Russell Sheldrake
The watch industry loves reproductions. And these classic comeback stories always scratch the vintage itch, with traditional style, classic vibes, and often direct comparisons to highly collectible watches on the secondary market. . But we don’t often see brands come back from the dead and make a complete comeback with near-instant success. However, this also applies to the long-established case manufacturer Denison.
Denison, whose name is written in the annals of British watchmaking history, has been around since the beginning of the watch industry, and we have taken the trouble to find out the “name behind the name” of old pocket watches from Britain’s Golden Age. It was known among a small number of enthusiasts. British watchmaking. The brand has officially relaunched in New York, but we recently stocked them at the newly opened Discovery Studio in London. And as soon as they hit the shelves, they captivated everyone passing by, including the staff. So I wanted to take a deep dive into what the brand is doing now and why its recent relaunch has been so successful.
We first heard a few words from Toby Sutton, who is not only the brand’s owner but also known across the industry as one half of the father-son duo behind Watches of Knightsbridge. In Toby’s words: “My dad (vintage watch expert Simon Sutton) and I spent years opening up old pocket watches and vintage Rolex and Omega watches and Dennison making the cases for them. I started researching in 2010 after seeing The brand’s long history and why it hasn’t survived to this day.” Toby and Simon’s support for the brand’s revival gives it a lot of credibility. The pair have built an incredible reputation on Knightsbridge watches, and bringing their combined level of knowledge and passion to this project must be one of the many secret ingredients. This made it a success.
As such, we combine an old, historic name with the backing of a very knowledgeable executive, but what makes so many people stop and stare at these watches is that It’s design. And the shape itself is actually an original 1930s Dennison cushion case used in watches, which the team discovered in their research. But to achieve this delicate form, they turned to one of the world’s top watch designers today, Emmanuel Guillet. Tasked with enhancing Genta’s designs, the man who created the Royal Oak Offshore and the Rolex Cellini and his father, Jean-Claude Guillet, designed numerous watches, including Piaget’s original stone dial watch . In other words, watch design is in Emanuel’s blood.
Proportionally, the design of the watch looks great to my untrained eye, and the thin case with a Swiss Ronda quartz movement inside makes it a particularly elegant dress watch. But I think it’s in the details that Emmanuel’s genius comes through. The buckle, for example, is shaped to match the cushion case and is reminiscent of Cartier pieces that cost 100 times more.
Naturally, of all the options available, one model that is unlikely to last very long is the Tiger Eye. This natural stone dial has stripes that bounce up and disappear under the influence of light, giving it a lifelike feel. However, as Tony said, executing this look perfectly is not an easy process. “It is not a simple process and there is more QC involved, but the end result is worth it.”
The complete collection of stone and sunray dials form an incredibly tight and cohesive package when viewed side by side. And this level of thorough thoughtfulness continues into the campaign and marketing of this watch. The lifestyle shots taken for this purpose appear to have been taken with great attention to detail. It gives us journalists the opportunity to use decent photos of new watches without having to take the photos ourselves. Something we are always grateful for.
From a case maker producing up to 200,000 cases a year to selling one of the hottest new dress watches at a very attractive price point, we’re just beginning to see the next step in Denison’s evolution. , a question arises. , where do we go from here? “Other case designs are already in the pipeline,” says Toby. “A second model has been confirmed, but no release date has been planned yet. We believe this current model and case design will be our signature watch, and it is our current main In the future, we will be experimenting with different dial designs, stones, and case materials.”
