As one British alliance lies wounded from failing to remain in touch with the times, another is going from strength to strength. Indeed, unlike the Royal Family, the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers has time on its side. Late last year, while Britain was coming to terms with the double whammy of another sustained period of lockdown combined with the realisation of the true costs of Brexit and leaving Europe, two men in the watch industry were busy plotting for the future. And when I say “two men in the watch industry”, I mean arguably two of the most prominent names in the UK’s burgeoning horological world – Roger Smith OBE (the legendary independent watchmaker) and Christopher Ward founder Mike France. Their plan was simple and self-propagating: to get British watch brands – big, small, new, old – ticking synonymously, all on a united front. When the news first broke, our fearless top-knotted leader, Andrew, spoke to Smith about the plans for the Alliance, and now four months down the line, our European Editor Mike Christensen (with inferior top-knot capabilities) caught up with Smith’s watchmaking partner-in-crime, Mike France, about the positive reception the Alliance has already garnered, not…
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