William Wood Valiant Red Watch

William Wood was the name of the founders late grandfather, and he served in the British Fire Service for 25 years winning commendations for his acts of bravery. William Wood Watches deliver British sustainable luxury timepieces made from upcycled firefighting materials. What’s unique about their latest Valiant Collection is that it boasts straps crafted from upcycled British fire hose that has served and protected the UK Fire & Rescue Service for over 10 years. And, best of all, you can still smell the rich smokiness in the rubber.

What’s more impressive is that they have taken an original 1920’s London Fire Brigade helmet and melted into their watch crowns. Each crown is handcrafted in the heart of London’s iconic jewellery district of Hatton Gardens by a family run business that has over 40 years experience dealing with precious metals. They also give the customer the power to choose their watch movement, with a choice of two world renowned automatic movements from the Swiss Group ETA or Japan Group Seiko.

A large part of what William Wood Watches seek to do is give back. They donate to The Fire Fighters Charity, the UK’s largest firefighting charity who provide psychological, physical and social support to UK firefighters and their families. In January 2020 they raised $5,000 for the Australian Bushfires by selling a one-time customised Valiant Collection watch at auction with 100% of the proceeds going to the Australian Bushfire Relief Fund. They are hosting a similar auction in May 2020 for International Firefighters’ Day with all proceeds going to The Fire Fighters Charity.

Built For Adventure

The Red Watch from William Wood’s Valiant series of timepieces has adventure in its blood and has the dive watch aesthetic that we’re such big fans of here at The Coolector. It is clear to see that William Wood have put a lot of thought and attention into the design of their Valiant Collection and have delivered a striking timepiece that pays homage to the Fire Service and the owner’s grandfather, whilst still being a beautiful timepiece for the general public to enjoy.

If you’re au fait with watches, you’ll know that Swiss made movements are the calling card of luxury which is why the £699 offering of Red Watch will call out to horology aficionados but for those after a pleasingly affordable timepiece dripping with cool features, the Seiko Automatic movement will more than fit the bill. The Swiss movement is a self-winding design with the oscillating weight spinning up a 38-hour power reserve and it boasts 25-jewelled bearings. The regulator is ETA’s own Etachron system and watchmakers agree that the 2824 is one of the most robust and precision movements in its price range.

With a design heavily inspired by the Fire Services, this exemplary looking timepiece has a rank marking feature incorporated into the dial design. The ranking of a firefigher can be seen on their uniform collar. The two stripe indices located at the 12 position on the watch face represent the markings a Crew Manager would have on his or her uniform collar and makes this a really special release close to the heart of the owner of William Wood Watches.

Limited Edition Offering

The Red Watch from William Wood Watches is the crowning glory of their Valiant Collection and it is a limited edition release and each one comes with a unique engraving between 1 – 250 on the caseback that makes it all the more exclusive. This adventure ready timepiece is water resistant to 100m and has Super-LumiNova on the indices, hands and bezel so you can follow the time no matter how dark your environment may be.

There are loads of neat little nods to the fire service within the design of The Red Watch which includes fire hose straps made from actual fire hose rubber and a crown inset which has been hewn from a 1920’s British brass firefighter’s helmet which really does an extra touch of class and authenticity to proceedings. We’re loving this timepiece here at Coolector HQ and we’re pretty sure there will be plenty of other men out there equally as enamoured with its charms. Get your hands on one now.