Schofield Watch Company began not as a commercial venture, but as a personal endeavour. In 2008, founder Giles Ellis set out to design and build a luxury watch to his own style and requirements. As the project grew in scale, it became clear that there was space for a new kind of British independent watchmaker — one guided by detail, storytelling, and an abject antipathy to follow industry trends.

Considered the most creative, eccentric and among the best British watch brands, driven by an obsession with the entire design journey. Every detail matters: not only the watches themselves but also the accessories, packaging, straps, graphics, websites, photography, and an endless chorus of variables that harmonise into a cohesive whole – something made with passion and patience. This dedication places Schofield firmly as top-tier cool watch brands — those who dare to follow their own path, not with arrogance but with a clear vision.

Schofield watches draw inspiration from unexpected places, maritime heritage, lighthouses, folklore, science-fiction, and the quiet eccentricities of British culture. Each watch is British made and created for those who favour a good story, detail, and reason. The result is a collection of unusual watches that stand among the best British watches, as much about ideas as they are about engineering.

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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.

Schofield prides itself on subtle, understated, and precise design. Within this field, Giles has given numerous seminars and talks to universities and businesses, sharing insights on design thinking, detail, narrative and industry.

Based beside the River Adur, a stone’s throw from the sea in the bucolic Sussex countryside. Here you’ll find the Riverside Store, Schofield’s bricks-and-mortar shop styled like a 1920s dressmaker’s boutique with terrazzo tiles and dead-pink walls. Visitors are always welcome — the door is technically shut, but ring the bell and you’ll find coffee, conversation, and a close look at all the wonderful treasure. Securing a position amongst the best British watch brands for close to 20 years!

Have a day in Brighton, a walk on the Downs or along the river and a visit to the shop before exploring the historic town of Steyning perhaps. For those further afield, we urge you to make the trip — Schofield is more than watches, it is a culture for Citizens of Style!

Independent, tenacious, and proudly idiosyncratic, Schofield continues to make products that reflect British design at its most eccentric and exacting.

Giles Ellis Schofield’s principal keeper has delivered a number of (all seats filled) seminars on design, watchmaking engineering and manufacture. He is an Assistant Professor in Product Design at University of Sussex.

Schofield is often cited as being a design-led and a lifestyle business, both phrases Giles finds condescending. Schofield is first and foremost led by being impressive. Good design is a part of that as is every other tangible and intangible aspect of the business.

Being design-led implies that the businesses only virtue is it’s forward-facing design whereas at Schofield the whole of the business is designed, that is, considered and thought about until all problems are resolved into impressive outcomes. Giles teaches and uses a satisfactory score. Imagine giving a mark out of 5 for the most granular facets of your business. 5/5 is satisfactory, anything less needs improving.

A closer look at watch manufacture

From the outset Schofield is not a movement led brand. There is no R&D in developing a new calibre, there are plenty of other brands excelling at this. Pragmatism dictates that Schofield can never be impressive in this domain so it is left well alone. That is not to say they have not modified movements – but, if you are looking for in-house movements Schofield is not the brand for you.

Acquiring movements from various manufactures with the calibres depending on the watch model. As a baseline Schofield uses ETA 2824-2s but an infrequently seen gilded version (hidden gold treasure). We strip these down as far as they go, clean, re-lubricate and re-assemble. That way they are as fresh as can be. This is the Schofield way.

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All case work is made along the coast in a small precision machine shop. The same we have used for a decade and a half now. They have been responsible for nearly all the products you will find on the Timeline post Daymark. Giles specifies and engineers every 10th of a millimetre of everything you touch. The case, movement holder, case backs arrive at Schofield in raw state where all finishing is completed in-house; metals treated with years of expertise depending on the watch design.

Schofield does not use a single supplier for watch heads, like so many do. This is an important distinction because it separates them from the others – they choose and work with suppliers that best fit any given project. A major Schofield asset is the little black book of contacts that has been nurtured since Schofield’s inception.

• Cases are British made
• Crystals come from China but are recoated in Switzerland by the best in the business
• Dials and hands are Swiss made
• Movements are Swiss made
• Crowns and pendant tubes are Swiss made
• Case backs are British and/or Swiss made generally
• Watch head assembly is done by one chap in the UK to Schofield’s exacting specifications
• Straps are German Made with British top materials generally
• Buckles are either British or Chinese made and finished in-house
• Strap bars and pins are Chinese made
• Boxes are British made
• Packaging is British made
• Extras like Stickers and cloths are UK made

There are a few interesting points to unpack here. Where it says Made in China – it would be mad not to. If we chose to have crystals made in Switzerland, they would (like everybody else’s) be made in China and then cost 10x as much. Dials, hands and movements cannot be sensibly made in the UK. Schofield tried and invested heavily in this and although satisfactory for the specific design (2012-2014) it was limited by way of technology for further exploration.

If we investigate cost ratios between components we find that the case work sways the balance to a definitive British Made watch, although with the Obscura this is difficult to argue based on the US made Damascus, but it is still close to 80% cost value to UK made components.

A recent development is the increase costs of dials and hands. Schofield has increased investment into these components by roughly 8x for access to technologies that express Giles’ creativity. A level of precision in line with Schofield’s philosophy – in short to make watches of the highest quality, akin to Haute Horology costing considerably more but with ‘off the shelf movements’.

Giles Ellis is the founder and Principal Keeper of Schofield Watch Company. His journey into watchmaking grew out of a lifelong fascination with design, detail, and storytelling. Before Schofield, Giles worked at the BBC in Wardrobe and Special Effects. Those early years sharpened his eye for craft, performance, and the small details that bring ideas to life.

Driven by an urge to make things on his own terms, Giles founded The 5th Fret, restoring fine musical instruments, whilst running Salamander-inc, a design agency that delivered hundreds of branding, web, and product projects. In 2008 he created Schofield, intending at first to design a single watch for himself. The project grew into one of the best British watch brands, admired for unusual watches that combine engineering precision with eccentric British narrative.

Alongside his design practice, Giles has been active in education. He has lectured at the V&A, led sell-out seminars on design methods, and lectures at the University of Sussex on modules including Design for Industry and Design Techniques in Practice. His teaching places emphasis on design thinking, nuance, the importance of justifying ones choices and mentoring final-year students through the challenges of their theses and presentations.

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Spending time burning calories and moving like a human being with all that entails; sleep, stress and nutrition. Subjects that Giles holds qualifications in; teaching CrossFit, strength and conditioning, mobility and nutrition for over 7 years. This teaching has recently be displaced by University lecturing.

Currently Giles can be found at Boulder Brighton battling with the fact his physical age exceeds that of what he thinks he can do.

Giles is a father of three girls in an uber-creative, intelligent, neuro-vibrant household – The Riverside Store is a sanctuary! 😉