Since the fundamental mechanics of timekeeping have gone unchanged for many years, new patents are a rare thing in watchmaking. That’s what makes the new Beachmaster by British watchmaker Elliot Brown so interesting.
The first clues that something unusual lurks inside the Beachmaster’s 40 mm case are the external bezel, which counts anticlockwise, and a second, inner bezel, that counts from zero to 12 both clockwise and anticlockwise.
What’s going on here, is a patented ‘mission timer’ that can be set to count down to an event taking place in up to 12 hours’ time, then count up for 12 hours to show how long it has been since the event started. The event could be a rocket launch, a beach landing or a sailing race. It’s up to you.
The Poole, Dorset-based company explains: “Working with the GMT 24h hand the split internal bezel counts down up to 12 hours to mission start, H hour, then automatically counts up to 12 hours.”
Preparing for secondary, shorter missions? The Beachmaster also has you covered, as the company also explains: “Hours, minutes and seconds can also be utilised for shorter mission timing periods concurrently with the 60-minute external countdown bezel. The possibilities are almost limitless but also incredibly simple to use, such as counting down to the start of a sailing race.”
Watch fans may recall how the Rolex Yacht-Master II also has a complication for counting down to the start of a sailing race, but in that case the timer can only be set for up to 10 minutes, although the timer itself is configured to start automatically.
Back to the Elliot Brown, and the watch is offered on a pair of matching stainless steel bracelets in steel or bronze, and it’s powered by a Swiss-made Sellita SW330-2 automatic movement with 56 hours of power reserve and GMT function. The dial is protected by a 2 mm domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, while dial and bezel markings are coated in S2 white Super-LumiNova which glows blue.
The watch also comes in bespoke Beachmaster packaging and includes a Beachmaster “challenge coin” that is only available with this timepiece.
Waterproof to 300 metres and limited to 500 pieces, the Elliot Brown Beachmaster is available to pre-order now, priced at £2,375, and deliveries will begin in January 2023.
