The Bite Magazine - Spring 2016 - Issue 15

Taking their name from a street in Clerkenwell, new watch brand Sekford has unveiled their first collection. Jada Brookes delves into the world of Sekford and their traditional inspired processes. T he name behind English watch brand Sekford derives from Sekforde Street in Clerkenwell, London which interestedly was once one of the world’s most important watch- making hubs. Today as we know, it is home to a group of restaurants, some of which are Sekford’s favourites and said to be “perfect for long lunches…” The brand was established when the founders were unable to find the kind of watches that they wanted to wear: a luxury, mid-century-style dress watch for everyday use, with a price equivalent to a great pair of shoes, bag or jacket. So they set about researching the history of watchmaking and acquired an appre- ciation for the fine lettering and clarity of white space found on English pock- et-watch dials. This led to them exploring the traditional techniques which are now used in their production. Taking their inspiration from the collaborative, arti- sanal approach of 18th and 19th-century English workshops, the brand discovered that the ideas developed by architects and designers of that time captured the confluence between machine produc- tion and human skill and have used this concept as a foundation for Sekford’s cre- ative process.The brand aims to faithfully pursue these enlightened values, using precision engineering to execute bespoke designs by specially commissioned letter- ing artists and engravers. Sekford has recently unveiled their very first watch collection entitled ‘Type 1A’, a SEKFORD bitewatches TYPE 1A