Elliot Brown tears up centuries of watchmaking tradition with new launch

Poole-based watch brand Elliot Brown is flying in the face of hundreds of years of tradition by releasing a watch with a shield-shaped case.

The Shield Holton Quartz is a reimagining of the brand’s Holton collection, and flies in the face of horological convention.

Taking inspiration from the shield shape of its brand logo, Elliot Brown has altered the shape of the case itself in a way that’s never been done before.

“In a world where everything looks the same, optimised, algorithmic, interchangeable, we wanted to make a deliberate choice and challenge one of watchmaking’s oldest assumptions,” said Ian Elliot, co-founder of Elliot Brown. “Round watches exist because pocket watches were round. We asked a different question: ‘what shape should a watch actually be?’ The answer was already there in our logo, waiting.”

In terms of functionality and complications, the quartz-powered watch has some tricks up its sleeve. A proprietary phantom notification generator triggers at random, encouraging the wearer to glance down, capturing the familiar instinct of checking a device, but redirecting attention to the watch itself.

And, when the wearer finds him or herself in a pub, the Shield Holton signals the optimal moment to head to the bar to avoid queues, using geolocation and movement sensors.

Arguably the watch’s pièce de résistance is its ‘battery anxiety eliminator,’ which ensures total peace of mind for the user by constantly displaying a full charge.

This innovative, limited edition timepiece is available for today only, April 1st.