Manufacture
Ornatus-Mundi provides a fascinating deep dive into Ellicott 1738, a brand that revives the name of an influential British watchmaker for its Swiss-made timepieces. This article explores the brand's historical inspiration, its modern philosophy under CEO Pierre-André Finazzi, and key models presented at Baselworld 2013, offering valuable context for understanding this unique approach to horological heritage.
"As a curious and interested person, I was always aware of British watchmaking history and of all the famous British horologists. Then, during the early part of this decade life offered me the opportunity to start a new watchmaking venture, and I could think of no better name than that of Ellicott. Just like when John II and subsequent generations joined the company as sons perpetuating their fathers’ work, it is with great respect and inspiration that I continue to cultivate the British heritage of the brand and to promote and establish the Ellicott name throughout the world. Today, everyone involved in the new company has a genuine passion for haute horlogerie and the modern day Ellicott represents a unique heritage and a fantastic means for expressing this passion." [Mr Finazzi in an interview with QP magazine in 2011]
With this watch Ellicott is honouring John Ellicott’s admission into the prestigious Royal Society. This year marks the 275th anniversary of his induction. The watch, called Royal Skeleton , is a powerfully design skeletonised watch driven by a handwound movement. Its case is crafted in 42mm rose gold and is contrasted with a dial element made of Tantalum. Of interest are the screwed balance visible through a dedicated round opening in an otherwise 'radiating' dial: The latter is not just a dial
The Ellicott Majesty is not exactly a new watch, it was presented already in 2010. In fact, it enjoyed some public attention when it was presented in 2011 to the then Colonel in Chief, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. However, its a milestone for Ellicott as it comes with their first proprietary movement, a technically quite interesting movement with a circumferential rotor and a unique finishing. The watch comes in several variants, fully red gold, with a tantalum bezel or in white gold:
The sports-addicted collection in Ellicott's stable, the Mach One collection , gets a new edition of the SkyEagle monousher chronograph: No, I have not photographed the watch upside-down! The movement is modified in that it (i) shows the escapement on the dial and (ii) places the mono pusher very conveniently (for left-hand wearers, at least) at the 8 o'clock position. This allows for a comfortable control of the chronograph with your thumb. The case is crafted from steel and tantalum and follow
The 'crown' of the Ellicott collection certainly is the Master Complication RS 38 : A (-nother?) homage to John Ellicott's admission to the Royal Society in 1738, this time with a set of complications that can make watch connoisseurs' heats melt: a perpetual calendar with moonphase combined with a minute repeater in such a way that the result is the flatted movement in its class: The Master Complications follows the design cues of the Royal Skeleton case and combines it with the dial concept of
Instead of a foreword: Drafting my personal summary and conclusions on Ellicott was not an easy task, in fact I tried to procrastinate as much as I could ;-). The reason: I enjoyed a warm and personal welcome at their Basel booth, which makes it even harder to offer some fundamental critique. But not doing so would not be fair to our members either (and strictly non-purist!). Let's face the following: Ellicott's watches have many of the ingredients of successful watches, distinctive designs, som
Thank you for your efforts. I also appreciate your honesty. It is our duty to present all points to the Community and everyone can decide on their own. Visually, I like many of the elements I see in these watches. Certainly enough that I would like to try them on. But from your first post on, I wondered the same about these brand owners "acquiring" the rights to the Ellicott name and using it for their new watches. What is the connection there? I'm afraid I am lost on that relationship, and it s
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