For his penultimate project, the late Sir Terence Conran sought out a new field, discovering the possibilities of watch design in a collaboration with British watch brand Brooklands Watch Company.
The connection with car racing history – the watch brand is named after the historic Brooklands racing track in Surrey, now a museum – held a personal appeal for the designer, whose father attended the track and mother learnt to fly at the site’s flying club. When Brooklands Watch Company founder Simon Jeffs approached the designer with the project in 2018, it felt like a natural fit.
‘Sir Terence said it was just the sort of project he would love to be involved with. The model briefing we provided specified the mechanism and Sir Terence visited Brooklands Museum to meet the museum team and view the exhibits. He found the Napier Railton car to be particularly inspiring,’ says Jeffs on the beginning of the partnership.
Triple-Four Limited Edition Racing Chronograph.
Inspired by the racing car built at Brooklands, the Triple-Four Chronograph intertwines automotive cues throughout its design. ‘A British heritage design with the watch made in Switzerland, the Triple Four is very clear and clean,’ Jeffs adds. ‘The watch has sports watch functionality but also dress watch appeal. The colours and finishes are very carefully considered. There are many design references to Brooklands but the main one is the one-piece face with a banked perimeter – just like the Brooklands track. The bi-compax layout also references the Brooklands timekeepers’ watches that were used for regular circuit races.’
The watch, limited to 500 pieces, encompasses both Jeffs’ experience as an aerospace engineer and Conran’s distinctive design codes. For Jeffs, Conran’s involvement was a dream come true. ‘I realised I needed a top British designer and called the Design Museum for suggestions. I decided to shoot for the stars and emailed Sir Terence. I didn’t expect a reply and at best [anticipated] a polite no. I was thrilled when he said he was keen to know more.’
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