BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
The weekend before last saw the return of the Bristol Watch Show, being held once again in the Clifton Club in Clifton Village, Bristol, UK. In 2024, I attended the inaugural show, although I only had a couple of hours before needing to head off elsewhere. This year was a little more relaxed, giving me more time to take in the atmosphere – though, sadly, not the bar. Still, it was a great opportunity to catch up with some of the returning favourites from 2024 and to go hands-on with a few new names I’d not encountered before.
The show has expanded since last year, with the area previously used for talks now dedicated to more stands. Exhibitors this year included:
- Abinger Watches
- Alkin Watches
- Bold Timepieces
- DAWSEY
- Drayton Watches
- Elliot Brown
- Ember Watch Company
- Fears Watch Company
- Geckota
- Horological Underground
- Luthier Watches
- Maystone Watches
- MHD Watches
- Pompeak Watches
- Sophie Scott-Lewis
The addition of five names in the show space reflects the growing appetite for wristwatches here in the South West of the UK, and a broad variety was on offer. Most of the names listed above are watch companies themselves, with a number of them established in Bristol or nearby, but there were also pre-owned and vintage watch dealers present, and both Bold Timepieces and Horological Underground were very popular at their stands. Also of note was Sophie Scott-Lewis, an artist who transforms watches into striking graphite artworks. Her work is well worth a look and has been featured on some of the other big-name watch websites.
Abinger Watches is a brand-new company launching its first wristwatch this year, the Nimrod. Founded by Tom Howison Hill, the Nimrod came to be after he was gifted a Montblanc Timewalker from his late father-in-law, Mark, with whom he was very close. This, along with the Longines Spirit Zulu Time, the Nomos Club Sport and the Glashütte Original Sea Q, were the inspiration for him to make his version of the perfect wristwatch. The Nimrod is designed for just about anything, including travelling anywhere, which was another bond between Tom and Mark. The highlights include a very well-proportioned case measuring 38.5mm x 10.9mm, with 200m of water resistance. The dials of the watches I saw were very clean and legible, and there are three colours available. Inside each Nimrod and visible through the open caseback is a Miyota 9039 offering 42 hours of power reserve. Presented on a bracelet with a quick adjustment system, the Nimrod’s RRP is £650 with deliveries expected before the end of March 2026.
As the main sponsor of the Bristol Watch Show, the Fears Watch Company once again took centre stage, with Nicholas Bowman-Scargill leading the charge. Among this year’s novelties was the Arnos Pewter Blue, which comes unusually with both a leather strap and a blue rubber strap made for the watch by Delugs including a spring deployant clasp, which is unusual unless you own a Blancpain Villeret. Inside the Arnos’ 22.6mm x 40.0mm steel case is a selfwinding Sellita SW1000. The price of one of these is £4,350.
There were also two new watches in the Redcliff collection, the Redcliff 39.5 Burlingame Edition ‘Confetti’ features a unique dial meant to invoke the elation of life’s best moments and remind us to celebrate them. If you want one of these, they are sold exclusively by Topper Jewelers, located in Burlingame, California, and have a retail price of $3,700 with a portion of the proceeds going to fund the oncology research at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. If you prefer something sportier, the Redcliff 39.5 ‘Endurance Specification’ is designed to be rugged and ready for anything life can throw at it. It’s a more modern tool watch style that we’ve yet to see from Fears and features a 39.50mm x 10.37mmhardened stainless steel case with DLC finishing and 150m of water resistance. One of these will cost you £3,350including VAT.
The last piece is the new Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour ‘Barleycorn Plum’. The Jump Hour watches are particularly interesting in the Brunswick collection. Fears uses a chronometer-grade Sellita SW200 movement with Christopher Ward’s jump-hour module. The dial features a barleycorn pattern engraved on the outer disk, and the inner disk uses a deep, rich plum colour. With a well-proportioned steel case measuring 40.5mm x 12.8mm, one of these will set you back £4,250.
The Bristol Watch Show once again displays the passion for horology found in the West of England. With 2026’s show date confirmed as the 14th of November, and 2025’s selling out of tickets entirely, you’d better get in early if you want access to this special event.
Visit Bristol Watch Show
