Thomas Earnshaw — Graham Custance Photography

Aug 1

Aug 1 Thomas Earnshaw

I was delighted to be asked by Thomas Earnshaw watches to showcase two of their latest designs, the Beaufort and the Beaufort Anatolia Automatic. Both of these timepieces came in beautiful presentation boxes and looked even better when worn on the wrist.

Thomas Earnshaw was a legendary pioneer in the field of horology, born in Manchester in 1749 his work was renowned in the marine chronometers of the era, crucial to the journeys taken by the ships of the Royal Navy as they circumnavigated the globe in that golden age of science and exploration. Chronometer No.506 designed by Earnshaw was carried by HMS Beagle during the voyage taken by Charles Darwin.

In observatories such as Greenwich and Armagh he also developed clocks and today these can be seen in museums around the world.This drive for excellence in craftsmanship can be found today in Earnshaw timepieces.

The Beaufort above features a quartz chronograph with date function with an ionic plated rose gold casing and stunning blue dial face. The case diameter is 43mm which I found was just the right size for my wrist, sometimes the larger cases on watches look a little overbearing and I find are too heavy on the wrist but this was perfect. The rose gold strap complimented the colour of the face nicely and it really is a classy watch to wear out.

When I saw the Beaufort Anatolia Automatic on the Thomas Earnshaw website I was fascinated by the intricate design that had gone in to making such a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Take a look at the video below to see the working mechanism in action.

It's called an open heart design and it's carved out of solid stainless steel with a mechanical automatic function, which means that it has a self winding mechanism if worn throughout the day with the additional winding function if not. A beautiful silver white dial face with a patterned effect and a genuine leather strap. Again the same as the Beaufort this one comes with a 43mm case diameter which fits perfectly on the wrist.

Having this timepiece on your wrist is going to get noticed, it has already for me and people will be intrigued by this unique design. Accuracy is without question what you would expect from a renowned company such as Thomas Earnshaw.