03. 2024
- We met with over 20 industry professionals during the inaugural British Watchmaker's Day... here's what they thought about the state of the British watch industry!
Huge thanks to The Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers for providing some of the photographs and footage in this video!
For all your watch needs, check out our website!
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Read our round up of the event and top five takeaways over on our magazine!
www.watchgecko.com/blogs/maga...
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Huge credit to Katya, Alistair and the Alliance for putting on such an incredible event!
What a time to be part of British Horology 🎉
I am a collector living in the US. The excitement generated by customers being able to talk with the British watchmakers is contagious. Many of us forget that the British watchmaking industry used to be world class, so it is special seeing the industry form its own identity and thrive on its own. Kudos to Ms. Katya for her leadership in getting 17 brands into one expo on the same day!
P.S. I have been looking for videos on the show, so shoutout to WatchGecko for sharing this video.
Right - I’ve bookmarked this video and I’ll be checking every brand out.
Well done guys this is excellent- we should all support the British watch industry as much as possible
I made the cut! 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Nicely done sir!
Thank you very much! It was such a good day, and it was a delight meeting and chatting with you. 😊
Congratulations to all of those who made it happen. It was a lovely day, met lots of amazing brand owners and designers, spent far too much money on beautiful watches and could have spent much much more. The best part was actually getting to hold the watches we only see online and in videos. Can't wait to see what comes from this.
Oh, and the Watchgecko keyring is now a permanent part of my archery gear 😊
I was waiting for this video. The camaraderie in the room. Just beautiful!
What a brilliant event, thanks for sharing this to us unfortunate souls who couldn’t make it.🙏🏻
The future of British watchmaking looks incredibly exciting, and I’m delighted to have a number of British watches in my burgeoning collection.
Congrats to everyone who made the event so special. 🙌
Thank you this amazing video and all your support. Katya and Alistair from British Watchmakers created an incredible event with massive support. It was wonderful to be part of it and meet so many amazing people.
Had such a great time exploring all the brands.
Looking forward to next year already
Just like so many other industries that went to the wall in Britain or were taken over by foreign companies, I never knew Britain had an independent watchmaking industry anymore. Kudos to those British watchmaking companies making a comeback from the abyss. It will be inspiring for our young generation to see, that manufacturing in the U.K., especially bespoke manufacturing is alive and well, and unique and capable of holding its own on the world stage. 🇬🇧
Congrats to all involved, looks like a great success. Hope it turns into an annual thing, I’d love to go in future
It’s great to see the enthusiasm and the response to this event. What a way to celebrate the British-ness, historical and contemporary, of watchmaking. As an American my connection is rather tenuous, but the brands are becoming familiar, and as a customer I enjoy seeing the excitement for the industry. Thanks for the highlights reel.
Congratulations on a successful event! I just got into British watchmaking through my purchase of a Farer Worldtimer and absolutely love it. British watchmakers can definitely move past the Swiss eventually. I am planning a trip to UK to pick up a Christopher Ward in person and certainly hope I can attend one of the future editions when I am there.
Fantastic day. The only thing I would change is the venue, needs to be bigger to allow people to spend the day. Also needs access to food and drinks to refuel. It was so busy I was unable to get around the stall properly as they were 5 deep in some cases and then had to leave. Build it and they will come!
The show looks great just what I like, hope I can attend the next one.
When is the next one?
Great to see, think you MAY need a larger venue next year though! 👍👍
As someone who loves all things watch and clock based, it was a surprise to come across this channel and learn that all these independent watchmakers even exist, with the exception of Christopher Ward, whom I was aware of. This must show that there needs to be a much bigger push to advertise their existence, never mind their timepieces! It would also be great if clocks of all shapes and sizes for the wall, desk, shelf and mantelpiece, were much more widely available and marketed, not just wristwatches. This event shows the enthusiasm is there if people know the products are there in the first place, and in this digital age there is no excuse for this lack of awareness by potential customers.
really happy that the brands have an alliance and are collectively raising the high tide mark , on the day I really struggled to enjoy it,, it ended up a case study of what type of people attach to each brand, , didnt get to see half the things I wanted too
Heartwarming to see 🇬🇧👍
So many great brands under one roof!
Please do a trip to Watches of Scandinavia in Stockholm and see what Scandinavia has to offer in terms of watch brands. I think that would be an awesome episode also.
Didn’t know about this. Will be coming next year.
I've never met Guy from Elliott Brown, but from the looks of him I'm guessing that if he invites you out for a pint, you should definitely GO. Great video, thanks!
Brilliant. Just goes to show what this country can still do when it puts its mind to. More power to their elbow.
I had a wonderful afternoon talking with so many interesting people there. 5 new watches as a consequence.
brilliant to have roger behind it
It was a Great day !👌
Really like my Elliot Brown Canford, will be getting something dressier in the future by another UK designer.
Love this but whats with Bremont, I have MBIII and a number of Christopher Ward and Studio Underd0g, so why is Bremont not apart of this.
I hope they have specials for sale in the show.
It is a little known fact ROLEX was originally a British brand
I'm hugely impressed, a little bit moved, it starts here. We can make things in Britain can't we? some people forgot.
Britain developed the marine chronograph, job done ❤
It's all looking good. Design is already cracked, but to really bring it home more manufacture has to be achieved and where manufacture is elsewhere it should be openly admitted. I'm afraid some brands have been economical with truth about how British they really are. All the customer wants is honesty.
Don't say "better than the swiss industry", even if it is a goal or a dream. It takes more than a century to reach that level. Japan and Germany are still the closest competitors. Aside from that, you guys make very cool watches. I have two Farers, one Durckworth, and very charming Mr. Jones.
Britain has a long and distinguished history of clock and watch making. Rolex was founded in Britain in 1905, albeit by a German, and moved to Switzerland only when the Government started taxing luxury goods after the First World War. John Harrison made the first marine chronometer back in the 18th Century, which allowed better navigation at sea because longitude could then be calculated accurately. More recently, George Daniels invented the coaxial movement used by Omega in 1976. Roger Smith currently makes some of the finest watches in the world. I'm sure there's many more innovations that can be attributed to British chronologists. The industry went into decline in Britain during the 20th century, and you are right to say that it will take time (no pun intended) to rebuild the esteem in which British clock and watchmakers were once held.
@@Gynra yes... independent watchmakers are a different thing. Rebecca Struthers and her husband make wonderful watches in London, and she wrote the best history of horology I know of. Daniels was a giant, and his escapement is at the heart of most Omegas these days. I have an Omega with a co-axial movement, and it is a magnificent watch. Centuries ago, England was, for sure, the center of the world for watchmaking.
What a great day that was, really looking forward to 2025. Huge congratulations to all involved 🙏
Is great to see so many brands,but is sad to say this mainly caused by people not being able to get the Rolex or Patek they wanted and is fed up with their ADs. With COVID helping where people had no where to spend their money, a lot of us just started buying "stuff". When the grey market goes back hopefully to pre hype prices, unfortunately a lot of these brands will be gone.
No. Don't think so... look at the composition of the visitors. The clue is in the name of the event.
@@user-es2fn1ki4v unless all those brands can survive not selling their pieces and losing money every year, sure.. Of course it will stay the same if not bigger.
I think your assertion is off base. The British watchmaking history stretches back centuries. A British brand such as Fears predates Rolex by a half-century. This is a show about British watches. I got my last Rolex over twenty years ago, and other than a Cellini or a 1908, I probably won’t buy another one. But for the price of one Rolex, how many different watches could I buy from the likes of CW, Farer, Bremont, Zero West, anOrdain, Studio Uderdog, etc? People recognize the value of a Rolex or a Patek isn’t always worth the multiples in terms of enjoyment. Another DD, Sub, or a Daytona, where is the innovation? Show me a vitreous enamel dial, show me whimsy, show me a jump hour or chime. And I want to wear them, not seal them away in a safe. When the grey market drops people will still be asking, “what am I really getting for the money?” And as the stock market over the last decade has outperformed the luxury watch market, I don’t have to worry about resale and the secondary market.
@@thompsonterry4804 I totally understand your reasoning and I respect the history such as Fears which Nick had done a great job (I bought his book). Unfortunately watch enthusiasts like us don't determine the market, you go to Asia (where most luxury brands relies heavily on now) most of them will not touch these brands. Unfortunately if you have a £3K Fears watch and a 1016 most people will choose the 1016 (pre covid in Munich watch show is around 2.5/3k EUR). Take a look at chrono 24, over 1 year ago I can't find a Fears on it, now there's around 6. Might be because people need the money? Bored with it? Have something else to buy?
With interest rates rising, unfortunately a lot of these micro brands will find it hard source their fundings.
Another dark side of this discussion are reps. A lot of people in forums had now turn to them as micro brands uses Miyota or ETA asking for a price where you can get a clone 4130, 240, 324 from 500 USD!
Is Edward Christopher some sort of Christopher Ward parody?
Its a good thing if british brand come back,england is famous to produce finest things in all things,so its very good,i just hope they will think in popular customer and dont produce only for the king and his family
Spot on....I have a Rotary Windsor Moonphase ...sucked in by the British on the dial...it was only designed here...mind you its a very pretty watch.and from a company with loads of British and Swiss history... but it was made in China so i don't for a single second (excuse the pun) consider it to be a British watch... CW want the best of best worlds i understand that' but the likes of Bremont should be the British watch companies being bigged up, as well as the fledging brands who really are British and in my opinion the true salt of the earth....
Can someone explain microbrands to me? I've looked on a few websites and they say 'designed & assembled in the UK.' Am I right in thinking they're just Chinese parts put together in the UK? If they are, I don't see why I should pay upwards of £1000 for a watch that's really Chinese when I can buy a Seiko or a Citizen for £300.
How many British watchmakers are there, case movement makers not just assembling them. That's a watch brand.
I just emailed my brother about going here next year. Please make this possible.
Get it into a hall in the ECC.
Lovely watches but are they to expensive to the main people that are not fortunately able to buy them !!!!!!
Mike. Sort your supply of watches sorted out. I have been waiting for my Bel Canto for 15 months.
Need to have two events one up in Scotland and one down south all the same brands
With respect there are 55 million people in England and just 5 million in Scotland. These events go to where the people are.
@@gumbo7215 pointless and irrelevant response tbh, 55M didn’t attend the event, people frail all over travelled to the event, but to have evens at both ends of the country will attract more people to the brands and watches in general
@@mortgagemartin3987 So why north and south? Why not east and west instead? I say Wales and Norfolk.
@@gumbo7215 because Scotland is Gods country.
@@mortgagemartin3987 Oh you're one of those are you?
They're not within my budget but when I can buy Seiko, Casio, Tissot, Yema, Citizen, Orient and Rotary I'm happy. I'm glad to see the British watch industry booming but these are for wealthy people.
Roger Smith certainly, a lot of budget brands here though amongst the Brit micro-brands.
@@dellwright1407 My budget is a maximum of £350. What British micro brand watch can I buy?
Irks me how Christopher Ward gets so bigged up when it has Swiss made on the dial,and a Swiss flag, and has even removed the English sounding name from the dial tool...fair play to the other brands for being honest and trying to change the Swiss dominance...I own a Swiss watch but would love us to challenge them.
Even the most basic look at anything about or from CW proves you wrong re their honesty and openness. Also, their logo, as you well know is a combination of the English AND Swiss flags, and they do geometrically complement each other. Were you jilted by them, or are you just bitter when you see them going from strength to strength?
I'm with you, they shouldn't even be there, they are misleading us (they often do). This is the British Watchmakers day, not the British watch designers day. If I open my HQ in Switzerland but have my watches made in China, can I claim that I am a Swiss watchmaker? The answer is "No".
👏👏👏🇬🇧⌚
How many 'watchmakers' make their movement? Roger Smith, and....?
Christopher Ward is not a British watch brand, it was but it’s Swiss owned not British.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Ward_(watchmaker)
🇬🇧 British made✔️
Quality build & Design ✔️
Affordable? hmm
Must agree with you I Love watches but I don't think I could afford them unfortunately. !!!
Are they British made though? I'm assuming they're just Chinese parts assembled in Britain.
With Harold Pinchbeck deciding that British really means English, The other 3 country's residents may just steer clear of his brand if ignorance steers that ship. How do these people remain oblivious to their neighbours as to what is British? I for one don't trust anyone who can't grasp that concept, and definitely wouldn't do business with them.
There's always one like you.
What does Swiss mean today? Really? I understand that the watch world is what it is. It feels more like a cash grab than anything els today. I said it before and I say it again - basically no matter how rich I would be - I'd happily buy ten, even a hundred fun, likeable watches from brands like Studio Underdog or Christoper Ward, than some overprised Rolexes or Omegas.
Ah yes Vertex, the microbrand that charges £2500 for a field watch...
I guess nobody is forcing you or anyone else to pay it....
I never need to know the time cause I’m rich enough to do fuck all or someone else tells me where I need to be. Wealthy people don’t need a watch
Bill Gates wears a Casio. That's pissed on your parade, hasn't it?
@@wallycustard1281 Not really. Bill Gates is still working
No more uk brands with men’s names on the dials please 🙏
Yes! Was just thinking the same, that and why does the Man Utd manager also work for Edward Christopher?
“No more men’s names on the dials,” but it’s acceptable for Lange, Breguet, Journe, and Patek? I don’t understand the objection.
This is something Farer got right
Well CW don’t anymore ;which is why I bought one (C60 Atoll 300 Reef Blue) recently and it’s amazing!
@@lordcharfield4529I held off for a decade, waiting for the godawful name to be removed from the dial. Bought a C60 Trident Pro Diver last year, lovely watch.
What are Christopher Ward doing there? They’re not a British watchmaker, their watches are made in Switzerland.
By that logic, Apple is a Chinese company.
Not at all. Apple don't attend the "American Computer Maker's exhibition", in fact in their products on the paperwork it states "Designed in California". The word "Designed" is the fact. FACT: Christopher Ward are not a British watchmaker.@@TheWatchOut
@@RockLobster223 I think it depends on the interpretation of the whole idea. I get that their watches are built in Switzerland. But they are designed in the UK, and Christopher Ward is headquartered in the UK.
The CW HQ is in Maidenhead, which last I checked, is in England. Does your map show something different? ;)
I obviously paid more attention in English language at school than the hype machine used to put on this show, as when I use the verb "make" preceded by the term "British" certainly means in the English that whatever it is I'm "making" was actually "made" in Britain. Or perhaps I'm not so easily swayed by marketing drivel and misinformation. FACT: Christopher Ward watches are not made in Britain, therefore they are not a British watchmaker, they are a British watch designer. I'm baffled what is so difficult to understand about that, hence my original point.
Would anybody like one of my home-made cakes? I came up with the recipe, but I get them made in China and then shipped back to the UK to sell. But I still advertise them as "home-made cakes". @@thompsonterry4804
An awful lot of guys in that event. Not many girls except behind the maker’s counters. Ladies not hugely interested in watches. It’s what we used to call a sausage fest.
Women aren't interested in mechanical things. I work in a team of 12 women and all they're bothered about are babies, clothes, make-up and reality tv. Leave them to it. Why do we want women involved anyway? You know the old saying 'men make it and women break it.'
What I’ve noticed about this is nobody talks about bremont. I’m wondering why this is.
If you go on the Alliance of British Watch and Clock makers website Bremont don’t seem to be listed as a maker. I can only assume they haven’t joined the alliance yet. Seems like an odd decision, although to be fair I haven’t joined as a member myself yet. Totally respect what Bremont are doing even if I’m not quite ready to drop money on one
this is a really strange situation, because of course, very little of what you are saying is actually British at all. In fact, it should really be called the British Watch designers association. Only really Rogers Smith makes products in the United Kingdom. of course there will be others that I don’t know about Anordain come to mind.
Well after losing most of our watchmaking industry you got to start somewhere. I think what’s happening is exciting although I am mindful we’ve been in something of a mechanical watch bubble. Also China is such a manufacturing powerhouse. I hope the British watch sector continues to grow
I had the same question now that Bremont are manufacturing in the UK.
Hard pass, the British like to piss in the wind too often. Makes it hard to really want to spend large amounts of money when you don't know if there in it for the long haul.
Utter bs
It's not Swiss or German, good luck
A view from the UK. I really have to comment on the substance of this and other of your videos relating to British watchmakers. ALL of you are being VERY disingenuous to say you are "watchmakers". No you're not. Apart from Bremont, (apologies if i've missed others), all you are, are watch assemblers. Someone makes the movement, someone else makes the case, someone else makes the strap, someone puts it together, yes? It seems all you are trying to achieve is the "look" of the watch, the jewellery effect. In other words the dial. Nothing wrong in that but be truthful with yourselves. Until you make the lot, yes movement included like the most of the established swiss brands, don't call yourself watchmakers. All i see you doing is inflating your egos by elevating yourselves to a level you are not entitled to. Watch repairers do the same. Another example of hijacking the English language for you is the word "Superyacht". A vessel powered by 2000hp engines with not a single canvas sail on them.