The British watch maker Dent London, better known as the makers of the world famous Big Ben Clock in London’s Westminster, has added a new chapter to the company’s horological legacy with its first new movement in 60 years. It’s called the Denison wristwatch.

The new Dent Denison – named after Edmund Beckett Denison who was instrumental in the realisation of Big Ben – is a three-handed wristwatch based on their earlier designs from the 1920s and 1930s.

Cushion case

The classic watch features a cushion case and a white dial with hand-applied Breguet numerals and a small date aperture at 3 o’clock. The “teardrop” hour and minute hands are made from steel which is “blued” in the traditional English method.

The back of the watch features a caseback that opens to reveal the exquisitely made automatic movement inside a semi-circular crystal display.

Victorian style movement

The watch is powered by a Swiss made Dent Class A automatic calibre. Built by the Le Locle-based Les Artisans Horlogers, the movement is stylised in such a way as to resemble the British movements of the Victorian era. The fully wound movement offers a power reserve of 42 hours.

Officer style blank case back

An ‘officer’ style case back provides a perfect blank canvas for engravement and personalisation hinges open to reveal an internal plate sporting a meticulously hand-engraved pattern in the style of the great English designer William Morris.

This classic men’s watch will be available in a strictly limited edition of just 100 18ct rose gold models, and 100 pieces in 18ct white gold.

Each watch is handmade to order and requires six months to complete. And to enjoy a Dent on your wrist the price will put a dent in your bank balance too, for they will sell for US$39,950.

Dent’s impeccable pedigree

Edward Dent was born in London in 1790, served his apprenticeship under his cousin, a watch maker called Richard Rippon, and was just 24 when his genius as a designer of chronometers was first recognised in an order from the Admiralty for an astronomical clock.

His domestic clocks were no less superlative, attracting a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria that made him the official watch and clockmaker for decades, as well as international ‘royal warrants’ from the Russian Tsars Alexander III and Nicolas II and the Japanese Emperor Mejii.

In 1830, Dent joined forces with John Roger Arnold, son of the great John Arnold, and together they made many exquisite timepieces.

Dent Watches of London have been called upon for many tasks over the years: Lt. Hare’s Dent watch prevented his demise by stopping a bullet during military action.
Their watches and chronometers kept time for the British Naval fleet; and Dent watches and clocks ensured Royal Families and Governments were prompt across three continents.

It was also well-known that Sir Winston Churchill’s first watch was a Dent, and all British Monarchs since Queen Victoria have owned a Dent, as did Charles Darwin. Dent’s Standard Clock at the Greenwich Royal Observatory has kept the British Empire on time.

Re-launch

As with so many other glorious watch and clock makers of the past, Dent & Co, fell on hard times until the brand was re-launched in 2007 by a team of British investors and British management keen to capitalise on its great history.

And history it has, for there is nearly two hundred years of British history packed into each timepiece.

Millions of visitors flock to London every year and take photographs of the world’s most famous Dent creation: Parliament’s Great Clock – or Big Ben as it is more popularly known.