The best of the world’s watchmaking, assembled in England.
Great watches have always been built this way: the finest part for every job, found wherever in the world it is made best, then brought together by people who care how it all fits. Here is our flagship, taken apart.
Synthetic sapphire sits at nine on the Mohs scale of hardness. Only diamond is harder, so keys, coins and years of daily wear leave it untouched. It is the crystal Rolex moved the Submariner to at the end of the 1970s, and it has marked out a serious watch ever since.
Also found on Rolex Submariner · Omega Seamaster
Ceramic is fired, not painted, so the colour runs all the way through: sun won’t fade it and the sea won’t scratch it. Rolex made ceramic bezels famous with Cerachrom in 2005, and red is the hardest colour of all to fire. It took Rolex until 2014 to put red ceramic on the GMT-Master II. Ours sits in a coin-edged, gold-tone surround, for grip and a flash of warmth.
Also found on Rolex GMT-Master II · Omega Seamaster Diver 300M
Most dials hide the machine. This one is cut back to a web of ice-blue steel, so the movement shows from edge to edge. It is the same idea behind Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Openworked and Hublot’s Big Bang Unico. The hands are skeletonised to match, so nothing solid stands between you and the mechanism.
Also found on Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Openworked · Hublot Big Bang Unico
The heart is Japanese: the NH70, built by Seiko’s own movement maker. It is the skeletonised member of the NH family, with its bridges and plates cut away so you can watch it work through the open dial. It winds itself as you move, stops the seconds hand so you can set it exactly, and runs for around 41 hours off the wrist. The part that makes it tick, the lever escapement, is an English invention. Thomas Mudge devised it in London around 1755.
Made by Seiko Instruments, Japan
Steel became a luxury material in 1972, when Gérald Genta’s Royal Oak launched in stainless steel at the price of a gold watch. Ours is marine-grade stainless steel, chosen because it shrugs off salt water, sweat and knocks. The flanks are brushed, and the crown is knurled and gold-toned to answer the bezel.
Also found on Audemars Piguet Royal Oak · Patek Philippe Nautilus
FKM is the rubber that aerospace and motorsport trust for seals that must not fail. It is dense and supple, and it stands up to sweat, salt water and sun cream without turning sticky, collecting dust or fading. Rubber first met fine watchmaking in 1980, when Hublot put a gold watch on a rubber strap and changed the rules. Today FKM is the benchmark for a premium rubber strap.
A tradition begun by Hublot, 1980
Every part is chosen for its pedigree, wherever in the world it is made best. The watch itself comes together in England.
For much of the eighteenth century, London was the capital of the watchmaking world. Ideas born in its workshops still run inside almost every mechanical watch made today, ours included.
Slaidburn watches are assembled in England. We think that tradition is worth carrying on.
The father of English clockmaking. His Fleet Street workshop helped make London the centre of the trade.
Invents the lever escapement in London. Refined over two and a half centuries, it still beats inside nearly every mechanical watch, the NH70 included.
His H4 sea watch keeps time across the Atlantic, solving the problem of longitude and changing navigation for good.
Invents the co-axial escapement, the most important new escapement in 250 years, later adopted by Omega.
The best of the world’s watchmaking, brought together and assembled in England.
A true starfield dial — deep indigo shot through with natural inclusions, so the light on your wrist never lands twice in the same place. Around it, a chapter ring that breaks white light into colour as it turns.
Every watch comes together in England, from parts chosen for their pedigree wherever in the world they are made best.
Six watches, one price. Pick the one you recognise, not the one your budget points at.
Reserve now and you hear before anyone else, with first choice of the opening run.
The Movie Collection opens soon at £200 a piece. Leave your email and we will write to you the moment it does, with first pick before anyone else.
