Offshore chronograph web

Offshore watches moves production to Jura Valley

Classic Chronographs, the maker of Offshore Professional timepieces, has announced that it has moved production to Switzerland in a bid to increase its production quantities.

The brand has taken its production to the Jura Valley due to the demands that watchmaking placed on the brand’s founder Lorne Gifford, who is a subsea engineer for BP.

Classic Chronographs has thus far operated with the aim of building high quality chronographs to stand up to all conditions.

Gifford told WatchPro: “We are one of the few British watch companies [currently operating]. We build and selling unique chronographs under the Offshore Professional brand name.”

The timepieces are made using Valjoux movements, another reason why the watch brand’s production has been moved to Switzerland, to allow for greater access to complications and components.

“The reason for the move to Switzerland is two-fold. Firstly I don’t have the time to build watches in anything other than very small numbers as my day job as can be very demanding on my time,” explained Giffod.

“Secondly, it allows me to continue using movements from ETA as they reduce supply to companies outside the Swatch Group.”

The Offshore Professional models are named after the harsh environments in which the chronographs are designed to be used. “They’re built for strength and robustness, and use mathematical techniques for visual design instead of fashion trends,” adds Gifford.

The brand’s lead watch is the Field Engineer timepiece – a triple complication self-winding chronograph that combines advanced shock absorption and engineering with design based on Fibonacci sequence ratios.

The 44mm model has a 48-hour power reserve and each has a unique serial number engraved into the rotor.

Gifford launched Classic Chronographs as an offshoot to his career as a subsea engineer, He is also a chartered engineer, chartered marine engineer and one of fewer than a hundred registered subsea engineers working today.

 

 

 

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