MICRO MONDAYS: The William Wood Triumph collection is a set of chronographs ready to catch fire

Zach Blass

William Wood is known for their well built and accessibly priced timepieces, all of which are inspired by fire rescue and the brave people who put their lives on the line every day. We’ve covered the full backstory of the brand and its name before, but just to recap: William Wood was the name of brand founder Jonny Garrett’s late grandfather. For more than 25 years, William Wood served in the British Fire Service, winning commendations for his acts of bravery.  Sadly, he passed away in 2009, but his legacy lives on through Jonny and the William Wood watch manufacture that upcycles rescue service materials into beautiful timepieces while donating to international firefighting charities. Today the William Wood collection expands further, introducing their first ever Swiss chronograph watches with the William Wood Triumph collection. Each of the new trio are inspired by the three elements required to start a fire: fuel, oxygen, and heat (seen below from left to right).

 

The 316L stainless-steel case of each Triumph watch is 40.5mm in diameter, 15.5mm thick, and 100 metres water-resistant (admirable for a chronograph watch). The watch has a common lug width of 20mm, which means if for any reason you wanted to explore beyond the wide range of William Wood straps, your aftermarket options are limitless.

The chronograph complication is operated by the antique brass-finished pushers that shoulder the crown which is forged from an original 1920’s British brass firefighters helmet. The “Heat” watch has a red timing bezel with a black dial and red hands. The “Fuel” model has a black timing bezel with gold-tone scale and bezel knurling, plus hands that are gold-toned. The “Oxygen” version is the most uniform in tone, with a blue timing bezel, dial, and blue hands.

On each of the dials  the William Wood logo is applied between the double baton 12th hour index (a nod to the markings a Firehouse Crew Manager would have on their uniform collar) and the printed William Wood text. Every detail is considered with design elements borrowed from Fire Rescue. The outer minutes track is checkered between hashes in the manner found on the sides of British fire engines. The counterweight of the central seconds hand is inspired by the chime of an old fire engine bell. The luminescent sub dials take inspiration from the dashboard gauges within a fire engine cockpit. Reminiscent of pressure pumps, the hands on the sub dials are finished in red (heat), blue (oxygen) or gold (fuel) to match the central seconds hand of the chronograph, shaped in the style of a vintage fire bell chime. At 9′ you will find the running seconds register and at 3′ an elapsed minutes scale for the chronograph (30 minute timing scale). Also for fans of a calendar complication, a date aperture displays the date at 6 o’clock.

Upon purchase of the watch, you have colour options to choose from: red, blue, yellow, and green. Each of the coloured straps are made from upcycled casts of Angus Duraline British fire-hose rubber. Not only does this tie into the firefighting theme of the brand, but it also makes for an incredibly durable and rugged rubber strap. They are also very interchangeable with each featuring quick-release tabs on the underside of the strap.

Inside William Wood’s first-ever chronographs, they have utilised the Sellita SW510 Swiss-made automatic movement with a branded William Wood rotor in firehouse red.  The movement is industrially decorated with eye-pleasing perlage and blued screws. Framing the exhibition caseback is a red and white disc that displays “IN CASE OF FIRE BREAK GLASS”, its aesthetic inspired by a fire alarm. The SW510 has 48 hours of power reserve, a frequency of 28,800 vph, and a quick-set date complication.

William Wood Triumph pricing and availability:

The presentation box is inspired by a fire alarm with two levels, three pillows to store watches (only one watch is included with each purchase), and an emergency pull cord to access strap storage compartment (can fit up to four straps), as well as a cufflinks compartment.

For the first 100 watches there will be a discounted price from £2,150 to £1,895, reduced delivery timeline, complimentary antique brass WWW cufflinks, and a hand-signed letter from founder Jonny Garrett. After the first 100 the price will revert to its retail pricing of £2,150.

The William Wood Triumph Collection is available now for purchase on the William Wood website.

Made in partnership with William Wood. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.