Built in Britain – It’s been exactly 1 year and 6 days since we launched the ‘No. 1905’ and a lot has happened since then. We’ve done shows, we’ve been in magazines, we’ve been on blogs. And all while these activities have been going on, behind the scenes we’ve been knuckling down working tirelessly on the second chapter of the W.T Author story: ‘No. 1914’. Where do we start? Probably with a recap of the last year, right?
Since its initial launch the ‘No. 1905’ by has been featured on some incredible websites such as COOL MATERIAL, Mr. Hyde, Emerald Street, and THE COOLECTOR, but the list doesn’t stop there. It featured in industry leading watch magazine WATCHPRO no less than three times in as many months, culminating in a nomination, and HIGHLY COMMENDED STATUS IN THE ‘RISING STAR OF THE YEAR’ category of WatchPro’s prestigious annual awards ceremony.
We have been incredibly proud to have partnered with some outstanding collaborators over the last 24 months. From local manufacturers making bespoke tools to assist in the creation of the handmade leather straps, to local printers using traditional lithographic printing techniques and FSC approved paper from responsible sources.
Whether it be gifted local writers helping to put down on paper the words of W. T. Author, or talented emerging musicians and filmmakers creating unique songs and videos, W. T. Author promotes and partners home-grown British talent and manufacturing where possible. Passion and enthusiasm is what inspires us, and will forever be at the heart of the brand.
We have to say a massive thank you to all our Collaborators, meaning you, Mark Wilkinson, Matthew Jennings, James Henderson, Tim Broughton, we couldn’t have got here without your help on the ‘No. 1905’ or the new ‘No. 1914’.
So moving on, it’s been quite the challenge creating the difficult ‘second album/watch’. Tasked with not only moving the watch on a decade, but keeping the look and feel of an evolved, more refined ‘No. 1905’ has been an incredible amount of fun.
We set out with two objectives, does it look good? and does it fit within the brand as the next step in the story? Hopefully we’ve achieved both. We wanted it to be accessible, it had to look modern, but equally had to look in place in the trenches of 1914.
Having moved on a decade, we wanted to evolve the strap, not by a huge amount, just a more finished piece, chamfering and rounding edges, and burnishing sides to give it a more refined look that was missing from the raw unapologetic leather strap of the ‘No. 1905’.
Equally, the graphic design of the screen prints and packaging needed updating by a decade to, bringing in a fresh new look that brings together lots of elements of graphic design from the period, as well as abstractly retelling the second chapter of the book in a visual form.
We wanted the new photographs to tell more of a story this year as well. Not just more out of focus shots on a black background, (we have them, they’ll always have their place) but exciting images that engage you more, and tell more of W. T. Author’s story over the last nine years.
This can be seen in our latest video, and song, which were all given the same brief, and treated in exactly the same way. Every element you see has had hours and hours of painstaking work gone into them, created at the same time, so that they all help tell the same story, letting your imagination join up all the dots.
This isn’t just a quick idea, knocked out in an afternoon. This is the culmination of 12 months hard work, in collaboration with other inspirational creatives to bring you something new and exciting that hasn’t been done before. We can’t wait for you to see the next chapter, and look forward to you sharing in our story.
WT AUTHOR
