Matthew Hilton is launching his first ever timepiece at London Design Festival.
British designer Hilton will launch his first watch at the Margaret Howell store on Wigmore Street, during London Design Festival this September.
Hilton has worked closely on the watch with CNC metal engineers from London based company, Ilford Engineering.
The timepiece is manufactured with a bead-blasted stainless steel case and features a leather strap
created by Bill Amberg. The watch combines the watch case and face in a single component.
The case is milled from solid billet of 316 marine-grade stainless steel.
To retain the quality of the unprocessed material, detailing is kept to a minimum after the case is cut,
with no further polishing or finishing. The watch features custom-made Swiss hands and is protected by a mineral crystal cover, resulting in a water resistant rating of 3 ATM.
A Swiss-made quartz movement is embedded within a small hollow chamber inside the stainless steel body, secured by a steel back cover plate and gaskets.
The watch’s emphasis on simplicity and quality of materials and function ties in with Hilton?s celebrated furniture collections, which is also evident in the design ethos and material choice of the watch and the presentation box.
Hilton?s foray into timepiece design comes from his own love of watches and the engineering involved within the manufacturing process.
He said: "I wanted for a long time to find a watch that reflects my approach to design. I never found one and finally decided to make one myself. This is an adventure for us in the studio; a completely new area of design and a venture into manufacturing ourselves.
"The watch took a long time in research and development and I wanted to use the high quality engineering and craftsmanship we have in the UK – this expertise comes from fields as diverse as the medical industry, aerospace and Formula One, but I wanted simplicity and reduction to shine through. A basic but luxurious design through the use of best materials and removal of superflous detail."
