Luxury British watchmaker William Wood combines your love for premium Swiss watches with a sustainable approach to fashion. Combine these principles, and you have the Valiant range of timepieces that look stunning and also honour the firefighters. With divers and pilots being immortalised through luxury watches, it makes sense that these everyday heroes receive similar treatment.
The latest and arguably best of the William Wood Valiant range is the Blue example. With a deep blue watch face and contrasting red band, this premium watch is sure to make a lasting impression. William Wood is also offering far more opportunities to customise your purchase than what you would typically find with a name like Rolex or Omega. For starters, you get to choose the movement.
Related: William Wood’s Fire Exit Watch Puts a New Spin on the Luxury Swiss Day Movement Design
The Blue William Wood watch comes with your choice of the Swiss ETA 2824 automatic movement or the Japanese Seiko NH35 automatic movement. Watchmakers argue that Swiss 2824 is one of the most durable and precise movements in its category. Having been utilised since 1982, the movement has a long history of proving its worth. With 25 jewelled bearings and a power reserve of up to 38 hours, it’s hard to look past this option. That is unless you prefer Japanese hardware.
Many critics argue that Seiko movement is as accurate as the Swiss brands and trying to compare the two is like trying to split hairs. The Seiko NH35 is self-winding though, with 24-jewelled bearings. NH35 is fully wound after about 55 manual turns of the crown.
Over on the design front, printed around the perimeter of the dial is the exact checked markings design from the side of a British fire engine. The second hand has been designed to look like the chime from an old fire engine bell. Here’s the kicker: William Wood likes to upcycle, creating more sustainable products. So inside the crown of each watch is an inset made from the brass of a 1920’s British firefighter’s helmet. Each inset is finished with a unique William Wood firefighter helmet logo engraving.
There’s more! Of the four available watch straps, one is made from cast-off Angus Duraline British fire hose rubber. The watchmaker says luscious red makes the watches stand out and you can still smell the smokiness in the rubber! If you’re looking for something more traditional, the other strap options are made from metal, black rubber and a navy-coloured Nato strap.
Super-LumiNova on the indices, hands and bezel means you can follow the time no matter how dark an environment, and this premium piece is water-resistant up to 100m, so wear it practically anywhere with confidence. The see-through caseback welcomes a clear view of the movement of choice along with an engraving of the limited edition model number.
It wouldn’t be a luxury watch if it wasn’t presented in a bespoke box with an accompanying red William Wood watch roll. Each buyer also gets to choose an additional strap. How good is that?
For those unfamiliar with William Wood, the London-based watchmaker was founded by John Garret, whose grandfather William Wood served in the British Fire Service for over 25 years winning commendations for his acts of bravery. Following a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2018, John founded William Wood with aspirations of becoming the go-to British luxury brand that uses recycled firefighting material in a sustainable, fresh and chivalrous way.
You can find everything you could want to know about the Valiant Blue watch including price and pre-ordering via the link below. Don’t dawdle. Stock is limited to just 250 examples. While there, take a look at the single Red Valiant watch, auctioned to raise funds in support of the Australian bush fires.
Movement: Japan Seiko NH35 Automatic / Swiss Sellita SW200 Automatic
Case diameter: 41mm
Case thickness: 16mm
Water Resistance: 100 metres / 10 ATM
Strap color options: Red Fire Hose / Yellow Fire Hose / Blue Fire Hose / Green Fire Hose / Metal Band / Black Rubber / Nato
Price: £695
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