A watch brand that ceased trading more than 30 years ago is being resurrected by the great-grandson of the man that founded it.
Don Cochrane is in the process of re-launching Vertex to the UK market with an initial piece based on a watch the brand made for the British military during the Second World War.
Cochrane has been working on the launch for two years following the death of his grandmother.
He explained: “Vertex was her father’s company and one of the pre-eminent watch companies of its time. Sadly in the 1970s, like so many in the watch trade, Vertex closed its doors.
“In restarting Vertex, my ambitions were two-fold. Firstly to launch a new watch based on Vertex’s legendary Second World War navigation watch and, secondly, to change the way people think about exclusivity and commercialism.”
The M100 watch that it is launching marks 100 years since his great-grandfather founded the brand. The mechanical timepiece features a brushed steel case, box crystal glass and a moulded ‘Superlumanova’ dial. It is waterproof to 10 ATM (100m) and, when wound, will run for 42 hours with “near perfect” accuracy.
The watch comes packaged with both an Admiralty Grey NATO strap and a high quality black leather strap.
Mr Cochrane says that he wants the Vertex “to be much more about the wearer” rather than using price to create exclusivity.
As a result, the launch plan involves the £2,500 M100 initially being offered to a “limited” list of buyers, who will be given an online code to complete the purchase.
Buyers will also be entitled to refer up to five more people, who will also receive their own code, thereby continuing the story and growing the brand.
