Backes & Strauss has teamed up with menswear brand Azat Mard to produce a watch that celebrates both British and Armenian heritage.
London’s Backes & Strauss is a 200-year-old diamond company that in 2006 partnered with Franck Muller and started making its own watches.
Backes & Strauss has since produced a series of very well-received watches, with diamonds much in evidence, as you would expect.
Azat Mard celebrates Armenia and the Armenian diaspora in everything it does.
The name means either “free man” or “free people” in the Armenian language and the brand specialises in what it calls “luxury clothing for the fashion-forward, powerful man”.
The W1 Azat Mard has a 40mm stainless steel case and an open caseback showing the decorated automatic movement.
The dial is British Racing Green – in a nod to Backes & Strauss’s background – with Armenian numerals at 12, 3, 6, and 9, enamelled in the color of the Armenian flag.
At the centre of the dial is a representation of the Armenian “eternity wheel”.
The wheel is an Armenian national symbol that represents the eternal nature of life, love and faith.
The bracelet is brushed stainless steel with polished links for contrast.
The crown is adorned with the “jewel in the crown” – a diamond of 0.06cts.
They have shared pictures of a diamond-bezelled version, but it is not on sale, at least not yet.
The watch comes with a two-year warranty from Franck Muller Geneva, Switzerland and New York, USA.
The steel version of the W1 Azat Mard costs $8,466