WATCHES | ST YLE | CULTUR E
THE LIFESTYLE GUIDE FOR WATCH LOVERS
ISSUE .61
The Best of British
ISSUE HOME-GROWN HOROLOGY | MILITARY WATCHES | CLASSIC BRITISH STYLE
ISSUE 61
5.95
£
ORACLE TIME #61
WELCOME Editor’s letter
COVER CREDITS Photography: Tom Pettit / Fraser Vincent Watch: Vertex MP45 Arctic vertex-watches.com
First off, and before I get into the content of this issue I just wanted to say one thing: be safe. I write this from lockdown in my own apartment and I’m sure many of you are having the same experience. All we at Oracle can do right now is wish you the best – and hopefully give you something to alleviate the cabin fever a little. As for me, I’m doing so with endless re-runs of Blackadder, arguably the greatest contribution our country has ever made to the world. It’s not the only one of course; Britain’s a leader in many, many fields – other than Coronovirus responses, obviously. That’s why this issue we’re celebrating the best Britain has to offer across the board. Us being ostensibly a watch mag, that means highlighting the brands and people that have been at the centre of British watches, the oscillating weight winding the mainspring of our home industry. You can find our deep dive into the subject on page 50, along with our picks of the best British watches around, be that haute horology or inventive playfulness. At the back of the mag (p152) you’ll also find Kessler Snr’s thoughts on the matter; he’s American but don’t hold it against him. Surprisingly the same also goes for home-grown denim, the focus of our style section this issue on page 74, and the ateliers across the country bringing raw British denim to the fore of the fashion world. For a more traditional take on anglophile style, check out this issue’s shoot (p80) at the inimitable Sofitel St James, followed by the Style Edit, where you can get the looks yourself. Travel might be out of the question for the foreseeable future, but that doesn’t mean the epicureans among us can’t indulge, as you’ll see in our travel section where we explore the finest culinary destinations across Britain. Seafood, wine or Michelin stars, we have it all in abundance. If you still don’t want to step out the house, check out our drinks section on page 112, where you can drown your self-isolation cabin fever out with some seriously good domestic tipples across spirits, wines and beers. Just set your clocks to 5pm and who’s going to know? That said we can’t have it all our own way, and our lead watch article this issue is firmly entrenched in the Swiss ways of watchmaking. A throwback to one of the rarest Audemars Piguet watches ever built (and with an auction price tag to match) the [Re]Master is one of the maison’s most important recent releases and worth breaking our Best of British bar for. Collectors, on your marks… So, while you’re sat at home hiding from the apocalypse, keep that upper lip stiff and embrace just a touch of national pride. After all, there are worse places in the world to ride out the apocalypse – some of them don’t even have Blackadder. Enjoy this issue and, once again, stay safe. Sam Kessler, Editor
KEEP IN TOUCH: instagram.com/otmagazine | @oracle_time | facebook.com/oracleoftime | oracleoftime.com
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ORACLE TIME #61
CONTRIBUTORS What does Best of British mean to you?
Nick Carvell
A lifelong fan of double denim (even triple on occasion), Nick started his career as Social Media Editor of mrporter.com before working as Associate Style Editor at British GQ then Editor of The Jackal. He is now a freelance menswear editor, writing from lockdown at his kitchen table in South London. “For me, best of British means supporting craftsmanship here in the UK – and the great thing about living in 2020 is that, thanks to the internet, discovering and patronising these brands is easier than it’s ever been.
Ken Kessler
is unimpressed by the 21st century and enjoys retro, if costly, boys’ toys, such as cameras, mechanical watches and fountain pens – of late, he is obsessed with Italian red wine. He has written four books on luxury hi-fi equipment and collects chronographs and film noir DVDs. “‘Best of British’ means upholding the standards of the Beatles, 1950s Jaguars, Savile Row and whatever else made this country the yardstick for excellence – and in watches, that means Graham, Tompion, Arnold, Harrison and the others who made life better for the Swiss. ”
Amira Arasteh
doesn’t eat to live; she lives to eat. An avid foodie, she appreciates all good food, from marketstall traders to Michelin-starred restaurants. In the rare moments she’s not eating she’s covering fashion, beauty, tech and travel. “Liam Gallagher eating a Sunday Roast in Primrose Hill’s The Engineer pub before having a cuppa and a Victoria sponge? Yeah, that sounds about right.”
Chris Chasseaud
is a freelance brand manager and creative consultant in the menswear world. In his spare time he works on fine-tuning his fantasy football team. “For me, Best of British initially conjures up emotive images of people wearing tweed in the countryside. Beyond that though, it stands for a gritty industrious nature of skilled designers, tailors and workers producing outstanding quality garments that are revered the world over.”
WATCHES | STYLE | CULTURE
EDITOR
Sam Kessler sam.kessler@opulentmedia.co.uk ART DIRECTOR
Hicham Kasbi design@opulentmedia.co.uk
Aidy Smith
is a wine and spirits personality and presenter of the Amazon Prime TV Series, The Three Drinkers. He is often found scouring the globe for his next tipple. It’s a hard life, but someone’s got to do it. You can follow his adventures on Instagram at @sypped. “Whenever I think of the term ‘Best of British’, it takes me to the incredible drinks industry we have in this country. Take Scotch for example, there is no other spirit in the world that can claim as much repute. We put pride into every drop we make and it shows.”
SUB EDITOR
Alex Briand alexbriand4@gmail.com DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER
Michael Pepper michael@opulentmedia.co.uk SOCIAL MEDIA EXECUTIVE & VIDEOGRAPHER
Fraser Vincent DIRECTORS
Mark Edwards mark@opulentmedia.co.uk
Tom Pettit tom@opulentmedia.co.uk SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER ADVERTISING
Oliver Morgan oliver.morgan@opulentmedia.co.uk 020 7871 4615
George Parker george.parker@opulentmedia.co.uk 020 7871 4616 ACCOUNT MANAGER
Amber Heyman-Hunter Amber@opulentmedia.o.uk OT MAGAZINE is published monthly by Opulent Media 020 7871 4615
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ORACLE TIME #61
CONTENTS
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O T M A G A Z I N E / I S S U E 61
20 — AFICIONADO
We reveal what’s on our radar and what should be on your shopping list this month
28 — NEWS
A round-up of the latest happenings in London, luxury living and, of course, the best in horology
36 — FACETIME
Watch collections of the rich and famous – this issue it’s Lewis Hamilton
38 — THE ORACLE SPEAKS
Your crash course in the world of watch movements and where they’re made
42 — AUDEMARS PIGUET
The [Re]master collection is more than the average re-release. It’s a modern reimagining of its best past glories
“Audemars Piguet didn’t start when Gerald Genta designed his opus; the manufacturer was founded back in 1875 and had plenty of warm-up time before the Royal Oak took off” Audemars Piguet — p42
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ORACLE TIME #61
CONTENTS
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50 — BRITISH WATCHMAKING
The state of domestic watch manufacturing
57 — BEST OF BRITISH WATCHES
Our favourite models made on home soil
64 — MILITARY WATCHES
50
Our picks of the best battlefield-ready pieces
74 — BRITISH DENIM Jeans are no longer the preserve of Japan and the USA
80 — STYLE SHOOT The unmistakable look of British tailoring
91 — STYLE EDIT
How to build your patriotic wardrobe at home 74
97 — JOHN SMEDLEY
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Iconic knitwear from generations of artisans
CULTURE “Our story takes us back to the evening of Friday 9 July 1982, where we uncover one of the only successful break-in attempts of Buckingham Palace”
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108 112 124 135
Art Drink Travel Food
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_______________________________ ____________________________
Royal Wine Encounters — p112
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112
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101 — WATCH REVIEWS
Models from Seiko and Laco under the spotlight
141 — IN FOCUS
A closer look at Draken, Scurfa and Ianos
149 — IMPULSE BUY Three watches to snap up right now
152 – THE OLD FART SPEAKS
Ken Kessler on the great British watchmaking tradition
FRONT — aficionado
aficionado The coolest things in the world right now
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FRONT — aficionado
BREXIT TIME
Hublot loves many things: football, ambassadors and over-the-top proportions to name just a few. Now it’s adding London to its list of likes with a city-specific special edition of the Classic Fusion. With a monochromatic Union Jack emblazoned on the dial and a touch of velvet tartan on the strap, the big, 45mm black ceramic watch isn’t exactly subtle, but it is patriotic. A watch for the Brexiteers amongst us. £9,500, hublot.com/en
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FRONT — aficionado
INHERENT VICES
We all have our vices; indulging in them is the only reason anyone goes to Las Vegas. Thanks to the ever-inventive British artisans of Linley however, you don’t need a trip to Sin City to get your gambling fix in style. Housing the triumvirate of gentlemanly vices that are smoking, drinking and gambling, the Vice Box holds a whisky decanter, four tumblers, chips, cards and a cigar holder complete with cutter. The entire thing is finished in stunning marquetry depicting the four card suits. Poker night will never be the same again. £7,995, davidlinley.com
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FRONT — aficionado
TIPPING THE BALANCE
Small and sleek as it may be with its cool Scandinavian style, the Beosound Balance punches well above its weight in the acoustic stakes. Combining a solid wooden base, a knitted textile wrap, and blasted aluminium accents, it’s as much an interior design feature as it is a wireless speaker, but with all the clarity and power you’d expect from B&O. It sounds as good as it looks and looks as good as it sounds. £1,750, bang-olufsen.com
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FRONT — aficionado
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FRONT — aficionado
LIKE A BULLET FROM A GUN
Sure the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar made a splash with its gold bodywork, but we prefer going for silver – at least in the case of Rolls-Royce’s answer to the limited edition open-top speedster. Taking inspiration from the famous silhouettes of the 1920s, the Rolls-Royce Dawn Silver Bullet is set to be a beautiful take on the marque’s lauded vintage glamour. There’s no announced price yet but only 50 will be available, ensuring that this’ll be a rarefied ride even by Roller standards. rolls-roycemotorcars.com
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FRONT — aficionado
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
It was only a matter of time before Montblanc aimed its many-stringed bow at the realm of audio, and its latest travel accessory hits a high note. The MB 01 Wireless Headphones aim to play with the big boys, combining audiophile sound with a 20-hour battery life and, importantly for the crying baby on a flight, noise cancelling. Throw in a luxurious finish and plenty of Montblanc’s signature leather and you have a pair worthy of the Montblanc star. £525, montblanc.com
NEED FOR SPEED
How do you make the earth-shattering Bugatti Chiron even faster? Just ask the Chiron Pur Sport Coupe. It’s lighter than the base model, shifts gears quicker and has been given all-round better handling, leading to a phenomenal driving experience dubbed ‘the purest Bugatti ever’. As for the top speed, it’s been electronicallylimited to 218mph; God knows where it would be if it was let off the leash. Only 60 of the new car will be available, for a cool $3.5m each. bugatti.com
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FRONT — aficionado
AN ISLAND OF ONE’S OWN
This is the kind of thing that’ll make you look forward to self-isolation. Provided you can make the flight out there, Raffles Maldives Meradhoo is offering you run of the resort, allowing you to book out the entire two-island, 21-villa property to yourself. That includes use of the house yacht, custom menus for every meal and pretty much whatever else you want from an island paradise. Available for up to 70 guests for five days and four nights, all for $1m. If there’s a better place to ride out the current crisis, we’ve not found it yet. rafflesmaldives.com
AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Once again Louis Vuitton is flexing its often underrated watchmaking chops with the latest haute horology take on its signature Tambour timepiece. With a case made from advanced CarboStratum, an ultra-lightweight and resistant material, and equipped with a tourbillon, it’s an incredible-looking flash of contemporary watchmaking at its finest. Powered by the LV 108 hand-wound calibre this is one of the most important luxury houses making a serious watchmaking statement. Oh and it’s also available set with diamonds, because why not? $258,000, $322,000 with diamonds, uk.louisvuitton.com
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EDITED BY SAM KESSLER
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE LUXURY WORLD
NEWS
IDRIS ELBA’S SIERRA LEONE RESORT Sure there won’t be any openings for at least a few months, but that hasn’t stopped actor, director, DJ and all-round renaissance man Idris Elba looking to the future. Plans are already tentatively in the works for Elba’s own luxury resort in his dad’s home country of Sierra Leone and, despite being in isolation like the rest of us, you can be sure he’s already working on his DJ set for the launch party. Whenever that turns out to be. Perhaps don’t hold your breath.
BULGARI HAND SANITIZER Many luxury brands have turned their hands to combatting the pandemic – Bremont is pitching for ventilator parts, British workshops are making scrubs – but possibly the highest-profile is Bulgari, which has turned an haute perfumier into a hand sanitizer production plant. It makes sense – they’re both alcohol based after all – and if there’s one thing that’s in demand (as any rare trip to the shops can tell you) it’s anything to kill viruses. With months of pandemic still to go, the Italian name could be a huge help on the global stage. Or it’s a savvy cash grab, depending on how cynical you are. bulgari.com
Bulgari has turned an haute perfumier into a hand-sanitizer production plant 28
FRONT — world news
GENEVA WATCH DAYS Baselworld’s been pushed back to January and Watches & Wonders is outright cancelled, but Geneva Watch Days, the informal interim event in the watchmaking capital, has already rescheduled itself to 26-29 August. It’s an odd selection of confirmed brands for now – Bulgari, Breitling, Ulysse Nardin, GirardPerregaux, Gerald Genta, Urwerk, H. Moser & Cie, De Bethune and MB&F so far – but you can be sure plenty more watchmakers will be jumping on the opportunity to strut their stuff. If all goes well, we’ll have all the highlights for you right from the proverbial horse’s mouth, so watch this space.
Geneva Watch Days, the informal interim event in the watchmaking capital, has already rescheduled itself
FASHION AGAINST CORONAVIRUS
It’s good to see the often-maligned fashion industry stepping up when it’s needed most
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In other pandemic-fighting news, American fashion house Ralph Lauren has donated a cool $10 million to the cause. That’s a number made all the more impressive by the forecast that it’s set to lose $90 million. At least it makes it a nice, round number. It’s matched by Moncler, who are donating Euro 10 million to build a temporary hospital in Milan which, given that it’s a major epicentre for the virus, needs all the help it can get. It’s fitting that a brand so often at Milan Fashion Week is giving back to the city. On a personal level, Donatella Versace has donated Euro 200,000 to a hospital in Milan, as well as ¥1 million RMB to the Chinese red cross. She was followed in kind by Miuccia Prada and husband Patrizio Bertelli, who gave a staggering six intensive care units to three of their local hospitals. Finally, after live-streaming its fall-winter 2020 collection (we’re sure the front row devotees were devastated) Giorgio Armani donated Euro 1.25 million to support local medical infrastructure. There will undoubtedly be many more examples come the end of the crisis, but rather than dwell on the negatives it’s good to see the often-maligned fashion industry stepping up when it’s needed most. Let’s just hope this doesn’t serve as stylistic inspiration for 2021.
FRONT — world news
PATEK PHILIPPE ONLINE Patek Philippe, that most rarefied of fine watchmakers, the pinnacle of horological exclusivity, is now available online. We don’t mean in the usual pre-owned places, but new from the likes of Watches of Switzerland. It’s obvious why, given that its boutiques aren’t exactly big parties these days, but either way it’s a big step for the uber-traditionalists behind the brand. Whether this is simply a way to stop Coronavirus taking them under or will continue in the future remains to be seen. One thing’s for certain though: it won’t make the waiting list for a Nautilus any shorter.
CARTIER’S SANTOS-DUMONT GOES MANUAL
It contains a new slim, manual-wind movement, a nod to the heritage of arguably the original aviation wristwatch
Watches & Wonders may have been cancelled but you can’t halt progress! Or, in Cartier’s case, a more vintage look at its classic Pilots’ watch. You might not see it at first; aesthetically the new SantosDumont XL hasn’t changed much. Inside however it contains a new slim, manual-wind movement, a nod to the heritage of arguably the original aviation wristwatch. Available in steel, bi-colour and rose gold, prices are yet to be announced but you can expect to try these elegantly slim models on come summer 2020. cartier.co.uk
THE GODFATHER’S ESTATE FOR SALE Rival for the best ever trilogy sequel with The Empire Strikes Back, The Godfather Part II was epic in every sense of the word. Part of that is thanks to the excesses of Michael Corleone, including his vast mansion – which you could now own, provided you’re happy to stump up $5.5 million. Given that the Fleur du Lac Estate on the shores of Lake Tahoe has its own private beach, that doesn’t seem all that bad. Just don’t let anyone take you out in a boat by yourself. I know it was you, Fredo.
The Godfather Part II was epic in every sense of the word 30
PROPERTY HIGHLIGHTS: • 4 Bedrooms • 5 Full Bathrooms • 15 acres of exterior land • Private Beach • Part of a private enclave of 22 residences Set for one of the most important films ever made Find out more at sothebysrealty.com.
FRONT — world news
4/20 ON THE WRIST With everything that’s going on in the world, we’re all a bit low right now; which is why custom watch label Undone is offering a taste of that high life. The 1st marks more than April Fools day; it’s the beginning of a whole month of 4/20 and, to commemorate weed awareness month Undone has created this: the UNDONE.420 – Cali.
Dammit if we’re not going to help commemorate a full month of puffing and passing 31
There are a lot of fake watches going viral this time of year but don’t worry, while there’s no official availability this is no joke. We take our weed very seriously. Ok perhaps not all that seriously: this is a watch with a marijuana leaf on the dial, after all, but dammit if we’re not going to help commemorate a full month of puffing and passing. With it’s cool green bezel and California dial, complete with that leaf at 12 o’clock and a fittingly-highlighted 4 o’clock, this take on the ever-rugged basecamp is the hit you’ve been looking for – and it’s 100-per-cent THC free. And CBD free. And Marijuana free, for the record. Just hope you don’t get pulled over wearing it. undone.com
FRONT — introducing
NEWS
INTRO DUCING The world may be in lockdown but the progression of haute horology never stops, at least when it comes to the more off-kilter manufactures at both ends of the spectrum. Whether you prefer accessible cool or boundary-defying mechanics, there’s something to keep you entertained at oracleoftime.com Enjoy!
MB&F
IN DETAIL
Horological Machine HM10 ‘Bulldog’
• 54mm x 45mm rose gold case with 50m water resistance • In-house Bulldog calibre manual-wind movement with 45-hour power reserve • CHF 98,000 (titanium), CHF 112,000 (red gold), • mbandf.com
The long-awaited tenth addition to MB&F’s quirky Horological Machine series introduces founder Max Busser’s real best friend: The Bulldog. Eyes in the form of the watchmaker’s signature dome-shaped indicators, dual crowns for ears and a hidden pair of power-reserve jaws, it’s as playfully inventive as ever. Forget the dog, beware the owner.
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FRONT — introducing
GREUBEL FORSEY QP à Équation
The latest creation from the groundbreaking horologists at Greubel Forsey adds an Equation of Time complication to its already-phenomenal Perpetual Calendar timepiece. Paired with a rosegold case and lovely chocolate dial it gives new life to an often forgotten complication that, in typical Greubel Forsey style, is done to a standard worthy of the immense price tag.
IN DETAIL
43.5mm rose gold case with 30m water resistance • Hand-wound Greubel Forsey perpetual calendar and equation of time tourbillon movement with 72-hour power reserve • CHF 670,000, • greubelforsey.com •
MONTBLANC
Heritage Models 2020
Montblanc is going back to the roots of its Minerva manufacture with a trio of colourful vintage-inspired pieces for 2020. The Heritage Automatic, Pulsograph and Monopusher chronograph all offer different takes on retro watchmaking and we want them all – especially the salmon-dialled chronograph.
IN DETAIL
Automatic / Pulsograph / Monopusher • 40mm yellow gold case / 40mm rose gold case / 42mm stainless steel case • MB 24.27 calibre automatic movement / MB M13.21 calibre manual-wind movement / MB 25.12 calibre automatic movement • £7,225 / £26,847 / £4,022, • montblanc.com •
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FRONT — introducing
IN DETAIL
• 45mm gunmetal PVD stainless steel case • Seiko NH70 calibre automatic movement with 40-hour power reserve • USD 950, • sevenfriday.com
SEVENFRIDAY T2/02/
A rose-tinted resurgence of SevenFriday’s ultra-cool T-series, the T2/02 taps into the retro zeitgeist flawlessly with the steampunk, technical style synonymous with the watch brand. Hopefully this is the start of a new era for SevenFriday, but even if it’s not it’s an impulse buy if ever we’ve seen one – and a great-value one at that.
G U E S S THE WATCH
Last issue’s silhouette wasn’t all that hard to guess now, was it? With the signature dual pushers and the striking square shape, it could only have been the racing icon that is the TAG Heuer Monaco.
This issue though we’re going British – or at least British heritage. This is a watch that, if you’ve ever seen it before, will stick in your head. That said it’s not exactly a mainstream brand so if you’re used to the big boys you might just have a little trouble. Just don’t use Google. That’s cheating. What is the watch? Check back next issue for the answer.
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what is the
WATCH
?
FRONT — facetime
NO.
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FA C E T I M E The watch collections of the rich and famous revealed
Lewis Hamilton The racer
IWC Lewis Hamilton Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition
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If Lewis Hamilton isn’t the fastest man on tarmac he’s at least the fastest Brit. Before delays to the season, he was the favourite to win a record-equalling seventh world championship and, despite being at the older end of racers, the 35-year-old shows no signs of letting any newcomers past. His relentless pursuit of selfimprovement leaves room for no other result than winning. That said, he does have a life off the starting grid and, as you’d expect from the UK’s highest-paid sportsman, it involves flashing plenty of his winnings. First off he spends more time in Monaco than his hometown of Stevenage – his garage holds two Mercedes AMG Projects and a 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 (both ends of the automotive spectrum there) – and he enjoys the occasional bottle of Sassicaia. That of course also means he’s a fan of fine watches. How could any petrolhead not be? In fact, when Hamilton first burst onto the racing scene he was snapped up almost immediately by TAG Heuer with its ‘Don’t Crack Under Pressure’ schtick, generally promoting the Carrera or, in the darker days, the F1. But that understandably wasn’t good enough for Hamilton and, as TAG for whatever reason moved on to Cara Delevingne, the racer switched teams to IWC. His go-to is, understandably, the Big Pilot. It’s a classic in line with his Shelby and of similarly recognisable proportions. It’s big, bold and still incredibly cool. Yet Hamilton’s relationship with IWC goes beyond just strapping them to his wrist; the racer turned his street style credentials to designing a version for himself: the Lewis Hamilton Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition. Gotta love those snappy IWC names. The limited edition is one of the coolest pieces to come out of the Schaffhausen manufacture: retaining the classic oversized proportions in black DLC, the entire watch is a two-tone ode to rose gold and maroon. It’s spectacular and at £46,300, it’s right in Hamilton’s price range. Here’s hoping IWC takes a leaf out of his design book in future – and hey, if the 2020 season never starts up again, they have an out-of-work watch designer right there.
FRONT — ask the oracle
THE ORACLE SPEAKS The wizardry of the watch world explained
[Third-Party Movements]
It’s no secret that many, many watchmakers rely on thirdparty movements to create their watches, even if the watchmakers themselves often don’t exactly shout about it. Some consider it a secret of the trade; others consider it disingenuous. I’m in favour of the latter, especially since transparency hasn’t hurt the huge number of upcoming microbrands that have no trouble saying which stock movements they use. So with names and models being thrown about, it’s about time we looked at the differences between the big players and why some brands prefer certain movements. When it comes to Swiss movements, the biggest name is ETA. The Swatch Group movement maker is one of the most important third-party manufacturers in the world, in large part due to its workhorse 2428-2 calibre movement. It’s in many ways the perfect stock automatic movement and has seen plenty of imitators, most notable among which is Sellita.
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In the past, Sellita actually bought ETA movements, finished them then sold them off. That was until ETA cracked down on the practice and stopped supplying unfinished movements. The result was that Sellita had to fend for itself and thus began building its own movements from scratch. It did so by cloning the ETA 2824 movement, meaning that the performance between Sellita’s SW200 and the ETA 2428-2 is, at a basic level, all but indistinguishable. It does have an extra jewel compared to the ETA version, but whether that actually makes a difference is a matter of opinion rather than fact. Previously Sellita movements were considered inferior to ETA, but in recent years they’ve upped their game to be on par. The main difference is far more practical: availability. ETA movements are limited when it comes to third parties, meaning that if a fledgling brand wants a steady supply they may well need to opt for Sellita. When quality and pricing are the same, that’s not a hard choice. The other two movements that you’ll see a lot of are the Japanese pairing of Seiko and Miyota. Seiko is a great deal less expensive than either Sellita or ETA and Miyota is the cheapest of the bunch. That’s not to say they’re inherently worse; both maintain similar levels of performance and accuracy, but with lesser degrees of finishing. If a brand is happy to finish a movement itself – or have a closed caseback – both provide great options with a little bit of elbow grease, and tend to knock a good amount of the price of a watch. You can’t say it’s a Swiss watch any more, but Seiko at least has some horological cache. All of these calibre manufacturers do have different levels of movement – Sellita’s Elabore for example is a rung above the SW200 – but we’re talking generalities here. Yet 90 per cent of the time they will be standard automatics; the complications come from another source, namely Dubois-Dépraz. These guys are the ones responsible for turning stock automatic movements into complicated ones by providing modules that simply need to be bolted on. Their most famous is their chronograph module, which even brands with in-house calibres like to use to save development costs, but they do calendars, moon phases and a handful of others. Between ETA, Sellita, Seiko, Miyota and DuboisDépraz, independent watchmakers can create a huge number of movements at a variety of accessible price points. The only real decision is if you prefer the prestige of the ‘Swiss Made’ moniker or don’t mind knocking a few strokes of the finishing – or few hundred quid off the price tag. To put all that into context, here are a few microbrand pieces that illustrate each movement.
FRONT — ask the oracle
[UNIMATIC U1-FN, £645]
Robut watches with Italian flair, Unimatic’s limited-run pieces are the epitome of independent cool and its latest for 2020 is no exception. Rugged and robust draped in black DLC, it’s equipped with a Seiko NH35A automatic movement, bringing the price down to a respectable level for any limited edition watch. For one this cool, it’s a steal. unimaticwatches.com
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[TIMEX M79 AUTOMATIC, £249]
With its cool, Batman bezel and sleek bracelet, Timex’s 1970s-inspired retread of the Q Timex, its latest limited edition, has everything a retro callback needs. Thanks to its Miyota 8205 movement, it’s also a steal at less than £250. It’s a lot of watch for the money and a great way for Timex to offer an automatic watch in style. timex.co.uk
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FRONT — ask the oracle
[AXION OCEAN COMMANDER, £1,450]
A solid yet restrained diver, Axion’s sea-dwelling Ocean Commander is an extreme professional instrument, with 500m water resistance but retaining an relatively elegant 44mm case and zeitgeisty green dial. Inside is the classic workhorse movement of the ETA 2824. As ETAs are nicely finished, the Ocean Commander’s also equipped with an exhibition caseback to show it off. axionwatches.com
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[ANORDAIN NEW MODEL 1, £1,200]
With beautiful enamel dials, AnOrdain is showing that the artistic side of watchmaking is alive and well in Scotland. The attention they lavish on each colourful piece is impressive for a microbrand, so it’s no surprise they rely on Sellita movements to power their collection. anordain.com
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FRONT — audemars piguet
AUDEMARS PIGUET [RE]MASTER01 AS CLASSIC AS ITS ROYAL OAK IS, THE SWISS MANUFACTURER IS VENTURING FURTHER BACK INTO ITS ARCHIVES FOR ITS LATEST REMASTER COLLECTION WORDS:
SAM KESSLER
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© diode SA - Denis Hayoun
FRONT — audemars piguet
There’s a good chance you didn’t even know that the manufacturer built chronographs. That’s because they only built 307 44
The 70s was a good, happy time, rose-tinted and full of hope. No wonder it’s an era many a watchmaker is looking back on fondly right now. Few of them though are as defined by the 70s as Audemars Piguet. The Royal Oak, the watch that has come to define the Le Brassus-based brand, is a child of the 70s and is so famous that it’s hard to think of an AP before it. But Audemars Piguet didn’t start when Gerald Genta designed his opus; the manufacturer was founded back in 1875 and had plenty of warm-up time before the Royal Oak took off. Enough that, in this age of archive raiding, it was only a matter of time before Audemars Piguet took a deep cut into its own vintage catalogue. Don’t worry though, this isn’t the usual re-creation, re-edition or re-release, this is something else entirely. This is a re-master. The [Re]master01, in fact. Still, it’s not quite as far back as the 1800s that AP has gone. Instead its inspiration comes from the turbulent 1940s and one of its rarest ever pieces: its 1943 chronograph. There’s a good chance you didn’t even know that the manufacturer built chronographs back then; I honestly didn’t think they did either. That’s because they only built 307 between 1930 and 1950. They’re among the rarest watches in existence and the last one sold by Phillips achieved CHF 384,500. You can see why then Audemars Piguet wants to bring its own vintage chronographs back into the limelight. The specific base watch in question is the pre-model 1533, a tachymeter-equipped sports chronograph – from back when sports watches were still elegant – and many of the vintage characteristics remain. That means a two-tone case, with the case and funky teardrop lugs in stainless steel. The thin bezel, chamfered crown and unusual olive-shaped chronograph pushers are all in rose gold. We’re seeing a lot more two-tone in the recent crop of retro releases and as far as I’m concerned we should see more of it. Steel’s boring; gold’s too much. Two-tone is quirky vintage fun. The yellow-gold dial (rather than the more subtle Champagne of the original 1533) leans more towards the opulent than the off-kilter. To keep things tight, the markers on the dial are transferred rather than applied, flattening it. To make the chronograph hands stand out, they – and the tachymeter scale – are all in blue, while the local time hands are rose gold. It’s a separation plenty of chronographs could use. On a side note, if you look closely you can see an odd 4/5 written in red above the 30-minute chronograph counter. That’s because Jacques-Louis Audemars, third generation of the founding family, enjoyed a spot of football. The marker’s there to indicate the 45-minute half time. If only the mysteries of extra time weren’t so beyond mortal ken. The final archival flourish is the signature. Audemars Piguet was founded and remains in the Vallée de Joux,
FRONT — audemars piguet
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FRONT — audemars piguet
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FRONT — audemars piguet
It won’t come as a surprise that, like a restomod Porsche, what’s under the hood is pure modern mechanics
yet it says Audemars Piguet & Co Genève on the dial, referencing when AP still had a workshop in the central watchmaking hub of Switzerland. It closed back in the 70s, if you were wondering. There are some differences in the design though. For one, the case size has been upped to 40mm rather than the 36.5mm of the original model. Ostensibly it’s to make the dial more legible, but it’s also just a more modern size. The chronograph too has been laid out differently. Previously it had chronograph minutes and hours at 3 o’clock and 6 o’clock respectively, with running seconds at 9. The [Re] master01 switches things around with chrono minutes at 9, chrono hours at 3 and running seconds at 6. That change comes down to the movement, which is anything but vintage. To anyone that’s seen a ‘vintage-inspired’ release before it won’t come as a surprise that, like a restomod Porsche, what’s under the hood is pure modern mechanics. The calibre 4409 is Audemars Piguet’s latest automatic movement, complete with a column wheel flyback chronograph function and a 70-hour power reserve. It’s all very up-to-spec with its current collection; functionally far superior to anything from the 1940s. You can see the whole thing, complete with its rose gold, clous de Paris-embellished rotor, through the sapphire crystal caseback, another thing the original was sorely lacking. The [Re]master 01 promises to be just the first in a new wave of Audemars Piguet pieces with historical
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The [Re]master01 is the first in a new collection of pieces based on the manufacturer’s vintage models
roots, which makes a nice change from the shiny new 11.59s and the abundance of Royal Oaks. However, there is one thing it doesn’t do as well as the original watch – depending on how you look at it. There were only 307 AP chronos across the 30s, 40s and 50s. The [Re]master is common in comparison. A whole 500 of them will be built. Soon enough everyone’s going to be wearing it. audemarspiguet.com
FRONT — british watchmaking
THE STATE OF THE WATCHMAKING NATION AN INSIGHT INTO THE CURRENT RENAISSANCE OF BRITISH WATCHMAKING
WORDS:
SAM KESSLER
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© Andy Pilsbury
FRONT — british watchmaking
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FRONT — british watchmaking
“The more you admire the finishing, the more you appreciate the unique look not seen in the Swiss or German product”
Struthers was started by husband and wife Rebecca and Craig Struthers, and has been making watches in the UK since 2013
British watchmaking is on the up. Granted, it’s a long way away from its heyday and the original horologists that created the first marine chronometers and pushed the boundaries of horology – the likes of Arnold, Harrison and Daniels – but through one brand or another watches made, assembled or simply designed here in the UK are making waves in the wider watch world. Before getting too deeply into where British watchmaking came from, where it is and where it’s going, it’s worth taking a look at precisely what it is. Stylistically, Fears’ Nicholas Bowman-Scargill hits the nail on the head: “There is a rare quote about the British design sensibility of ‘graceful yet purposeful function’,” says Nick. “When you look at the traditional movement finishing on an old English pocket watch it has an almost utilitarian frosted look with a distinctive shape to its bridges. The more you admire the finishing, the more you appreciate the gracefulness of its design
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and how certain radii and proportions give it a unique look not seen in the Swiss or German product.” It’s a style that Fears has embodied in its collection, enough that the entry-level mechanical brand has become part of the Great Britain Campaign, highlighting that even the UK government sees the potential in British watchmaking. Fears is in good company too; it’s joined in the campaign by one of the most celebrated watchmakers working today, Roger Smith. While Smith has been at the top of his game for decades however, it’s not that easy for other watchmakers trying to bring traditional horology back to home shores; there are very few workshops other than the rarefied, artisan sort that we associate with true horology. So, where did they all go? “When Vertex was founded, Britain was a renowned watch supplier with an unrivalled heritage in creating some of the most historically innovative timepieces in the world,” explains Vertex owner Don Cochrane. “But then two world wars saw almost all watch factories turning their attention to munitions supply and those factories never really recovered. “The industry has had a real renaissance over the last 15 years. It’s not often now I spend a week without coming across another ‘British’ watch company. We are that acutely aware that our watches are not made in Britain but rather buy our manufacturing partner in Switzerland; we wanted the quality that, at the time, only buying Swiss would allow. But since then we have been starting to do a lot of the pre-production work here in London and expanding our workshop this year will allow prototyping and customisation work to be taken care of on-site.” Which brings us to the crux of a major divide in British watchmaking. On the one side, you have the likes of Fears, Christopher Ward and Farer, welldesigned watches with a British feel that are nonetheless predominantly Swiss. That’s no bad thing; it allows even us mere mortals to enjoy the British style Nick so eloquently described. But on the other side of the line are the guys actually making components and building watches from scratch here in the UK – which, as Garrick’s Dave Brailsford points out, is not easy. “Starting a watch brand is easier than it’s ever been considering there now platforms like Kickstarter,” says Dave. “But, starting a manufacturer is a different kettle of fish. When we started, there really was nobody else making components in-house except for Roger Smith,
FRONT — british watchmaking
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FRONT — british watchmaking
Above and right: Bremont’s workshop is in an oak-framed barn close to Henley Below: a Fears Brunswick being assembled
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FRONT — british watchmaking
“I want to bring the watchmaking supply chain back here. If someone were making great dials here at home, we’d use them in a second”
so it was a steep learning curve. It’s just not possible for most brands to do this because you need very deep pockets, a damn fine watchmaker and a good workshop. It’s taken us years to learn and develop new processes here in England, and it’s been a struggle – but we wouldn’t have it any other way.” The same can be said of Struthers, whose husband and wife team Rebecca and Craig Struthers have been building their own watches since 2013’s Stella, and racking up awards to go with them. They do however have some ideas of where they’d like to see the wider domestic watch world go. “There has definitely been a strong resurgence in interest in British watchmaking and British watch brands”, says Rebecca. “It’s great! We’re all pretty unique and doing things our own way which I think makes our industry a very interesting one for collectors to follow. I hope the growth continues, but I’d also like to see people working together more. One of the biggest challenges British watchmaking faces is the total lack of supporting industries you see in established centres like Switzerland. That will take more collaboration and communication between brands and watchmakers but I think would make a huge and beneficial difference for us all.” That’s something that Giles English, co-founder of Bremont, agrees with. “I’m still disappointed there aren’t more British watchmakers in the UK; they’re just not set up for it,” says Giles. “It’s more about outsourcing than building here. I want to see that change, to bring the watchmaking supply chain back here. If someone were making great dials here at home, we’d use them in a second. But we’ve also made a serious commitment to rectifying the problem ourselves. When it’s finished, our new manufacture will scale up what we can do in the UK no end, more in fact than we currently need. We’re still a long way off where we want to be, but we’re getting there.” While I hate to put a downer on an otherwise hopeful article on the future and potential of British watchmaking, I’m obliged to point out there is one major caveat: Coronavirus. The current pandemic and lack of support here in the UK has meant that most of our own watchmakers are on pretty shakey ground.
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Above: Garrick produces as many parts as possible in-house at its workshop in Norwich
As Don says, “It’s hard to talk about the state of the British watch market on the doorstep of an event that may change it fundamentally in ways we cannot yet imagine.” Still, no watch brand comes this far to be ended by something as trivial as a global pandemic: “I’m not sure the watch industry or the economy, in general, will ever recover from the current crisis,” says Dave. “But British independents all have a fighting chance, no matter what comes our way. Our fighting spirit will prevail!” Keep that stiff upper lip.
FRONT — british watches
FEARS BRUNSWICK BLUE, £3,350
When the original white-dialled Brunswick came out we instantly fell in love with it: the cushion case, vintage sizing and understated elegance all aped the 1950s watches of the original Fears factory of yesteryear. The latest version adds a dark blue dial to the formula, a more modern twist on the watch that works phenomenally well with the signature blue leather strap. A future British classic. fearswatches.com
THE BEST OF BRITISH
W A T C H E S NINE WATCHES MADE ON HOME SOIL WORDS: SAM KESSLER
Our watch industry might be small compared to Switzerland’s or Germany’s but it offers a surprising amount of variety, from manufacture haute horology to funky, off-kilter creativity. So without any further preamble, here are the best British watches right now, some you may know, others you most definitely will not. And yes, we do have a thing for blue
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FRONT — GMT
CWC 1970S SPEC. RAF PILOTS CHRONOGRAPH, £2,250
Plenty of watchmakers have side businesses making military-spec squadron watches, but for Cabot Watch Company that’s its breadand-butter, and it has a longstanding relationship with the British Armed Forces. This limited-edition pilots’ watch is at the top end of its range, an imitation of the watches issued to RAF pilots in the 70s and 80s. With its asymmetrical case and Valjoux movement, it looks and feels like the real thing. cwcwatch.com
GARRICK S2 CENTRAL SECONDS, £13,800
Garrick takes its ‘made in Britain’ approach seriously and the vast majority of its incredible S2 is made at its own Norwich workshops – including the stunning engineturned dial. This is the first Garrick watch with central rather than small seconds, but it still bears all its hallmarks, including the open heart and enough in-house components and processes that each S2 takes five days of solid work to create. In that light, you get a lot of watch for the money. garrick.co.uk
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FRONT — microbrands
VERTEX MP45S AUTOMATIC, £3,480
A slightly sportier, contemporary take on Vertex’s vintage-inspired militaristic monopusher, the newer version of the MP45 brings in contrast dubdials for chronograph minutes and running seconds. It also adds a few flashes of red both on the chronograph hands and the signature iron sights at 12 o’clock. Otherwise it’s the same watch as the original version, with a solid Sellita SW510 Automatic movement and a cool, asymmetrical 40mm brushed steel case. vertex-watches.com
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FRONT — british watches
FARER OXLEY SILVER LIMITED EDITION, £1,195
Playful British watch brand Farer uses blue as variously and confidently as Picasso, with far less disturbing results. The Oxley Silver is a cerulean take on Farer’s original GMT watch, with different aqua hues across the numerals and hands for a stunning pop-art aesthetic. The silver in the name comes from the dial, but let’s be honest, it’s all about the blue. It has fewer colours than some Farer models but is far more nuanced for it and, powered by a Sellita SW330-1 Premium movement, is a lot of watch for the money. farer.com
ANORDAIN NEW MODEL 1, £1,200
© Mark Horton: www.markhortonphotos.com
Grand feu enamel is an intense process, needing plenty of time, care and skill to create. It’s also the raison d’etre for Scottish watch brand anOrdain. Its revamped Model 1 makes that enamel the focal point of the piece, available in everything from bright teal to post-box red. That said, I love the plain white version, which shows off the enamel’s innate depth with a few blue flashes for flavour. anordain.com
MR JONES ALL THIS WILL PASS, £145
Fun, playful and painfully quirky, Mr Jones is pure British whimsy on the wrist. Its series of quartz timepieces are a pure delight, and its latest is even helping a good cause. With its pop art splashes of colour, All This Will Pass is a message to all of us suffering in one way or another from the Covid 19 outbreak. What’s more, ten per cent of the sale price will be going to the World Health Organisation’s Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund. It’s a glimmer of light in an otherwise bleak moment in time. mrjoneswatches.com
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FRONT — british watches
CHRISTOPHER WARD C60 ELITE GMT 1000, £1,450
The granddaddy of affordable British watches is at it again, continuing its ever-popular Trident collection with a new GMT – and it’s about damn time, too. The C60 Elite GMT 1000 has all the rugged reliability of the latest generation of Trident models, with a 42mm titanium case water resistant to a phenomenal 1,000m and a COSC certified Sellita movement, joined by a 24-hour GMT hand, just in case you fancy swimming across time zones. christopherward.co.uk
BREMONT ALT1-C GRIFFON, £4,995
Leaning on Bremont’s aviation heritage, the Alt1-C Griffon is a special edition of the brand’s vintage-inspired pilots’watch, referencing the Spitfire flown by founders Nick and Giles’father, equipped with a Griffon engine. Using their signature Trip Tick case construction in hardened steel and a classical aviation look, the watch is one of the purest Bremont pieces to date. bremont.com
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STYLE — photoshoot
ARMED FORCES There have been many stripes of military watch – made to suit the many kinds of army. Mostly, they are bold, simply elegant pieces, and a symphony in brown and green PHOTOGRAPHY: TOM PETTIT / FRASER VINCENT
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BREITLING AVIATOR 8 41 CURTISS WARHAWK 41mm black steel case with 100m water resistance. Breitling 17 calibre automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve £3,260, breitling.com
CHRISTOPHER WARD C65 SANDHURST SERIES 1 38mm stainless steel case with 150m water resistance. Sellita SW200 calibre COSCcertified automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve £795, christopherward. co.uk
G-SHOCK BRITISH ARMY MUDMASTER 55.4mm carbonreinforced resin case with 200m water resistance. Digital watch with altimeter-barometer, thermometer, compass, step counter, Bluetooth, calorimeter, stopwatch, countdown timer and sunrise/ sunset times £399, g-shock.co.uk
HAMILTON KHAKI FIELD TITANIUM AUTO 42mm titanium case with 100m water resistance. H-10 calibre automatic movement with 80-hour power reserve £845, hamiltonwatch.com
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VERTEX MP45 ARCTIC AUTOMATIC 40mm stainless steel case with 100m water resistance Sellita SW510 MP calibre automatic movement with 48hour power reserve £3,480, vertex-watches.com
BREMONT BROADSWORD 40mm hardened stainless steel case with 100m water resistance Modified 11 1/2 BE-95-2AV calibre automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve £2,595, bremont.com
LACO ATACAMA 2 46.25mm black PVD stainless steel case with 500m water resistance Laco 24 (Modified ETA 2824.2) calibre automatic movement with 42-hour power reserve £800, laco.de
SPECIAL THANKS TO: Stephen George Pettit & George John Pettit for access to their personal collection of military memorabilia
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STYLE — opener
Style 74/ The rise of British denim 80/ Get your British wardrobe inspiration from our photoshoot 91/ Our must-have items from homegrown brands
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© images: Carmel King
STYLE — british denim
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STYLE — british denim
HOW BRITISH JEANS WON OVER THE WORLD The unlikely story of how – through dedication, taste and a fine attention to detail – British denim manufacturers joined the big guns Words: NICK CARVELL
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STYLE — british denim
This article was meant to have a whole different introduction. It was supposed to start with a visit to Blackhorse Lane Ateliers, a workshop set up by Bilgehan ‘Han’ Ates in a beautiful 1920s former factory building in East London. But then, Covid-19 really kicked up a gear and self-isolation became the new normal. My trip to see their manufacturing hub was no longer going to be possible. “It’s something out of our control and I feel a little powerless,” says Ates, when I call him on his way into work. “But one thing that hasn’t changed is that I want to keep things positive.” While none of us know the timeline of this pandemic, one thing we all need to have faith in is that things will return to normal someday – and maybe, when they do, after a reliance on local businesses during the period of self-isolation, there will emerge a consumer who is more tuned in to supporting smaller-scale craftspeople. Yes, these are dark times – Ates tells me his business has taken a hit in the week since the outbreak really took hold. However, perhaps there is a glimmer of opportunity here too. And surely one of the things to keep all small-batch jeansmakers optimistic while we all ride this out is that Blackhorse Lane Ateliers is part of a wave of British denim labels gaining acclaim by menswear aficionados both on home soil and around the world. “British denim manufacturing is definitely on people’s radars when I speak to my friends and colleagues overseas,” says Simon Crompton, the writer behind cult menswear blog permenantstyle.com. “You hear more about the UK’s jean scene than any other country apart from Japan and the US, which is pretty impressive really considering there’s only a small handful of companies here.” “We see huge interest in our brand from all over the world, most notably North America, Europe and Japan,” says Patrick Grant, whose Community Clothing label makes jeans during the seasonal downtime at a Blackburn factory to help give workers there year-round employment. “Despite not offering international shipping over ten per cent of our online traffic is from outside the UK, and several Japanese stores have approached us about stocking the brand.”
The importance of jeans in everyone’s wardrobes has been elevated... people are willing to spend more on getting a pair that has higher standards of quality and fit
So, with plenty of brands from countries with longer history of denim manufacture, what makes British jeans interesting? There are a whole host of factors, but probably the most compelling explanation is that they satisfy a timely crosshair in consumerism right now: over the past decade, dress codes have relaxed and the importance of jeans in everyone’s wardrobes has been elevated – meaning that people are willing to spend more on getting a pair that has higher standards of quality and fit – plus there has been a movement towards supporting local craftspeople who have specialist knowledge and with whom you can have a long-term relationship. “I think the kind of customer who is used to getting their tailoring made
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bespoke, say on Savile Row, will be more likely to look at getting that kind of expertise in all areas of their wardrobe,” says Crompton. “These customers also expect a certain level of aftercare, especially with alterations and repairs, so I think that’s part of the attraction of British jeans companies too.” Internationally, it’s the craftmanship of many of these British brands that’s driving a surge in interest. Founded in a garage in Hove in 2012, the couple behind Dawson Denim, Kelly Dawson and Scott Ogden, make small batches of jeans, jackets and aprons from high-quality Japanese selvedge denim, woven and dyed in Okayama. “As with any small manufacturer, we make our product with very small profit
STYLE — british denim
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STYLE — british denim
“When we go to see buyers [in Japan] they will literally count the number of stitches on our jeans – you don’t get that anywhere else in the world.”
margins so wholesale has never been a thing for us – but what we do wholesale, 90 per cent goes to Japan,” says Ogden on our phone call, in between squarks of seagulls and hushed waves on the beach. When there’s a world famous denim industry in Japan, why would they want to go to the trouble of buying back their own material after it’s been made into products by a British company? “We’re fastidious about quality – and those in Japan who are passionate about
denim are all about that,” says Ogden. “When we go to see buyers out there they will literally count the number of stitches on our jeans – you don’t get that anywhere else in the world.” It’s easy to conflate craftsmanship and sustainability, and while these two factors often end up in the same conversation about how the fashion industry operates (and what can be improved for the good of people and the planet), they’re not necessarily the same thing. Many British
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makers will still use Japanese, American or Turkish denim and even if a company manages to source home-spun material, the cotton still needs to be grown, imported and dyed, necessarily using valuable resources like water and air miles. However, if Italian brands made a name for themselves for their distressed washes in the Nineties and Noughties, British brands as a general rule define themselves by rejecting this. Acidwashing, stonewashing and chemically treated fabrics are a rarity amongst British denim brands, who tend to use raw denim. Added to this, smaller brands can be more nimble when it comes to using waste material. During its eight years in operation, Dawson has kept its scraps in two bags they keep in the office, which periodically get drained to make pockets for aprons or hats. “We try to communicate sustainability through transparency,” says Ates, as we begin to wind down our phone call. “We try to educate our customers and help them make good decisions.” And at a time where we’re starting to seriously base our daily decisions on what might be better for those around us rather than ourselves, it feels like this approach will stand British jeans brands in good stead for our world post-pandemic.
STYLE — british denim
HUIT DENIM SKINR SKINNY ORGANIC COTTON JEANS
BLACKHORSE LANE ATELIERS E8 SLIM TAPERED SELVEDGE JEANS Blackhorse Lane Ateliers’ slim tapered jeans are crafted from smart, 15.5oz raw selvedge denim woven by Isko Mills in Turkey and cut with a slightly higher rise that hits just above the hipbone, making them perfect for men who prefer their T-shirts tucked.
Set up to bring manufacturing back to the small town of Cardigan in Wales after its jeans factory closed in the early 2000s, Huit now makes denim that’s finished with trademark red owl rivets. We particularly like the skinnynot-skin-tight silhouette.
Nick’s Picks
DAWSON DENIM ENGINEER JACKET British denim isn’t just about jeans. Based on the Southern coast in a workshop in Hove, Dawson breathes new life into time-tested items. The label’s sleek, minimal take on a 1920s Engineer jacket is just as stylish now as it was a century ago.
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STYLE — photoshoot
SAND LINEN JACKET, Gieves & Hawkes, £695 1 Savile Row, London W1S 3JR gievesandhawkes.com WHITE COTTON FRENCH CUFF SHIRT, Gieves & Hawkes, £165, gievesandhawkes.com SILK GRENADINE TIE, Richard Anderson, £132 richardandersonltd.com MADE-TO-MEASURE NAVY WOOL TROUSERS (PART OF A SUIT), Gieves & Hawkes, starting from £1,250 gievesandhawkes.com
hope and glory Our British shoot showcases this small island’s inimitably timeless clothing heritage
Styling: CHRIS CHASSEAUD
Photography: FRASER VINCENT
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Model: KEVIN GREEN
STYLE — photoshoot
SILK GRENADINE TIE, Richard Anderson, £132 richardandersonltd.com LIGHT BLUE OXFORD COTTON SHIRT, Luca Faloni, £125 lucafaloni.com PRINCE OF WALES CHECK SINGLE BREASTED JACKET, New & Lingwood, £695 newandlingwood.com PRINCE OF WALES CHECK WAISTCOAT, New & Lingwood £295 newandlingwood.com PRINCE OF WALES CHECK TROUSERS, New & Lingwood £350 newandlingwood.com
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STYLE — photoshoot
SHORT DOUBLE BREASTED WOOL MAC, Connolly, £360 4 Clifford Street, London W1S 2LG connollyengland.com STRIPED POLO SHIRT, Barena, £230 barenavenezia.com JOHN SMEDLEY ROLL NECK, John Smedley, £170 johnsmedley.com NAVY HERRINGBONE TROUSERS (PART OF A SUIT), Richard Anderson, £1,495 richardandersonltd.com EDWARD DEER SKIN LOAFERS, Harry’s of London, £450 harrysoflondon.com
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STYLE — photoshoot
HERRINGBONE LINEN SINGLE BREASTED BLAZER, Brunello Cucinelli, £2,620 brunellocucinelli.com LONG POINT BUTTON DOWN CHAMBRAY SHIRT, Drakes, £155, drakes.com EXCLUSIVE MADE-TO-ORDER SHANTUNG SILK TIE, Shaun Gordon, £175 shaungordon.co.uk MCQUEEN ACETATE GLASSES, E.B. Meyrowitz, £995 ebmeyrowitz.co.uk NAVY HERRINGBONE TROUSERS (PART OF A SUIT), Richard Anderson, £1,495 richardandersonltd.com
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STYLE — photoshoot
MADE-TO-MEASURE NAVY WOOL SUIT, Gieves & Hawkes, starting from £1,2500 1 Savile Row, London W1S 3JR gievesandhawkes.com POLO SHIRT, Filippa K, £70 filippa-k.com WADDINGTON CASHMERE SOCKS, Pantherella, £42.50 pantherella.com PRESTON LACE UP SHOES, Filippa K, £320 filippa-k.com
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STYLE — photoshoot
NAVY WOOL JUMPER WITH STRIPE, £400, Connolly, £400 4 Clifford Street, London W1S 2LG connollyengland.com WOOL TRAVEL TROUSERS, Sunspel, £195 sunspel.com RACQUET WHITE LEATHER SNEAKERS, C.QP, £255 c-qp.com FINE MERINO WOOL SOCKS, Malloch’s, £19 mallochs.co.uk WHISPY HANOVER SUPER FINE CASHMERE SQUARE SCARF, Begg & Co., £225 beggandcompany.com
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STYLE — photoshoot
MERINO AND CASHMERE BLEND ROLL NECK, John Smedley, £275 johnsmedley.com BOATING STRIPE JACKET, New & Lingwood, £695 newandlingwood.com
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STYLE — photoshoot
NAVY HERRINGBONE DOUBLE BREASTED SUIT, Richard Anderson, £1,495 richardandersonltd.com LIGHT BLUE OXFORD COTTON SHIRT, Luca Faloni, £125 lucafaloni.com SILK GRENADINE TIE, Richard Anderson, £132 richardandersonltd.com FINE MERINO WOOL SOCKS, Malloch’s, £19 mallochs.co.uk LANARK III DERBY WITH CLEATED VIBRAM SOLE, Crockett & Jones, £430 crockettandjones.com
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STYLE — photoshoot
MADE-TO-MEASURE COTTON CHINO, Gieves & Hawkes, starting from £350 1 Savile Row, London W1S 3JR gievesandhawkes.com CASHMERE QUARTER ZIP JUMPER, Luca Faloni, £275 lucfaloni.com VINTAGE STRIPED POLO SHIRT, Farah, £50 farah.co.uk ASHBY WAXED JACKET, Barbour, £209 barbour.com WHISPY HANOVER SUPER FINE CASHMERE SCARF, Begg & Co., £335 beggandcompany.com LANARK III DERBY WITH CLEATED VIBRAM SOLE, Crockett & Jones, £430 crockettandjones.com
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STYLE — must-haves
the style edit edit: CHRIS CHASSEAUD
NOBODY DOES IT QUITE LIKE THE BRITS – HERE IS OT’S PICK OF THE VERY BEST OF BRITISH STYLE
RICHMOND II PENNY LOAFER, CROCKETT & JONES,
> Loafers can be worn in a multitude of ways, and Crockett & Jones’ Richmond II Penny Loafer features a ‘city’ rubber sole giving it a slightly more urban feel. Compatible with most outfits, it’s up to you where you go and what you get up to. We say adopt a rock ‘n’ roll mindset and tear up the town. £425, CROCKETTANDJONES.COM
HENRY POOLE & CO. 15 SAVILE ROW, LONDON,
> If you want to achieve a classic British style, look no further than Savile Row tailor Henry Poole who personifies British tailoring. It’s steeped in heritage, so you’ll be in the best hands in the business getting your suit hand-made with an extensive range of British fabrics to choose from. Their sartorial wish is your command. POA, HENRYPOOLE.COM
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STYLE — must-haves
CHECKED TWILL OVERCOAT, MR P,
> Checks have been used to represent clans and houses for hundreds of years; that said, most recently they’ve been used predominantly as linings for outerwear, as well as the tonal checks often used in overcoats. This bold contemporary style from Mr P is bringing the check to the forefront. Using key colours in the pattern’s design, you can easily pair with a host of outfit options. £395 EXCLUSIVELY AT WWW.MRPORTER.COM
THE GROSVENOR SLIM UMBRELLA, JAMES SMITH & SONS,
> James Smith & Sons is an institution and if you haven’t had the chance to visit its umbrella emporium on New Oxford Street, you must. Filled to the rafters with the finest umbrellas, there’s something for everyone. If you can’t get to the shop, we’ve earmarked this elegantly crafted umbrella that will give you that London look. £135, JAMES-SMITH .CO.UK
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STYLE — must-haves
GREY SLIM-FIT PLEATED PRINCE OF WALES CHECKED WOOL TROUSERS, DENIS FRISON,
> Nothing says British style more than a Prince of Wales check. Every discerning gentleman needs something in his wardrobe made in the quintessential fabric. These trousers by Denis Frison include adjustable waist tabs and a higher waistband so you can wear the trousers neatly on the waist for an accurate traditional fit. Pair with matching jacket and black Oxford shoes, otherwise complement with a cashmere knit. £500 AT WWW.MRPORTER.COM
CASHMERE QUARTER ZIP JUMPER, LUCA FALONI ,
> A decent quarter-zip jumper is a great transitional season garment, perfect for relaxing in as well as layering with tailoring. You can even get away with pairing with a shirt and tie. Luca Faloni uses exquisite cashmere resulting in some of the best knitwear on the market and in turn leaving you comfortable and stylish in equal measure. £275, LUCAFALONI.COM
TORRINGTON OXFORD BROGUE, LOAKE,
> A classic city look, brogues are a distinctly British icon. A pair of black brogues especially, paired with a double breasted suit, epitomises that old-world look. These brogues from Loake have a more refined shape with an almondshaped toe, giving it a contemporary feel ideal for the gentleman who likes a slightly more tailored leg in their suit. £360, LOAKE.CO.UK
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STYLE — must-haves
BUTCHER STRIPE COTTON SHIRT, EMMA WILLIS,
> Bold stripes help you stand out, not for the faint-hearted but effective nonetheless. When worn with a bold tie and paired with a grey flannel suit and braces, you’ll be harking 1960’s City trader vibes. Alternatively, you can wear with a cable-knit jumper for a country-inspired relaxed elegance. £240, EMMAWILLIS.COM
FINCHLEY LONG SLEEVED SEA ISLAND COTTON POLO SHIRT, JOHN SMEDLEY,
> A long sleeved polo shirt is a perpetual British must-have. A timeless classic that can be easily worn dressed up with tailoring, or paired with stone-washed jeans, loafers and mac for a casually smart, nonchalant look. To achieve the full British look with attitude, button up to the top. £170, JOHNSMEDLEY.COM
SEA ISLAND COTTON PLEATED TROUSERS, SUNSPEL,
> Pleated trousers offer a roomier fit while keeping in line with a more traditional style of tailoring. This contemporary option from Sunspel is a perfect example of adapting for today’s mobile gentleman who demands something versatile to complement their wardrobe. Made in luxuriously soft sea island cotton, this trouser is pure comfort . £295, SUNSPEL.COM
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STYLE — must-haves
LIMITED EDITION SILK TIE, SHAUN GORDON,
> Hand-made in London and championing British style, Shaun Gordon is your destination for necktie inspiration. His ties are made with a range of limited edition fabrics so you can be assured of something unique. Perfect for pairing with a range of shirting and tailoring. Be sure to follow him on Instagram for a first-hand account on British style. £109, SHAUNGORDON.CO.UK
NAVY SLIM-FIT WOOL-BLEND BLAZER, PAUL SMITH,
> Paul Smith is a British tailoring success story. He’s definitely come a long way since his early days in Nottingham, now one of the most important fashion labels in the world. Luckily the quality and approach hasn’t altered, with his philosophy of ‘classic with a twist’ still holding strong to this day. This blazer is made with in that vein, with lightly padded shoulders and featuring a wealth of pockets, making it ideal for commuters and travellers alike. £850 AT WWW.MRPORTER.COM
DR. NO BLUE COTTON SHIRT, TURNBULL & ASSER,
> The James Bond franchise is a national institution that has been championing the very best of British style for years. It can also be credited as being an ideal reference point for style enthusiasts wanting to imitate their favourite British Secret Service agent. This particular shirt was made specially for Sean Connery for the first film in the franchise and has become an iconic design featuring two-button turnback cocktail cuffs. Martinis at the ready. £195, TURNBULLANDASSER.CO.UK
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STYLE — must-haves
LUBALIN GRAPHICAL EGYPTIAN COTTON SOCKS, PANTHERELLA, > Exposing a bit of a colourful sock has always been a good way to elevate plain suiting. Therein also lies the risk of falling into the trap of the garish and unflattering. Go for an alternative striped sock for a more informed sartorial look, such as this particular style from favourite Pantherella. The contemporary stripes and graphical blocks will give you a sophisticated edge while nodding to a more playful side. £15.50, PANTHERELLA.COM
SPIRIT DOUBLE BREASTED JACKET IN WOOL/SILK BLEND, RICHARD JAMES,
> If you didn’t already know, the doublebreasted jacket is a surefire British tailoring staple. Traditionally made with a more structured shoulder and canvased chest, today’s varieties are cut from a slightly more relaxed softtailored block. However, the spirit stays the same and the sharp, clean lines with peak lapels give the double-breasted its iconic look. The patch pockets on this Richard James version stop you looking too much like a mafioso. £895, RICHARD-JAMES.COM
STRIPED BUTTON-DOWN OXFORD SHIRT, STENSTROMS,
> You can’t go wrong with a button-down shirt. A striped shirt can quite easily cross over to a casual option and holds well around the neckline when the collar is buttoned up to the shirt. When worn with a tie you can achieve a variety of looks depending on the choice of tie and jacket – you’ll have a carousel of options. Knock yourself out. £139, STENSTROMS.COM
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STYLE — john smedley
JOHN SMEDLEY The history of an icon Words: SAM KESSLER
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Founded in 1784, John Smedley is a veritable icon of fine-gauge knitwear
Famed for its fine gauge knitwear, the John Smedley name has become known the world over for its superior polo shirts and roll necks. With a catalogue of famous customers and plenty of time on the big screen, it’s no surprise its has built up a cult following. A good part of that following is thanks to its status as a world leader in fully fashioned knitwear. This is a technique that involves shaping the separate pieces as they’re being woven. It’s time-intensive, but means that the pieces can be then stitched together to create the finished piece with no excess material. It also has the not unwanted side-effect of making them far more elegant than your run-ofthe-mill knit.
John Smedley is still a family-run business, tracing back six generations, and in all that time the passion for knitwear has remained as strong as ever 98
Smedley is no newcomer to the British style scene. Its quality and timelessness captured the imagination of customers in the 50s, 60s and 70s, as well as designers such as Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood. It became the go-to knitwear specialist for many a British label. Most of that has stopped now with Smedley focusing on its own collections, but its factory is still running full-tilt – as it has been for a fair old while. Located in Matlock, Derbyshire, Smedley’s is the world’s oldest factory and houses a variety of knitting machines ranging in age. The older ones are still producing the classic fully fashioned collared shirt with same degree of quality and accuracy as 70 years ago, when they started producing the iconic range of John Smedley polo shirts, jumpers and roll necks. It’s not just the factory that’s old-school either. John Smedley is still a family-run business, tracing back six generations, and in all that time the passion for knitwear has remained as strong as ever. Pooling talent from the local areas, there are families who have been working at John Smedley spanning generations. You get a real sense of community and pride in what they do. Walking through the factory you can see the skilled workers preparing the cotton and wool, ready for knitting. The cuffs, waistband and collars are then expertly linked and attached to form the iconic shape we’re familiar with. The attention to detail is second-to-none, and there’s even a colour development room where specialist technicians work for months on end developing shades of dye to stand the test of time. Ultimately, John Smedley is still best known for its crafted collared shirts, now comprising of six styles, with the Fashioned Collar, originally made in the 1930s, still being one of its best sellers. Despite a history spanning over 235 years, John Smedley still manages to stay relevant with its classic shapes, while refining and reinventing styles for a more contemporary sartorialist. A legend in its own right, every man should own a Smedley knit; your wardrobe deserves it. johnsmedley.com
FRONT — watch reviews
SEIKO Diver’s 55th Anniversary Trilogy With Seiko showing off all its releases in one fell swoop this year, we’re doing things a little differently; rather than one key piece, we’ll be getting hands-on with our favourite capsule collection of 2020, Seiko’s trio of recreated diving icons.
First up we have, fittingly, Seiko’s original diving watch, the one that began its association with serious tool timepieces. It’s smaller than you might initially expect if you’ve tried a Prospex on in the past few years and at 39.9mm it’s a fair bit larger than its progenitor. The bezel seems like it’s a little wider, though that might just be due to the increased size; either way, it’s a more modern take on a hard-to-find classic. It’s also pretty sleek; the “62MAS” was built before Seiko got into the fun and funky case shapes most collectors go crazy for. That means straighter lugs and a more minimal look, albeit with chunky, retro, lumecovered indexes. There are of course differences; this is a contemporary re-creation rather than an archival re-release. The first is the dial which, despite stylistic authenticity is in a nice grey-blue rather than the original black, colour paired with a particularly lovely textured rubber strap. The steel too is different. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill stainless, but Seiko’s proprietary Ever-Brilliant Steel – and they hit THE SPECS • The 1965 Diver’s the nail on the head with the name. It really Re-creation SLA037 • 39.9mm Ever-Brilliant Steel case is a bright piece of metal. with 200m water resistance Inside is Seiko’s high-frequency 8L55 • 8L55 calibre automatic movement with 55-hour power reserve movement, top of the line as Seikos go. • £5,600, limited to 1,100 pieces It runs at 36,000 beats per hour – the higher the better in the watchmaking world – and is a phenomenal bit of watchmaking. It does have a catch though: price. This will set you back £5,600. For me that’s a bit steep, not because it’s not worth it, but because for me this is the least interesting of the trio. If you’re a purist though, go for it.
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© Tom Pettit & Fraser Vincent
1965 DIVER’S RE-CREATION “62MAS”
FRONT — watch reviews
THE SPECS
• The 1968 Professional Diver’s 300m Re-creation SLA039 • 44.8mm Ever-Brilliant Steel case with 300m water resistance • 39.9mm Ever-Brilliant Steel case with 200m water resistance • 8L55 calibre automatic movement with 55-hour power reserve • £6,050, limited to 1,100 pieces
It’s equipped with the same movement as the “62MAS”, Although released just three years after the “62MAS”, the 8L55, which once again pumps up the price to £6,050. this is when Seiko really started kicking down the doors This time however, I’d be tempted to take the plunge; this of the diving watch world. Bigger, chunkier and with the is essentially the genesis of the modern Prospex line and curved lugs that would later widen out into the ‘Turtle’, toes the line between sensible and over-the-top perfectly. it’s a solid 44.8mm of corrosion-resistance Ever-Brilliant Unlike the last… Steel. It does however wear very nicely; the lugs aren’t too long so what looks impressive in dimensions sits well on even my wrists. This is also when Seiko began using its This is also when now-famous off-centre screw-down crown, Seiko began using its set lower than usual at 4 o’clock so it gets in now-famous off-centre the way less. It’s a visual quirk that’s stayed with Seiko divers ever since. screw-down crown... It shares the same grey-blue dial that links It’s a visual quirk that’s the collection together, though the matching stayed ever since strap in this case is a more serious affair in chunky, faux-studded rubber. It’s incredibly satisfying to strap on, a shame to take off. The indexes are once again oversized for legibility, but all bar 12, 6 and 9 are round instead of rectangular, which suits the dimensions of the watch better.
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© Tom Pettit & Fraser Vincent
1968 PROFESSIONAL DIVER’S 300M RE-CREATION
FRONT — watch reviews
1975 PROFESSIONAL DIVER’S 600M RE-CREATION I love this watch. If you know anything about Seiko’s diving history you’ll recognise the ‘Tuna Can’ without needing to see it written down. It’s a brilliant, downright insanelyproportioned watch that I dream of being able to wear. Unfortunately every time I wake I have to come to terms with the fact that I can’t. I really, really can’t.
It’s a brilliant, downright insanelyproportioned watch that I dream of being able to wear
At 52.4mm it’s a behemoth of a watch and it’s not much less so in thickness at 17.2mm. It’s not a piece to wear with a suit. But then with its incredible 1,000m water resistance (up from the original 1975 model which could manage 600) it’s not meant to be. Everything from the oversized outer case with its visible screws to the retro arrow hands scream professional instrument. It shares the same dial as the other pieces, tying it into the capsule collection, but it’s otherwise a different beast. For one, the case is titanium, a necessity if you actually want to reach the water’s surface again – this in all steel would be intense weight training. That said, there’s still a flash of Ever-Brilliant Steel on the bezel. It also has a different movement, using the 8L35, which has a more standard 28,800 vph instead of the 36,000. It also has a lower power reserve; where the other two can last for 55 hours, the Tuna Can can manage 50. It’s still good, just not as good. That does however make it a good deal less expensive, clocking in £3,900. That’s a lot of metal for your money and out of the three, I’d expect the 1975 Professional Diver’s 600m Re-creation to do the best. That said, I expect all three to sell out. Not only are they Seiko archive highlights, but they’re all limited to 1,100 pieces worldwide. The majority of those will likely not make it out of Japan and those that do will be snapped up in no time – one of the 1968 Professional Diver’s 300m Re-creations by myself.
© Tom Pettit & Fraser Vincent
Available at seikowatches.com
THE SPECS
• The 1975 Professional Diver’s 600m Re-creation SLA041 • 52.4mm titanium case with 1,000m water resistance, Ever-Brilliant Steel bezel • 8L35 calibre automatic movement with 50-hour power reserve • £3,900, limited to 1,100 pieces
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© Tom Pettit & Fraser Vincent
FRONT — watch reviews
THE SPECS
• 43mm dark sandblasted stainless steel case with 200m water resistance • Modified ETA 2893-2 automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve • £1,500, laco.de
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FRONT — watch reviews
LACO Frankfurt GMT
I love a good military aviation timepiece which means I love Laco. The heritage German watch brand is synonymous with tough, tool pilots’ pieces that look built to survive a crash landing. Now however the German watchmaker is heading outside of its comfort zone, leaning more towards First Class than First Officer in its new Frankfurt GMT. Laco watches tend to have a specific formula, in the same way the Dirty Dozen watches did: clear white-on-black dials, oversized fluted crowns and chunky leather bracelets. They’re the kind of things a professional pilot needs; knowing what the time is halfway around the world is not, generally speaking, one of them. Yet despite the departure from what the brand is known for, the new watch is still firmly a Laco. Sure, there are some design differences from the purely functional watches like the Westerland or Augsburg, but the Frankfurt GMT is still a solid piece of watch. In many ways it’s the perfect halfway house between a pure tool watch and the usual classical travellers’ watches. First, the 43mm stainless steel case is nicely chunky, with a good weight, but thanks to its short lugs feels like a far smaller watch on the wrist. Its gunmetal colour and grey-black palette as a whole give the watch an under-theradar stealth look, but flashes of orange make it add a nicely sportier twist. The GMT function itself is as stripped-back as possible. There’s no exterior bezel to be knocked about, instead opting for a rotating inner bezel, operable using the top screw-down crown. The ring displays only every other hour, with an orange triangle in place of the 24, pulling away from the cockpit-inspired, technical look of previous Lacos. Both crowns are protected using an asymmetrical case construction. As you screw them down, they settle nicely into the side of the case; unscrew them and they’ll spring up, ready and easy to use, even with gloves thanks to the fluted grips. The Frankfurt GMT is powered by a riff on the classic workhorse movement of the ETA 2893-2, a reliable rather than racey calibre. It’s the kind of movement you don’t really need to show off, hence the engraved rather than exhibition
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caseback here. The engraving itself shows a military fighter jet, the same (I assume) as the counterweight on the central seconds hand. This particular Frankfurt came on a water-resistant treated leather strap which was fine enough. It did however also come with a far cooler canvas number with an orange strip to perfectly match the tip of the GMT hand and the 24-hour index, definitely the option I’d choose. It just depends whether you want to hammer home the military credentials or prefer the whole jet-set traveller scene. Understated style paired with practical tool-watch vibes, the Frankfurt GMT is a welcome departure from Laco’s military heritage, the perfect balance of pilots’ and travellers’ watch – and at £1,500 it’s incredibly well-priced, too. £1,500, laco.de
Its grey-black palette gives the watch an under-the-radar stealth look, but flashes of orange add a sportier twist
CULTURE — opener
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CULTURE
108 ART
111 VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS ..... 112 DRINKS 124 TRAVEL ..... 135 RESTAURANTS
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CULTURE — art news
© 2020 Tom Carter
Lament (2019) by Trate, oil on canvas
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CULTURE — art news
It’s official, we’re in full lockdown. That means no leaving the house for anything bar an emergency and scant social contact. If it’s not getting to you by now, it will be soon. Cabin fever is a serious issue. Yet if you’re an art lover there is at least something other than Netflix and puzzles to keep you occupied, as come 9 April, artist Trate will be launching his own virtual tour of his latest collection of pieces, Technicolour Malaise. It’s a fitting name at a time where we’re all in a bit of a malaise ourselves, stagnating indoors with a growing sense of fear that the pandemic can only get worse. Despite being created before Covid-19 terrified its way into our collective hearts, Technicolour Malaise taps into that same unsettling sense of the times. The collection is, in a word, haunting, despite the playful colours and almost childlike character – or, more accurately, because of them. It’s a style at the centre of the Canadian artist’s work, reimagining human forms in a visibly alien way. Yet despite the feel of an outsider looking in, the subject of each painting is something everyone can understand – basic human characteristics like fear, hope and, fittingly, isolation. Traits, naturally, are where Trate gets his alias from. It’s also something that can be clearly seen in Technicolour Malaise itself. Death’s Dream Kingdom, for instance, references a line from TS Elliot’s The Hollow Men, a haunting poem here interpreted with an oddly alluring but no less unnerving image. Despite the sense of a beautiful figure, the torso is contorted, at odds with the solid stare of the eyes. A more obvious menace comes in Languid Threat, a similarly contorted figure but darker, eyes half hidden and secretive. Less secretive is the background of stark
TRATE, ISOLATION AND VIRTUAL VIEWING RATHER THAN BE DEFEATED BY COVID-19, CANADIAN ARTIST TRATE IS INVITING VIEWERS TO VIEW HIS NEW EXHIBITION VIRTUALLY 109
CULTURE — art news
To view the exhibition, visit aliastrate.com/virtualgallery If you’re particularly interested in adding Trate to your collection – as have many private collectors across the world, from Canada to the UAE – you can also arrange a private virtual viewing at info@aliastrate.com
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© 2020 Tom Carter
warning red, a contrast with the pallid blue complexion of the potential assailant. Possibly the most terrifying though is Ethereal Consumption, whose grey-backed foreground has a figure seemingly enshrouded in darkness. The threat is existential, unidentifiable but undeniable all the same – a rather poignant message given today’s context. These and more from the collection were originally meant to be part of Trate’s upcoming solo exhibition. Obviously, that wasn’t meant to be. That hasn’t stopped the artist though, who has instead decided to showcase his works to the world live from his own studio, a former 18th-century East India Company warehouse. Commencing 9 April and lasting for at least a couple of weeks – there’s currently no firm end date – Trate will be on hand to walk art lovers through his works, explaining the thought process behind each painting and his wider artistic body in general. As the artist says of the virtual exhibition: “Opening up my live-work studio via an interactive virtual gallery offers me the chance to share my recent work in a highly personal environment; potentially providing artistic solace to those looking for humane distraction during a time of social isolation.”
The threat is existential, unidentifiable but undeniable all the same – a rather poignant message given today’s context
Clockwise from above: Tantalus; Languid Threat; Metacognition; Theseus
CULTURE — art news
VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS
THE TATE MODERN
This tour of the temple to contemporary art that is the Tate Modern takes you around the Blavatnik Building – you know, the tall one with the viewing platform – to take in the free displays. It’s a fantastic snapshot of just why the Tate is so important. And it has Nick Grimshaw hosting. I don’t know if that’s a positive or not, but if you avoid the chap like the plague (I wouldn’t blame you), there’s also an online-only, one-off performance by Congolese choreographer Faustin Linyekula in the Tanks at Tate Modern. Impressive stuff.
tate.org.uk
Don’t let self-isolation become an excuse for a lack of culture; while Trate may be one of the few private artists hosting his own virtual tour of his works, some of the most important galleries in the capital and beyond are ensuring that you get your daily dose of high-brow viewing. Here are the ones that we’ll be using to save our sanity. It’s kind of like being out the house.
THE COURTAULD GALLERY
Based in Somerset House, this particular gallery holds an incredibly important collection of impressionist paintings, including Van Gough’s self portrait after his… knife incident. There are plenty more masterpieces besides. Unfortunately it was due to reopen this year and, given current circumstances, won’t be doing so. Fortunately they had the foresight back in 2018 to commit it all to a hard drive, allowing you to take it all in at your own pace – a good thing given there are around 530 paintings to take a look at.
courtauld.ac.uk
FACES OF FRIDA
This comprehensive digital-only exhibition, courtesy of Google Arts & Culture, celebrates every facet of Frida Kahlo’s life and works. A collaboration between the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Condé Nast’s archives and even the English National Ballet to name just a few, the exhibition doesn’t just host much of the Mexican artist’s vast body of paintings and drawings, but also allows you virtually tour the places she lived and worked. Letters to and from the artist, editorial features and plenty of videos delving into her career, Faces of Frida illustrates just why her legacy is so important.
artsandculture.google.com
THE BRITISH MUSEUM What better opportunity to virtually view all the exhibitions have to offer?
The British Museum is overwhelmingly huge, enough that you simply can’t see it all in a day. Fortunately you have more than a day of self-isolation ahead of you; what better opportunity to virtually view all the exhibitions have to offer? Especially since, leaving the EU, it’s not entirely sure how long we get to keep it all. Take in the majestic chunks of the Parthenon, they might not be there all too soon.
britishmuseum.org
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CULTURE — royal drinks
Words:
Aidy Smith
BEST OF BRITISH:
THE ROYAL WINE ENCOUNTERS Britain’s foremost family and their incidental encounters with the grape
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CULTURE — royal drinks
A chap called Michael Fagan (who may not have been all there, if you know what I mean), decided that on this fair evening he would climb a 14-foot wall surrounding the palace, managing to somehow get past both the spikes and barbed wire, before climbing a drainpipe into an open window in the palace itself. While his intention was indeed to visit our dear Betty, this didn’t stop him from doing a little exploring first. Making his way to the pantry, he got a little peckish, so decided to grab some crackers and cheese (as you do) before continuing along the corridors to what was Prince Charles’ bedroom, upon where he found a bottle of Californian wine. Strange, I had Charles down as more of a Burgundy type of chap, When the guards finally arrived, sources say but I don’t blame him – Californian wine can be stunning. the intruder was offered a glass of whisky He indulged his palate with a little because he “looked like he needed one” Cabernet Sauvignon before deciding to continue his meander through the palace to have a little chat with ol’ Elizabeth. Sadly, she didn’t feel the same way. After he disturbed a curtain, she awoke, running out of the room to go find security. Oddly enough, even when the guards finally arrived, sources say the intruder was offered a glass of whisky because he “looked like he needed one”. Below: Prince Charles’ Aston Martin reportedly Lucky for him at this particular time in history, it runs entirely on excess British wine; Michael Fagan was not illegal to enter Buckingham Palace, through a (left) broke into Buckingham Palace in July 1982 hidden clause. He was however charged with theft for the wine, but this was later dropped as he was deemed psychologically unfit. As for Queeny, let’s just say the armed guard protecting her bedroom wasn’t there for much longer. Let’s hope it’s not the reason for her four-cocktail-a-day habit. Well, at least she drinks her booze; Charles has a different approach to consumption. Being the Queen, you can pretty much do whatever you want – apart from drink wine out of a beer glass, that would be treason (I jest, I jest). With her darling son’s 21st birthday just around the corner, the Queen decided to do what any loving multi-millionaire mother would: Buy her son an Aston Martin. That was 50 years ago. Since then, it would seem Prince Charles has decided to be a bit more creative, taking his love for wine a little beyond the glass. How you ask? By converting this beautiful vehicle into running solely on surplus British wine stocks. A pretty ballsy move, especially as we could be drinking that wine, right? Well actually, winemakers have certain quotas they have to go by as per British legislation. Rather than allowing this to go to waste, Prince Charles is actually doing these wineries a favour, purchasing the wine to then use it as an eco-friendly fuel source. You’ll be excited to know that since his first conversion, the wine-loving prince now has a fleet of wine cars, doing his own little part to help the environment. The bigger question is whether he’s ever been pulled over for drink driving in the thing…
As we continue with our Best of British issue, I bring you two tales of a family who sit at the crown jewels of our nation, quite literally, before delving into some of the most beautiful British drinks I’ve had the fortune of discovering. For the former, our two stories may both have something to do with the tipple, but not in the way you’d expect – read on and arm yourself with some great dinner-party conversation. While Queen Elizabeth is quite partial to her Martinis, it turns out she was stirred in quite a different way. Our story takes us back to the evening of Friday 9 July 1982, where we uncover one of the only successful break-in attempts of Buckingham Palace.
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CULTURE — gin
HIGH
BEST OF BRITISH GIN MATRIX
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BEST USED FOR A— Salcombe Gin £40 from Slurp
H— Brockman’s Gin - £35 from Great Western Wine £32.50 from Sainsbury’s I— Daffy’s Gin C— Mermaid Gin £36 from Waitrose £37 from TheDrinkShop J— Rock Rose Gin D— Lyme Bay Dry Gin £33 from Amazon £33 from Distillers Direct K— Hendrick’s Gin E— Hepple Gin £25 from Amazon £36 from Amazon L— Bombay Sapphire F— Porter’s Modern Classic £27 from Sainsbury’s Gin - £33 from 31Dover M— Star of Bombay Gin G— Loch Ness Gin - £35 from The Whisky £35 from Master of Malt Exchange B— Tanqueray No. 10 -
There’s a hell of a lot of gin out there these days, so it can be difficult to navigate what’s good and what should be avoided. Truth is, gin really isn’t that difficult to make and the ‘craft movement’ has seen people coming up with all kinds of botanical combinations to try and be the next big thing. Thankfully, there are also a lot of beautiful gins, which are exactly what you can expect to find in this issue’s Matrix. I’ve decided to split this section into those I advise for a G&T versus those I think work particularly well in Martinis. Take your pick!
MARTINI
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N— Caorunn Gin - £28 from Tesco O— Warner’s Dry Gin - £30 from 31Dover P— Worsley Gin - £45 from Worsley Q— Berekeley Square Gin £76 from Master of Malt R— Ramsbury Gin - £35 from Waitrose S— Cambridge Anty Gin - £199 from The Whisky Exchange
CULTURE — wines
KIT’S COTY COEUR DE CUVÉE 2014 Kit’s Coty is Chapel Down’s iconic wine, sitting atop the perch of English sparkles. Building quite the reputation for itself in the drinks community, it has become an emblem of the top-class quality that you can expect from our vineyards today. Rich, toasty and buttery with melon, peach and apricots, the oak brings out tropical fruits and a firm texture, making it an experiential and highly enjoyable tasting encounter. £100 from Harrods
The Best of B r it i s h
Guide WORDS:
Aidy Smith
We may be a small country, but we sure as heck are a mighty one. Our history in drinks is vast and believe it or not we as a nation have had a colossal impact on what the rest of the world has come to sip. Deemed as the ‘hub of the world’ when it comes to pretty much any tipple, we’ve one of the most diverse representations of wines, beers and spirits in the world. But you don’t have to go too far from your doorstep to discover some iconic local beauties, which is exactly what I’ll uncover in this issue. On a more serious note, as we continue to push through the setback that is Coronavirus, now more than ever it is important to support our own businesses and those who have made it their mission to put Britain on the drinks map. Plus it could be all you’re gonna get for the next few months. Best make the most of it.
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CULTURE — wines
BALFOUR LIBERTY’S ENGLISH BACCHUS 2018 Britain is just beginning to wake up to Bacchus, a grape variety that has been widely planted for some time, but not explored in too much detail beyond the wine geeks amongst us. Hush Heath is one of the first to create a truly celebrated bottle from a single vineyard named ‘Head Hog’. They describe this as ‘England’s answer to Sauvignon Blanc’, which I quite like, actually! Rich with grassy notes, gooseberries and a floral burst, if you like wines that give you a burst of freshness, this is for you! £20 from Hush Heath Estate
1086 ROSÉ PRESTIGE CUVEE 2010
GUSBOURNE PINOT NOIR 2018
Nyetimber… where do I begin?! They’ve been making wine since 1988 and it has always been considered one of the best wineries in the UK. They’ve now gone ahead and made the first Prestige Cuvee rosé in England from the heart of Sussex. With these bubbles, weight and texture is everything and from the moment you take that first sip you’re transported into pure bliss. The Pinot Noir (75 per cent) shines through in triumph with red fruits, Danish pastries and a beautiful floral backbone, combining 25 per cent of Chardonnay alongside years of lees aging to give this a beautiful mouthfeel. One of the best you’ll find. £150 from Wanderlust Wine
While our country has done a cracking job at producing worldclass sparkling wines, our still wines haven’t retained quite the same perception, until now. It’s with gleaming delight I have tried my first English red wine that I’ve fallen flat in love with, Gusbourne’s Pinot Noir. Bright red fruits jump from the glass with strawberries, raspberries and red cherries taking centre stage. The palate gives you brambles, soft spices and soft welcoming tannins with smoky chocolate pepper and a violet glaze. For those of you who enjoy a good Pinot, I implore you to support this British first! £35 from Gusbourne
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NECTVS APRICOT SPIRIT
1970 GLENROTHES SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
I’m a big fan of fruit spirits, a category that doesn’t get anywhere near as much love as it should. So when I heard that a fifth-generation fruit farm decided to make a luxury apricot spirit, my ears pricked. The fertile lands and plentiful sunshine of Bardsley, Kent, make it the perfect dwelling for orchards and home to some of the best fruits in the UK. In homage to the British springtime, Nectvs combines notes of heather and almond alongside a sweet yet zingy apple, apricot and citrus. Perfect solo or with a dash of tonic, this is Britain at its purest. £90 from Nectvs
Quite possibly one of the most magical discoveries on the planet. The Last Drop Distillers have made it their mission to seek out long forgotten casks from across the world that have sat aging for decades (and in some cases centuries). They exist for those who wish to get their hands on some of the rarest bottles on the planet. The 1970 Glenrothes Single Malt Whisky is their latest discovery, a 50-year-old delight, comprising of just 3 casks (286 bottles). These three casks have sat side-by-side completely undisturbed before being bottled in January 2020 and while each is unique in its own right, offer a slightly difference in tasting profile. Cask 10586 offers an array of delicate spices, Cask 10588 delvers a creamier bourbon feel with cask 10589 conveying a silky yet oaky malt charm. Each an experience of complete wonder, but for a lucky few, a reality they can now call their own. £5,400 from The Last Drop
VELA VODKA Vodka is a frequently overlooked category, but the truth is, it creates one of the best drinks on the planet (which is also one of the easiest to make), the Martini. When Covid-19 plagues the world and inhibits us from getting out, it’s nice to be able to create something beautiful with ease. Introducing Vela Vodka, a stunning drink created in small batches from Kentish wheat, barley and rye. Charcoal filtered, it offers a lovely array of delicate cereal and fruit notes, finished with a kiss of pink peppercorn. Whether you like yours dirty or with a peel of lemon, it hits the right spot. £27 from Amazon
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CULTURE — spirits/beer
KEW ORANGERY ORGANIC TRIPLE SEC Things like this don’t happen very often, so when they do, jump on them. We’ve all heard of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in London, but what very few know is that it is home to a number of orange trees. The London Distillery company had the clever idea of turning them into a limited edition orange liqueur, so you can now have a kiss of London within your much deserved margaritas, sidecars or any other cocktail for that matter. £40 from Master of Malt
OLD SALT ENGLISH RUM ‘English Rum’ is a bit of a grey area. More often than not it’s found in the Caribbean and shipped to the UK where it’s aged and claimed to be ‘English’. English Spirit Distillery has taken a different (and much harder) approach to create a true English Rum. They source their molasses from all over the world before fermenting here in the UK, distilling three times and aging in English oak barrels! The result offers raisins and chocolate cake with banoffee pie and dark treacle syrup, a true one of a kind. £35 from Master of Malt
beer
GRAND STOUT WHISKY BARREL AGEDA
THE SHORTIE SMOKY PORTER One of the world’s most famous distilleries on Islay (Ardbeg!) has just launched its very first beer, so naturally, that makes me very excited. The Shortie Smoky Porter (quite a mouthful, like the taste) is made using the same peated malt as its legendary Ardbeg 10-Year-Old and showcases the smoky element we’ve come to expect from Islay. Intertwine this with dark chocolate, malt milk biscuits, espresso and a hint of liquorice and my God have you got yourself a stunning beer. Limited edition, so quick quick quick! £14 (4-pack) from ardbeg.com
Given I present a TV show on the subject, it’s no surprise I love my whisky, which is why I was psyched to see The Five Points Brewing Co bring out its Grand Stout aged in whisky barrels. It turns out 11 months aging in Auchentoshan whisky casks really does wonders to a brew. The end result is a rich, vanilla-driven spiced oak beauty with tobacco, espresso, honey and burnt caramel-toffee. Ooo, stop it! £12 from Five Points Brewing Co
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TOAST SESSION IPA I’ve never heard of beer made from bread before. Mankind wastes 1.3 billion tonnes of food every year, and these guys are doing something about it. At the end of 2019 they’d saved 1,874,761 slices of bread by using less virgin barley, resulting in less land and water use and substantially lower emissions. Their Session IPA (4.5%) is my favourite – created from Amarillo, Ahtanum and Liberty hops there’s a lively fruitiness intertwined with a bitter twist and soothing balance. I’ll toast to that! £28 (12 cans) from Toast
CULTURE — travel
The Fat Duck (left) and Waterside Inn (below), both in Bray, comprise two of the UK’s four restaurants to hold three Michelin Stars. Right: the Clive Arms, Ludlow, is
Words:
For the true gastronome, no feeling elicits wanderlust quite like wondering what’s for dinner. Globe-trotting is less about seeing the sights as it is tasting the dishes, cuisines and local flavours of the area, the culinary heart and soul of the region. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, gastronomes looking to more exotic climes might well be going hungry, at least for the next few months. However, turn your palate to home shores and you’ll find a wealth of delights both regional and world-leading. Whether you long for traditionally hearty British fare, fresh from the farm, or you prefer the kind of experimental gastronomy that pushes the boundaries of taste and decency, Britain has it all. So rather than looking wistfully at Instagram pics of Peruvian ceviche, here are the home-grown destinations where any food-lover can get their fix.
Sam Kessler
AN EPICUREAN’S GUIDE TO BRITAIN THE BEST DESTINATIONS FOR THE GLUTTONOUS STAYCATIONER IN 2020
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© Brett Charles
CULTURE — travel
L U D L OW, S H R O P S H I R E
R EL A X ED BR IT ISH C L A SSIC S FOR :
B R AY, B E R K S H I R E
T HE MIC HEL IN STA R C A PITA L OF T HE U K
FOR :
First up on the list is an area that’s only really on the map for its food. Of the four restaurants that hold three Michelin Stars in Britain, two of them are here. The first and most famous comes courtesy of the inimitable Heston Blumenthal, whose seminal spot, The Fat Duck, sits just moments away from the riverside. It’s a temple to creative, often scientific cooking that has helped transform the British culinary landscape. Still, if molecular cuisine isn’t quite your thing, the equally-lauded Waterside Inn offers far less fussy fare, courtesy of the Roux family. Run by Alain Roux – son of Michel – the restaurant is a haven of fine French food, worthy of the family name and the other three Michelin Stars in Bray. There are plenty of other good restaurants in Bray – and a good number of phenomenal gastropubs if that’s more your speed – but any visit should include at least one of the above. Good luck fitting it all in – both figuratively and literally.
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This sleepy castle town might not seem like an epicurean paradise, but it has one major secret: the surrounding countryside is full of the finest produce in Britain. It’s little surprise then that the town has a quaint yet delectable gastropub on every corner, all offering traditional British food done better than well. At The Clive Arms, local British is the mainstay of the menu, and the wines are joined by plentiful local ales. It’s obviously made the right people take note too, as it’s listed in both the Good Food Guide and the Michelin Guide. To get the French restaurant snobs interested in ale is worth a visit. There’s also the renowned tasting menus of the Old Downton Lodge and oysters aplenty at The Fish House on Market Street. That said, make sure you get to Ludlow in Spring; the Spring Festival brings with it craft beers, fresh bread and local produce aplenty.
CULTURE — travel
From top: Padstow’s most celebrated seafood prophet, Rick Stein, has seafood restaurants aplenty in his hometown; Padstow Harbour; Paul Ainsworth at No. 6 introduces other meats to its fish dishes
PA D S T OW, C O R N WA L L
T HE BEST SE A FOOD IN BR ITA IN FOR :
The seafood capital of the UK, Padstow’s reputation began its ascendency with Rick Stein, who set up The Seafood Restaurant way back in 1975 with food as simple as the name – yet far more delicious. It beats his original career choice – running a mobile disco. Today he owns a good number of locales in Padstow, including St. Petroc’s Bistro, a cookery school and a fish-and-chip shop using beef dripping batter. Those last three words should get you buying a ticket already. Yet there is a pretender to Stein’s crown in the form of Paul Ainsworth. Opting for meat alongside the seafood at Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, the menu shows off his tutelage under Gordon Ramsay, as does the more Mediterranean Rojano’s in the Square. He even has a hotel under his belt: the Padstow Townhouse. Between the two chefs – and the other more-thandecent gastropubs and harbourside restaurants dotted around – Padstow is a site of pilgrimage for fish fans everywhere.
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SPE YSIDE, SCOTL A ND
T HE M A LT W HISK Y T R A IL FOR :
Taking in seven famous whisky makers, you’ll want to go easy during the tastings at each
From top: the Strathisla distillery was founded in 1786; the hills of Speyside
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No epicurean worth his salt would dare miss out on a dram of five of fine Scotch and there is none better (arguably) than those made in the malt-filled Nirvana of Speyside, home to half the malt whisky distilleries in the country. To experience the full impact of the picturesque area, try the Malt Whisky Trail. Taking in seven famous whisky makers, from Glenlivet to Dallas Dhu, you’ll want to go easy during the tastings at each. It’s an educational experience as much as an epicurean one, so if you’ve ever wanted to brush up on your whisky knowledge, this is where to do it. There are plenty of places to pick up a bite to eat along the way of course, including local seafood to pair nicely with a well-peated dram or two – particularly at The Bothy, with its nautical theme, or the Malt Barn at the Glenfiddich distillery, which serves up some likely muchneeded local fare.
CULTURE — travel
The restaurant’s secret is a simple one: it grows the larger portion of its own produce
L’Enclume takes its name from the French for ‘anvil’, in a reference to the building’s past life as Cartmel’s village forge
C A RTMEL, L A KE DISTR ICT
FIN E DIN ING W IT H A V IL L AGE FEEL
FOR :
If a 20-dish 2-Michelin-Starred tasting menu is your speed, then Cartmel is the place for you. Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume earned its Stars back in 2008 and has kept them up ever since. It’s not hard to see why. First off, the restaurant is housed in a dramatic 800 year-old smithy, with all the period features left intact. Then there’s the tasting menu, which is presented like Instagram bait, perfectly prepared and arranged dishes that look as good as they taste. The restaurant’s secret though is a simple one: it grows the larger portion of its own produce. Rogan also has a couple more restaurants in the area, if you want not to be able to walk afterwards, namely Aulis, his training and development kitchen (more fun, less consistent) and Rogan & Co, a relaxed, casual experience with a lovely village feel. Cartmel is also where the eponymous sticky toffee pudding was born; your tastebuds will regret not gorging on a couple while you’re there, even if your waistline with curse you for it.
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Now that the city has broken the floodgates for Michelin recognition, get there before the rest of the world
From top: Mana put Manchester on the world map for fine dining; Adam Reid at the French serves wonderful modern British dishes
M A N C H E S T E R , G R E AT E R M A N C H E S T E R
A N U P-A N D-COMING FIN E-DIN ING DEST INAT ION FOR :
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For decades, Manchester wasn’t given much thought as a culinary destination. Despite having more than its fair share of phenomenal restaurants, it couldn’t land a single Michelin Star. Until, that is, Mana. Opened by Noma chef Simon Martin last year, it earned the city its first French accolade – and about time, too. It was generally considered a crime against good taste that Manchester had yet to receive a single Star and it’s still strange that it only has the one. Adam Reid at the French is a serious contender, with its modern British menus and more AA Rosettes than any other restaurant in Manchester – four. The tiny Tast Cuina Catalana too is worthy of praise; the 15-course tasting menu with matching Catalan wines is a lesson in 5-Michelin-Star Executive Chef Paco Pérez’s family cuisine. It’s also part-owned by Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, so expect a few famous faces. Now that the city has broken the floodgates for Michelin recognition, get there before the rest of the world swarms on Manchester’s up-and-coming fine dining scene.
CULTURE — travel
As well as award-winning comics, it holds more Michelin Stars than anywhere else in the region
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EDINBU RGH, SCOTL A ND
A TA ST E OF SCOT L A N D FOR :
If the Edinburgh Fringe Festival goes ahead this year, you can get more than your funny bone tickled in the scenic Scottish city. As well as award-winning comics, it holds more Michelin Stars than anywhere else in the region. There’s Paul Kitching’s 21212, with its quirky Mediterranean dishes and well-priced weekday menu (£70, but you’d better book); Scran & Scallie, the best gastropub you’ll ever visit; and the grand Number One at The Balmoral with its sevencourse tasting menu. However for my money, it’s all about The Kitchin. Tom Kitchin’s seminal restaurant, where he became the youngest winner of a Michelin Star, is an ode to Scottish cuisine, with local seafood alongside pigs’ heads and haggis. It’s a stunning place too, with bespoke everything to match the quality of the food. If you don’t like the Scottish delicacies here, you never will. There are a lot more besides; leave yourself a solid week to work through them all.
Left: Tom Kitchin was the youngest recipient of a Michelin Star for The Kitchin; the tasting menu at Number One at the Balmoral
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From top: vineyards at Tenterden; a wine tour at Simpsons; Chapel Down winery
N O R T H D OW N S , K E N T FOR :
BR IT ISH W IN E AT ITS BEST
British wine is becoming one of the most sought after commodities among the less snobby epicureans out there and the North Downs seems to be hording it all. The area is home to a good cross-section of English wineries, especially as it travels towards Dover in Kent. Among them all however, one stands out: Tenterden’s Chapel Down. Its 100 acres of vineyards produce sparkling and still wines that are stocked by Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and 10 Downing Street. The secret is its terroir, where the steep chalk hills block cooler winds and allow the grapes uninterrupted sunlight. Indeed, the Kit’s Coty vineyard is widely believed to be one of the best in Kent – and therefore in England – and is well worth a tour, complete with a sampling after the fact. To make the most of the time there, you should also visit Simpsons, a smaller yet equally lovely vineyard, the British arm of the award-winning Languedoc-based Domaine Sainte Rose. Theirs is a slightly different approach, but you’ll find them just as welcoming, with a glorious sunset tasting session at around £30, complete with local food.
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Its 100 acres of vineyards produce sparkling and still wines that are stocked by Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and 10 Downing Street
CULTURE — food & drink
1 / HANNAH
Hannah Japanese Restaurant, Southbank Riverside, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 7PB Another Japanese restaurant in London… There are so many now that I do wonder how they can set themselves apart. Hannah is situated in County Hall, far away from the trendy crowds of Soho and Covent Garden (where most of the aforementioned Japanese places seem to be popping up). A quaint and pretty interior, full of interesting decor details such as driftwood, cherry blossom and artwork, this could well be the hidden gem you’re looking for. The kitchen is headed up by Japanese chef Daisuke Shimoyama (previously at UMU Mayfair) and offers a deliciously creative menu. It’s worth noting that this menu does not serve the sushi selection one is used to seeing at similar restaurants, but you won’t miss it. We started off with a glass of yuzu sake, which paired excellently with the seared white fish – which was beautifully presented in a smoky glass like the rose jar from Beauty and the Beast. The tuna toro was buttery and flavoursome; a very special dish and beautifully served on a rock sat in white sand. Yes, white sand, not salt. The presentation of the dishes at Hannah goes above and beyond and there is honestly no need whatsoever to overpay at the likes of Sushi Samba. The ‘fish and chips’ was particularly intriguing: monkfish tempura with smoked caviar and purple potato crisps. It was absolutely divine. It made a nice change to not see black cod on the menu. It’s a great dish, but it’s nonappearance just shows just how individual Hannah is. Instead, we opted for the misomarinated Ibérico presa from Spain and the charcoal-grilled eel. Chef Daisuke Shimoyama is one of the few experts worldwide trained to properly process and prepare the giant eel – and boy did he do it well. Soft and smoky with the crispiness of the skin underneath contrasting beautifully in texture, this was another favourite dish on the menu. The spider crab rice, presented in its shell and underneath a pot of charcoal was delicious and Hannah also offers guests to enjoy a mini ‘shabu shabu’ or hot pot; we opted for lobster and vegetables and it’s a bit of fun to be had mid-meal. There’s a quiet atmosphere about the restaurant and no Central London restaurant buzz (yet) but the food and the friendly, knowledgeable service is all you need here. hannahrestaurant.london
EDITED BY AMIRA
RESTAURANT &BAR
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3 / TALE OF TERROIR
K Bar, 109-113 Queen’s Gate, South Kensington, London SW7 5JA The Kensington’s hotel bar has launched a new cocktail menu, designed to showcase the characteristics of different wines. ‘Terroir’ refers of course to the various environmental factors which create an unparalleled sense of character and place in wine. Fifteen drinks grace the menu, with each one being uniquely blended to perfectly match the type of local food found in its native region. Drinks include the 45th Parallel (Remy Maritini VSOP, Evangelista Ratafia, Syrah jus, blackberry, citrus) which is linked to the region of Bordeaux, positioned halfway between the equator and the North Pole. My favourite? The Float On (Bulleit bourbon, Carpano Antica Formula, grapefruit, cranberry, Rioja, blackberry, almond) which is influenced by the region of Rioja: hot and dry. townhousekensington.com
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2 / BENARES
Benares, 12a Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London W1J 6BS New Executive Chef Sameer Taneja makes a worthy addition to fine-dining Indian restaurant Benares. Set in the heart of Mayfair, this vibrant and sophisticated spot offers a blend of classic and creative Indian cooking. Diners can expect a menu that draws on influences and spices from all corners of the subcontinent. The atmosphere is grand, with polished interiors, antique sculptures and even a water feature of floating gerbera – but, unlike some restaurants in the area, you don’t lose the hearty food because of the postcode. The atmosphere and service are just as warm and friendly as you’d find in your local Indian restaurant, just a bit more refined. Cocktails are spicy but not hot. A take on the classic Pornstar Martini, for example, led to a chutney kick at the end of each passionfruit-flavoured sip. Heading into the menu, the baked malabar scallop was gorgeous; plump and succulent scallops baked in their shell with a rich coconut curry soup. I always try lamb chops at Indian restaurants and it’s safe to say Benares’, with their smoked Kashmiri chilli marinade, passed the bar. Mains offered Scottish tandoori-style monkfish and a lamb biriyani, the ultimate comfort food. The last however isn’t actually on the menu. That’s because Benares will make-to-order most Indian dishes upon request. Muse that it’s a shame to not see biriyani on the menu and they’ll respond asking if you want vegetable, lamb, chicken or prawn. Go on, test them. benaresrestaurant.com
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The atmosphere is grand but, unlike some restaurants in the area, you don’t lose the hearty food because of the postcode
4 / MURGER HANHAN
8A Sackville St, Mayfair, London W1S 3DF
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With the original restaurant located in Euston, the menu is the same at both Murger Han and its younger sister Murger Hanhan (found in Mayfair). Come here to satisfy noodle cravings – the place knows its stuff. The Biang Biang noodle bowl is the signature dish, with the pork version being the most popular, but it does come in beef too. The spice is catered to the guest’s taste and take it seriously as the dish has a punchy kick to it. The noodle soups are fantastic – tasty broth with slices of beef or lamb to complement the vegetables. Don’t forget to start off with the ‘Murger’, a delicious flatbread burger with either pork or beef (the former being my favourite) and the seafood gyozas do not disappoint. murgerhan.com
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5 / SPRING AT DALLOWAY
Dalloway Terrace, 16-22 Great Russell St, Fitzrovia, London WC1B 3NN
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It’s not officially a new season until floral displays at our favourite London restaurants say it is. Dalloway Terrace has said hello to Spring by transforming its popular greenhouse-style outdoor dining area into the tranquil garden at Virginia Woolf’s Sussex home, Monk House. Using master florist McQueens Flowers, guests can enjoy the atmosphere of springtime – even if the British weather does not always agree. As well as the terrace being covered, there are a series of botanical cocktails on the menu, inspired by the flowers one would find in a classic English country garden. Choose the Sweet Pea, created with Seedlip Garden 108, bitter orange and elderflower, daffodil, crème de pêche, jasmine and Belsazar Rose Vermouth. A new spring menu accompanies these seasonal cocktails, featuring Welsh spring lamb cutlets, served with charred courgettes, aubergines and salsa verde and heritage beet salad with watercress rocket, cheese, orange and toasted hazelnuts. dallowayterrace.com
Enjoy the atmosphere of springtime – even if the British weather does not agree
6 / TOKII
The Prince Akatoki, 50 Great Cumberland Pl, Marble Arch, Marylebone, London W1H 7FD
© Ben Carpenter Photography
Another sushi spot new to London is TOKii. Hidden away in a new London Hotel, The Prince Akatoki, this ambient dining spot is minimalist in decor but maximal in flavour. Bringing Japanese plates influenced by international ingredients, guests can choose to dine at a table or where the action happens at the sushi counter. Wherever you sit, the food that will come your way is rich in flavour, beautiful in presentation. It is a quiet spot but the dark lighting with a matching moody and mysterious decor offers guests an intimate setting with minimal distractions to fully focus on the food. The yellowtail carpaccio with peppercorn dressing is a must to start off the meal, as are the green soba noodles – and tuna tartare is just a classic these days. For hot dishes, shrimp tempura and pork belly skewers in teriyaki will keep your stomach happy until the mains arrive. Choose from wagyu with spicy ponzu sauce, miso-glazed cod, robata-grilled vegetable skewers and many other options; the tomato ceviche makes a refreshing and zesty side dish too. A tip for the sushi: ask for a selection as they’ll choose the best for you and it will come impressively presented in a large bowl of ice, like some intricate Japanese design. tokii.co.uk
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7 / FATT PUNDIT
Fatt Pundit, 77 Berwick St, Soho, London W1F 8TH Nestled in the middle of Soho is Fatt Pundit. As you enter the small but constantly bustling restaurant, the smell of spices and marinades hits you, prepping your stomach for what’s to come. With some creative cocktails, it was only fair to try the blackcurrant and black salt, as well as the chilli mango concoction – both delightfully sharp and spicy. I had to try the lamb chops and whilst Fatt Pundit’s were fair and meaty, it was (and it is rare that I say this) sadly overshadowed by the vast range of delightful vegetarian dishes. The popcorn cauliflower was excellent for snacking on while the hakka chilli paneer lettuce cups came with an abundance of cottage cheese in soy sauce. The stars of the show were the crackling spinach – served with sweet yoghurt, date and plum sauce and pomegranate – and the sticky sesame vegetable fritters, in their deliciously tangy ginger glaze. Friendly service with a smile, with the atmosphere of a real ‘hole in the wall’, this is vegetarian food for the unconverted. fattpundit.co.uk
CULTURE — food & drink
9 / SUNDAY FEAST AT ASTER
Aster, 150 Victoria St, Westminster, London SW1E 5LB
8 / HIDE ABOVE À LA CARTE
HIDE, 85 Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J 7NB Previously, if you didn’t fancy a seven-course meal, it was Hide Ground-only for you. Not anymore as the upper floor of the restaurant now serves the à la carte menu so all guests can enjoy the panoramic views of Piccadilly and Green Park over a delicious lunch or dinner. The service is stellar and the food is exceptional. Even the welcome sparkling wine is gorgeous – and it should be; the restaurant partners with Hedonism Wines to bring guests an extensive, quality wine list. Torn between the iconic ‘Nest Egg’ starter – buttery, creamy and parsley-flavoured and the white asparagus with wild mushrooms and sea truffle – I went with the former but both are delicious. The Miyazaki Wagyu beef with sesame broth was cooked perfectly and the wild mushroom with miso made a worthy vegetarian opponent. I’d recommend the quince sorbet as a palate cleanser before choosing from the impressive selection of cheese – the cart is wheeled to your table and the in-house specialist knows her stuff. The wines paired with each course are fantastically chosen by the sommelier – the amber wine in particular – and don’t forget to eat slowly as the ambience at HIDE Above is so magically relaxing, you won’t want to leave. hide.co.uk
The service is stellar and the food is exceptional
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10 / NO TIME TO DRY
Farzi Cafe, 8 Haymarket, West End, London SW1Y 4BP
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Bond is back – after a slight delay – and to celebrate the launch of the new film, Farzi Cafe in London’s Haymarket is offering three Martini cocktails for the whole of April. Designed and created by bar manager Din Jusufi, these Martinis throw the classic ‘shaken not stirred’ out of the window and will have even those doubting their love of the iconic cocktail converted. First up is ‘No Time to Dry’, a perfect play on Bond’s Vesper made with Belvedere, Bombay Sapphire and Lillet Blanc. Plum bitters and Riesling cordial add a flavourful twist – although, even more dangerous. ‘Goldfinger’ is a creation using Himalayan Hapusa gin, homogenised with olive juice, Ferdinand vermouth and a gold garnish. Last but not least there is ‘From Poland with Love’. Konik’s Tail Vodka with a touch of Noilly Prat and a lemon twist, this one might be more suited to martini veterans. farzilondon.com
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© Thomas Alexander Photography
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A bright corner of the Nova building in Victoria, Aster is a modern British brasserie style of restaurant – complete with café and deli downstairs. New to the menu is the Sunday Feast, a bar-hosted buffet of starters, followed by your menu-selected main dish and then back to the buffet, this time for dessert. Oh, and there’s a Bloody Mary bar. Because of course there is. To begin your meal, choose from a variety of seafood, oysters, meats, cheeses and salads – as well as hacking your way through a perfectly cooked salmon. The mains allow you to choose from sea bass and a mixture of roast meats. The lamb was absolutely delicious, complemented well by its partner in crime (mint sauce) and the beef was a beautiful pink and as tasty as it looked. The potatoes, as I’m sure you were wondering, were some of the best roasties I’ve ever had. For dessert, choose from a selection of apple strudel, chocolate cake, macarons and a cheese platter. Available each Sunday between 12-4pm, this is the perfect spot for a family outing on the weekend. Bright, cheerful and a great addition to the Nova Food complex. aster-restaurant.com
BACK — in focus
IN FOCUS AN INSIGHT INTO THREE FASCINATING BRANDS Edited By
SAM KESSLER
Draken, Scurfa and Ianos
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© Duki Design
BACK — in focus
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BACK — in focus
DRAKEN Tool watches are just that: tools. They’re built for a specific purpose and nothing matters other than they get the job done. It’s why all too often great design falls to the wayside in favour of functionality. That’s no bad thing – there’s a lot to be said for the form-follows-function argument – but it’s hard to get excited by a spanner. For Draken, its tool watches don’t just have to be practical instruments but good-looking ones, too. Named after the South African mountain range of Drakensberg, its watches are built to withstand environments just as unforgiving, and you can be assured that they won’t let you down. But the same can be said of plenty of other watchmakers out there as well. What separates Draken is its eye for design and its watches not just built to tackle harsh environments, but aesthetically defined by them. Where many a watchmaker is embracing archival, retro and vintage designs – including plenty of re-issues and watches ‘inspired by’ older models – Draken’s pieces are entirely new. There’s nothing recreated or rehashed here, just bold, functional designs you won’t have seen anywhere else. It’s an idea that began with its first watch, the Tugela. It took a great deal of inspiration from South African culture, with the case profile shaped like the local Protea flower, the indices of the dial imitating Zulu beadwork and the bead-blasted smoothness of the finish inspired by the stones of the eponymous Tugela river. After a touch of re-engineering in 2019, it’s remained Draken’s most popular watch. The Tugela was followed by the Peregrine pilots’ watch with a power reserve indicator subtly hidden behind the logo at 12 o’clock and the Kalahari, a military piece inspired by the sands of its namesake desert. The latter is particularly interesting, with a big power reserve indicator that can be easily read in any conditions and a rotating inner 12-hour bezel – the fewer moving parts sand can get into, the better. Of course, one defining aspect of a tool watch is affordability. This is a watch that you’ll be putting through hell and still needing to use on the other side; it’ll suffer knocks, temperature extremes and everything a watch shouldn’t. It will get damaged, which for any expensive watch is enough to put most wearers off completely, no matter how adventurous they are. With that in mind, Draken tends to use Seiko movements in many of its watches, frequently opting for the vastly underrated NH35 workhorse movement. It has a 40-hour power reserve,
The Kalahari with olive strap and compass Below: the Tugela
This is a watch that you’ll be putting through hell and still needing to use on the other side bi-directional winding rotor and a solid accuracy rating of +/-20s a day, the equal of many a more expensive stock movement. The difference is that it drops the price of the Tugela from the all-toocommon £500 mark to just $349 – less than £275. If that’s not a reason to get climbing, diving or flying with a Draken on your wrist, not much is. Find out more at drakenwatches.com
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© thinkpadcreative.com
BACK — in focus
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BACK — in focus
SCURFA Divers are a demanding bunch. Not only do they need the best from their diving equipment, but from their watches too. Indeed, not just any watch will do; it has to be able to survive the depths dive after dive. The archetypal diving watch is, of course, the Submariner, but with prices for sports Rolex models sky-high at the moment – your Double Reds, Milsubs and the like – it’s not the kind of thing you actually want to use in a professional capacity. Better to jettison it for a tidy profit. The problem is, of course, that you then need a replacement – something Paul Scurfield of Scurfa Watches knows all too well. A saturation diver himself, he knows very well the demands put on a serious underwater timepiece, and the kind of harsh environments it needs to be able to thrive in. Saturation diving involves working for weeks at a time underwater, using diving bells and pressurized habitats in-between six-hour work stints. It’s extreme. Seeing the need for an affordable diving watch that can cope with those kinds of condition, Paul set out with a mission for his semi-eponymous watch brand: to create great diving watches with the best materials. The first watch to show just what he meant was the Diver One – named after the lead diver in a typical three-man saturation diving team – a watch Paul himself tested diving in the North Sea. It was originally in steel with a silicon strap and black dial, nice and simple. Now the range has expanded to include a few more colours, but the core elements remain the same. Those elements are a surgical-grade stainless steel case, 500m water resistance, a Heliox escape valve – a necessity in Paul’s type of diving – and plenty of lume. Powered by a Ronda quartz movement, it’s a watch designed with functionality in mind over prestige. That doesn’t stop the striking Diver One D1-500 Green especially being a handsome timepiece. It’s also incredibly accessible at £220, the major benefit (other than sheer reliability) of quartz. However, like many watch brands starting with quartz, that was just the first step. In the Diving Bell 1 released back in 2016, it entered new waters with its first mechanical movement; now it is solidifying those mechanical foundations with the new Treasure Seeker. It’s the brand’s most design-focused piece so far, with pill-shaped indexes on a hexagonally-embellished black dial and a unique case shape. Flip it over and you’ll be greeted with an illustration of just what the watch is built to contend with: a saturation diver at work, tethered to his
Part of every dial is formed from the bonnet of a former Aston Martin DB5
A saturation diver himself, Paul Scurfield knows very well the demands put on a serious underwater timepiece diving bell. The design is actually created by awardwinning artist and tattooist John Patterson – who also happens to be an ex-Stolt Comex diving buddy of Paul’s. If the Diver One is the initial watch controlling the path of Scurfa Watches, the Treasure Seeker is the eventual goal in the depths. It’s out later this year and promises to be a world away from the current high tide of retro-slanted divers. It’ll take a better man than I to put it through its paces though.. Find out more at scurfawatches.com
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© Vincent Lions
BACK — in focus
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BACK — in focus
IANOS As many a British watchmaker in this very issue will tell you, we in the UK were always an early adopter in the horological world, at the very forefront of timekeeping. It’s just a shame then that the Greeks were a good few millennia ahead of us. The Antikythera Mechanism is a mechanical marvel. Discovered in a wreck off the coast of Antikythera back in 1900, the device was found by local sponge divers hunting for dinner. After a bit of trial and error, archaeologists managed to work out precisely what the collection of gears and cogs did: predicting the paths of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It could even accurately anticipate eclipses. In short, it was the oldest astronomical clock ever discovered. Put into that light, it’s easy to see why microbrand Ianos used the Antikythera Mechanism as its starting point for the Avyssos watch. Indeed, the outline of the mechanism and its gradual turning can be seen front and centre on the diving watch in the form of a rotating second counter. It’s less of a numerical indicator, more a sign that the watch is beating and working as normal, a far more useful function than you might think. Yet it’s not the only allusion to ancient Greece either. Ianos was founded with the specific mandate to pay homage to the pioneers of Greece, be that in forgotten engineering or exploration. They want to highlight some of the untold stories in a modern light – which is why, alongside the Antikythera mechanism, the dial of the Avyssos references the sponge divers that first found it. The unusually-shaped indexes are the same shape as the Kampanelopetra, a stone used by Greek freedivers to weigh them down into the depths and help them ascend again in good time. It originates from the island of Symi, the home of the divers that first discovered the Antikythera mechanism and makes for a quirky-looking dial. It’s an element hammered home by the sandpaper texture of the dial, inspired by the rough surface of the stone. The rest of the watch is fit for any amount of freediving you care to undertake, sinking stone or not. The case is rugged in 44mm of stainless steel (54 if we’re talking lug-to-lug) and the oddly smooth unidirectional rotating bezel is of underwater instrument standard. All of it is water resistant to a solid 300m, making it suitable for serious underwater use.
Inside is a Sellita movement – the SW216-1 – with a 42-hour power reserve and the kind of reliability you’d expect from the Swiss mainstay of the microbrand world. The end result is an unusual, inspired diving watch, of Greek origin but with Swiss quality – and a seriously competitive price tag at CHF 1,000 (roundabout £850). This is only Ianos’ first watch though and with plenty Greek mythology and history to draw from, we’re hotly anticipating what comes next. Find out more at ianoswatches.com
The Antikythera Mechanism was the oldest astronomical clock ever discovered 147
BACK — impulse buy
impulse buy
Fine Watches Berlin Valentina Blue
In a world of exclusive complications, highly prized and priced movements and watches that break records at auction, it’s good to be able to give back – and few causes are more worthy of that kind of help than Stiftung Valentina. The foundation aims to make children’s palliative care as comfortable as possible by allowing them to stay at home with their families, rather than on a ward. Needless to say the foundation has a good deal of support across Germany, including from the father-anddaughter partnership behind Fine Watches Berlin – Mia Phyllis and Wilfried Liefer – who have created a striking blue charity timepiece. Fittingly dubbed the Valentina, it’s not, as you might assume from the name, a women’s timepiece. At 40.5mm, the round stainless steel case is just on the men’s side of unisex. Yet diminutive as it may be on the wrist, it’s not a watch you can easily miss.
That’s almost entirely due to the Valentina’s striking colour. Polished silver indexes and lume-filled hands stand out nicely against the medium blue, as does the bright red flashes around the small seconds and the contrast stitching of the dial-matching blue strap. It’s a cool, colourful and intensely quirky watch, fun without being too out-there. It’s equipped with a modified Miyota automatic movement and also comes with a bright red strap if you want something even more unmistakable. Coming in at Euro 698 – round about £650 – it’s not a bad price for a uniquely designed timepiece. Knowing that these 100 limited edition pieces are helping a cause as worthy as Stiftung Valentina, it’s hard to pass up at all. Find out more at finewatches.berlin
© Foto Hornaue Abt. turnaround.photo
In a world of exclusive complications, highly prized and priced movements and watches that break records at auctions, it’s good to be able to give back
Each Valentina sold benefits children’s charity Stiftung Valentina
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BACK — impulse buy
Tonino Lamborghini Spyderleggera Chrono
Forget square or circular watches; for the Lamborghini name, they’re just not good enough. That’s why Tonino Lamborghini, the lifestyle brand of the automotive family, opted for a case that pays homage to the cars that made them famous. Shaped like the shield enclosing the famous Miura raging bull on the Lamborghini crest, the Spyderleggera is not the kind of watch you can miss. A staggering 51.5mm at the widest point, the black-coated titanium beast is sporty to an extreme degree, complete with the bright yellow highlights that are part and parcel of an epic automotive timepiece. The sandwich construction is kept together by striking visible screws around the shield-shaped bezel, similar to the industrial designs of Gerald Genta. Combined with a black côte de Genève dial, it roars into the sport luxe category. The engine powering it is a solid Swiss-Made Sellita SW 500 BVa chronograph movement, with 48-hour power reserve. The £3,450 Chrono might not be the most affordable watch in the world, but there’s nothing else quite like it. If you want a gloriously over the top piece of machismo, this is what you need. Find out more at lamborghini.it
Gritt Monarch
The best thing about young independent brands isn’t their sheer creativity; it’s not even their off-kilter approach. More often than not, it’s value for money – and Gritt may well have changed the game on bang for your buck with its superlative Monarch. Not only is it the most glare-resistant watch in the world thanks to Gritt’s Invisoglass™ technology, it’s a goodlooking piece too. Between the hexagonally embellished dial, the unique tiered case and its great sporty vibes, it’s hard not to love. Yet Gritt also backs up that style with a serious specs sheet, ticking off all the things we at Oracle look for in a great watch, all for a fraction of the price we’re used to. In fact, so well-priced is the Monarch that Gritt has a little challenge for anyone interested in its watch. If you find a watch with ten specific characteristics, you get $500 of any current or future model from its collection. For anyone interested in taking them on, those traits are: Swiss-made;
Between the hexagonally embellished dial, the unique tiered case and its great sporty vibes, it’s hard not to love
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an exhibition caseback; a high beat movement; decoration on said movement; 200m water resistance; sapphire crystals; X1 grade lume; double anti-reflective coating and COSClevel accuracy, all for under $1,600. Good luck with that. Find out more at grittwatches.com
FRONT — opinion
THE OLD FART SPEAKS Ken Kessler on Best of British
What makes a wristwatch ‘British’? If we were to apply Switzerland’s definition for being able to grace dials with ‘Swiss-Made’, a ‘BritishMade’ timepiece would have to prove that a certain percentage of its content or value, which can include labour costs, was accomplished or created in Great Britain. We can already see a problem, then, as so many of the new-wave British brands use Swiss or Japanese movements, Chinese dials and cases, or other imported parts. Is UK assembly – or simply using a British name – enough for a watch to qualify? If this topic puzzles you, given Swiss dominance of luxury mechanical watch production and Japanese for quartz, there’s a reason why ‘British watchmaking’ has become a cause célèbre. Not least it’s because English horologists, from Arnold to Tompion, are as responsible as (if not more than) their German, French and Swiss contemporaries for horological inventiveness. The lever escapement, the co-axial escapement, advances in chronometry – Great Britain can lay claim to as much as any. Yes, Breguet is the Jimi Hendrix of watchmaking. That is not in question. But Arnold, Graham, Tompion, Ellicott, Frodsham, et al are the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who and the Kinks of horology. And as for George Daniels – is there a single 20th-century watchmaker who can truly rival his contribution? If just for the academic work, especially in his research on Breguet, Daniels will forever remain a giant. And you can thank John Harwood for your automatic, whatever anyone else tells you. Because of this country’s matchless history in all aspects of timekeeping – Greenwich Mean Time wasn’t selected over Paris by accident – the understandable drive to recreate the native watch industry is based on a strong foundation, not mere wishful thinking or jingoism. However, unlike the Swiss, who could revive a moribund industry, ours was a full-on corpse. Aside from George Daniels, and his natural heir, Roger W Smith, most of the current brands are either
completely new – Bremont, Christopher Ward, Farer, etc – or at best attempts at reviving dormant names, some with no connection whatsoever to the originals. There are exceptions. Vertex and Fears in the 21st century can both claim direct bloodlines to these companies. Vertex’s Don Cochran and Nicholas Bowman-Scargill of Fears have every right to revive their respective families’ businesses. Truth be told – and the Swiss will hate to hear this – these British reincarnations have more validity than at least a dozen of the major Helvetian ‘maisons’ reborn in the past 40 years, most of which cannot trace a single connection whatsoever to the founders. As I don’t want Oracle sued, let’s just say they know who they are. New British companies which are not just starting up fresh marques at fashion-watch level, and which are doing more than rehousing Swiss or Asian calibres, include Bremont – surely the most visible of all the British Watch revivalists, Christopher Ward, Garrick, Pinion, Loomes and a cluster of others. Frodsham has been reborn to universal acclaim, at the highest levels of watchmaking. What of the ex-pat brands, British in name if not geography? The revived Arnold, Ellicott and Graham are Swiss, and seemingly devoid of any English input, however true to the original ethos they may be. They are undoubtedly high-end makers, but their British credentials are moot. Another rhetorical issue affects the brand-new, post-revival brands Speake-Marin and Greubel Forsey, both founded by British watchmakers long domiciled in Switzerland. Are their birth certificates enough to have them qualify as British? One could argue ‘Yes!!!’ on the grounds that both employ English watchmaking traditions, such as frosted surfaces, and it wouldn’t be a conceit: Peter Speake-Marin (no longer connected to his eponymous brands) and Stephen Forsey are as British as Marmite. They may be made in Switzerland, but they are as reverently English as can be – like Rod Stewart playing football in LA. No less British are the myriad ‘fashion’ brands and purveyors of entry-level timepieces, though any pretences about elevating UKbased watchmaking need to be contained. The recipe consists of an ultra-English-sounding name, a Japanese movement, an affordable price and a penchant for colourful over-under straps. (Please: let’s dispense with the misuse of the term ‘NATO’ for any ol’ fabric strap...)They will satisfy any patriotic urge to ‘Buy British’ but please: don’t think for a moment that such timepieces pay homage to John Harrison. Will British watchmaking be revived to levels approaching its former glory? Probably not, and I’d be impressed if we even managed to do half as much as the native German brands, which were decimated by the commies when Russia ruled East Germany. One can only stand back in admiration when one looks at the brands just in the town of Glashütte, let alone the few dozen dotted through the Fatherland. But we do have Roger W Smith, Frodsham, the ex-pats in Switzerland, giants-in-the-making like Rebecca Struthers and others I’m sure which are eager add their names to the roster of British watch brands. Flag-waving has been frowned upon in the post-PC era, particularly by idiots with no grasp of history, but watchmaking is something of which the British can be unduly proud.
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