I have always had a serious love for quality watches. It comes from having a father who was a deep sea diver and growing up admiring the functionality of his timepieces as well as their beauty. And knowing that they could handle the depths he worked at – sometimes 600ft. When I was really young he had a watch called the Enicar Sherpa (which was the designer’s name Racine spelled backwards). This watch was actually designed for Everest ascents but worked just as well at serious undersea depths. It was nicked in a burglary years ago. And then I found an identical watch and gave it to the old man for his 60th birthday a few years ago. He was chuffed! When the good times were rolling and he was CEO of an oil exploration business he had an 18ct Gold Rolex Submariner. I was once having lunch with him, in an airport, when I was about 10, and someone sat down at the table with us and offered to swap his vintage Morgan Roadster sports car for my dad’s watch!
So…the point? I have teamed up with a friend of mine called Wendy Meakin, who is a pretty serious watch collector. And she has sourced a few choice pieces for Studio 8 to stock online…not the kind of things you can pick up anywhere. These are mint condition, collectors items (but in the fairly affordable bracket) that suit my taste for the aviator, explorer, Nigel Cabourn thing!
This is a 1940′s nicely faded, stainless steel dato-compax Breitling. Obviously the face is round and not oval (still getting the hang of handling a blog and minimizing photos etc. It has a Valjoux 72 movement that is in perfect working condition.
This one is a lovely Heuer and I have to say is my favourite. It is in such good condition and has a simple, yet beautiful balanced look about it. I also like the moon shaped crescent that frames the day of the month on the outer edge of the dial. 
It is also stainless steel and uses the same Valjoux as Rolex. It is a mechanical winding triple calender chronograph and was originally made for the German market hence the days of the week in German. These watches are all now available on our site here
The final piece in this little trilogy is Wendy’s favourite. It is a LeCoultre vintage automatic Memovox, with a mechanical alarm, stainless steel tonneau case. Everything is original on this watch and it is pretty unusual for such a prestigious brand to create such an unusual shape. Makes it a very special piece.
If you look very closely you might even see the reflection of my ugly mug staring back at you in the face of this unlucky design masterpiece!
This is one of the most exciting projects I have been dreamed up in a while…basically cos I LOVE watches. And Wendy is fun to talk with as well, as she is passionate and very knowledgeable on the subject.
