Time with Elliot Brown

To mark my achievements on the Classe Figaro Bénéteau circuit this season, Elliot Brown watches gave me a special gift. At our Academy end of season meal in Poole, the home of Elliot Brown, I was given a custom watch with the number 9 picked out in silver – the sail number I have been given for the 2016 after finishing 9th in both the Solitaire du Figaro and the Championships of France.

Shortly after, I was privy to a tour of Elliot Brown’s workshop in Poole. Their work place is small, but incredibly interesting. Located on the waterfront in front of a small marina, the setting really reflects Elliot Brown’s passion for beauty and the sea.

As an engineer, design and the internal workings of things have always fascinated me. A timepiece is so small and the mechanics are so intricate, requiring extreme attention to detail and accuracy in manufacture with no room for error.

It won't surprise you to know that great engineers have learned a lot from working for watch manufactures like the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel. A watch can be used for many different purposes from decorative dinner watches, to robust work watches.

It was fascinating to learn more about Elliot Brown’s approach to design and wearability. Their aim is to produce good looking watches capable of surviving vigorous sports like sailing, surfing and rock climbing, that are also comfortable and stylish enough for every day use and evening wear.

Elliot Brown’s approach to watch making is very much inline with the way I like to think when designing or working. Trying to keep the product simplistic but stylish, as well as robust and fit for purpose.

It was a great experience for me to see how the watch I wore for the duration of the Solitaire du Figaro came to be, and to understand the principle behind the special custom watch I have now replaced that with.