SCOTLAND WATCH COMPANY
A NEW SCOTTISH WATCH BRAND
Launches with the
Saltire Collection
A limited edition of three distinct designs with subtle Scottish elements, individually numbered - just 170 watches of each design.
The Saltire Collection, named after the flag of Scotland, has been designed to reflect Scotland’s natural beauty, culture and history.
You can own a Saltire Watch at a pre-Christmas introductory price.
Flag of a Nation
Designed By Scottish Horologists
Canny Craftsmanship
The Saltire Collection
Scotland Watch Company is the only watch microbrand creating themed watches with Scottish elements in the design.
The Beginnings
The Scotland Watch Company was founded in 2020 by Tomek Borkowy, the Edinburgh based actor director, producer and fully Scotticised Polish horologist.
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For many years, Tomek collected pocket watches and noticed that a lot of them had lost their original silver and gold cases sold for their scrap value. He heard that some watch enthusiasts were using the discarded movements to create marriage watches – installing antique pocket watch movements into individually manufactured wristwatch cases. He followed the idea, and designed and produced his own wristwatch cases for large movements that he had collected and renovated, such as Hebdomas and chronographs like Le Phare.
While Tomek has achieved notable successes as an actor and producer in the UK, he is really quite famous in Poland, thanks to major film and television roles. In 2017 he was appointed ambassador for the Polish Watch Festival “It’s All About Watches”. In this role, he noticed a big growth in watch microbrands in Poland. He knew that he needed to to create a new Scottish watch company.
He asked his friend, Scottish horologist Colin Graham to join him and they co-opted a young budding e-commerce entrepreneur, Robert Reid-Kay, and Scotland Watch Company was born.
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Covid delayed development of the company. Colin resigned for health reasons and Robert decided to develop his own business. In 2023 Hugo Henzell joined the company as Social Media Manager and at the beginning of 2024 Edinburgh businessman Jacek Szerlat joined as Administrative and Finance Director.
Now out first range of watches are available. The Saltire Collection has orders from across Scotland as well as North America, Asia and Europe. We have already begun plans for our next limited-edition Scotland-themed watches.
Designed in Scotland
We design our time pieces in-house and hide Scottish elements in our creation. The Saltire, flag of our nation, is subtly placed in the dial, and only reveals itself upon close inspection.
SCOTTISH HOROLOGICAL HERITAGE
We produce Scottish themed watches but are keen also to focus attention on the long history of clock and watchmaking in Scotland.
From the mid 15th century Scottish Clock Masters were instating tower clocks in all large towns in Scotland.
In the 16th 17th century, Edinburgh’s Clock Makers Land in the West Bow became a thriving centre where innovative clock and watch masters worked and educated apprentices. The most famous of the era was David Ramsay, born in 1585 who became clockmaker to James VII of Scotland and I of England, and later to Charles I of England.
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There were a number of very distinguished Scottish famous masters such as James Cowan, George Munro, Thomas Gordon or Paul Roumieu mention a few, all were praised for their craftsmanship and the quality of time pieces the were producing. In the Victorian era another Scottish watch master James Muirhead was Watchmaker to the Queen.
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For centuries, Scottish clock and watch masters were advancing horological progress without patenting their innovations and inventions. They believed that an invention belonged to its original inventor. However, many of their innovations were adopted and then often patented by horologists in England and Europe.
In 1914, two Scottish submarine officers designed the first watertight wristwatch. It was produced in 1915 with a Swiss Tavannes movement by Edinburgh jewellers Brook & Son under the name of Submarine. Three years later high society London jeweller, Birch & Gaydon launched the same watch design but manufactured by Zenith under the name Land & Water. There are many more stories of this kind.
SOSHUL MEEJAH