LABOUR OF LOVE

A pair of watch enthusiasts in Emsworth have launched their own timepiece range inspired by the greats of UK engineering

Examine the dial of any of Zero West’s limited edition watches and you will see a longtitude and a latitude.

It’s all part of the Emsworth watchmaker’s brand: There’s a time and place for everything. Each map reference refers to a location directly connected to the ideas behind the design of the watches, which celebrate historic feats of British engineering. The location on the L1 Longtitude watch is 51.48°N-0.00°W – Greenwich Royal Observatory referring to watchmaker John Harrison’s development of the H4 Sea Watch which won him the Longtitude Prize.

And there are a few Hampshire locations too. On the L2 Longtitude is 50.845°N – 1.328°W for Southampton Water, where Hubert Scott-Paine broke 100mph in the single-engine hydroplane Miss Britain III. And on the S1 Spitfire the location is 50.8986° N – 1.3813°W for the Woolston Spitfire factory. What’s more, on the latter design the dial of the Spitfire watch is a homage to the Smith clock found in the Spitfire cockpit, while the crown is modelled on the fire button found on the Spitfire’s joystick.

With this amount of attention to detail perhaps it is no surprise it took three years for friends and founders Graham Collins and Andrew Brabyn to produce their first watch.

The whole process began with just one email Andrew received from former military and aviation engineer Graham. “He got ill and took some time out,” recalls Andrew, 50, who has a background in graphic design and marketing.

“One Saturday he emailed me an idea for a watch – it was a 3D render of this beautiful watch body. Instead of just emailing back I designed a dial and put it into an advert for him.”

From there the idea of creating a new watch brand was born.