Although Schofield Watch Company was a product of the 2010s’ ‘Rebirth of British Watchmaking’, the project was always far more interesting than that. Its founder, designer and CEO Giles Ellis wanted to know what a watch born of British design culture (at least that eclectic, hipster, south coast version) would look like. He’d already had some experience of manufacture, making bespoke parts for mountain bikes, and of craftsmanship, through another business restoring mandolins and banjos, as well as a successful branding business.
The resulting watch, the Signalman, has seen countless variations over the last 15 years, with low-run editions selling out quickly to a collector base that appreciates the energy put into making every last detail fit the brief. The new design, what Ellis calls a ‘field watch’ (essentially, legible, robust and with a hint of military) is his first ground-up design since then.
