Loomes everest

Watchmaker Loomes on top of the world

British watchmaker Robert Loomes will be presenting a mountaineering team from the Royal Gurhka Regiment with watches to help them scale Everest in May.

Stamford-based Robert Loomes & Co. has been working to raise funds for high-altitude health and education organisation The Mountain Trust and will present a number of watches to the Gurhkas in March, ahead of an Everest expedition to celebrate their regiment’s 200 years of service with the British Army this year.

Charles Malcolm-Brown, chairman of The Mountain Trust, will give a presentation before the specially-prepared watches are officially handed over on March 10 at Stamford Town Hall.

The Gurhkas also support the work of the Mountain Trust and are said to be enthusiastic about being equipped with British watches. Mechanical watches are seen as more reliable than quartz alternatives, which can freeze up in the kind of conditions experienced on cold weather expeditions.

Climb leader Captain Dick Gale of the Royal Engineers, currently attached to the Gurhkas, will also be present to receive the watches with some of his team before flying out to Nepal the following week.

Robert and his wife Robina first met at high altitude in Bolivia 24 years ago, almost making it to an altitude of 6,000m. The summit of Everest is at 8,848m.

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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