Latest Review
One of the brands I’ve most enjoyed getting to know through our Windup Watch Fairs is Elliot Brown. Based in the UK, the brand offers an almost overwhelming variety of purpose built tool watches in a frequently sober, no-nonsense design language. The watches remind me at times (in a good way) of those you might have come across when the “big watch” trend was at full steam and brands sought to capitalize on the popularity of Panerai and others who traded in a hyper-masculine approach to watch design. Elliot Brown’s watches are quite a bit more considered, however, and they’ve attracted the attention of tool watch enthusiasts for their authentic perspective, undeniably solid build quality, and a pretty compelling value as well.
Their latest release, the Chromatic Collection series of Bloxworth Heritage divers, is both a great example of what Elliot Brown has been excelling at in recent years, and a confident step in a slightly different direction. If you scroll through the watches in Elliot Brown’s catalog on their website, you’ll see lots of watches in muted tones: black, dark green, navy blue. Simple dials designed for easy legibility as opposed to flash. But the Chromatic Collection adds a welcome bit of color to the brand’s vintage inspired diver with four new references that emphasize color and feel tailored to summer wear.
The four new variants include the bold Bloxworth Orange, Bloxworth Seaglass Blue, Bloxworth Drunk Tank (with pink accents), and Bloxworth Harbour Blue. Among the four, the orange and “Drunk Tank” variants stand out the most, with bright and expressive color choices. Orange, of course, has become a must-have color in most dive watch collections (see the recent Omega release) so it’s not exactly a surprising choice. The Drunk Tank, though, with its pink minute track against a light gray dial, is a bit more unexpected. Of the blues, the Seaglass is probably closest to the core Elliot Brown aesthetic, with a black dial and bezel and subtle light blue accents. The Harbour Blue has a dark blue dial paired with yellow accents. All four watches have the same simple dial layout, with oversized Arabic numerals at the cardinal positions and applied markers elsewhere. There is, as you’d expect, a healthy amount of lume the markers and handset.
The secret weapon with these watches isn’t the new color options, however. It’s Elliot Brown’s commitment to not shrinking away from quartz in watches aimed at the enthusiast market. Elliot Brown has a variety of mechanical watches in their collection, but quartz references still outnumber those powered by an automatic movement. And unlike some brands that allow their quartz pieces to play second fiddle to the inherently more costly mechanical watches they sit alongside, Elliot Brown is not taking shortcuts. These watches, which feature Swiss made Ronda movements, are fitted with ceramic bezels, incorporate shock protection, have a specially designed “unbreakable” quick change strap bar system, and are rated to 200 meters of water resistance. The stainless steel cases measure 40mm in diameter, and the brand backs everything up with a five year warranty. The cost is approachable, with pricing starting at $564 on rubber straps.
All of the watches in the Chromatic Collection are limited editions. The orange variant is limited to 100 pieces, while the rest are limited to 50 pieces each. Elliot Brown
