Giles Bushby launched his company’s second watch brand on the opening day of the Company of Master Jewellers’ trade event in Birmingham yesterday.
GB&RS’s Minster 1949 watches are fully assembled in the UK using internationally sourced components.
The brand was originally founded by H Samuel in 1949, where it was an in-house watch brand for a number of years, before the trademark lapsed allowing Bushby to buy the name.
The brand’s five models, which range in price from £179 to £295, are assembled in its workshops, located inside St John’s Church in Halifax.
Bushby demonstrated his brand’s premium point of sales displays which feature genuine tweed and leather to illustrate its premium British ethos. Minster 1949’s innovative retail packaging takes the form of a book, opening to reveal the watch.
As well as unveiling four new models, Bushby has recreated one of the original Minster 1949 designs from the early 1950s in the form of the Burlingham.
The 47mm Minster 1949 Boyland takes its design cues from the cockpit compass of the WWII Spitfire fighter aircraft, using the same light blue colour and featuring a gloss on matte embossed silhouette of the aircraft on the dial.
GB&RS was also showcasing its SwissEmporio brand of affordable Swiss-made watches at the Birmingham event.
