WatchPro is never starved of stories from watch enthusiasts who, having failed to find the timepiece of their heart’s desire, decide to launch their own brand to fill the hole.
Typically, they employ a design agency who can get watches made in Switzerland or China using inexpensive components, and have them up on Kickstarter inside a few months.
Most are derivative, dull and disappear without trace.
A British start-up came to us this week with a not dissimilar origin story, but caught our eye because it has much loftier ambitions for low-volume, high value watches created in partnership with fine artisans and engineers in Germany, Hong Kong, Russia and Switzerland.
Founder and designer Oliver Gallaugher has launched the brand O.G and is aiming to make just ten watches this year, priced at £7,800 (around $9,750) each, and build from there.
At that price, every detail should be scrutinised, and there is early evidence that O.G’s first piece will interest aficionados with a jeweller’s eye for polishing, finishing and micro engineering.
What’s more, he is completely transparent about the provenance of every component in the watches, and has come up with a genuinely original look and feel for his first timepiece, the Deep Space.
We will get onto the dial in a moment but the flip side of the watch is worth getting a loupe out for.
The movement is a hand-wound Swiss Unitas 6498, modified and finished in Glashütte, and very much in the style of a 19th century German three-quarter plate calibre, which gives plenty of surface area for golden perlage, Geneva stripes, polished chamfers and countersunk jewels.
The movement is stamped with the O.G logo and confirmation that it is one of just ten being made.
The modifications have encouraged Mr Gallaugher to rename the movement as the GUY-1. Not exactly the in-house movement that purists prefer, but unique to O.G, nonetheless.
The dial and hands are made in Moscow and Glashütte and is comprised of a brushed titanium base with an anodised coating and hand engraved stars.
“I imagined animating a watch’s dial without any moving parts, creating movement through texture and tone. I saw flashes of light and dark with a scattering of stars – deep
space,” Mr Gallaugher describes.
Hands are made from titanium and steel and combine a sandblasted finish with anodised coatings.
The minute track appears to float above the dial, but is actually printed on the inside of the watch’s sapphire glass.
Mr Gallaugher is keen to point out that the photographs shared here are of a prototype, and the finished watches will be even more precise.
The Deep Space comes in a 41mm steel case with contrasting polished and sandblasted finishes. It is water resistant to 30 metres.
It is finished with a grey handmade sandwiched nylon and calf leather strap.
Will the watch find a market? Who can be certain, and almost £8,000 for a first watch is punchy, to say the least.
But the vision and direction is right for the current market where people value exclusivity, originality and craftsmanship. As a British business appreciating haute horlogerie, it has a chance.