>SHOP

keep my inbox inspiring

Sign up to our monthly newsletter for exclusive news and trends

Follow us on all channels

Start following us for more content, inspiration, news, trends and more

Then there were three…
Watch Stories

Then there were three…

Wednesday, 30 November 2016
close
Editor Image
Christophe Roulet
Editor-in-chief, HH Journal

“The desire to learn is the key to understanding.”

“Thirty years in journalism are a powerful stimulant for curiosity”.

Read More

CLOSE
2 min read

Robert Loomes, Roger Smith and Simon Michlmayr form an uncommon trio.

There were plenty of big reveals at this year’s SalonQP, where Robert Loomes and his Stamford watch joined the small circle of British watchmakers with the distinction that they make their own movements. Until Loomes’ Stamford, this had in fact been a circle of one, with Roger Smith as its sole member. There is, however, the distinct possibility that the circle may soon stretch to three in the person of Simon Michlmayr, a well-respected and Swiss-trained watchmaker who, alongside David Brailsford, set up Garrick Watch Company in 2014.

Garrick Shaftesbury
Garrick Shaftesbury

The first Garrick watch was fitted with a Swiss hand-wound movement that Michlmayr reworked and hand-finished, and equipped with his own regulating organ. Now Garrick has raised the bar with the Portsmouth, introduced this year and for which Simon Michlmayr has created his own movement, produced in collaboration with independent watchmaker Andreas Strehler in Biel, Switzerland. The Portsmouth calibre, which has been designed so that complications can be added, has its sprung balance on the dial side, which makes it an extremely characterful watch. All parts other than the balance are machined by Strehler’s studio, Uhr Teil, then assembled and finished by Garrick in Norwich, England.

Garrick The Norfolk
Garrick The Norfolk

David Brailsford, quoted in The Telegraph, rues the lack of demand among British collectors: “There has been so much speculation about British watchmaking that it’s led to a certain cynicism here. Internationally, collectors look into things more objectively,” he says. “‘Britishness’ is a big thing at the moment, and they’re looking for that if they can find it.” And who can blame them?

Back to Top