Three wheeler 2

Struthers London announces watch for Morgan

By James Buttery

Fledgling watch brand Struthers London has announced a new watch designed for Morgan, Britain’s last family owned, independent motor manufacturer.

The Struthers London for Morgan Motor Company watch will be unveilled next month at the Geneva Motor Show (March 6 to 16).

Rebecca Struthers comments: “Designing a bespoke watch for a client is always fun, but designing a bespoke watch for a car is a little more challenging. From the outset we felt it was really important to reflect Morgan’s heritage and company ethics in our watch.

“There is an intimate level of detail dedicated to the design and manufacture of each and every Morgan car inside and out. They tell a story, from their ash wood chassis to their hand beaten paneling and zero carbon leather upholstery, every element of these handmade bespoke sports cars is carefully considered and we wanted to reflect this attention to detail in the way we designed our watch.”

Husband-and-wife team Craig and Rebecca Struthers launched Struthers London last year with the Stella, a solid platinum pendant watch set with sapphires and diamonds and powered by a vintage Universal 69 micro-rotor movement. The design led the brand to become the first watch company to win a Design Innovation Award.

Before launching their own brand the couple, who have backgrounds in jewellery, silversmithing and illustration, had specialised in restoring vintage and antique watches in Birmingham and London.

With Morgan’s use of wood integral to its identity, Struthers London teamed up with Cotswolds furniture designer Howard Butler and Shrewsbury based bespoke strap maker Christopher Clarke to work on the Struthers London for Morgan Motor Company watch.

Rebeccas Struthers said: “We are both family run companies, and the pride of putting your own name on something drives you to the highest standards of craftsmanship. Being able to take an idea from a sketch to a final product, realising the dream keeps us inspired.

“This has been a fantastic experience working alongside one of our greatest inspirations in British manufacture. For us, Morgan sports cars represent the epitome of British cool and flying the flag for small UK independent designer makers.”

While many car/watch tie-ins result in some pretty generic watches that do little to enhance the reputation of either party, there are a few exceptions and the prospect of Struthers London’s award-winning haute joaillerie approach to design coupled with Morgan’s uncompromisingly traditional stance make the prospect of this watch unashamedly British and very exciting indeed.

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