Uniform Wares’ New Swiss-Made Watches
The clean, sophisticated, British-designed brand gets an interior upgrade
After much acclaim for their minimalist, refined aesthetic—with innovative flourishes—the London design team behind Uniform Wares watches has upgraded their timepieces to all Swiss-made components. Since launching the brand five years ago, founders Oliver Fowles and Patrick Bek have continued to seek out the highest quality components, which they couple with clean, contemporary round faces. The upshot of their dedication is a newly redefined collection of high-end quartz timepieces offering functional readability with the manufacture located in the world’s leading nation in watchmaking. Additionally, each watch face can be paired with a preferred strap or bracelet—German Milanese mesh, Japanese shell cordovan leather, Italian nitrile rubber and alligator from Paris—which are made by specialists across France, Italy and Germany.
Uniform Wares has now divided their watches into two families. With a classic silhouette, the C-Line series is the more high-end edition, offering both a chronograph and an elegant, understated option. The M-Line is more akin to the brand’s signature stylings, and also offers a chrono as a dressier and sportier option. Both collections have high-calibre, Swiss-made Ronda or ETA premium quartz movements, applied batons, scratch-resistant sapphire glass and clear, anti-reflective coatings across the range.
CH spoke with Fowles about their latest venture, which is demonstrated fully in an equally beautiful brand film by Zetteler & Dunn. “We realized a couple of years ago we would reach a ceiling in production capability with our manufacturing as it stood. We were starting to design more sophisticated models with a higher degree of precision and finer tolerances, so a decision was made to move to a new selection of independent manufacturers taking care of specific parts with full assembly in Switzerland.” Fowles continues, “These partners were selected through careful research and contacts we had made in the industry, each sharing the same passion for producing a well made product.”
Uniform Wares has always been detail-oriented in their design process, but a switch to Swiss-made signals an investment in quality. “I think it communicates that we’re serious about the quality of the products we design and produce. It’s easy to cut corners and make a product for less; however, it takes a lot of hard work and commitment to consistently make a product better,” Fowles explains. He has a clear vision of who their consumer is and notes, “We’ve always believed that the design and execution should speak for itself, which is why we spend a lot of time refining the details of the watch. Deciding not to feature the brand name on the dial underpins our confidence in the product. I think it’s this honesty that our customer identifies with.”
The world of watches is flooded with options. Uniform Wares found a way to build something distinctive out of a classic look, and a switch to Swiss-made is affirmation that they believe in their brand, and their consumer. Their watches sell exclusively online where prices start at €290, and watches arrive set to your local time zone.
Images courtesy of Uniform Wares
