Watch News: What’s ticking?
British brand gets Swiss makeover
Strolling up Shoreditch’s recently re-landscaped Leonard Street, City sorts might expect to see yet another gallery or artisan barista through the smoked window of number 83; certainly not a crisp watchmaking atelier, kitted with an array of precision tools and a 3D prototyping printer. But this is all part of Uniform Wares’ new bid for the luxury sector – the second phase of a surprise British success story in a traditionally Swiss and Japanese dominated industry.
The fashion brand, famous for its logo-less, ultra-pared-back design, has undergone a bottom-up refresh, from branding to aesthetics to engineering, with eyes fixed firmly on the fertile £300-750 sector – the upshot being that its collection is now entirely developed in east London before being entirely Swiss-made by quality suppliers. Launched in tandem with a new website, customers also have the option to choose from a “carefully curated” (well, this is Shoreditch after all) collection of straps, including supple nappa leather, mesh and stingray. (C41 with DLC mesh pictured left, £980.)
uniformwares.com
Man up at Harrods, with Cartier
From 25 October through 19 November, Harrods should be in the crosshairs of any self-respecting chap wanting a masterclass in sartorial distinction. The Man by Cartier exhibition is dedicated to the Parisian powerhouse of luxury’s masculine triumphs, including an exhibition space on Harrods’ ground floor showcasing products, a watch bar where visitors can discover Cartier’s peerless timepiece collections and a VIP room with exceptional objects and vintage pieces.
An Impossible Collection on Piccadilly
This autumn, the French coffee table-book publisher Assouline celebrates its 20th anniversary with the opening of its first international flagship, at 196A Piccadilly. The news will be welcome to friends of watch fans worrying about Christmas gifts, as it will be stocking Nick Foulkes’ lush new volume, The Impossible Collection of Watches, a beautifully presented and incisive run-down of history’s 100 most important timepieces, from A Lange & Söhne’s 1902 Grand Complication to the Hublot MP-05 LaFerrari of 2013.
Chivas Regal and Bremont: distilled Britishness
This partnership has blossomed over time into a collaboration that’s yielded the perfect Christmas gift idea for a whisky-drinking watchnerd: a tin of 12-year-old Chivas Regal, adorned with the myriad components of a Bremont chronometer.