SCHOFIELD, AN ECCENTRIC BRITISH WATCH BRAND
With hyperbolic strap-lines like “Pioneering watchmakers from the new era! Watches that Weather and Made by Thinking” describe something that the youth would call extra! This is ok, it is a byproduct of Schofield’s CEO Giles Ellis enthusiasm for pretty much everything. Since 2008 Schofield has tracked its own course, unwavered by industry trends and persuasion. Making watches for those that favour depth and reason.
Giles Ellis Schofield’s principal keeper has delivered a number of (all seats filled) seminars on design, watchmaking and being manly. He is an Assistant Professor in Product Design at University of Sussex.
TIMELINE
Below is a list of milestones. New websites, blogs, events, smaller accessories, straps, buckles, flyers, stickers, parties, socials, staff, media and business stuff have been omitted for the sake of brevity. If you covet the things in the list and they are not in the shop, then sorry to say, they have sold out.
THE OBSCURA! The Obscura – a watch that began in 2017 and then constantly adjusted and refined. A project of self-indulgence. It is my best work and finally I can retire, happy. I am not retiring of course and probably never will, the point being the Obscura is unfettered by expense, detail, materials and craftsmanship. A watch that could only ever be made now, with the experience, team and makers accumulated over the last 15 years. Read all about it by clicking the button.
THE LIGHT. Schofield introduces a general purpose field watch. After 15 years making watches with the same case shape and dimensions, the Light brings a whole re-design, from the ground up. At 40 mm diameter we now have a wholly new offering with no less complexity and detail as seen in other models. Lighthouses have been Schofield’s inspiration for the last 15 years and these two new watches reflect their austerity, endurance and precision. Built for legibility and reliability – a functional watch with subtle military cues. Powered by an automatic, mechanical Seiko movement with 24hr GMT. The Light comes in two colours, aptly named The Light One and The Dark One. Both limited to 150 pieces.
SOMETIME. Not your average watch podcast! I won’t be interviewing Bamford, Biver or the Schofield inner circle, I’m not selling (directly) and I don’t mention the word ‘watch’ very often at all.
I will be talking at you for about 20 mins a go, a duration, I figure for an average short car journey or for falling asleep. The first story is that of the Encabulator and there has been some debate at Schofield Towers to whether it maybe too left-field for an introduction, what’s worse is I read my own version called the Calibre Encabulator. So, there are three points to note going in. First, you are not supposed to understand this episode at all, it’s nonsense and is meant that way. Second, The Turbo Encabulator uses fictional words, my version does not. All the words are real words and you still won’t get it, unless you’re Rebecca Struthers – also the point. Lastly, the next episode will make marginally more sense so hang in there. Why jump in at the deep-end? Because there is a deep-end.
BAD MOOD BLACK CAT. A limited edition of just 3 watches, all black and moody! Bad mood, well that’s me. Black cat because as luck would have it, they are cool. Moody black cloud with a just visible silver lining. Angry lightning; 3 strikes. 2 tears, 1 Bad Mood Black Cat with 3 whiskers. And to make it all worse – rain.
DRILLIAM. A ceramic Drilliam dialled, ceramic coated steel Beater Rare Things one of one. Drilliam was a craze of taking a bike part, like cranks and drilling the almighty out of them to make them lighter. I confess to doing this on a Cinelli head stem and ruining it.
COST OF QC. have you seen anything like it? It is an A4 sized piece of art called ‘The Cost of QC’. I can only make five at this size and there is one in A2. Not cheap, super rare, the integrated frame is milled from aluminium and clear anodised. There is a screwed down plate that covers the back. An engineered picture!
I take enormous pride in minimal wastage. That said in the 12 years that Schofield has been making dials, all the mishaps and QC fails were put aside and collected. Presented here in a quasi-random order, mostly Signalman and Blacklamp dials, because the manufacturer screwed up and had to send replacements. I wish I had Strange Lights dials as they would have looked cool but they are all perfect! Limited to five A4 and one A2. Shown here as the design drawing not finished article, they all sold before we could take a good photo.
SIX PIPS ALMANAC. Why is the Almanac a big deal? Because it is a deliberate move towards doing more that is analogue, displacing some of the digital necessities any business has to endure. The Six Pips has always been in the digital domain and as many readers of the Pips will appreciate it is more than marketing fluff, it is the heart and soul of Schofield Watch Company. By making it a book, it feels like making it real.
On a personal note, there are some things that just have to be done. No question. The Six Pips is an effort, easier when there is news, harder keeping the enthusiasm up when times are tough. Sometimes impossible. Nearly every Thursday for the last 10 years of my life is devoted to the Pips! So I made it into a book because I really wanted to!
Not merely a cut and past job, no sir! This is curated from all the best Pips of 2021. Hence Almanac 21 (A-21). Those short, sharp, buy this thing now type Pips have been omitted. Leaving the poems, the prose, the excitement and the beauty – the very best that Schofield offers.
PURPLEX B5. A variant of the B5 above with a ceramic coated case in a bright pink/purple. In fact there were some other colour ways in even smaller runs. Yin yang Black Cherry and dark red cherry. Naturally all within the theme of the Sakura.
Japanese B5. The Bronze B4 was only half the story. This new Japanese B5 is the light to the B4’s dark! The prettiest Schofield to date. A muted, blossom coloured dial in a specially textured case similar in finish to traditional Suzuki or Shibuichi items. There are depths to the texture because the machining marks can be seen below the finish. The case back is very special indeed, traditionally made in sterling silver and glass enamel we see a scene of an old plum tree, inspired by a Fuchū manhole cover. We have also made a little lapel pin in the same design, again in silver, for you to wear on your jacket. In fact, all new Schofields come with a specific pin, designed to be a summary of the watch it accompanies. The strap is plum canvas with a stitch to match the dial. Somebody wrote that the Bronze B4 is Giles’ love letter to Japan, having been a Japanophile his entire life, the B5 needed to reflect elements of Japan the B4 missed – the Sakura, the subtle, beauty and calm.
LANDMARK. The case is vapour-blasted steel with an exhibition case back showing the STP auto-mech movement. The same as a Daymark. There are only 12 being made because they are the last of our German made Marker cases (the company went bust so we cannot make more).
The choice was either to make 12 more Daymarks or go out with a bang. Hence the Landmark! I wanted to acknowledge the Telemark that we made a few years ago, a sold out model with a white dial.
The Landmark dial is made in Switzerland by the best of the best and has a printed glowing ring around the perimeter that is further over printed with a minute track. A fine printed red line, in-bound to the glowing ring proves the quality as there is no mismatch is registration. We have also added satin black appliqués, that catch the light. X marks the spot! The hands are like those found on the Daymark. There is also a date at 3.
The watch comes with two white(ish) straps. The one pictured is a Mil-spec toughened leather called Oil-tac (British made) The other is the infamous Scruff Canvas, a mottled white canvas. You can choose if you would like a Red, Orange or blue ceramic coated buckle.
SMALL WALL CLOCK. You have heard before that Schofield’s Principal Keeper is a selfish designer, making everything in the catalogue for himself and the Small Wall Clock is exactly that, made because one does not already satisfactorily exist. As the title suggests it is small, only 16 cms in diameter because now it can be discreet, tucked in a corner, not loud and dominating. The dials are available in three subtle, metallic colours and are printed with extreme precision by watch dial makers. With a plain and simple numerals, designed for clarity at distance and modelled on old AEG factory clocks. The hands are plain batton style with the only luminescence in the counterpoise of the seconds hand. The movement was an easy choice, a Seiko sweep seconds. Why on earth would you want to wind your wall clock? The Seiko movement is also silent so the clocks can be placed in quiet places. The casework deserves special attention. A seriously over built and over engineered extravagance in form that is a facsimile of Schofield watches.
The holding of this small clock that the 1.25 kg of aluminium and glass shows it’s build quality. Machined from solid billet, the case has a profile like that of a Schofield watch without the lugs, The glass is domed and the case backs are no less extravagant than those found on our watches, they feature an integrated knob that rotates the whole piece for access to the movement and also ensures that the hanging hole is aligned at 12 O’clock.
TREASURE WATCH. The notion of treasure, whether to hoard it or share it has been a Schofield conundrum from the start. One of our many straplines, ‘All we Make is Treasure’ sums up the Schofield vibe of the coast, lighthouses and the romance of something to be discovered. It has been 10 years this November since we launched Schofield to the world with the Signalman. A polished steel case with a black dial. So we consider this new model an anniversary watch harking back to an earlier time with all the wonder we have imagined over the last decade built in.
The Treasure Watch has a stepped black dial and brushed gold handset but two different cases, one fully polished steel, the other is thick gold-plated brass. Gold and silver treasure! The case back shows an X marks the spot, runic script, mountains, rivers and the sky above. Each watch is serialised with the name of a treasure hoard found in the UK. Number 1 is Sutton Hoo, number 2 the Ringlemere Cup and 27 others making a limited edition of 29 watches. Only a couple remain.
JAPANESE B4. The Japanese aesthetic has inspired Schofield’s designs from the beginning. Simple, crafted, understated, showing more by showing less, still. What better place to exaggerate these ideas than with a new Bronze Beater model? The dial is the colour of Indigo dyed Boro, a unique patched and repaired workwear cloth. The case is heavily patinated bronze, the Japanese call patination the grease of life and tend not to remove it by polishing. The case back depicts Daruma-San a traditional Japanese doll. The character on his chest means good luck and these dolls are often given as gifts prior to a challenge or task. The case back engraving also shows a Tokyo drain cover design of ginkgo and cherry blossom. The watch strap is Mudcloth, a tough canvas fixed with plant seeds and mud for six months to achieve this rich colour. A watch built from Giles Ellis’ love of Japan, its people and their traditions. The attention to detail in their crafts, he believes, is unmatched by any other culture.
RIVERSIDE STORE. Schofield’s first physical, actual real life shop and this a good opportunity to tell you about the window design which was BTW surprisingly complicated to make. There are two panels each taking four hours to print. My demands were that it was to be printed full colour both sides, you can’t have it pretty from the outside only!
You cannot talk about Schofield without mentioning the sea, or more specifically the British coast, it is our playground. Many watch companies occupy a specific domain be it under the sea or in the air, even space. We took the coast (and were the first to do so 🙂 The lighthouse represents that exact threshold between land and sea and we see Smeaton’s Tower throughout our designs. It is without doubt one of the coolest things ever made. With too much narrative for a single Pip I’ll close by saying that lighthouses and their meaning to Schofield watch owners is more than just branding.
STRANGE LIGHTS. The first new Schofield watch since 2018. A full titanium case making it the lightest Schofield ever made at 85 grams strapped. It comes in two colours; not quite red and not quite green, a little off, strange. Port and starboard navigation lights, on the sea or in the sky. Playing on Schofield’s domain; the English coast with a touch of the obscure. Striking watches designed for comfortable, everyday wear in the highly recognisable Schofield case with legible dials devoid of any unnecessary ornament.
The case back engraving shows a 1950s style UFO hovering above Smeaton’s Tower, a lighthouse that represents Great British engineering and innovation; it also featured on Schofield’s first ever watch the Signalman, followed by many others over the last decade. Strange Lights, traces that journey and is a loud and confident celebration of 10 years in watch making.
FISH GUTS V2, Fish Guts is back! The legendary ink, remixed for 2021. Only here because the label is so cool.
UV-1, an UV torch designed specifically for watch dials. Not one of my finest business decisions but when my daughter picked it up and said (without prompting) that it looked like a spaceship I knew I had nailed it! Profit?! She then said what’s the point? BECAUSE, guys that like watches also like torches and most like the luminescence found on watch dials and so methinks that they will toats appreciate an UV torch for all the forthcoming watch shows to check how good the lume is on watches in the dark and to show their mates how rad the new Schofield is, etc.
WAPHTTTB. The Watch And Pen Holding Treasure Trove Trunk Box. I was asked if it is secure storage. Yes it is, though not a safe! It is lockable and there are holes in the base so it can be screwed down. Or if your surface is un-screwable then I would recommend two full sheets of Blu Tack – it will slow ’em down! The WAPHTTTB will hold up to 2 watches per pigeon hole, a max total of ten watches. Or 3 pens per pigeon hole for a max of 15 pens! Or you could do away with the cedar blocks and just have empty space for tea, combs, harmonicas, gramophone needles, etc… Naturally you can have any combo. The box comes with 4 watch holders and one pen holder by default.
P-2. Over the last few years I have designed many, many pens, totally obsessing over my own work and that of other makers. Fundamentally it is a small stick you write with so without departing from ergonomic constraints there is little you can do. Which is why 99% of all pen design variations are found in the ornamentation not the shape. The first Schofield fountain pen was classical in style. Quite serious with the black acrylic and silver bands – a pen designed for yesteryear, a pen made for Sir Winston Churchill. This pen, the P-2, is the opposite, and I got there quite by accident. 2001 A Space Odyssey is one of my top films which led me to the Stanley Kubrik exhibition in London, naturally (on design high-alert) I was most excited about the 2001 section. Taking photos of the tiniest details; control panels, graphic insignia, perforations on HAL’s speaker, latches on helmets… you get the idea. I own a set of cutlery used on the Discovery 1 by Arne Jacobsen and it has not dated at all, but the pen by Parker has and it is from studying that design that I wondered what if Stanley asked me to design a pen for the film today! What would it look like?
The basic concept was it had to look dynamic and have forward motion, a bit like a space ship but not obviously so, it needed a shape differentiation that was unique without being wacky. It was not to have clip (I’m off clips as only a very few of us put fountain pens in shirt pockets) and there was to be no silversmithing. HAL the ubiquitous computer AI ‘eye’ was not to feature – tempting as it was! But this was not an homage but an alignment.
So the cap has a nose-cone like the Blacklamp torch and the original Onoto x Schofield Pen. It has a fin that acts to grip when unscrewing but also serves as a roll-stop. It has two flat sections on the barrel that are fluted, a deliberate tactile surface to run one’s thumb along. It has a cool metal badge in the end that is a play on the original Parker pen’s coloured dots and the subtlest nod to HAL 🙂
ROCK LIGHT BEATER. Did you see the seminar I gave when I talked about the Custard Cream biscuit being a design masterpiece? This pale yellow dial is known at HQ as the Custard Cream dial. This special watch is limited to 14 pieces. Each one is named after a British rock lighthouse and has been named the Rock-Light Beater. A fully polished stainless steel case and like all current Beater B3s it has the new crown and two and a half hands, the half being our ‘Sign-of-Life’ seconds hand, the tiny revolving disc dead centre.
MR C. Last year has ended and it unfortunately ended with a great sadness. Not at all how I wished to start the first pips of 2019. Simon Cudd, a Schofield character and one half of the Schofield & Cudd collaboration was taken last week – snatched by cancer – in the blink of an eye. Only 46 years old, my age. We were mates, business partners and co-conspirators.
Here are some things I learnt from Simon.
- Our imagined future-selves are always more awesome. Don’t wait to improve yourself or that ‘future’ will always be just that, the future instead of the present
- Getting angry with the little things is needlessly stressful
- Loyalty is valuable, you need it most when you’re poor
- To put energy into people
- To always have a nice cushion in your car- excellent interior design shouldn’t be exclusive to your home
- To never tire of watches
- To really push for free stuff
- To find virtue in less expensive clothes (never!)
- To always smell nice
- To arrive big
- Sharing the fuss over little things is fun
- To take more photos
- To go on more road trips
- To not wait for luck
THE SWAMP THING is being offered in a limited run of only seven watches! This set of watches will use the very last of the double green dials, enhancing the rarity of this collection. The Swamp Thing is a direct result of Schofield’s passion for experimentation; playing with materials, aesthetics and colour is what Giles Ellis does best. The Murky Beater’s unique visual and textural features make it quite unlike any other watch we’ve produced and the select few lucky enough to own them will be delighted with the fine detailed work that has gone into these pieces.
This new model is certainly more brooding than its forebear, the Bronze Beater Batch 2, with its darker tones reminiscent of a monster from the depths or the shifting colours of the turbulent ocean as the weather changes and the days grow dim. If there was a physical manifestation of the SWC quote ‘a watch company that faces the sea’ then this watch would be it. The double green dial is the colour of the English Channel. In one poem William Wordsworth describes it as ‘A span of waters; yet what power is there!’ He may well have been describing this watch as the Murky Beater conjures up an image of strength and resilience.
X-RAY. A Telemark in stealth mode, this new addition to the Markers range takes the original’s colourway and flips it on its head. The zig-zagging x-ray second hand contrasts with the dark bluish tones of the rest of the dial. Swapping light for dark on this model gives an entirely new feel to the watch and its specially concocted Super-LumiNova glows with an otherworldly colour. This is a release which we at Schofield are super enthusiastic about! Teasing further, notice the date disc with no date but an array of icons yet to be disclosed!
THE BEATER B3 has arrived and there are a couple of new features that we’re very, very excited about! It’s true that we get excited quite a lot but stay with us and you’ll see we have good reason. The case back of the new B3 took 120 hours of work to complete and the 3 hours of laser engraving per piece really shows in the quality of the finished article. These tiny canvases are hidden to the outside world, known only to a select group of owners and collectors.
The B3 or Batch 3 of the Bronze Beater has become a true Schofield mainstay. This watch is still on offer but not for long as the numbers are running low. We still have both (but not many) of the raw bronze and Patinated versions.
THE BUOYS CLUB, like a new puppy, needed living with for a while before being officially named. Priding ourselves with extreme talent in this area, and just moments ago, we have decided that The Buoys(& Bells) Club is befitting, afterall one of our favoured strap lines “if you are drifting we will bring you ashore” a buoy, like a lighthouse and a Daymark is another device which guides (leads you) your way. We see a nice new graphic on our horizon. The club itself has exceeded our expectations by way of fulfilling that little niggle that we weren’t doing enough for those with loyal custom. This small pip is dedicated to the buoys and bells that have kept us afloat and enable us to continue making treasure. Peace!
THE DAYMARK DARK is a new take on our house model, the Daymark. Rather than reinventing the wheel with this latest design, this is an example of a watch born out of Schofield’s passion for experimentation. Playing with materials, aesthetics and colour is what Giles Ellis does best and the Daymark Dark is, put simply, a watch which is more than the sum of its parts.
This striking new model is certainly more brooding than its forebear, the Daymark, with its darker tones reminiscent of the shadow beneath the overhang, the rock face sprayed by the sea and the rain. This watch is every bit as robust as the Daymark but whereas its predecessor is austere, this watch is sleek. The ceramic coating changes the colour of the case itself, yes, but beyond that, the broader context of the watch is also affected. Every detail, every colour, is altered and this is the beauty of playing with light and dark. As can be seen, it is possible to alter the entire aesthetic of the timepiece with one broad stroke.
THE SIX PIPS is a watch podcast without precedent. It is the first of its kind, as a podcast produced in-house by a British watch manufacturer. Six episodes, each comprised of six questions, exploring everything from the everyday workings of a watch company to the microscopic details of design and production. Each episode focuses on a different topic, ranging from what it’s like to start a watch company to Giles’ point of view on many of the most controversial issues of the day. Schofield’s Principal Keeper navigates the choppy waters of modern-day chronometry, accompanied by Harry, another Schofield stalwart. The Six Pips is a horology podcast with a difference, that difference being that we are the insiders and we’re ready to tell our tale.
THE TELEMARK sits within the ‘Markers’ family of Schofield watches, which was originally pioneered by the Daymark. Typical of Schofield the design elements are steeped in history and narrative; with this model being inspired by the 1960s war film ‘Heroes of Telemark’. The military overture is distinct but subtle, with nods to heritage of British armed forces in the olive green highlights (around the date and on the logo), and the graphic used on the date window resembling a naval contact mine. This graphic is duplicated but with addition of the middle point creating the code symbol for ‘lighthouse’, thus tying into Schofields underlying coastal theme and strength as a brand, strong and determined as that of the unyielding force of the ocean.
//9H7B is two pencils. One with a hard lead describing a thin pale line, embossing the paper as it goes, the other is soft, broad, shady and prone to smudging. It is dark and light, chalk and cheese, him and her, blah and blah – a designers playground.
//9h7b is a contemporary accessories brand. Its products drawn from the sketches of Mr E, CEO of Schofield, a British Watch Company that measures its worth in details. //9h7b makes predominately black things that do not quite fit under Schofield’s umbrella so they find shelter in the pockets and bags of the few that have discovered us.
//9h7b stuff is just more nice stuff, but compelling and with a narrative that makes its ownership delightful. Those that know Mr E’s work would tell you that progress is slow, the products are few, the designs are reasoned and the reasons are many. The materials are coveted, the build is to endure and the whole experience of getting involved is lovely. Sadly the company making this treasure went bust. We do have a few bits left if you are interested, just email in 🙂
STRAP KIT V3. So what is on this patch, what is going on? ‘Straps for Land and Sea’ (notice the logo in the ‘A’ of ‘straps’), this little phrase has been with us from the beginning. Many of our straps are water-resistant, the way that they are glued and stitched means that they do not get soggy even if they are soaked. To represent the sea we have the scallop embroidered in metallic gold thread. For land we used to have a fox and still do on our strap tubes but for the Kit he has been replaced by the Bulldog. I have had this graphic for over twenty years and felt now was the time to use it. I think the Union Jack is such a difficult and ugly piece of design to use well, so our bulldog has a red, white and blue collar.
Our strap sizes are long and regular, we stopped using ‘short’ (on the straps) because no real man would ever buy one, and didn’t so we had many returns of the long size, we keep ’short’ here as a reminder that men will be men. Beneath this banner we have a Fresnel lens, a mainstay of the Schofield universe. The large circle border is a play on a lifebuoy and inside this the Schofield company name and phrase Sussex and England. This is often challenged but it was taken from old cricket bats where the team member would play for both Sussex and England. The four stars were also taken from cricket bat graphics (we like cricket). Four stars used to represent the best. When did the best become 5 stars? When we went metric I suppose.
The Kit patch would not be complete without Smeaton’s Tower as it once stood on the Eddystone rocks – in the rain. The SWC diamond logo is our newest and my favourite one to date, totally mid-century modern and versatile. Lastly we have the Unicode map symbol for a lighthouse, this wheel, gear, cog is used across Schofield products and takes centre stage engraved into the Blacklamp and the new Daymark crown. In the background we have gold and silver sun rays, a staple design element in any designer’s toolbox but for us repressing the new dawn, a new take on products like the Signalman Silvertop watch and this here re-issued redesigned Strap Kit. I should also mention the shape, strong shoulders at the top and the bottom, when sewn close to the symmetrical shape of the pocket flap you can see our ‘Beam of Light’ logo in the negative space.
<strong>SCHOFIELD & CUDD</strong> was two mates having fun creating straps and other whimseys. It was its own enterprise but wholly associated with Schofield. The project carried all of the seriousness of a legitimate business with its products being manufactured with the same integrity as Schofield’s. Simon Cudd was a well known watch industry character, a professional photographer by trade and a good friend with a similar eye for detail but a different colour palette to my own. It was a great place to go if you found Schofield’s strap collection too austere. It was a permanent turning point in Schofield’s pallet; coming out of the fog and into the sun.
THE DAYMARK is an Aid to Navigation, a structure that is much like a lighthouse but without a light. It continues our British coastal styling and symbolises a permanent structure, a beacon and a trusted friend. Schofield owner Giles Ellis explains; “The Daymark is our new landmark and the least niche watch we have manufactured to date. The movement, refinements in the case, new hand set and symmetrical dial, as well as colours chosen to reflect inclement British weather, make it particularly handsome.” A robust daily-wearing watch that maintains the subtlety and detail for which Giles Ellis’ work is well known.
THE COMPELLER itself took quite a while to design as I am so specific regarding its dimensions, feel and performance. We chose bronze because it is heavy, perfect for a flywheel but also because it is pretty and will change colour over time. The removeable stainless steel grips contrast with the bronze and marry up nicely with our watches. We use a ceramic hybrid bearing, pretty much like those used in other spinners but we import our from the states as they are as good as can be, specifically used in dentistry tools and are made to exceedingly high tolerances. We are seeing spin times of over three mins consistently with some peaking at 5 mins and longer.
SIGNALMAN BARE BONES. These watches solidify what we call our Bare Bones project. An exercise of exclusion – which is quite hard for a designer – to leave off and let it be? These Signalman are pared down to the geometry. Rose gold or rhodium plated solid brass machined dials. There were in fact 5 versions of this watch with modified Signalman style cases and solid dials. This was also the start of Rare Things, a title given to those watches that were made in limited editions of 5 or under. As of 2024 we have one version in a Silvertop case with a gold dial. This is the last of them.
TOOTS! What does a watchmaker know about coffee? Probably as much as you, which is probably more than most people, because we really love (need) coffee and try to know everything about the things we get enthusiastic about. You might ask what business does Schofield have making coffee? The answer is none, other than a door opened to a world that smelled good, so we ran through!
So what is Toots! Original Jazz Coffee? It is a Yellow Bourbon bean from a mountainous region, 1150 metres above sea level, in the heart of Brazil. This variety has been ‘pulped natural’ which means the beans are left to dry alongside the fleshy part of the fruit which imparts a natural sweetness that can be tasted in a filter or espresso. We have medium roasted the coffee to give a perfectly harmonious ensemble of nuts, chocolate, cereals and a hint of fruit.
THE SILVERTOP is the fifth offering (Signalman, Blacklamp, Beater and Bare Bones Project) from Schofield and is launched in two dial colours, where the style nostalgically harks back to the time when prestige cars were often two tone, and to those early mornings when milk was delivered in glass bottles with silver-foil tops.
The Signalman Silvertop takes its inspiration from the great British lighthouses of the 18th and 19th centuries. The shape and circular engraving on the crown, the domed sapphire crystal set below the lip of the bezel, the buttress style lugs and the large chamfer in the case body all reflect the design of Fresnel lenses, which magnify and focus light, allowing lighthouses to be visible over great distances. The case back features a new engraving of Smeaton’s Tower on the Eddystone Rocks as a testament to strength, longevity and precision of engineering.
FISH GUTS V1. Here we are with ink covered hands, mixing our in-house coloured fountain pen ink, Fish Guts. Every envelope is addressed in Fish Guts with a Schofield fountain pen, every memo, note and label. Every letter signed and every job done ticked.
BEATER BARE BONES. Second wave. After the popularity of the first wave of watches we made various iterations of case materials and finishes, they all had enamel dials in common although some were polished and others mat. Many watches were unique.
BEATER BARE BONES. After a frustrating breakdown of suppliers to the processes required to make dials in the UK, we were left with unfinished ones – which we used to make super cool minimalist watches. This was the first, a polished Titanium B1 with a rare black enamel dial. The case was polished by a Japanese firm that specialised in finishing satellite mirrors.
LADYFINGER. Schofield x Michael Morris
BEATER B1, the first of a watch family that has become a Schofield stalwart. Initially there were three types, Bronze One of the first in the world, which was hand force patinated and this we are sure is a World’s first. there was also a steel and a Titanium version – all with coloured enamel dials.
P-1. The first Schofield pen – a serious, sartorial, beautiful thing, made in collaboration with Onoto pen makers.
SIX PIPS. We had been sending emails prior to this date but around this time we sent the first email with 6 small articles outlining happenings at Schofield and beyond. Since this time we have rarely missed a Thursday evening at 8:15 send out.
During the Cold War it was said that the commander of the British Polaris nuclear submarine was told to tune into Radio 4 every morning. If no Today Programme, complete with ‘the six pips’, was heard, they were instructed to go to the safe and open instructions, previously written by the prime minister, and attack the enemy.
For other individuals concerned with time, particularly those watch owners who reset their manual and pocket wound watches to a daily rhythm, ‘the six pips’ have been a constant companion since their inception in 1924. A series of distinctive tones broadcast at one second intervals marking the precise start of each hour.
The six pips have been broadcast by BBC Radio since 5 February 1924. Originally a pair of Dent’s eight-day regulators (no. 2016) were used to generate the pips. These clocks sent a signal each second to the BBC, which converted them to the audible oscillatory tone broadcast.
The first five pips ring for a tenth of a second, the final one for half a second. The final pip is longer than the other five because atomic time is calculated independently of the Earth’s spin, and occasionally an extra second (the seventh or ‘leap’ pip) needs to be added to compensate. To prevent people setting their watches prematurely, the final pip, whether it is the sixth or the seventh, is slightly longer .
The actual moment when the hour changes, the “on-time marker”, is at the very beginning of the last pip. At this moment, many watch owners ‘keep time’, pushing the crown of their manual wind back into position, adjusting their cuff and restarting their daily cycle afresh. If you have not signed-up you need to. Please. Click the button.
TIDE TIME. Mandy Barker is an award winning photographic artist who exhibits throughout the world. Her work highlights the environmental issues surrounding dispersed plastic pollution in the world’s oceans and challenges the viewer to understand the problem and to become actively engaged in helping work towards changing it.
Mandy’s work inspired us to think more deeply about our own connection with the sea and our role in helping people to appreciate its beauty and care for its preservation. We decided to support her by commissioning a piece of work called Tide Time.
STRAP KIT V2. Again with Cro’Jack
ENSIZEN X SCHOFIELD. The first of many UK legal, friction folding penknives, this one in collaboration with Ensizen knives.
CRICKET BALL STRAP. The Schofield cricket ball strap takes inspiration from the stitching patterns used in cricket ball fabrication and is made from the same leather used by Dukes in their Special County “A” – Grade 1 – Red cricket ball. In the world of cricket two names are synonymous with the craft of ball making. In the southern hemisphere the Kookaburra ball is pre-eminent while in the northern hemisphere we have the Dukes cricket ball. The Dukes Special County “A” – Grade 1 – Red cricket ball is used exclusively for Test Matches in England as well as all First Class County Cricket.
The cricket ball strap comes in a presentation box made by Tim Keeley the world’s most famous cricket bat maker. Apprentice to John Newburry, Tim has made bats for all the most famous cricketers of our time including Sachin Tendulker, Brian Lara and Ted Dexter to name a just a few. These boxes are beautifully hand-crafted from off-cuts of the willow used in making his bats.
BLACKLAMP CARBON. One of the earliest inceptions of non-aggregate carbon fibre case making. An important watch in the history of watch design. The glowing ring was developed in collaboration with Black Badger. Limited edition to 101 watches, serialised with different British lighthouses.
In an increasingly automated world of ‘smart’ phones and watches, the manual wind offers the chance to pause, to reset, to start again; it is an act of care and precision requiring the exertion of human effort. The daily routine of winding reminds us of what an amazing little machine a mechanical watch is, allowing us to consider the intricacy of its design, its weight, temperature, texture, the sound of its tick, and so on. With increasing demands on our time the manual wind encourages us to actively engage with its keeping; noting the hours of the day, the passing of seasons.
WATCH WALLET, made in collaboration with Cherchbi British bag maker.
STRAP KIT V1 made in collaboration with the now defunct Cro’Jack. A large foldable tweed storage item for growing collections of Schofield watch straps.
STRAPS. The first of Schofield’s eccentric straps. Clayton Leather, Vintage Suede, India Rubber and Green Tweed, possibly the first ever tweed strap?!
TITANIC WHISTLE. The first Schofield accessory, an ACME Titanic brass whistle on linen clock rope with a custom horn toggle button that was engraved. We sold them mostly to teachers.
SIGNALMAN GMT PR DLC (limited to 100). Official launch at SalonQP 2011 at the Saatchi Gallery London.
DLC is an abbreviation for Diamond Like Carbon, a special coating applied to the Stainless steel case components of the Signalman. Our DLC coating process is carried out in Germany in a facility that produces a superior hydrogen free DLC that is especially hard and consistent in colour. As a finish it is only a few microns thick but it is extremely hard (4500 HV) compared to untreated stainless steel (225 HV). It is also slicker than Teflon with a co-efficient of Friction around 0.03 (steel 0.78). DLC is also extremely water resistant.
SALONQP 2011. The official launch of SWC to the world at the Saatchi Gallery London. With a naive business plan to sell three watches in year one. We actually sold 200 watches within the first 6 months and quite suddenly Schofield was on the map.
BOYS IN THE BOAT. Schofield Watch Company’s first promotional shoot. The company, along with its message, vibe and commitment had been designed since 2007 alongside the Signalman watch.
SIGNALMAN GMT PR. The first watch was the Signalman GMT PR limited to 300. 2010 also saw the incorporation of Schofield Watch Company Limited.
The Signalman took its inspiration from the great British lighthouses of the 18th and 19th centuries. The shape and circular engraving on the crown, the domed sapphire crystal set below the lip of the bezel, the buttress style lugs and the large chamfer in the case body all reflect the design of Fresnel lenses, which magnify and focus light, allowing lighthouses to be visible over great distances. The case back features an engraving of Smeaton’s Tower on the Eddystone Rocks, the third lighthouse to occupy this hostile reef, as a testament to strength, longevity and precision of engineering. The design of this watch set the precedent for what Schofield is today.
…Vanity got the better of me in 2006/7. I had decided that I needed a proper watch. Deciding what one became an obsession, which became a project. A seed was sown whilst browsing the Wristwatch Annual and the project got quite out of hand becoming Schofield...