Accurist - VINTAGE Collection NEW
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The history of the brand.
1946 THE BRAND IS BORN
In
1946, working from premises in St John Street in London's
Clerkenwell district, Asher and Rebecca Loftus established
Accurist with
the intention of creating a brand name of lasting value. Like much of
the competition at that time,
Accurist watches were made entirely from
Swiss components; a positive sales point that guaranteed quality, and
which coupled with competitive pricing helped establish our reputation
for value.
Accurist became the first watch company to actively promote the 21
JEWEL lever-movement and
Accurist 21 JEWELS became the Company Slogan
setting a standard in watches that was later to be followed by many of
our competitors. In an effort to increase market share and to position
Accurist as a national brand in a somewhat conservative market place,
Accurist broke out of the traditional watch advertising mould by
producing a T.V. Campaign which was aired regularly on "Sunday Night at
the London Palladium", probably the most widely viewed television
program of its day.
1965 - OLD ENGLAND WATCHES
However, a watch was still seen to be a 'once in a lifetime' purchase
- Accurist set out to change this by introducing fashion into watches.
Richard Loftus, fresh out of University, created a range of watches that
was to revolutionise the watch market worldwide. Soon Accurist's Old
England watches were seen on the wrists of the famous and fashionable: -
Princess Anne, The Beatles and Twiggy were amongst the millions
worldwide who wore the large brightly coloured watches that became
synonymous with the mini skirt, Carnaby Street and London of the
swinging 60's.
As the sixties developed, so did Accurist and in 1968 a Swiss office,
Accurist S.A. was opened in La Chaux de Fonds, the heart of the Swiss
watch making industry, to co-ordinate the manufacturing and sourcing for
the company.
1978 - ACCUR-ANKLE, ACCUR-WRIST
The'70's saw the introduction of the digital quartz movement and as the
technology developed from L.E.D to L.C. D it was
Accurist's digital
quartz watch which was chosen as the official watch for the pilots of
the newly launched Concorde aircraft. Brand awareness remained an
important factor in the success of the Accurist product range and
1978
saw the launch of one of the Television's most memorable campaigns; John
Cleese featuring the "Accur-ankle, Accu-wrist!" commercial. The
commercial went on to win awards around the world including the Palm
d'Or Advertising Award. It was even featured on the USA's Johnny Carson
show as one of the world's ten best adverts!
1986 - THE NATION'S TIMEKEEPER
In 1983 after two years of careful research and planning, Andrew
Loftus applying all the principles on which his parents had established
the business, switched the manufacturing base from Switzerland to Japan
and in the following three years Accurist's UK business increased by
over 500%.
Flushed with the success of the new collection, Accurist achieved a
major marketing breakthough by being appointed as the first ever,
official sponsor of British Telecom's Speaking Clock. Since the original
sponsorship agreement in 1986 Accurist's speaking clock has received
the incredible number of almost 3 billion calls. Making this the
"greatest sponsorship deal of all time". Accurist continued to maximise
on its association with the Speaking Clock, developing a new advertising
and marketing campaign with the slogan "Accurist - the standard by
which all watches are set". In 1987 Accurist were awarded The National
Association of Goldsmiths first ever Award of Excellence in recognition
of their contribution and influence in the UK watch market.
1993 - GREENWICH MEAN TIME
In
1993 Accurist had become the UK's largest brand in value terms and
now set its sights on the international market. Again it was creative
and opportunist marketing that would provide the platform for its most
ambitious project to date. The Royal Observatory at Greenwich, home of
Greenwich Mean Time and The International Meridian Line was undergoing
major renovation.
Accurist seized on this opportunity and became the
first and only Watch Company to be formally associated with the
Observatory, providing them with the new Atomic Clock, which officially
records the time for the world. In 1995 to celebrate this association
with Greenwich Mean Time, The "Greenwich Commemorative collection", was
launched in over 20 countries.
1997 - MILLENIUM COUNTDOWN CLOCK
In April 1997 Accurist started the official countdown to the
Millennium by providing the Old Royal Observatory at Greenwich with a
Satellite controlled clock accurate to within 1/10,000,000th of a second
to countdown the last 1000 days of the 20th century. In 1884 at the
International conference in Washington the meridian line at Greenwich
was chosen as the "meridian line for the world" 0 degrees longitude and
it was decreed that the universal day for the world starts at midnight
on the meridian line.
Later in 1997 Accurist moved its Headquarters' to its current
location in London's West Hampstead district The custom built facilities
have created a modern and efficient infrastructure from where Accurist
can uniquely provide an efficient and co-ordinated service across every
facet of its business from product design, and distribution, to after
sales service and product assembly.
In July 1997 Accurist won "Volume watch brand of the year" at The UK Jewellery Awards.
1999 - ACCU2 WATCHES
1999 saw the launch of
Accurist's youth orientated accu.2 range, backed
by a high impact advertising campaign "no ordinary old timer" success
was instantaneous and the collection is sold in over 1500 outlets across
the UK. Innovative product design and strong advertising campaigns
(including "sec's machine" and "two-timer") have insured that accu.2 has
remained at the forefront of fashion watches.
2000 - ACCURIST CELEBRATES THE MILLENNIUM
January 1st 2000 saw the Accurist name emblazoned across television
screens and newspapers world-wide as camera's from across the globe
focussed on the meridian line and on it the prominently placed Accurist
millennium countdown clock at Greenwich, to usher in the new millennium.
In 2001 Accurist's commitment and dedication to service was
acknowledged by the trade in general as Accurist became the only watch
company to have been awarded the most prestigious "Customer Service
Award " at The UK jewellery awards ceremony.
March 2003 has seen Accurist further strengthen their original
agreement to support the Old Royal Observatory at Greenwich by signing
an exclusive license with the National Maritime Museum to produce a
range of replica clocks and watches from the Observatory's and Museum's
historic collections.
2006 - OUR TIME - ENGLAND FOOTBALL TEAM
In September 2005 to capitalise on their expertise in the UK market
Accurist set up a new division to distribute other brands in the UK.
2006 saw
Accurist become the first brand to be co-featured in the
English football team‘s advertising campaign. From Jan 1st 2007
Accurist
started distributing Versace watches and Jewellery.
2008 - BRITISH REAL TIME
In 2008 Accurist launched ‘British Real Time’ with faces and voices
from across the United Kingdom. Accurist’s research shows that our
relationship to time and how we access it has changed. We focus more on
what we do with our time rather than being dictated to by the
constraints of time. British Real Time.com is a celebration of British
culture and what contemporary Britain is doing at any given moment,
giving a snapshot of Britain today.
The past 60 years tell a remarkable story of the development of one
of the industry's most famous independent watch companies. With a young
and dynamic management team committed to the companies original
principles, the future promises to be just as exciting.
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2013 - TRUE BRITISH DESIGN
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The year
2013 is set to be one of evolution for the
Accurist brand
with plans to re-align the brand to reflect the vision, values and core
competences that have remained the same since the company was founded.
A
part of this major re-branding project includes defining the brand
identity which is reflected in the new logo, point-of-sale materials,
campaigns and online activities.
These are designed to show the brand's
core values: stylish, British, high quality craftsmanship, value and
precision.
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With the increase in demand for licensed fashion wrist watches,
Accurist launches their newest Spring/Summer collection - '
Vintage'.
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This range is a quintessentially British watch, inspired by true British
design using the first
Accurist logo that was applied in Clerkenwell
1946.
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'Turning heritage into Modernity' was the true focus for the
Vintage collection offering 6 models, each with its individual
nato-style strap.
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The watches have been crafted with stainless steel
cases, Bombay dials, three ring canvas nato straps and
are fitted with
Miyota 2115 calibre movements.
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Additional features include a date window
and an engraved caseback with a special edition gift box.
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Specification
Band Colour - Multi Colour
Band Length - 225mm
Band Material - Nylon
Band Type - Strap
Band Width - 20mm
Calibre -
Miyota 2115 movement
Case Depth - 9mm
Case Diameter - 40mm
Case Shape - Round
Date - Date
Dial Colour - Light Champagne/Silver/Black/
Range - Core
Warranty - 3 year manufacturer's warranty
Watch Colour - Silver/Gold/Rose Gold
Water resistance - 50m
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