I started in the horology industry some years ago selling luxury timepieces. I owned a couple of high-end watch websites, one of which was a concierge service sourcing rare and vintage pieces for clients, and through this I built some very good relationships with independent brands.
I met Peter Roberts, who is legendary in British watchmaking, and it was at his timepiece launch at the Salon QP watch fair a few years ago that I met my current business partner, Simon Michlmayr. Here, the concept of Garrick first came together.
Having these connections and great advice in the background enabled us to do something different to everyone else, which is to build our watches in the UK. We started out trying to make as many parts as we could in our workshop, investing in new machinery. The only component that isn't manufactured in-house is the movement, which we buy in from Switzerland and heavily modify. Apart from that, we do absolutely everything else in the UK - the case, the dial, the hands...
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It's a bit of a misconception that there's been a resurgence of British watchmaking in recent years. There's been a resurgence in British watch brands, but not watchmaking itself. At the moment, there are crowdfunded Kickstarter brands cropping up on a daily basis that claim to make their timepieces in Britain. It can fall into one of two categories - you can either be assembling watches or building the actual parts. There are only a handful of brands doing the latter.
At first, it was an absolute nightmare - in the UK, there are no manufacturing processes in place for doing micro-engineering for watches. A lot of the parts we build by hand, but it was the cases that were the biggest challenge. We wasted a year approaching different companies, trying to find someone who was capable of manufacturing them for us, before we found the right firm.
Initially, we launched with two models: the Shaftesbury and the Hoxton, which we used to test the waters to see whether people would like the style. We've since stopped producing these, although we still get orders for them. Last year at Salon QP, we debuted the Norfolk, a maritime-themed watch with anchor-shaped hands and an enamel dial that took inspiration from the instruments found on old ships. We have also added the Regulator - one of our most complicated timepieces, which is limited to 15 pieces - to our collection.
Later this year we will reveal the Portsmouth, which will feature the very first in-house Garrick movement. Andreas Strehler, an esteemed independent watchmaker who has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, was instrumental in making this a reality. The new movement will be built in both our workshops and those of Andreas in Switzerland, and is a big step up for us as a brand.
Because we make the dials and hands ourselves, there's a lot of flexibility in our designs. Our bespoke service has proved to be the biggest hassle for us because we presumed that we'd only get one or two people a year asking for custom watches. However, almost everyone who orders a Garrick watch wants something individual. We recently did a watch for a Morgan motorcar owner where we matched the enamel dial of the Norfolk to the colour of his car and made the strap out of the same material as the upholstery, even down to the stitching.
Because our watches are handmade, most people expect them to be three times the price they are, but we've always wanted to keep the cost reasonable. Simon's a watchmaker and I'm a collector, so we're both passionate about horology - the most important thing for us is to see our creations on people's wrists.
DAVID BRAILSFORD is a watch collector and consultant who, alongside Simon Michlmayr, launched Garrick in 2014. The brand aims to continue the tradition of British watchmaking, manufacturing high-end timepieces in its factory in Norfolk. Prices start from £2,300; garrick.co.uk
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