British Watch Companies Assemble For The EveryWatch Charity Auction
Auction house Lyon & Turnbull presents an exciting auction for British watchmakers. In partnership with the Scottish Watches podcast and website, the auction offers one-of-a-kind British wristwatches to go under the hammer from August 16–23, 2023. The EveryWatch winning bids go towards the Maggie’s Centres charity, which funds free support for cancer patients and their families across the UK. You can see the watches in person at Lyon & Turnbull’s Glasgow Gallery, 182 Bath Street, on Monday the 21st and Tuesday the 22nd.
Nine watch brands are participating in the auction, each with a pièce unique based on its most identifiable model. From the lots below, you can see a strong focus on vibrant colors. This vibrancy is in keeping with Maggie’s Centres’ optimistic outlook for what can be a difficult and bleak time for many. The nine watch brands are predominantly based in Great Britain with manufacturing across Europe. These brands include Christopher Ward, Fears, Isotope, Sartory Billard, Paulin, Studio Underd0g, Bamford, William Wood, and anOrdain. Below, I will briefly highlight all the watches, but as stated in the introduction, if you have the chance, see them in person at Lyon & Turnbull’s Glasgow Gallery.
Christopher Ward C63 Highlander EveryWatch 01/01
The Christopher Ward C63 Highlander in stainless steel with a blue dial kicks off the list. The Highlander name stems from the Scottish highlands in keeping with the auction house. Alongside this is the EveryWatch logo on the dial and sapphire exhibition window to reveal the SW200-1-based movement.
Fears Brunswick Ice
Fears Watches takes its smaller 38mm Brunswick steel case with manually wound ETA 7001 movement as the base for its EveryWatch contribution. The five-row bracelet has a mixture of polished and brushed finishing techniques. However, its glacier-blue dial with a sunburst finish combined with the pebble-shaped case makes this unique Brunswick a real gem.
Isotope Hydrium Alba
We’ve recently covered the Isotope Hydrium, but this is the Alba edition. “Alba” is the Scottish-Gaelic term for Scotland. Using the Scottish national flag as inspiration, the Isotope Hydrium Alba dive watch has a white enamel dial and blue rectangular hour markers within a 40mm 316L stainless steel case with a micro-blasted finish.
Sartory Billard SB04
Again, the French-originated Swiss brand Sartory Billard is going with the blue theme. However, pièces uniques are nothing new to Sartory Billard, with its ethos based around bespoke creations. Just browsing the brand’s Instagram page, you can see the myriad designs that owners spec themselves. Sartory Billard offers a simplified blued titanium dial with a shimmering effect in a steel case for the charity auction.
Paulin Prototype 1-1000
The next lot is a fascinating opportunity to own a development model from Paulin, a sister company of anOrdain. While this 38mm steel watch with ETA 7001 movement is not a one-off creation specifically for the auction, it’s a rare chance to own something unmatched. The prototype watch comes from 2022, and the green dial with green suede strap shares much in common with the Scottish landscape.
Studio Underd0g Blueberry Chronograph
Now on to what might be my favorite from all the lots. I might be slightly biased as I own a Fratello × Studio Underd0g Aubergine LE from last year. The Blueberry uses the same concept as the Aubergine, with a fabulous assortment of blue shades. The same central light-to-dark gradient is in place, along with the printed misnomer “Bicompax” for the twin chronograph sub-dials. Using a hand-wound Seagull ST-1901 column-wheel chronograph caliber, a typical Studio Underd0g watch might be the most attainable. Still, I anticipate this Blueberry one-of-one watch could be one of the hottest lots.
Bamford Prototype B80
While initially known as a watch customizer, Bamford now has a collection of watch models of its own. This particular watch uses a 39mm black-coated titanium case with Sellita SW300-1 automatic movement.
William Wood EveryWatch Limited Edition
Primarily, the lineup for the EveryWatch auction encompasses dials with blue tones, with the odd splash of green. William Wood is here to kick down the door with its firefighter-inspired watches and fiery orange dial. Made from aluminum, the dial has a sandwich construction with cut-outs to reveal the lume beneath each marker. The steel bezel also includes an orange dive-scale bezel. There are plenty of fire and rescue service references, but the strap made of repurposed fire hose stands out as a great way to upcycle.
anOrdain Model 1 Prototype
Last in the EveryWatch charity auction list is the anOrdain Model 1 Prototype. Like the offering from Paulin, this watch is an opportunity to get your hands on a prototype model. Specifically, this watch is a smaller version of the Model 1 created for Savile Row tailor Caroline Andrew. The dial was put through a rolling mill to press horsehair fabric into the silver. Unfortunately, the purple color was not a favorite of Andrews, and a blue version was commissioned in its place. The unsold purple model was overlaid with enamel and became a favorite within the anOrdain workshop. But now is your chance to own this prototype Model 1 to wear in the wild.
This timed online auction will be open for bidding from August 16–23, 2023, with the watches viewable in Lyon & Turnbull’s Glasgow Gallery on August 21–22. For more information, check out the auction website here, and look out for the results on the 23rd. To those bidding, good luck!
