Beaucroft’s Element Collection Embraces British Colour

Cambridge is known for many things: beautiful architecture, river punting, and grooming the next generation of aristocratic elites. What it’s not particularly known for is watches. While we don’t really have a watchmaking hub like some countries, our own Glashütte, let’s say, Cambridge is most definitely not one. But like Bristol is to Fears and Henley-on-Thames is to Bremont, the legendary university city does have a brand to call its own: Beaucroft.

The brainchild of Matt Herd and Karim Faisali, Beaucroft’s whole vibe is daily wearers with a British twist. That’s a summary that you’ve almost certainly heard before, that fine balance of elegance and practicality, treading the thin stainless-steel line between dressy and beater. But for our money, Beaucroft manage it better than most.

In the large part, that’s because Beaucroft lean more on the elegant side of the equation. Minimal indexes, dots instead of a minute track, slim hands, it all adds up to a set of dials that are clean, clear and classical. That does mean that there aren’t dramatic differences from one model to another; the Signature and Senate models are almost identical, just with matte vs sunray brushed finishes and slightly different crowns. The Seeker also hovers around the same idea, but with more ornate leaf-shaped hands, slightly different cardinal markers and a smaller, 37mm size.

I’d argue though that offering a few riffs on the same idea is no bad thing; smaller watch labels have been scuppered more times than I care to dwell on due to overstretching what they could and should do. Staying close to a core identity throughout the collection is harder than it sounds – but thankfully that identity also includes colour.

So, you like green? How about mint, forest, emerald or seafoam? Or deep blue, midnight blue, a darker midnight blue or teal? Or if you fancy something a little more classical (though I’m not sure why you would when that mint green exists) there’s the requisite white, slate grey or salmon. British  brands love colour and while Beaucroft aren’t quite as out-there with it as someone like Farer, they’re nailing that quintessentially British flavour.

All of that brings us to the big news for Beaucroft: the shiny new Element Collection. If the Seeker was taking the Signature concept in a more traditional direction, the Element is the opposite. Gone are the minute dots, replaced by a minute track with numerals. The slim indexes have been replaced with chunkier, indexes across the board, half-covered in blue lume with a double to pick out 12 o’clock. The crown has been overhauled to something much more modern and, perhaps most importantly, it’s now on a bracelet. It’s not the retro Milanese number they’ve used before, but a proper, three-link version.

While all of these individually are small changes, they all add up to a much beefier, more modern watch. It’s still very much a Beaucroft, with its layered dial, but now plays host to an even greater array of gradient colours than before. Two blues (ocean and sky), two greens (forest and one we’ll get onto shortly) and a pure black run the usual gamut of Beaucroft colours. Then there’s a gorgeous burnt orange that’s expanding the brand’s rainbow repertoire into the kind of territory I’m obsessed with.

The model I previously alluded to is the same sort of mint green Beaucroft have played with before, but with a special edition twist. Ideally a twist of lemon, as it celebrates the watch brand’s ongoing, five-year partnership with the Cambridge Gin Lab. I can’t say for certain if you get a bottle of gin with it, but they’d be missing a trick otherwise. I can say from experience that most watch lovers like a drink to discuss horology over, and British horology demands a G&T.

What I’ve not touched on yet is accessibility. Beaucroft is British; British watches outside of Roger Smith, Struthers and the proper horologists tends to mean accessible. Well, the Senate will set you back £395, while the Signature and Seeker with their sunray brushed dials are a little pricier at £425. The Element is £599. That might seem like a jump, but bear in mind that’s on the bracelet, it encompasses more actual watchmaking than Beaucroft’s other models and still has an automatic movement – the ubiquitous Miyota 9039.

Yes, the Element is more expensive than other collections, but I think we can all agree that for £600, it’s still eminently affordable and, perhaps more importantly, represents Beaucroft’s most confident watch yet. All they’re missing now is a yellow dial.

More details at Beaucroft.

​Oracle Time 

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