Burberry last night unveiled The Britain, its first collection of automatic watches, at its recently-opened flagship store on Regent Street in London.
The brand showcased the collection of square cased watches to several hundred guests. The design of the watches takes inspiration from Burberry’s iconic trench coats including their colourways and details such as buckles and rivets.
Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s chief creative officer, said that The Britain collection embodied the brand’s rich British heritage.
“It’s a very personal project that we have been working on for a long time – The Britain is this powerful balance of modernity and tradition, mixing strong attitude and innovative design with craftsmanship and timeless quality,” he said.
The Britain collection features several models including one with a power reserve and a chronograph, with timepieces in the range varying across 43mm and 47mm case sizes.
The range features ETA, Ronda and Soprod self-winding mechanical movements with the watches adorned with hand-applied details and custom-designed features such as bolts, crowns and bezels.
The rotors are engraved with a circular pattern and stamped with the Burberry logo, which also appears on the dial.
Bailey added: “When we first began creating The Britain, we knew that we wanted a watch based on the same design principles and craftsmanship as our iconic trench coat. The Britain marries our heritage and functional design values with modernity and innovation, creating a watch that is as elegant as it is relaxed.”
The case combines polished and brushed finishes, an open case-back and hand-stitched alligator straps as well as bracelets in brushed steel and black PVD finishes. There is also a women’s model featuring stone-set bezels.
To accompany the launch Burberry has also employed world-renowned photographer Mario Testino to shoot campaign imagery. The photos feature new names and faces from the British music, art and film industries wearing the timepieces teamed with Burberry trench coats.
The Testino shoot includes British musician Rob Pryor, actress Gabriella Wilde, and art dealer Harry Scrymgeour and was shot in London under Christopher Bailey’s creative direction.
Guests at last night’s events included gold medal winning Team GB cyclist Victoria Pendleton and Strictly Come Dancing star Brendan Cole.
