Watches have been important since the earliest days of flight. When in the air, timing is crucial for navigation, and early experiments in balloons and airships showed that timing distances accurately while in the air would be crucial to getting to where you wanted to go. With the invention and rapid of aeroplanes in the early years of the 20th century, the distance they could fly increased.

This dramatically increased the risk of getting lost and travelling past the place you were trying to reach, especially if visibility was limited. Timing distance travelled at set speeds on certain headings, or directions, was crucial. You might think the obvious thing to do was to strap a clock or pocket watch to the dashboard of the aeroplane. Unfortunately, the machinery at this time had a very high rate of vibration, which made it a difficult place to put a delicate watch mechanism, it just wouldn't have been very accurate. The device was also often hard to read if mounted in a difficult position. 

The First Men's Wristwatch was a Pilot's Watch

The watch that is most famous for being the first regularly produced Men's wristwatch is the Cartier Santos-Dumas. Santos-Dumas was a rich playboy aviator trying to push the boundaries of flight in France in the first few years of the 20th Century. The problem he had was that he couldn't get his pocket watch out to read it while keeping control of the plane. He asked for a small wristwatch, and Cartier duly delivered it in 1904. In 1911 it was launched for sale and is still available today as the Santos du Cartier.

World War I changed the landscape for Men's wristwatches as they became much more widely used both during and after the war. While men had worn watches on their wrists while soldiering since roughly the 1880s, the huge number of men involved in the battles of the First World War saw huge demand for wristwatches. 

The war also led to huge improvements in aircraft technology, and this level of innovation continued into the 1920s and 1930s.

Ambitious flying adventures and the realisation of the increased importance of air forces in military conflict led to a wave of innovation in pilot's watches. In 1927 the famous celebrity aviator Charles Lindberg flew from New York to Paris. This achievement was made more incredible by the fact that he didn't navigate and arrived almost entirely due to luck. Lindberg knew this and the following year went to the pioneer of aeronautical navigation, a member of the US Navy called Philip Van Horn Weems.

Weems invented two watch functions we now see as completely standard; the ability to stop the seconds hand moving while you set the watch, so that timing can be set to the second, and also the rotating bezel. The full explanation of how these help pilots can be found in this article, but the main thing to know is that both of these started in pilot's watches to help with navigation in the air when landmarks are not visible, such as at night or over the Ocean.

Weems watches were often made by Longines, who still make much of their association today. They were also often very large, up to 55mm in diameter, so they could be easily read at night. Another watch that was created in the 1930 and 40s for pilots was made in Germany and is famous for its size and design. It's known as the Calibre 52. This watch was ordered from a variety of German manufacturers, such as Glashutte, Lange & Sohne, and IWC.

The Navitimer is the Ultimate Pilot's Watch

Another watch company closely linked with Pilot's watches and aviation is Breitling. In 1942 they introduced a world first, which was a watch with a Slide Rule Bezel. A slide rule is a type of calculator, and this function allowed pilots to make complicated calculations while in the air. It was first introduced on the Chronomat model, but in 1954 they launched the Navitimer.

This watch was designed for the American Owners and Pilots Association of civilian pilots in the USA. It features an updated and more sophisticated Slide Rule than the Chronomat and a Chronograph or stopwatch. Using these two features, the watch manual instructs a pilot how to calculate 14 different things, including how much fuel is left, distances, time at a speed, etc. You can see how useful these are to a pilot, especially if something has gone wrong. This watch was also very large at the time, measuring 41mm across.

Despite both Longines and IWC using the name Pilot as an officially trademarked name for their watch ranges, many watch brands today feature a line of watches inspired by these watches and aviation in general. 

British Watch brand Bremont started only 15 years ago and is dedicated to aviation-inspired watches. They have been incredibly successful in building their brand and have a fascinating collaboration with ejector-seat maker Martin Baker to make their super tough MB range of watches. These have been tested to the same stresses as a pilot goes through if they are forced to eject in an emergency.

They have also created an interesting series of watches linked to historical aeroplanes. Breitling chose to do this with its Super AVI range celebrating American warplanes. Longines has recreated some of their most important watches from the 1930s, and IWC has made watches celebrating interesting feats of flying, such as a recent trip by a World War II Spitfire plane around the whole world!

If you want a useful and easy to read watch with a lot of heritage, many brands offer something of interest. Modern brands such as Bremont offer a more up-to-date take on what a Pilot's watch can bring. We at The Watch Collectors' Club don't have a favourite Pilot's watch, but are here to help you explore them more widely. If you have any further questions please just ask, and we hope to hold events focussing on Pilot's watches in the near future.

We look at Pilot's watches from 1904 up to the present day.

At The Watch Collectors’ Club – we love to tell stories and host events. This blog  explores the story of one of the most successful British watch brands: Bremont. If you want to explore Bremont watches in person, we are holding an event in Birmingham on 22nd of September. It will be held at the Bremont store in the Bullring from 5pm and will explore all that the brand has to offer. You can sign up at our events page here. 

The start of the Bremont Watch company story is a tragic one. Two brothers, Nick and Giles English, had been raised by an RAF Pilot and aeronautical engineer father, Dr Euan English, to love all things plane and engineering related. They spent hours tinkering with clocks, restoring planes, and flying them with their father. Unfortunately, during a training flight in preparation for a vintage air show, the WWII aircraft that Nick and his father were flying crashed – killing Euan and nearly killing Nick. 

Despite this horrible experience, Nick was back flying again within a few years.

When starting a new brand, it’s really important to choose a name that is recognisable, and easy to trademark. The brothers couldn’t use their surname, English, as it would have been impossible to distinguish a brand, try searching “English wristwatch” and see how many google responses you get.

Flying had caused them great emotional and physical pain, but in 1996, it would also provide them with the brand name for their new company. At the time, the brothers were working in The City of London, but looking to turn their passion for watches and flying into a business. 

Whilst flying to France in a vintage bi-plane, the brothers ran out of fuel and had to land in a farmer’s field. If this happens in the UK, it’s pretty easy to just take off again. Not in France. There are layers of bureaucracy to navigate before you can take off again. Luckily, the farmer was an avid aviator and watch collector, and helped the brothers navigate the bureaucracy. His name: Antoine Bremont. 

A Long History of Military and Pilots Inspired Watches 

Bremont was founded officially in 2002, and their first watch was released in 2007. They have built a strong offering in military, particularly RAF, inspired watches. 

They quickly positioned themselves as the luxury watch-maker to the British Armed Forces. As they were building their brand, this was a great move for two reasons. The first was that it provided a big captive audience for their watches – there are 150,000 serving personnel. To this day, the company still makes watches with regimental insignia for armed forces personnel.  

The second was that their watches needed to be robust enough to be used in active duty. This meant that the brand could start pushing the boundaries of engineering, and some of their collaborations are fantastic. 

Bremont’s focus on British engineering led them to be approached in 2007 by Martin Baker, the world’s leading manufacturer of ejection seats, and also a British brand. The company was tasked with designing a watch that could withstand the force of being ejected from a plane at hundreds of miles an hour, and thousands of feet in the air. A pilot experiences 18Gs, their spine compresses by up to a few inches and they are knocking unconscious during the process. They are also shaken around a lot at exceptionally cold temperatures. For a watch to survive this, it would need to be incredibly robust. But you would also need to be able to wear it comfortably. 

The Bremont MBI was released in 2009, and to this day, is only available to pilots who have been ejected by a Martin Baker seat. The mid-section of the case is red-coloured, to distinguish it from the MBII and MBIII models, which are available to the general public, and come in a variety of colours. The Bremont website is full of details of the extensive testing of the Bremont MB models. 

Bremont and a History of Collaborations 

During its short history as a watchmaker, Bremont has pulled of some fantastic collaborations. There are two available at the moment that I particularly like, and that we were lucky enough to see during an in-store event last week. 

The first is a collaboration with Williams Racing – the British formula 1 team and one of the most successful motorsport teams in history. Two watches make up each edition: one that takes design cues from Williams’ early history, and the other that echoes the design of a modern F1 car. 

The Second is the Hawking model. Released in collaboration with the Physicist Stephen Hawking’s family to commerate his life. The watch has a 30-second retrograde counter on the front, rather than the traditional 60-second counter. However, it’s the caseback that is particularly special. It is made of meteorite, inlaid with planets crafted from wood from Professor Hawking’s desk, and the limited-edition numbering is made from scraps of paper from his thesis. As if that wasn’t thoughtful enough, the caseback also has the constellations visible on the day he was born etched into it. 

The Watch Collectors Club is an events and education, designed to make the watch world simple and enjoyable for our members. Our Bremont event will do just that. In the run-up to the event, our next few blogs will explore the watch-making achievements of Bremont in more detail. 

If you know anyone that might be interested in British watch-making and success-stories, make sure to send this blog onto them. 

The History of Bremont – A British Success Story

For the Swiss Watch industry, the period of the 1970s is most commonly known as the Quartz Crisis. It is commonly understood to be a time period when inexpensive quartz movement powered watches led to a rapid decline in the sales of mechanical watches, which led to huge trouble amongst many Swiss watch companies and suppliers. In actual fact, the rapid adoption of quartz movements was only one part of the Swiss industry's troubles, and this article will explore what happened.

At the start of the 1970s, the industry had an unusual structure, designed in the 1930s to save the industry from the Great Depression that followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The industry was made up of thousands of small parts suppliers and fairly small brands, all organised under umbrella organisations backed by the government and the Swiss banking sector. The largest of these was called Ebauches SA, which later became ETA SA, and then Swatch Group.

This worked very well for the industry in the years after World War II. The watch companies in the USA and Europe that had switched to manufacturing material for the war effort struggled to move back into watchmaking after the war ended. This allowed the Swiss companies to dominate booming post-war economies, firstly in the United States and then in Europe. In 1960 Swiss companies had a 60% share of the US market. Unfortunately for the Swiss, this industry structure was poorly positioned to move from manufacturing mechanical watches to electronic watches in the 1970s.

The Japanese watch companies benefitted from the restructuring of the Japanese economy after their defeat in the war. Across Japan companies focussed on becoming low-cost producers of all kinds of manufactured goods, and then shipping those goods to new markets in the Americas and Europe. The watch industry was no exception. Japan was also a dominant player in the rise of the electronics industry in the 1950s and 1960s. While America led in the invention and production of electronic watches, with the Hamilton Ventura (1957) and Bulova Accutron (1960) and world leaders in their niche, the Japanese were very close behind. 

At some point in the early 1960s, watch companies realised the most successful elecrtonic watch was going to involve a movement powered by a quartz crystal, which had been used to power electric clocks since its invention in 1927. It took until 1969 for the first quartz wristwatch to be launched, the Seiko Astron. It was very expensive and only available in Japan. 

The Swiss had formed a consortium of the top watchmakers in 1962 to work on a quartz movement and succeeded. It launched only a few months after the Astron, and was known as the Beta 21. 

Unfortunately for the Swiss, the movement was much larger, heavier and power hungry than those made by the Japanese. Within only a few years the Japanese continued to improve their movements at a rate that the Swiss couldn't match. Despite the introduction of the Beta 22 movement which was much thinner, the whole project was cancelled in 1975. Unfortunately for the Swiss, by 1975 Seiko alone managed to ship 1.7 million quartz watches and an astonishing 25 million by 1980.

The Japanese succeeded at a much faster rate than the others for three reasons. Firstly, the associated micro-electronics industry booming at that time in Japan, allowing for easy sourcing of parts and expertise. Secondly, the US watch companies focused more on high-end electronic and digital watches like the Pulsar. Finally, Switzerland had little to no experience building the electronic components required to put into the quartz movement, so their movements were big, bulky, and lower quality with higher power consumption. Seiko vertically integrated the production, making every part themselves. They still do this, and this led to their success at bringing the costs down (as well as improving the mechanism and patenting their improvements).

Unfortunately for the Swiss, two other things hit the watchmaking industry at the same time; a sharp rise in interest rates and a sharply appreciating currency against the US Dollar. Swiss interest rates had been around 3% and the currency was pegged at a fixed rate to the US Dollar until 1971. This was a very stable period for the Swiss watchmaking industry and it was able to sell into the United States with great success. 

In the late 1960s, Governments around the world were struggling to deal with bouts of high inflation after nearly 20 years of relatively low inflation. The decision to de-peg currencies and for each country to regain full control over monetary policy is known as the "end of Bretton Woods", and had dramatic consequences.

When the Swiss Franc de-pegged from the US Dollar, the Swiss National Bank, in charge of the money supply and interest rates, decided to fight inflation very sharply. This raised interest rates and the Swiss Franc appreciated quickly. This meant that anything exported from Switzerland to other countries was much more expensive. The scale of the rise was extraordinary. In the first 18 months from the start of 1972, the Swiss Franc gained 29% against the dollar. By the start of 1975 it was another 14% higher, and by 1978 it was another 38% higher. Interest rates reached 10% in 1974 in Switzerland and the country experienced a recession. 

This combination of technological change, high interest rates, and a severe loss of price competitiveness in their largest market saw many Swiss companies go bankrupt. The brands folded and many of the suppliers. Over the course of the decade employment in the industry fell 60%, and over 40k people lost their jobs. Many famous brands closed down almost entirely, and while some have been resurrected today, many are still gone. 

The history of the watchmaking industry has many fascinating periods, but like all history is complicated and always depends on the viewpoint of the historian. Making it simple to understand is a key aim for The Watch Collectors' Club, as understanding brand history is often very important for watch collectors. Many people enjoy learning about where watches have come from, what inspired them, and how the technology was developed. We hope to bring more historical information to you in an easy-to-understand manner. If you liked this article, please let us know, and also tell anyone else you know who might be interested. Our events always include some informative content, and all the details can be found on our events page.

What was the quartz crisis? Was the quartz crisis the only problem for the Swiss watch industry?

What happened to the Swiss Watch Industry in the 1970s

An explanation of why the Swiss Watch Industry collapsed in the 1970s.

The Swatch watch is an icon for many reasons. It is a design icon. A low cost option who need to wear a watch as a tool to tell the time. It helped save the largest watch company in the world, and it has pioneered the display of radical modern artwork on watch faces and straps. It has inspired young people to love watches and collect interesting models. It introduced rubber straps which are now being sold by the very finest watchmakers on earth. It comes in more colours and designs than you can imagine, is sold everywhere, and the best thing of all? When the battery runs out they will replace it for free in store.

The Swatch was launched in 1983 and was an instant hit. The simple looks, accurate quartz mechanism, waterproof case and comfortable rubber strap all at a low price, were very appealing to the public. Bright advertising with Red and Blue watches, and brochures full of fun activities showed this was an exciting watch for all ages. 

Lightness on the wrist and a range of small sizes made it very easy to wear. Within a couple of years of launch, the company responsible for this watch, then called ETA, were producing all kinds of crazy designs. They were limited edition, often in conjunction with up and coming young artists, and were released in what today we call "drops", launch events at swatch stores where people queued for hours to get one.

The watch has been hugely popular ever since, selling over 100 million in itd first 10 years.

The goal of the ETA company was to produce a low-cost watch that was still Swiss Made. At the time the industry was under intense competition from very low-cost digital and quartz watches that flooded onto the world market in the 1970s from Japanese companies such as Seiko and Citizen . The Swiss watch industry struggled and consolidated. To get the price down they had to not just make something powered by a quartz electric movement, they had to be able to make it cheaply too. 

The answer was to make it out of plastic. This was radical at the time as Switzerland was a country famous for centuries of case making, but a plastic injection moulding machine was cutting edge and extremely expensive. The ETA company (now Swatch Group) bought one and it took them 15 months to make a prototype work.

They welded the case together and reduced the whole thing to 51 parts, far lower than any other watch made in Switzerland. The original design was all black with a black dial, but the most obvious way to stand out was to use different colours of plastics. This led to the explosion of designs that are the hallmark of the range.

Swatch remains an enormous watch brand, with a range of products across different price points. Over the last 40 years, they have added Chronographs, all metal versions, new movements, other interesting functions, and of course, numerous limited editions are on sale at any one time.

Most interestingly, they now have a service where you can design your own Swatch. Using the template of a see-through Swatch in two sizes, they provide different imagery for you to move around until you get exactly the design you want on your watch. They do collaborations and have both geometric and visual images to choose from. This is a fantastic way to get a unique watch at a reasonable cost. The images available change regularly, so it is worth checking every now and again to see if something catches your eye.

In 2022 Swatch did something truly radical in collaboration with their Sister brand in the Swatch Group, Omega. They created a Swatch-style Moonwatch. The Moonwatch is the name given to the Omega Speedmasters which have been to the moon, in particular the model that was first to be worn on the moon in 1969, the Reference 105.012. This year, Omega have contributed many design ideas that have been seen on various Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatches over the years, and Swatch contributed their expertise in making quartz movements and plastic cases. To make it even better, they made the cases out of Bioceramic, which is partly made of biological material to make it more environmentally friendly.

This watch is called the Moonswatch, and has succeeded in boosting the profile of Swatch and also the Omega Moonwatch. The watches are only sold in boutiques and have been sold out daily since launch. The range of colours and design details combined with the Moonwatch heritage has been very popular.

This collection is not limited in production and is expected to be sold for many years. It is likely Swatch look for more combinations with other brands to continue their long history of exciting and unusual designs.

There are plenty of Swatch collectors! Even people who love mechanical watches have often been tempted by an interesting and colourful Swatch. There are so many interesting designs, often very contemporary with the style and art of that year, that there are many collecting options, suiting everyone's taste. There are famous see-through versions, versions with artists who went on to become superstars, versions containing famous historic artworks or landmarks, and as mentioned above, now there are unique, customer-made versions. In 2015 a collection built up over 25 years sold for a total of $6mn USD in Hong Kong, and it contained 5800 watches, every one a Swatch.

A small search online reveals there are Swatch collectors out there with hundreds of models. This compares to the author's more modest 4, three of which he wears and one of which he keeps "box fresh" and unworn.

Swatch watches are affordable, varied and highly collectable. They're fun, easy to wear and attractive to all ages. We at The Watch Collectors' Club enjoy appreciating all kinds of watches, from the simplest and affordable models to the most complicated hand-crafted masterpieces. What matters is what suits your collection and your taste, and Swatch certainly has options for all. We look forward to seeing your Swatches at our events in future. You can find all the details on our events page and on our Social Media channels.

How did Swatch watches get made? What made Swatch so popular?

Swatch - the making of a Legend

How Swatch watches came to be and why they were so successful

The Watch Collectors' Club runs regular events where we teach members a little about watches, watchmakers, watch

A club for everyone who likes watches.

Following the fantastic success of our recent event Exploring British Watch Design and our last Blog Post introducing watch design, we though it might be fun to dive into a popular but fairly unusual way to tell the time on a watch. The use of a jump hour, or displaying the hour using a rotating dial so only one numeral is visible at a time. The minutes are often displayed the traditional way using a hand, or sometimes another rotating disk. This simple change to one of the time telling features of the watch opens up endless possibilities for watch designers, and we'll now show you some of the bold and memorable designs from the last 100 years.

While this idea had been used in pocket watches dating back as far as the seventeenth century, an Austrian watchmaker called Josef Pallweber worked out how to get the dial to rotate precisely on the hour. This may seem trivial, but managing the power requirements for a disk are different to those from a hand, and all watch designers need to take this into account. For this reason, jump hour pocket watches made at this time IWC Schaffhausen but coped by others, were not as accurate as traditional models, which limited their appeal. 

Some of the most famous Jump hour designs can be found in the 1920s and 1920s, inspired by Art Deco design. The most famous is the Cartier Tank a Guichet, which follows the simple aspects of Art Deco design with perfectly proportioned windows to see the hour and minutes. This design was copied by many other brands at the time. 

One of the most successful luxury brands of the 21st century has an iconic watch that uses both jump hour and jump minutes to create a digital time display. The Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk is a very distinctive watch, and has proven very popular amongst watch lovers as it is so recognisable. This explanation of how it works underlines how much consideration needs to be taken for this mechanism to work accurately. 

Other luxury watch brands have used the jump hour to create really outlandish designs, with technical or engineering inspiration. These watches attract a very niche customer, but have proven consistently popular.

At the affordable end of the watch world, modern brands have used the jump hour to create exciting and unusual designs, especially in the Microbrand community. British brand Mr. Jones uses an image-first design philosophy, as they want to find new ways of telling the time, and using a jump hour and sometimes jump minutes makes this much easier for their designers. It allows them to create some truly beautiful pieces, that while not necessarily easy to read, are interesting works of art for the wrist.

Earlier this year a very special jump hour watch was launched to celebrate the new Alliance of British Watch and Clockmakers, an organisation dedicated to building the art and craft of watchmaking in Great Britain. This collaboration between two brands, Fears Watches and Christopher Ward, created a large dress watch with a striking dial containing the jump hour at 12 O'clock. This limited edition was highly reviewed worldwide, showing the power of using this unusual design to attract attention to a brand while remaining consistent with their prior design language. Jump hours offer designers the chance to do something special.

Unusual ways of telling the time allow watch designers the opportunity to explore watch designs that break the mould. These can be found at a range of different price points, and are often a great joy to wear as they provoke so much discussion, even amongst non-watch lovers! We at The Watch Collectors' Club encourage you to explore watch design more widely, and try on a jump hour watch next time you see one. You never know how much you might like it!

We look at different kinds of jump hour and jumping hour watches

Introduction to Jump Hour Watches

We explain the jump hour complication and look at unsual watch designs that use it.

Since we started The Watch Collectors' Club we've found that the number one thing most people are interested in is the look and feel of their watch. Next comes the history heritage and status of the brands, and then comes the technology inside the case. While this may not surprise many, it means that our events have been mostly focussing on the looks of a watch and the brand or model history, as well as helping people understand how to buy and sell the watches they want. 

One often wonders where watch designers start, and the simplest answer to this is style. Over and over again we see watch brands adopt a distinctive style, either of their own or in the traditions of a type of watch (such as a Dive watch or Pilot's Watch) and then develop their individual ideas from there. Of course, the designer has to decide on what functions they want the watch to have, and then fit them into the required size. They also need to decide very early on what the time display will be, whether it will use hands or another mechanism, and what type of dial to use and how to make it.

We once spoke to a legendary watchmaker, Kari Voutilainen and he said "It all starts with the dial", so want to reiterate that point, as the first question a designer has to answer is how the functions of the watch will be displayed.

There are an enormous number of both styles and types of watches. Here is an example, one common type of watch is a chronograph, like the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. It is a steel sports watch, with a bezel that helps make calculations based on the stopwatch function that makes it a chronograph. It also has a distinct style, it is large and chunky and has a high level of water resistance to 100m. It is a serious-looking watch that looks like many other Rolexes, and comes from a long line of previous models with the same name. Everyone can see what it is, and while there are dial and case material variations, plus some gem-set models, the style is distinctly Rolex. 

Another chronograph, one made by British brand Studio Underdog, is completely different, it is colourful and playful by design, and as the first watch from a new company there was no heritage to draw on. It is instead themed on different things, including fruit, but mainly focused on colour combinations. It still has subdials and pushers, or buttons on the side to work the chronograph function, but the designer has used completely different aspects of each. The case is also thinner and there is no bezel. 

With these two examples, we can see that designers are working with totally different styles, but both had to start by thinking about how to represent the chronograph function of the watch.

To further illustrate the point, we can use a watch that tells the time without using hands. In this example from Mr. Jones Watches, the hour is displayed in a window within the branches of the tree, and the minutes are indicated by different arrangements of stars as displayed at the 3 o'clock position. This style of watch is unusual and comes from a brand that starts by trying to think of ways to tell the time with an image that hasn't been done before. This is truly design-led watchmaking

How does a designer turn a design into a watch?

A designer today has more options than ever before to make a new watch a reality, whether it is something simple, fun and affordable or extremely complicated and expensive. Whatever they make they need to work out how it is going to be made, and where. If a watch is going to be Swiss Made, then 60% of the components must be made in Switzerland and it must be assembled there. If it is going to say it is British made, then it must be assembled in Britain, such as those from Mr. Jones watches. The designer also must work out the price of the assembly and how that relates to the expected selling price. 

Fortunately, today, there are many suppliers and factories that can do a whole range of things, and in some cases, simply produce an entire watch with a limited amount of additional help needed other than quality control. This has allowed startup watch brands to flourish, to the benefit of watch lovers everywhere who want to take a chance on something different. For established brands, they already have factories and a supply chain, but need to decide how complicated to make the movement and cases to meet the price point their customers expect.

Like any area of design, the watch world is subject to fashion. We see this in the popularity of watch styles, the size of watches, materials used, and many other aspects of watch design. Right now, it is clear that watches are getting smaller again, and that brands are more confident selling watches in a range of sizes, including under 40mm diameter. We are also seeing lots more colour being used, on both classic models and new entrants. Finally, we continue to see the adoption and use of interesting materials like Titanium, Bronze, or Carbon Fibre for cases. There also remains a trend to create modern watches that reissue historic models or are very similar to them. We expect all of these trends to continue to the benefit of watch lovers who gain more variety from both new and established brands. 

The Watch Collectors' Club exists to help you explore the watch world through our events and our attempts to help explain how things happen and why watch companies do the things they do. We hope interviews with designers at our events and on our YouTube Channel will further your insight into what you like about watch design. If you have any questions about watch design or suggestions for related topics we could cover please do not hesitate to ask us!

How are watches designed? Where do watch designers start?

An Intorduction to Watch Design

We explore how watches are designed and how designers get started

To celebrate our Event this week focussing on the Rolex Submariner, we thought we would highlight a few of the remarkable uses of this famous watch. Its position in the watch world is almost unmatched, as a timepiece that can serve as a tough dive watch under the most extreme conditions, and as a status symbol for the so-called "Desk-Diver" who will never go near the ocean. The fact that so many have been produced means that it is one of the most widely collected watches. Here are some Submariner stories that highlight the wide range of uses it's been put to in the 70 years since its introduction.

How did James Bond come to be wearing a Rolex Submariner?

James Bond was first played by British Actor Sean Connery, and while it is mentioned in the book Casino Royale that Bond wears a Rolex, and it is known that the author and creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming, owned an Oyster Perpetual, Bond wears a Submariner in the 1962 film Dr. No. It's a Reference 6538 and it's worn for the first three films.

Legend has it that the film's producer, Cubby Broccoli, was unable to rent a Rolex for Bond to wear in the first film, Dr No, so he took his personal watch off his wrist and gave it to Sean Connery. The connection with James Bond and the scarcity of this watch have turned this model into a grail for many watch collectors. We've written more widely about the watches of James Bond here.

Submariners were one of only two watches good enough for The Royal Navy Clearance Operators

In the late 1950s, The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom put out a request for submissions for watches to equip it's top dive teams, who are specialists in underwater bomb clearance missions and other salvage operations. Only two watches qualified; the Rolex Submariner and the Omega Seamaster Professional 300.

The Royal Navy went on to order and issue approximately 1300 watches, making good examples of these the most valuable of all vintage Submariners. Their active use meant that they were repaired and serviced often, and when people left the Navy they were often advised to replace the Navy-specific parts such as the dial, hands and caseback to make them more valuable. Since the modern collector values original condition and authentic parts above all else, this was awful advice!

These are the specifications of a Military Submariner, or "MilSub" for short:

Stainless steel case, with water resistance of 200 metres. Black dial with circle T added to signify Tritium as the source of luminous. Screw down crown. Earlier models had a diamond-shaped hour hand, with later models having the more easily recognised (to Rolex owners, at least) Mercedes hour hand. The steel case had fixed bars to lessen the danger of losing the watch through spring bar failure.

Case-back engraved with the Royal Navy stores numbers 0552/923-7697, broad-arrow below (signifying government property), and then below that an issue number and issue year. Eg 175/70, signifying watch number 175 of 1970.

The above modifications were made to the civilian 5513 before the watches left the Rolex factory.

The Solid Gold Submariner is a Real Dive Watch

Rolex launched the solid gold Submariner in 1969, supposedly in response to demand from the clients of Authorised Dealers in the Mediterranean. This watch solidified Rolex's reputation as a status symbol, as making a tool watch that can perform even the deepest dives functional and out of Solid Gold is quite a ridiculous thing to do, but it has been popular ever since its launch.

One experience diver used his for over 40 years, including on some world record-breaking dives over 100m deep. The best story from Bret Gilliam is this close encounter with a Great White Shark, courtesy of a wonderful article on Hodinkee of the man's career:

Recounting the experience, Gilliam tells me that while his eyes were trained on the viewfinder of his camera, a massive Great White "suddenly turned and bit the cage right next to me, and then went into a bit of a rage and started thrashing around trying to get at me. I pulled my camera back and dropped back into the cage, but not before the shark violently impacted the cage again and my left arm was knocked sharply into the bars, causing a chip in the Rolex's bezel."

The same article contains this extraordinary story from famous Scuba Diving Pioneer Dick Anderson, who somehow persuaded Rolex to make him a gold watch using his own gold...

These are just three of the areas where the Submariner has proven an extraordinary partner to interesting people doing amazing things. There are many stories out there, especially from divers who relied on their Submariners through the most dangerous escapades. You can find them linked from personal websites such as this from Diving Watch and the confusing but massive source of stories that is Jake's Rolex Magazine. We hope you've enjoyed learning more about the Submariner, and if you'd like more like this join one of our online events, our next is on the Rolex Daytona and can be found on our Watch Events page.

Some entertaining stories to help you explore the history of the Rolex Submariner

Rolex Submariner Stories and Uses

To celebrate our Rolex Submariner Event, we bring you a few interesting examples of the Submariner's many uses.

A few fun stories about the Rolex Submariner

Join The Watch Collectors' Club on Thursday July 13th to explore Sustainability in Watchmaking with Oris at their South Molton Street Boutique in London. Oris is a family-owned company who have recently put sustainability initiatives at the top of their near term business plan. At this event you will learn all about how they are improving the sustainability of their company and their watchmaking. You will also see the watches that are the result of their partnership initiatives, including the Oris Aquis Date Upcycle. 

Expect warm boutique hospitality, three short talks to help you understand more about Oris and sustainable watch manufacturing, and the chance to try on watches from across their range. 

We learn abour Oris' Sustainability and Social Impact Initiatives at their South Molton Street Branch

Learn about sustainability in watchmaking and the watch industry with Oris and The Watch Collectors' Club

Exploring Sustainability in Watchmaking with Oris

Join The Watch Collectors' Club on Tuesday 4th July from 6:00PM for an evening at TAG Heuer's flagship London boutique on Oxford Street to explore the Carrera Range. The newly-renovated boutique will provide their usual excellent hospitality, you'll hear two short talks to help you learn more about the watch world, and you'll meet loads of fellow watch lovers. 

The focus of the evening will be the famous Carrera, and in the week of the UK Grand Prix we will highlight TAG Heuer's long legacy of motorsport history. You'll get to try on the whole range, and of course, also see the rest of the Tag watches in the catalogue. 

Expect a fun time with lots of super sporty watches and other watch enthusiasts. Please sign up below to come along. 

Join us at Tag's Flagship boutique on London's Oxford Street to learn more about the Carrera range.

Explore the Tag Heuer Carrera with The Watch Collectors' Club

The Watch Collectors' Club at Tag Heuer Oxford Street

Join us for a watch event run solely for women. On Thursday 20th June from 6:30PM we'll meet in a Central London wine bar for a fantastic evening of watches and talks.

As the watch industry continues to focus their marketing and products primarily on men, the number of women attending our events is increasing with each month.

This event will bring together women who are new to the world of watches, and those who already collect watches with the aim of learning from one another.

The event is hosted in a private area of a central London wine bar, and the event will follow our inclusive, informative and fun structure.

If you have a watch or two to bring along please do. We are interested in all types of watches – from Casios all the way to complicated Swiss watches, and everywhere in-between.

A watch meetup solely for Ladies in Central London. Meet other female watch enthusiasts with The WCC

Watch meetup for women, ladies' watch meetup, femal watch enthusiasts

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