British watchmaking is making a strong comeback, and one of the forces behind this is Garrick, founded by David Brailsford and Simon Michlmayr. With an annual production of around 50 pieces a year, they are by no means a threat to any of the more established (Swiss) brands in terms of volume. In terms of quality though, they are most certainly helping to put Great Britain firmly back on the map of high-end watchmaking.
One of the nice things about a smaller brand such as Garrick is that you can see a strong development and evolution that consists of many small revolutions. The original regulator, which they launched in 2016, was a watch that helped put the brand on the map. It was powered by a Unitas 6497, which Garrick heavily modified by replacing several parts with ones made in-house. While a regulator is usually already quite a charismatic watch, Garrick added some more by showing the balance wheel through an opening in the dial.
Fast forward to 2023, and the new Regulator, which the aptly named MK2 or Mark 2, a very British way of indicating a new and improved model, still has that opening in the dial to show the balance wheel. That is about the only thing that remains the same.
Brailsford and Michlmayr are nothing but ambitious and are really building Garrick up to do as much in-house as they possibly can. This is a growth model, but they go for the best when it comes to dependance on from suppliers. They teamed up with independent watchmaker Andreas Strehler and his company UhrTeil AG to create a stunning manual wound movement called UT-G02.
One of the most noticeable parts that Garrick produces is the Trinity free-sprung balance, which makes its rotations on the dial side at the six o’clock. It is flanked on the right by the subdial for the hours, while the running seconds are floating a bit higher on the left side around the ten o’clock position. This slightly quirky setup works wonders and makes the watch very enticing to look at. It is also quite easy to distinguish the difference between hours, minutes, and seconds, enabling you to read the time very precisely, which is exactly the purpose of a regulator.
Garrick makes its dials in-house, and they are constructed the old fashion way. While quite a labor-intensive process, the result is stunning and has a charm that only hand-made, limited-production watches seem to possess. Garrick offers the dial in several colors with either a guilloche finish or a frosted one. This makes quite a difference in appearance, with the guilloche giving the Regulator MK II a rich and classic look, while the frosted finish seems to make it a bit more sportive. This is not far from the truth, as Garrick made its latest watch water resistant up to 10 ATM/100 meters.
For the case, they opt for 904L stainless steel over the more commonly used 316L because it can be polished to a higher gloss. The case is also well-proportioned, with a diameter of 42mm and a height of 10mm. Exclusivity is also guaranteed, as the production is limited to just ten pieces per year.
Pricing for the Garrick Regulator MK II is marked at £9,995 for the frosted dial and at £10,995 for the guilloche dial without VAT.
For more info, visit Garrick, here.