A three-pronged assault: a trio of our favourite Elliot Brown watches in the Time+Tide Shop
Jamie WeissOn the rugged shores of Dorset’s coastline, where salt spray meets well-trodden trails, Elliot Brown has carved out a niche as Britain’s go-to indie brand for watches that don’t just survive the elements – they thrive in them. Founded in 2013 by longtime friends Ian Elliot and Alex Brown, the duo fused their backgrounds in extreme sports and watchmaking to create timepieces that are as durable as they are refined. From the outset, their mission was clear: to build the most wearable, affordable, and toughest watches on the planet.
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What sets Elliot Brown apart isn’t just the robust construction or their attention to detail; it’s the brand’s commitment to real-world testing, frequently collaborating with military units and emergency services as well as well-known brands like Land Rover to ensure their watches perform under pressure. A particularly unique feature and selling point of Elliot Brown watches is that every one of their models houses their movements within a steel cage that floats on internal shock absorbers – meaning that their rugged good looks are backed up by genuine in-built protection.
We’ve assembled a trio of Elliot Brown pieces at three different price points (yet all affordable) that we’re excited to be stocking in our Time+Tide Shop.
Elliot Brown Arne 606-002
Named after the 1,400-acre nature reserve in Dorset, the Arne is a beautiful, reliable, and affordable field watch that ticks plenty of boxes. This model debuts the first fumé dial for the brand, featuring an embossed pattern and a subtle matte metallic texture. The darker periphery makes the numerals easier to read, as well as adding an almost tropical sun-bleached feel from a life lived outdoors. A robust, Swiss-made Ronda quartz movement powers the watch, which comes mounted on a dark brown leather strap with a removable bund.
While not as complex as some of Elliot Brown’s other offerings, the Arne is a great starting point for getting to know the brand – or indeed, getting into watches broadly. As brand co-founder Ian Elliot puts it, “despite its often violent beginnings, there’s something warm and captivating in putting on a field watch, it’s like having an old friend with you.” Price: A$750 from the Time+Tide Shop
Elliot Brown Bloxworth Heritage Diver 929-102
Elliot Brown’s HQ is in a boatyard in Poole, Dorset, and watersports are a passion of the brand’s founders, so it’s perhaps no surprise that the brand is known for its dive watches. This Bloxworth Heritage Diver is a particularly robust example, featuring a thick vapour-blasted dark gunmetal finish that looks almost ceramic and gives this diver a strong, stealthy vibe. This is contrasted by a glossy ceramic bezel insert, as well as large cardinal numerals, hands and indices filled with Super-LumiNova.
Like the Arne above, it too is powered by a quartz movement – like most of the Elliot Brown range, actually. In this day and age, where we’re used to every independent and microbrand (as well as big box brands, truth be told) slapping mechanical Sellita movements into their watches, quartz seems like a strange move. But it’s entirely by design: the Bloxworth Heritage Diver, and most of Elliot Brown’s range, are crafted with robustness and accuracy in mind – and on those counts, it’s hard to beat quartz. Price: A$1,040 (on bracelet) from the Time+Tide Shop
Elliot Brown Beachmaster NIVO 0H0-623
Finally, we have the Beachmaster: Elliot Brown’s current flagship model and arguably the most unique watch in their range. Indeed, they have a patent for the Beachmaster’s unique count-up timer mechanism. The brand explains that it was initially imagined in response to a request at a Royal Marines event, “then refined into the most capable watch we have ever put our name to”.
Essentially, you can use the watch to count up to and down from discreet timing events. The crown at 2 o’clock rotates the internal split scale bezel, which you can use in conjunction with its GMT hand to count up to ‘mission start’, and then beyond. At the same time, you can use the traditional external diving bezel to count down another timing event. There are variants of this watch with automatic mechanical movements, but this one features a quartz “caller” GMT movement.
The NIVO part of this watch’s name refers to its dial colour – Night Invisible Varnish Orfordness – a dark grey-green shade developed by the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) at their experimental station at Orford Ness designed to be painted on the underside of night bombers to reduce their visibility. As Guy from Elliot Brown told us at our British Watchmakers’ Weekender last year, “it didn’t work, but it’s a great dial colour!” Price: A$1,590 (on bracelet) from the Time+Tide Shop