I've always been interested in watches. Even as a child I can remember wanting a 007 watch on my wrist! When I took my first job at age 14, which was a part time Saturday job a local hobby shop, one of the first things I bought myself was a watch. It was a Casio, in stainless steel with a blue dial. Although it was only around £40 at the time this was a huge achievement for me. It was something that I had saved for, as I only earned £12.50 per day, and was something that reflected my personal taste.
I think that starting Newrach was just a natural progression of my watch journey. I started collecting watches many years ago, and found that buying non working or damaged watches was far cheaper than their working , good condition counterparts. Coming from an an Automotive Engineering background, plus being an avid model maker who is also a radio controlled model enthusiast, I guessed that working on watches (which are basically miniature machines) would be something I could take on myself. So, I started buying cheap broken watches, and also cheap new movements, and learned how to strip and rebuild them, and also how to repair them. This progressed to me buying watches from more prestigious brands, to fix up and "flip". So I guess you could say I traded my way up until I had the likes of Rolex, Breguet, Heuer and Omegas as part of my own watch collection.
As much as I love repairing old watches, and collecting, there came a point where that didn't seem enough anymore. I knew how to work on and repair watches, and learned how to polish cases and re-lume hands etc, but didn't want my watch journey to end there. So, I though to myself, I have this knowledge, why not try making my own watches under my own brand?
My first venture into this field was to create my own watches, which went under the brand name of "Rudge". These were diving watches, and I sold quite a lot to those in the "online watch community". In particular, I sold one unique variation of this watch to a good friend of mine, with that watch still being worn daily and keeping good time.
It was a homage of the vintage Rolex gilt dial Submariner, but more up to date with things like a domed sapphire crystal, 120 click uni-directional bezel, and modern lume. I had dials and cases produced for me, as well as hands, and bought movements from Switzerland. All of these parts were then assembled by me here at my home in Cardiff. It was a fantastic learning experience and the perfect basis to build on.
Newrach truly builds upon what I have learned from that first venture, and will include a range of watches, not just one model.
That's a great question! I was born in Wales, to an English Father and Welsh Mother, with both sides of my heritage being equally as important to me. While looking through possible names for my watch brand in both English and Welsh I stumbled across the word "Newrach". It's a Welsh word that means "brave", "wiser" or "stronger". All of the attributes that I want from my own brand of watches.
Yes, definitely! This is why all of the watches that I produce will be available with a dials in either English or Welsh.
Newrach will be a no nonsense brand, and the watches will be governed by common sense. For example, our tool watches will be made from high grade stainless steel, and will have utilitarian movements that keep great time and that are robust. There is simply no need in having an 18ct gold tool watch with a highly decorated but fragile movement that nobody bar myself or future watchmaker will ever see.
Newrach watches will also be sensibly priced. We won't have huge advertising bills to pay that would typically be passed on to the consumer. Many watches out there are priced as such simply because that manufacturer needs that additional revenue to pay for their advertising and sponsorship deals! A £1,000 watch becomes a £2,000 watch. We will let our watches speak for themselves.
Finally, Newrach will be as transparent as possible. There are so many "Swiss" watches out there that use parts from China, Japan, or other places it's untrue! I suppose if you are charging a high premium then it pays to keep the fact that a lot of your parts are outsourced a secret. There is a famous example where a well known Swiss brand released a watch with an "in-house movement" that actually turned out to be a Japanese movement. There is no need for such deception, which is why we will will always be honest and truthful. Newrach watches will always be assembled here in the UK, their movements regulated and adjusted on a timegrapher here in the UK, and will be subject to our own quality control measures here in the UK.
The majority of our watches will have a traditional mechanical movement. That is the first thing that a true watch enthusiast will look for and is my own personal preference. However, there is one exception!
Chronographs!
We will be producing a vintage inspired chronograph that uses a mechanical movement, but for a modern day chronograph then it has to be quartz. The whole reason for a chronograph is to record time as accurately as possible. In fact, the definition of "chronograph" is "an instrument for recording time with great accuracy". We all know that a good quartz movement is more accurate than a mechanical one, so for me, the quartz movement is the most obvious choice where accuracy is concerned.
I'm a great motorsport enthusiast, and I can tell you that nobody uses an analogue timing device to time races or lap times anymore. In fact, I don't know of any sport where a mechanical device is used, especially where accurate timekeeping is paramount.
This is why we will offer a mechanical chronograph as a vintage inspired piece for traditionalists, but keep our latest and modern chronographs as quartz.
Apart from value for money, our no nonsense approach to watchmaking, and our desire to be as transparent as possible, then the simple answer is exclusivity.
Newrach is very much a cottage industry, where I design and source the parts for the watches that I produce myself. I oversee the manufacturing process of those parts, and then assemble those parts into actual working watches here in Cardiff once delivered. I personally ensure that those parts are of the highest standard possible, and produce a timepiece that is worthy of the Newrach name. Apart from myself, there are only a few other family members involved in this business, which means that I simply do not have the capacity to produce a lot of watches.
In my past venture, under the name of "Rudge", there was actually a long waiting list of customers wishing to purchase one of my watches. This wasn't a manufactured scenario, it was simply down to the fact that I couldn't produce those watches fast enough to meet demand. Hence at one point in time second hand Rudge watches were selling for more online than what I was charging for them new! Much like what we now see with Rolex.
I've always worked on a "first come first serve" basis, and don't see that changing. I will never "vet" a potential customer like so many other brands now do to see if "they are worthy" of owning one of my watches, and would never take a bribe for them to "jump the queue". Newrach is a brand with integrity, and I will not allow that integrity to be diminished in any way.
There are currently three goals that I would like Newrach to achieve.
The first would be to find suitable partners wanting to sell Newrach watches throughout the country. Physical shops or boutiques, who wish to provide their customers with a product that is well designed and well made, and that is reasonably priced. Retailers who can appreciate the quality of our watches, and who wish to sell them for the benefit of their customers and not purely themselves.
Secondly, I would like Newrach to grow to a point where I would need others to help produce our watches to meet our demand. Owning your own successful business shouldn't be about getting rich while stroking your own ego, it should be about pride in what you are doing and the ability to help others. If I could employ just a few people to assemble our watches and provide them with an income then that would be fantastic. They wouldn't necessarily have to be qualified watchmakers, just people who are on board with or philosophy, and who want to contribute. After all I had no formal training in watchmaking, and would be able to teach someone with the right aptitude how to assemble our watches themselves. Those watches would aways have to pass my own scrutiny, so quality and performance would never be an issue.
Finally I think the ultimate goal would be for us to produce our own in-house movement. Not a movement that is some rehash of another, not a movement designed by a Swiss, Japanese or French company, and certainly not one that is manufactured abroad. It would have to be designed here in the UK by a British horologists, and then manufactured and assembled here. That would be something to be truly proud of.
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