The Alliance of British Watch & Clock Makers was founded in 2020 after the resurgence in watchmaking in the British Isles. The Alliance now consists of 80 British watch brands: big, small, traditional and creative!
The British Watchmakers’ Day exhibition was launched to showcase the many exquisite watch brands that grace Britain with their craft - and we are honoured to be a part of it.
After its founding, the Alliance planned on holding multiple events back in 2020, but (thanks to the dreaded COVID-19) they couldn’t go ahead. So as you can imagine, when the first British Watchmakers’ event was announced for 2024, we were ready and raring to go.
But wait! We needed a special edition watch to show what Mr Jones Watches is all about.
Introducing… four unique, pre-production samples of ‘The Indefatigable Sphinx’, the most technically challenging watch we’ve ever made, in preparation for it to join our permanent collection later this year!
First joining our collection as a limited edition in 2021, ‘The Indefatigable Sphinx’ features a jump hour mechanism, powered by a Swiss made Sellita SW200 automatic mechanical movement, with central minute and seconds hands.
Each hour the number in the hour window flips - some are simple to read, while others are deliberately more unclear. With every hour, the winged sphinx on the left of the dial gets a new head, providing an alternative way to perceive the different hours of the day.
To complement the watches, Crispin personally handmade four unique straps - each with an alternating colour stitch to match that particular watch.
When it came to the event, we were absolutely thrilled by the amount of people who came and queued to see our watches in person - it was a surreal experience (with very few bathroom breaks!).
So many of you had specific questions about our watches and were keen to hear our upcoming ideas for future projects. We were just so happy to have been able to meet such lovely, like-minded people who share our passion for horology.
We can’t wait for the next one, see you there!
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It’s completely by chance that this has happened as our small business has grown. We invest in cool people with talent and we’re lucky to have had a lot of gifted women apply for jobs with us.
As it’s International Women’s Day on Friday, we want to take the time to celebrate some of the talented women in our team.
Most of our team are trained in skills other than watchmaking, many are award winning print-makers, artists and jewellers - it’s safe to say that jewellery making and watchmaking go hand in hand, right? They both involve teeny tiny tweezers and complicated components…
Not only are our team brilliant at what they do at MJW, they are excellent in their ventures outside of work.
Cat is our Head of Production, she oversees who’s making which watches when. She is also an extremely talented contemporary jewellery designer-maker for her very own brand, Catherine Rua Jewellery, where she sells her artwork at shows and exhibitions.
Nell is our Senior Print Technician and loves getting her hands dirty (mainly with watch ink…). Outside of MJW, Nell is skilled in illustration, weaving and textiles, making her own beautiful tapestries from scratch!
Shannon is our Customer Support and Administration Assistant. When she’s not assisting you with your watch purchase, she is a Designer and Workshop Facilitator - her work being centred around social and environmental regenerative practice.
Hannah works as a Sales Assistant at our Covent Garden store. Alongside this, she studies textile design and has a strong interest in how art and craft methods can be used to aid community wellbeing. Hannah hopes to lead creative workshops in the future to help participants develop new skills and strengthen their self-esteem.
Amanda, our proficient PR Lead, runs weekly, commercial dance classes to help women build confidence and feel amazing in their body. Also organising socials for the group so they can mingle and make friends - because we all know it can be hard meeting new people outside of work when you’re an adult!
From production and customer service to marketing and our shop team, the MJW women are a force to be reckoned with. But we can’t forget the most inspirational of them all… the lady pups. Sorry Stanley, we’re stealing your spotlight for a sec, give it up for Wren and Apple!
We’d also like to acknowledge the many exceptional women who have worked with us and designed some of the most beautiful watches.
The likes of Fanny Shorter, Ana Dias, Marion Labbez, Yo Hosoyamada and Hannah Sung are just the tip of the ingenious iceberg - and we admire their work daily.
There we have it, we hope you’ve enjoyed learning a bit more about the wonderful women of Mr Jones Watches!
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Catarina is not only an extremely talented illustrator, she is one of our very own Assembly Technicians. She designed the limited edition, ‘Houseparty’, for us last year.
It doesn’t stop there though, over her years with us she’s designed the gorgeous mural in our Neal Street shop, along with the window stickers. She’s designed our gift cards, tote bags, packaging and even a MJW t-shirt.
So, let’s get into it. Catarina, when did your love of art/illustration begin?
I have always loved drawing, and it has been a way to express myself from a very young age. You could always find me with a sketchbook, dozens of pieces of printer paper and handfuls of colouring pencils.
However, I started taking it more seriously when I joined an art-specialised school in Lisbon, where I studied Jewellery and Drawing. These three years allowed me to develop skills that I then brought into my BA in Illustration at UAL.
How would you describe your signature style?
Bright, fun, chaotic and energetic! I love exploring interactions between people and pushing my compositions to be as busy and full of life as possible.
What was the inspiration behind your watch design, Houseparty?
Houseparty came from an edition of screen prints I developed in the pandemic. These prints explored a feeling of missing human interaction and longing for my friends.
The watch design still immortalises that period of time for me but it’s now a much more positive outcome. It captures people’s happiness intertwining in a single moment.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I am a hobby hoarder, I will start a new hobby every few months and slightly obsess over it for a period of time! My favourite go-to’s are crocheting, jigsaw puzzles, Animal Crossing, cooking, and obviously drawing.
Do you have a favourite piece of art that you’ve created?
One of the most challenging - but also most rewarding - pieces of work I have done was the mural for our Neal Street flagship store. It is exhilarating to see my work blown up to a much larger scale, and to be able to bring a little bit of me as an artist to such a bright, colourful shop.
Have you enjoyed getting to know Catarina? Make sure to follow her on social media here and keep an eye out for more designers that we will be introducing on our blog in the future!
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A new edition of Ana Dias’ classic, chaotic Berry Late Again! but bluer and better than ever. This time with blueberries rather than strawberries (obviously).
The trio of blueberries indicate the hour, while the single blueberry indicates the minutes.
Funnily enough the blueberries were nearly not a thing! *gasp*
The plan was to make this watch exactly the same as Berry Late Again! just with a blue dial. One of the team misheard our production manager Cat, who was talking (frantically) during a meeting, and thought she said “Blueberry Late” not “Blue Berry Late”.
We all agreed, along with Ana Dias, that blueberries as opposed to strawberries would be the perfect addition!
The rebellious message remains the same and will still only be formed just once an hour before scrambling back into a frenzy of pastel letters.
The serene, sky blue watch face ensures that the disobediently sweet personality of this watch is kept fully in-tact. If you love Berry Late Again! but pink just isn’t your colour… sorry you have no excuse now! (kidding).
Each piece was carefully sprayed with the new pastel colour, before adding the cotton candy-like clouds.
Our team then went on to print each individual colour, layer by layer, f-word by f-word, that when assembled will come together to form the final fractious design.
The discs were then attached to the dial and fitted into the glass, complete with even more clouds, printed with translucent ink to give the illusion of being able to see through them.
But now the real question arises… are you a strawberry person or a blueberry person?
Let us know and tag us in any photos of your watches on social media @mrjoneswatches !
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Nonetheless, it’s the season of love and we’re going to level up your gift game this year with a new Valentine's Gift Guide, and let us tell you… there’s something for everyone!
It doesn’t get more special than this watch. Customise the hands on The Everyday Special with a meaningful date or message for your loved one to cherish.
Maybe the date you met, your first date, your wedding or anniversary, an inside joke you share, anything that means something to you and your partner!
If your partner is into gaming, robots, or anything retro for that matter, this watch is the one for them.
Ricochet is gilded with 20ct. citron gold, 22ct. rose gold and palladium and depicts an epic pinball game between three competitive robots. Which one do you think will win?
Is your partner always late to everything? Even if you give them tons of notice? This watch is the perfect way to show them you love them regardless of their lacklustre time management skills… because after all, time is just a social construct.
The words on Berry Late Again! align perfectly just once an hour to form its rebellious message, before you know it the letters are back in a chaotic muddle (relatable).
This is for the ones who love a bit of bling because there’s nothing wrong with a little luxury every now and then... right?
The Silent Thief confidently flaunts his gorgeous gems that are gilded with pure palladium, sparkling away day and night. As the seconds tick by in his eyes, he’s on the look out for his next shimmering steal.
The perfect match for any animal lover, The Promise of Happiness shows a curious tiger within a luscious jungle, gazing up at the moon.
This watch tells the time in a playful way, if you look carefully you can see the minutes disguised in the tigers bold stripes.
Remember, some of our watches have a steel caseback, so you can get a customised engraving to make your gift extra special!
Be sure to let us know which is your choice this Valentine’s Day and tag us in any photos on social media: @mrjoneswatches
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We wanted to properly introduce the wonderful designer of said watch, Ana Dias!
Ana is a super talented, mixed media artist based in London. She creates oodles of awe-inspiring artwork that is influenced by her own convictions, opinions and especially by poetry or loose sentences from her old notebooks.
‘What the F am I doing’, ‘ You must have really fucked me up’ and ‘The Greatest Meltdown’ are just a few gutsy titles of her authentic artwork.
We had a catch-up with her to find out more about her love of art and the inspiration behind Berry Late Again!.
When did her love of art & sculpture begin?
Ana has had a love for writing and drawing since she was teeny, however, she never thought about sculpture until she moved to the UK.
She originally wanted to study film, after being put off her artistic endeavours by an old-fashioned art teacher who never let her express her true self (it’s safe to say she didn’t like him very much…)
After seeing what the UK had to offer, she fell back into the warm arms of the world of art and began exploring different mediums to create her iconic work.
Where does her inspiration come from?
Everything in the world. Sometimes she will see something such as a wheelie bin and imagine it with cartoon features and tie in a play on words to create a piece of work, “that’s just how my mind works!” she said.
A lot of her inspiration comes from reading, her imagination and her sense of humour. Her work is not research driven, it is authentically and unapologetically HER.
What are her favourite pieces that she’s created? (other than Berry Late Again! duhh)
Ana could only narrow it down to her four favourites. ‘Unapologetic Coconut Waters’, ‘Linda McNutt - The best therapist in the world’, ‘Fuck, I really look like shit today’ and ‘How to deal with a deadline while having a massive breakdown and a total of zero good ideas’
She said that the latter was her first piece using her signature cartoon style and that it was “very me in a comical situation of going through university not having a clue what I was doing”.
All of these pieces embody Ana and taught her to be more authentic in her work. They beam with banter and wit… and are all really, really relatable.
What sparked the relationship with Mr Jones Watches?
Ana created a magnificent exhibition performance for the UAL Camberwell Degree Show where she created a therapy room set-up and took on the alter-ego of Linda McNutt (The best therapist in the world).
Her performance included posters with apathetic and insensitive messages, sarcastically and humorously addressing mental health issues we live through today.
Crispin and our team visited the Degree Show and discussed which exhibitions stood out to them most. After seeing hundreds (and we mean hundreds) of different artists' work, they all remembered one person’s in particular… Ana’s.
So where did the inspiration for Berry Late Again! come from?
In short: Ana’s obsession with strawberries and playing with words.
But it’s so much more than that, she wanted the watch to match her, with sarcasm, strawberries and swear words, and she did it perfectly!
Fun fact: Ana was worried that the word ‘fuck’ couldn’t be used on a watch and changed the design to actually say ‘damn it, time is just a social construct’, but we all agreed that the F-word had a much more scandalous effect when seen in such childish colours and text.
Another fun fact: The watch was originally going to be named ‘The worst watch in the world’ to match her exhibition title and to play on the confusing-at-first glance watch face of Berry Late Again!...
And thus, the watch of Ana’s dreams was born!
How does it feel to see people wearing Berry Late Again!?
Ana explains how it’s such a weird and overwhelming feeling to see people wearing something she created, but she is honoured in every way possible that people enjoy her pastel punk creation.
“Really happy, it makes me feel like i’ve accomplished something!”
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Well… first of all, thanks! And second, we’re going to tell you, right here, right now *cheers and applause*.
We have three types of watches (two of which are mechanical); quartz, jump hour and Swiss automatic mechanical, and they all need to be assembled in slightly different ways, which is all down to our incredibly talented Assembly Technicians!
Our technicians put their heart and soul into composing every single piece to make sure your watch keeps time perfectly, is fully functional and looks the part, of course. So let’s get into it!
The team assemble quartz watches such as Berry Late Again! and Beam me up! in the following order: the watch movement, the dial, the hour disc, the minute disc and then the case.
Our jump hour watches, such as The Promise of Happiness and Number Cruncher are assembled in a slightly different order: the watch movement, the hour disc, the dial, the minute disc, then the case.
This is because all numbers apart from the one currently telling the time need to be covered to provide the illusion of the hour jumping from one number to the next.
Our Swiss automatic mechanical watches, The Silent Thief and Enjoy the Ride for example, are assembled in the same way as our quartz watches, however, they have a special glass caseback so the exquisite mechanism is visible for you to admire.
Unlike traditional watches, (in fact, far from it) we often don’t use hands to point to the time, we use discs. So for all of our watches it’s extremely important that the discs do not touch, as this can affect the time keeping.
Our team also ensure that the discs aren’t loose on the rivet, a small, metal component that keeps the discs attached to the movement.
The next part of the quality control process proves that our technicians have the patience of saints… making sure the discs are completely dust-free (nooooooo). Only joking, they love it really!
They do this so that the illusion of transparency through the watch is perfected and that the design is seamless.
This is why in our behind the scenes videos you may see them wearing super stylish finger gloves, this is so they don’t leave any dust or marks on any of the components.
This may be the longest process as sometimes dust may not be spotted until the watch has been fully assembled, so you can imagine the frustration…
Next the team cut the factory stem down to the correct length, remove the factory winding crown and replace it with our own MJW crown.
Once a watch is fully assembled, it’s then set to the correct time and left for 12 - 24 hours to make sure it is keeping time correctly before we send it out.
As you can imagine, with the amount of unique watches we have in our collection, no two days are the same for our Assembly Team!
We are so lucky to have such an amazing team who are so dedicated to their craft and sharing it with the world!
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We live in a busy world where we are surrounded by the internet and social media; it can be difficult to block out sometimes. This is where our watches come in; some of our designs may be quirky and colourful but they hold much deeper meanings.
We want to start 2024 the right way by reminding you of some of the most important lessons to carry with you this year.
Arguably one of our most loved watches that holds one of the most crucial life lessons…
Kristof Devos, designer of A perfectly useless afternoon, was inspired by a quote from Chinese writer, translator, linguist and philosopher Lin Yutang: “If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learnt how to live.”.
Our lives can become extremely busy, especially in January when everyone’s focused on those new year goals but this watch is your reminder to value doing nothing at all every once and a while.
The lounging figure’s outstretched leg shows the hours, while the little rubber duck shows the minutes. Nowhere to be, nowhere to go, just enjoying life doing absolutely ‘nada’.
This pretty pastel piece is powered by the idea that time isn’t real, it’s all just a social construct.
The rebellious message pasted across Berry Late Again! really says it how it is. It encourages you to not care so much about that meeting you’re going to miss or what time the bus comes or what time your friends, cousins, sisters’ party is supposed to start…
Because who cares what time it is anyway? We should be present and trust that we will always end up right where we need to be.
The most authentic, truthful, to-the-point watch of them all… The Accurate!
The Accurate is derived from the Latin tradition ‘memento mori’, meaning bluntly, ‘remember, you will die’. The trope is a reminder of the impermanence of life and how each brief moment should be treasured because our time on this earth isn’t limitless.
When you look down at this watch and see the brutal - yet oddly reassuring - message the hands are saying to you, you will definitely think differently about how you spend your valuable time.
Sticking with the tradition of ‘memento mori’ with a watch that is sure to spark a conversation… The Last Laugh.
Similar to The Accurate, this design is a reminder that life is brief and so you should live it to the fullest. But also, pay attention to the name of the watch and remember to laugh, whether it’s just a slight giggle or a belly laugh at a friend falling over (it’s always a little bit funny… sorry!).
To tell the time you must gaze into the haunting smile of the skull, and be reminded to live your life, chase your dreams, and most importantly… laugh!
This next watch isn’t as blunt, it’s meaning lies deeper under the elegant, gilded surface.
Designed by gilding artist, Marion Labbez, The Ascendent pictures a mountain out in the distance representing the personal obstacles we all face throughout our lives, and how far we’ve come since.
Here’s Marion’s beautiful explanation of her sophisticated design: "I designed this watch to be a hopeful visual invitation to look forward. Explore, discover, climb, travel: experience the world around you. Never look down, the only way is up and the journey is fulfilling."
As time passes, the wheel keeps on turning… but time is not endless so enjoy every single minute.
Enjoy the ride is another vibrant design from Kristof Devos and encourages us to remember that life is short and to set your worries aside, you are here now, in this moment, so you might as well enjoy the ride!
Spending less time worrying about the future and more time cherishing the present moment instead is the cornerstone to mental wellness and contentment.
We hope sharing the concepts behind some of our watches inspires something in you and you bear them in mind through 2024!
Well, you know what they say… ”time flies when you’re having fun making quirky watches”. That’s actually the saying, we definitely haven’t made that up!
In all seriousness, this year has been a blast and none of it would be possible if it weren’t for you - our incredible, loyal, inspiring customers.
This year, we released 10 new watches, two t-shirt collections and worked with some ingenious new artists. We expanded our premises and welcomed a bunch of new members to the MJW team; excitement left, right and centre. Phew!
New Releases
Our first release of the year was designed by London-based Japanese illustrator, Yo Hosoyamada, as a celebration of her hometown, Tokyo.
This watch featured a cat watching a bird with studied interest through a window, two animals alone in an entirely man-made landscape…
Berry Late! & Berry Late Again!
We also worked with another London creative, the wonderful Ana Dias. Her Berry Late! watch tapped in a sense of sweetness with tiny strawberries and a rebellious side with a pastel slur pasted across the watch face.
It was so popular that we couldn’t help but add it to our permanent collection later in the year as the iconic Berry Late Again!
Fancy a game of ‘Cat and Mouse’?
We introduced a fanciful feline into our collection in June. Mispoes! was designed by Kaat Deceuninck, a Belgian art student of Kristof Devos! Kristof set his class a fun task to design a watch to show us and Kaat’s was just purrrfect.
Her design played on the famous English idiom. In fact ‘Mispoes’ literally means “you missed, cat!” in Dutch.
A mischievous little devil caused havoc in our collection for a limited time in October.
Short Fuse was designed by London-based Romanian artist and illustrator Adriana Dincu, Inspired by a series of comic books she created called ‘Hysterical Bitches’ exploring female rage.
This limited edition Lucifer sold out all 200 pieces in just under an hour!
In November, we introduced a very special limited edition watch, Houseparty, designed by our very own watch assembly technician/artist and illustrator, Catarina Morais!
Her watch aimed to celebrate the moments and experiences we have with our families and friends, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, and reminds us never to forget them.
Mechanical Watches
2023 greeted a few mechanical masterpieces into our permanent collection too! These watches are some of our most loved, so why not make watch lovers' dreams come true with a swanky, automatic mechanical movement?
We released mechanical versions of the one and only A perfectly useless afternoon, the most to the point watch of them all, The Accurate, and of course, the friendliest alien of them all flew in with an all new mechanical UFO… sort of.
Kristof Devos was back again and how could he not be with his phenomenal designs?
Well, we added Enjoy the ride to our permanent collection in 2023. Also with a Swiss mechanical movement and an important life message, the ferris wheel ticks round as the seconds pass by.
New Premises and Team Members
In the summer of 2023, we bought and renovated a new unit a few doors down from our workshop.
This meant that we could expand our Customer Service team to four people. Now our team has much more space to pack up all of your orders!
It also meant we had a much bigger space to hire seasonal staff for the busy Black Friday period… it was like Santa’s chaotic workshop for a while.
Throughout this year, we’ve had the opportunity to welcome some fabulous new members into our small, creative family!
We’ve hired seven new assembly technicians, six print technicians, (Fiiive gold rings… *ahem*) three customer service assistants, six shop assistants and one new member of the marketing team.
All of our new starters have worked extremely hard this year and we couldn’t be happier to welcome them to the team.
New T-Shirts
Some of you may recall us releasing a very special t-shirt with a very special sausage dog on it for our 15th anniversary…
Well this year, we expanded our collection with four t-shirts inspired by the MJW dogs: Stanley, Woody, Shrimpy and Wren.
And we didn’t stop there, in November we worked with the creators of some of your favourite watches and released another collection of t-shirts based on A perfectly useless afternoon, Number Cruncher, and Berry Late Again!
Murals and Other Events
Now, if you’ve ever visited our Neal Street shop, or seen it on our social media, you may have noticed some amazing artwork has appeared on the walls…
Catarina, creator of Houseparty, painted these beautiful murals for us in April (by hand may we add). She also designed the characters you see dancing in our window. We never stop looking at them and finding new details we may have missed.
Our shop also held an event for the Watch Collectors Club, where watch lovers travelled from all over London to discuss their favourite watches. We also gave them a workshop tour and showed them how we make our watches.
We finished off 2023 with a fantastic Christmas period, our whole team met up for a Christmas tipple, we decorated both our shop and workshop, even the dogs got dressed up.
With all of that, we bring the show of 2023 to a close. Here’s to 2024, which we are sure will be filled with just as much joy as this year, more watches, more fun and more keeping in touch with all of you!
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So, we thought we’d help you out and put together a gift guide of all of our favourite watches that could be the perfect companion for your loved ones… or a cheeky present to yourself!
First up is the one and only A perfectly useless afternoon. The days may be getting colder and darker, but this watch will be sure to transport you back to a relaxing time spent lounging by a pool, or wherever your happy place may be.
This watch is a gentle reminder that time spent resting, is time well spent. Perfect for the ones in your life who have a tendency to work too hard.
This next one is for the lovers of the unknown, the conspiracists, the extraterrestrial experts… or just that whacky friend that thinks aliens are super cool.
Beam me up! is a playful celebration of the unexplained. The alien continues to chase the mischievous little piglet all year round; while the oblivious cow spectates from afar. But who will win this never ending game of ‘tag’?
Enjoy the ride is powered by a Swiss automatic mechanical movement that keeps the ferris wheel spinning as the seconds tick by.
The constant movement of this watch reminds us that we should enjoy every single minute of life, as it is not endless. A wonderful gift for someone in your life who may be guilty of never taking a break. You are here now, so you may as well enjoy the ride!
Next up is the epitome of pastel punk, it is sugary sweet yet ruthlessly rebellious. We give you… Berry Late Again!.
This watch is the ultimate gift for the ones who are always late. Because, time is just a social construct anyway, right?! Plus, we can guarantee a level of confidence and courageousness that comes with wearing a watch with a cheeky curse word on it…
What’s the time Mr. Tiger?
The Promise of Happiness is a beautifully made watch, ideal for any animal lovers… or lovers of remarkable watches for that matter! The curious cat gazes up to the moon illuminating the night sky to see the time.
This watch includes a jump hour feature where the hours can be spotted in the moon, and the minutes can be spotted (or should we say striped?) in the tigers markings.
We hope this guide will help you in your endeavours of finding the right gift for the right person, because as we all know, that’s the hardest Christmas task of them all!
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It was all systems go at Mr Jones. From the production team working overtime making up extra stock, the marketing team whipping up social posts as if by magic, the shop team becoming decorative masters and volunteers helping pack orders to get them out to you on time.
Our production team, which consists of printing and assembly, worked their socks off to make enough stock for this weekend. Like little elves in Santa’s workshop, they worked and worked and worked. We couldn’t be more grateful for them!
Our marketing team also worked their magic creating such beautiful content to share with you! From Instagram to TikTok to emails, they made sure the word got around so you knew exactly when, where and how to get your deals.
Now, if you know us, you know we never miss an opportunity to decorate our shop. Which meant… YES, the return of the Dachshund balloons.
Our incredible shop team dedicated their Thursday evening to creating a magical Black Friday set up for all of you to enjoy. They must’ve worked their fingers raw with the amount of orange ribbon they tied that night!
We had balloons of every shape and size, custom window stickers, but most important of all… huge deals on your favourite watches!
Exclusively to the shop, we offered scratch cards where customers could win free accessories, 30% - 50% off watches and buy one get one free.
One lucky winner even bagged himself a free watch!
As the weekend continued, so did our deals. We sold out of multiple watches, had a record amount of sales in our shop and overall had our most successful Black Friday to date. And that’s all down to you, our amazing customers!
There’s nothing we love more than getting to send watches out all over the globe to you; whether they’re gifts or just a little treat for yourself. It makes our jobs special knowing that our products can put smiles on people’s faces.
Thank you for all of your orders this Black Friday. We really are over the moon to have such a hard-working team, along with such dedicated and passionate customers.
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To celebrate the milestone, we threw a little party at the shop which included exclusive discounts and offers, balloons, confetti and most importantly… cupcakes (complete with watch design artwork on top - very fancy!).
If you came along to party with us, we want to say a huge thank you and if you didn’t, (party pooper… just kidding!), we’re going to reminisce about the past year of being on Neal Street and share some photos from the special day.
Whether you’re overseas, live outside of London or just couldn’t make it, it’ll be like you were there with us the entire time.
After a whole year in our new home on dynamic Neal Street, our little shop has been thriving. We’ve had new decor, introduced new team members and, of course, new stock for you to browse and enjoy.
Since opening last year, our phenomenal Watch Assembly Technician, Catarina, painted the most beautiful mural on our shop wall back in August.
Fitting the Mr Jones personality perfectly with a burst of colour and creativity, we never get sick of looking at it.
On the first day of our birthday weekend, our super shop team woke up extra early to decorate with an array of colourful balloons, (yes, some were sausage dog shaped…), streamers, confetti and… well… even more balloons.
Custom cupcakes were made especially and what made them even better? They featured some of our watch designs in icing form. That’s what we call having your watch and eating it too… (Sure that’s how the saying goes!)
The end result was magnificent and was topped off with the lovely customers who stopped by to take a look at our little orange shop.
So, here’s to you… us… and many, many more wonderful years on Neal Street!
Quite specific… but yes, yes and yes indeed!
That’s right, we have a brand new collection of t-shirts for you to immerse yourself in. Designed by the creators of some of your favourite watches, including A perfectly useless afternoon, Number Cruncher and Berry Late Again!
First up we have the classic and iconic A perfectly useless afternoon. Designed by Kristof Devos, the serene depiction of a figure floating about a peaceful blue pool is a reminder to take it easy and enjoy the moment.
Kristof explained how a quote from Chinese writer, Lin Yutang changed his perception of time and which he has kept close to his heart ever since: “If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learnt how to live.”
By wearing this t-shirt, you will be reminded to have a perfectly useless afternoon, morning or evening, wherever you are.
Next, we have a Berry Polite addition to our t-shirt range. Inspired by her watch design, Ana Dias came up with this idea from her love of writing and playing with words.
The design seduces you with the sweetness of the child-like lettering, but is juxtaposed by the rebellious and outrageous message. We need this in our wardrobe ASAP because who doesn’t love an unsuspecting t-shirt with a sneaky swear word on it?!
Ana couldn’t have said it any better: “It’s an angel with a dirty face, it’s pastel punk.”
From here, we jump onto the tour bus with Number Cruncher for his Rampage World Tour. He’s taking his chaos and destruction global… and there’s absolutely nothing that will stop him.
Designed by Onorio D’Epiro who has designed a number of watches for us: Number Cruncher (of course), Roboto Shi and The Watchful Ones, he explains the inspiration behind his anarchistic character.
“My fascination with monsters and weird, wonderful creatures stems from my childish imagination and a love of simple, bold design. With Number Cruncher I wanted to try and tell a miniature story.
“The idea that someone may be wearing this little rampaging creature stuck inside a city in a watch brings a smile to my face.”
Last, but most certainly not least, let your worries melt away with Meltastic. Also designed by Onorio, this beaming smiley face acts as a reminder to…well…SMILE!
We all have days when the world seems to be melting into a swirl of confusion and disarray, but remember to keep on smiling, it will pass.
The graphic illustrates a grinning face with the letters ‘MJW’ forming his pearly whites. This tee will be sure to spread positivity and down right good vibes wherever you may go.
Now comes the important decision of which t-shirt you will choose... but don’t take too long, you don’t want to miss the chance to sport your favourite watch brand do you?
Didn’t think so…shop here!
Crispin (Mr Jones), had a chat with Ryan to dive a little deeper into the meaning behind this book and his reasons for creating it.
You can watch the full interview below:
Ryan is an award-winning American Comics Creator and professor at Michigan State University (MSU) where he teaches Comics Studio courses and much more.
Claytor’s fascination with comics began at a young age and stayed with him well into adulthood. He did internships at Marvel Comics in NYC and eventually started making his own comic books in 2004.
He creates a wide range of different creative projects, from comics, to illustrations, to podcasts, to books and of course, cool watch designs!
Ryan has designed a number of watches for Mr Jones. His first design, Step right up was classic and intricately designed, but his most recent creation is Ricochet, which displays three robots battling over an intense game of Pinball.
Claytor’s book will be titled ‘One Bite at a Time’, paying tribute to a phrase his father would use all the time when he was a child. “It’s like eating an elephant, you do it one bite at a time.”
For those familiar with Ryan’s work, this iconic metaphor is echoed in the name of his comic book brand ‘Elephant Eater Comics’
In his book, Ryan wishes to answer in-depth questions about his work and the inspiration behind it. He makes the effort to address important questions such as where he came up with his ideas, when they were produced, what was the reasoning behind the concepts.
This is something he found that not many artists or illustrators did in their books and therefore, wanted to make it a unique theme in his; while using an extremely engaging format throughout (you’ll see what we mean…).
The book includes interactive pages in which circular holes have been cut out. This way the reader can see the original sketch and the finished artwork separately, or side-by-side using the nifty feature!
That’s not even the coolest part… the book will be designed to have a dual, cloth bound cover with foil stamped lettering and a ribbon bookmark. Fancy or what?
Once the book is ready to be printed and distributed, it will retail at $59.95, which is around £50.00. However, Ryan is offering 17% off and free US shipping within the kickstarter period. So, be sure to get your hands on one before the offer ends!
Show your support here.
]]>
If you want to be the talk of the Halloween party or are looking for the perfect accessory to pair with your creepy costume, these watches will definitely be sparking up conversations.
As you may (or may not) know, many of our watches follow the ancient sentiment of ‘memento mori’ which originates from the Latin meaning ‘remember you will die’.
It’s a reminder to live every moment to the fullest and to not take life too seriously (which we are all guilty of sometimes!).
Perfectly ominous for Halloween, but also perfectly true all year round…
For this watch, think classic Godzilla with a twist of time. The Number Cruncher stomps through cities stealing from clocks and munching down on the numbers.
But, he’s not a fussy eater, he will gobble up cars and the odd person too if he feels like seconds (pun intended)!
The chilling, chuckling skull design links back to the tradition of ‘memento mori’. A reminder that life is brief, so why spend it worrying about things that don’t actually matter that much?
We could learn a thing or two from the skull: laugh more and worry less.
You couldn’t find a more accurate watch if you tried. Playing on the ‘memento mori’ tradition once again, this watch says it how it is.
The mirrored dial leaves no question as to who this message is aimed at. That’s what makes this watch so scary…it’s terrifyingly true!
Now, at first this may not strike you as a spooky watch, but if you recall Aflred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ from 1967, you may have a very different opinion.
The bird's beady eye rolls as the seconds tick by… he’s always watching.
There’s just something truly horrifying about a bird, sitting, waiting for the perfect moment to strike when we least expect it. What could be more unnerving?
Which Halloween watch from the Mr Jones collection will you be creeping people out with this year? Be sure to tag us in any social media posts, we can’t wait to see them!
It features a malicious little devil that sits on top of a box of matches, threatening to ignite them all with a stick of dynamite.
Designed for us by London-based, Romanian Illustrator, Adriana Dincu, Short Fuse is a celebration of her love of comics and the fiery side of the human experience.
Speaking about the inspiration behind her design, Adriana said: “I think the term 'Short Fuse' in and of itself has a time component: you hear short fuse, you can't help but think just how long until it explodes?
“For me it also reflects on the practice of people counting to ten when they get angry in order to calm down. I'd like to think that with this watch you would actually count up to a moment of crazy, cathartic anger, the kind that instantly makes you feel vindicated and weightless."
Once Adriana had perfected her vision, our print team got to work by airbrushing the dials by hand.
They created the splatter effect with vivid red and yellow inks by pulling back the bristles of a brush, making every single dial completely unique.
The cartoon matchsticks on the transparent discs were intricately printed one by one, with the two lit matches indicating how to read the time. The larger flame shows you the hours and the smaller flame is the minutes.
The glass also underwent several layers of printing to create the devilish character, making it one of our most complex and colourful to date.
Once the printing was complete, our watch assembly technicians got started on hand assembling all 200 watches, one by one ready for our autumn release.
This provocative watch proved to be popular with all 200 pieces going in just under an hour!
If you just missed out on Short Fuse, don’t worry, you can sign up to our waiting list here to be first to know if it makes a return to our permanent collection.
If you’re feeling smug with Short Fuse on your wrist, remember to tag us in any pictures on social media at @mrjoneswatches.
]]>Beam me up! mechanical joins the likes of A perfectly useless afternoon: mechanical and The Accurate: mechanical as our most popular watch designs that are now available in both quartz and automatic movements.
This version of Beam me up! had been on our minds for a while and we couldn’t wait to bring it to life. This watch features a stunning STP1-11 movement which means it doesn’t have a battery and is instead powered by your movement.
The automatic mechanical version also comes with a glass exhibition case back so you can see the beating heart of your watch in action.
The case is also bigger than the original at 40mm (compared to the 37mm quartz version) making it the ideal size for those that prefer a slightly larger watch.
The design for Beam me up! is all about celebrating the unexplained: a visitor from outer space hovers above a farm searching for life on our green planet… only to find a mischievous piglet running in a field.
These two characters tell the time in their own discreet way… Whilst immersed in a game of never-ending chase, the pig marks the hour and the UFO’s beam trying to catch him shows you the minutes.
This fun watch comes from the brilliant brain of French Author and Illustrator, Xavier Broche, he explains his inspiration behind the design:
“I wanted to describe an alien encounter in a playful way. I imagined how it would be for a simple pig to be at the heart of this historic event.
“I found it funny to imagine the alien travelling endlessly across space searching for intelligent life, only to encounter a bewildered pig at the end of this epic journey!
“Don’t worry about the pig though - he’ll outwit the alien in the end!”
Have you got your hands on Beam me up! mechanical? We’d also love to know which of our quartz designs you’d like to see be created into automatic mechanical movements next over on our social media @mrjoneswatches.
]]>Quality control runs through her veins as she makes sure all your orders go out without a hitch!
Let’s get to know her a little better…
Tell us a bit about yourself:
“I spent the majority of my school years in Singapore with my family, my mum is Malaysian and enjoyed being close to her extended family. In 2015 we moved back to England and settled in North Yorkshire, being close to my dad’s family who are Scottish!
“As an avid performer, I moved to London in 2017 to take up a position as a choral scholar at King’s College London, which enabled me to travel on tours to the US, Nigeria and many beautiful venues across the UK.
“I still sing regularly in a choir and create musical content for my social media page.”
What is your role at Mr Jones Watches:
“I started in 2021 as a Customer Service Assistant and have worked up to my current role as Head of Customer Service. I lead the workshop customer service team with order processing and online queries.
“I also work very closely with Veronica, our shop supervisor, and the retail team to make sure our customers get the best experience possible whether online or face-to-face.”
What do you like most about living in London?
“I love the wealth of music and culture that’s freely available, a gig or concert is always a guaranteed good night in my opinion! Since moving here, I’ve been able to see so many of my favourite bands live, as well as some incredible classical musicians which has been amazing.”
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
“I love to spend my evenings on any type of craft - at the moment I’m crocheting a cardigan for myself and completing a large scale cross stitch of a cat named Molly, similar to the one I made of Stanley…
“I also take ballet classes every week.”
What is your favourite Mr Jones Watch and why?
“My favourite watch is The Ascendent, I just love how elegant the design is and how the gilding technique is harnessed so effectively by the print team.”
Have you enjoyed getting to know Sofia? Head over to our ‘meet the team’ page to meet the rest of the Mr Jones family!
]]>Back with its ironic design featuring a sweary message, Berry Late! was a team and customer favourite when we first launched its limited run in May.
The design includes a mix of gradient pink skies, whimsical clouds, strawberries, and those iconic pastel letters that form a secret message once every hour…
The initial release was a huge milestone for us, becoming our first design to include 200 pieces in a limited edition run, all being snapped up in just 18 minutes!
Ana Dias, designer of Berry Late!, got straight into creating an updated version for our permanent collection.
The pastel colours in Ana’s signature bubble writing have been swapped around and the clouds have floated to new positions against the new lighter pink gradient sky.
Here’s what Ana had to say about her design:
"The watch combines my love of writing and playing with words, coupled with a sense of irony and the absurd.
“The face draws us in with a combination of bright colours and childlike lettering, which seduce us with their sweetness.
"At the same time it pushes back against this saccharine world with the violence of the language and the absurdity of the message. It’s an angel with a dirty face, it's pastel punk."
Will you be getting your hands on Berry Late Again!? Tag us in your pictures on social media at @mrjoneswatches.
]]>We recently sat down with him to talk about his incredible career and how he came to designing watches…
Tell us a bit about yourself…
I’m an Illustrator, an Author, a Designer and an Art Teacher. They sound like four jobs but they are actually one to me. I create whatever it is I create and for the past two years I have been teaching and it is really fun for me to pass on what I have learnt during creation to my students.
I have been an independent illustrator for 10 years and a graphic designer for around 16 - 17 years. I live in a very rural area of Belgium where it's very quiet, which is something I really need to work.
When did your love of drawing and illustration begin?
I think it began like every child, when you’re about two years old and you start drawing. You hold a pencil or a crayon in your hand and you see the magic of touching paper and seeing this line unfold. I then fell in love with it and have never stopped drawing since then.
It has always been a great love and not only drawings but since I can remember it’s always been stories that I drew, not just a scene. That’s what illustration is all about, it's about the narrative, it’s about putting a story into your drawing.
How did you start your illustrating career?
It was a bumpy road. The first thing I knew that I wanted to do was to draw children's books. I never studied illustration, I took a Master's Degree in Graphic Design. There was a moment when I finished the degree that I thought I’d rather do illustration but it was too late for me to start studying again so I thought I would do it on my own.
A couple of years later I was on holiday in Germany with my now wife and a couple of friends who were newlyweds. The holiday was a wedding gift from me and my partner to them. We had a really big car accident and my friend Tina passed away. We were all 26, we were all too young to die at that age. Nobody expects to lose someone, especially another friend. It was a really hard time. It was really heavy, it’s still really hard, and still is heavy at times, even after 15 years have now passed.
It took me another five years but I was thinking of making a book from what I experienced. Not my story but a story about a boy who loses his sister. The accident was in 2008 and my first book was published in 2013, so 10 years ago now, and that launched me into becoming an illustrator.
Why did you want to design watches?
Well, I didn’t and still don’t know a lot about watches. I’m starting to learn that it's a very interesting, niche world just like children's books. I came across Mr Jones Watches and I saw that they work with artists worldwide and I started thinking how cool would it be to wear your own watch!
I had just won a couple of international competitions back then, I’m normally not the most confident person on earth, but then I had a little bit of confidence to email Crispin and say "Hey, I'm this person and I have just won this so I’m serious as an illustrator, can I like design a watch for you?”
I started working on the design on an aeroplane when I was flying to Bulgaria. I always have a sketchbook with me and a lot of Post-its notes. The flight was around two hours and I drew four or five different watch designs. I did a lot of the finishing touches when I was back home and sent it to Crispin, which included A perfectly useless afternoon and A perfectly useless morning.
How does designing a watch differ from children’s books?
For me, there is not much of a difference. It's all about the narrative and the story. If I’m working on a children's book, it's literally a story but a watch also tells a story, it’s also a narrative. Some ideas work better on a watch, and some work better as a book or as editorial, which I also do.
What I’m really trying to accomplish with my work is connecting with people and letting people connect with stories and ultimately with each other. How an idea behind a watch or a book touches someone, it is always beautiful that it does.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I’m lucky enough to say that my work time and free time are much alike. I have my sketchbook with me now, so I also draw when I’m on holiday and I don’t have any assignments planned. It still very much doesn’t feel like work. I really love that, and I am really grateful that I can live this way, which hasn’t always been the case!
The other thing I also like - except for spending a lot of time with my wife and children, of course - is baking. I love baking, it feels a lot like drawing. I like baking bread and difficult things. I’m not the best baker but I like to take on the difficult things that take three to four hours that most people run away from because they require so much patience.
It’s the same focus you have when you are illustrating. When you are baking, if you take one step wrong in a three-hour bake, it’s ruined - similar to illustration - so it's something I really like. It's slow and I like slow things.
Have you enjoyed getting to know Kristof? Make sure to follow him on social media here and keep an eye out for more designers that we will be introducing on our blog soon!
]]>We last saw this fun watch back in August 2022 as a limited edition release with all 100 watches going in a heartbeat, so we knew that we had to make sure it made a return to mark the end of a great (albeit slightly rainy) summer 2023.
The design of this watch transports us to a whimsical fairground scene, watching as the sun sets over a constantly moving ferris wheel.
The mastermind behind the design is Belgium children’s author and illustrator Kristof Devos - designer of A perfectly useless afternoon, A perfectly useless morning and A perfectly useless evening - who was inspired by the valuable life lesson to enjoy your time, as it's not endless.
We were really excited to team up with Kristof again to bring Enjoy the ride to our permanent collection. The new addition saw us use an ultra-lightweight metal seconds disc that was etched, and then printed, resulting in a better representation of the ferris wheel's metal structure.
Additionally, this new method allowed the production team to etch out the cart windows, making them see-through. The colour of the carts also had an upgrade too!
The mechanism has also changed and now uses a superior Swiss automatic mechanical movement (Sellita SW200) which can be seen through the glass case back.
Here is what Kristof had to say about his design:
“This watch captures the most valuable lesson I've learned in my time here on earth: try to enjoy every single minute of your life, because it is not endless.
“When I was thinking about this idea as a concept for a timepiece, I immediately thought of a ferris wheel.
“It just felt right: as the wheel turns, time passes by.
“This watch wants to be a kind reminder to put your worries aside, you are here and now, so you might as well enjoy the ride.”
Have you got your hands on Enjoy the ride? Make sure to tag us in any photos on social media @mrjoneswatches.
Every dial, disc and glass is printed in our London workshop by our talented print technicians. We use a special technique called pad printing, which has been around since the 19th century.
Even if you’ve never heard of pad printing, it’s more prevalent than you might think. If you’re reading this blog post on a laptop, it’s more-than-likely your keyboard keys were made using a pad printer, just like your phone case or the logo on your charger. The list goes on and on!
If you’ve seen a pad printer before (or watched any of our ‘behind-the-scenes’ videos on social media), you’ll have noticed the pad printing machine which features a large silicone pad…
The technique works by the pad transferring ink from an etched base plate onto our glasses, dials and hands to create the design.
Before we can use the pad printer, we mix each colour by hand. Each colour includes a varying amount of pigments, with some inks using up to 16 different colours to create the exact match.
This can be quite a lengthy process as each colour requires different measurements. We're talking between 50g to 0.005g!
All of our designs are printed layer by layer, with each needing its own individual printing plate with the design shallowly etched into the surface.
To avoid making a mess, we use ink cups with magnets to secure them onto the plate. This means that the ink will stay within the design and not spread anywhere we don’t want it.
Just in case of a spill onto the plate, the ink cup includes covered blades so it can quickly skim away any excess ink.
Next, we use the silicone pad to lift the ink off the plates and transfer the design to the glass, dials and/or hands.
We repeat this process until we have completely finished all the watch components we‘re printing.
Have you learned something new about printing today? Our print technicians are very passionate about their craft and we have loved sharing our printing process with you.
Which part of our production process would you like to learn about next? You can let us know over on our social media at @mrjoneswatches.
]]>We’ve got a few new faces at our Neal Street shop who we can’t wait to introduce you to!
Each of our new shop team members will be getting their own introduction on our blog in the upcoming weeks. Today we’re getting to know our fantastic new Supervisor, Veronica.
Veronica joined us in May and works with our retail team to make sure everything is in tip-top shape in our shop. She’s a creative soul who’s bursting with ideas to make our shop experience even better. Watch this space!
Let’s get to know her a little better…
Tell us a bit about yourself…
I’m from the Canary Islands. I first came to London for a five day holiday with my friend and we did an interview as a joke for a pub role in West London.
I was curious to see if I could do an interview in English but I got the job and they offered a room above the pub with it! I told myself I would live in London for a few months, just to improve my English. Well, it’s been six years now!
What do you most like living in London?
I love the people, how everyone is different and is free to have their own style. There is always somewhere with good music, art or coffee. And the seasons in this country are stunning!
What’s your favourite MJW watch?
I love any piece with a gilded technique. The designs are very delicate and beautiful. My favourite is The Ascendent.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I do boxing as a hobby. I also love exploring London on foot and finding new coffee spots.
Keep an eye on our blog to meet the other members of our shop team or pop in to our Neal Street store to say hello in person!
Our t-shirts first came to life last year when we celebrated our 15th anniversary and released our “Stanley’s Hot Dogs” t-shirt, designed by our General Manager, Ellie McAllister.
Stanley:
Stanley is seven years old and belongs to Mr Jones himself, Crispin. He is a Miniature Dachshund and is the dog who started the group… he’s the real boss around here!
By far our laziest team member, you’ll usually find Stanley sleeping in a sunspot in the workshop or hanging around in our Covent Garden shop (which is dog friendly!)
He’s our OG “hot dog” and we wouldn’t have him any other way, but maybe tone down the barking a bit at the postman, Stan?
Wren:
Wren is three years old and belongs to our Head of Printing, Ellen. She's a French Bulldog and Jack Russell mix and you’ll usually find her hunting for treats.
Sweet and bubbly, Wren reminds us of a refreshing pint of beer. She absolutely loves attention, especially from our print team and the admirers in the local beer garden!
Shrimpy:
Shrimpy is four years old and works on marketing with our Social Media Lead, Olivia. She’s a rescue dog and is a long mix of Dachshund and Labrador. She can be quite shy when you first meet her.
Shrimpy has perfected sad eyes to get an extra treat or two from our team and she loves nothing more than chilling under a blanket - or perhaps a taco tortilla shell like on her t-shirt - in the evening.
Woody:
Woody is one and a half, making him the baby of the group and is currently interning with the marketing team. He is a Dapple Dachshund and still has a few coaching sessions left with Shrimpy!
He is the life and soul of the party and is always in the mood for playtime or fuss. You could say he is a total crowd-pleaser, just like a delicious pizza.
Have you guessed the common theme between the t-shirts? They are all inspired by the thing our office dogs love the most… food!
You can learn more about the dogs and the rest of our team by heading to our Meet Our Team page here. We also regularly post about them on our social media channels so be sure to check them out at @mrjoneswatches.
]]>Ellie supports Crispin with our business operations and oversees our customer service team. She plays a vital role in managing our stock, both from our workshops and in our Covent Garden shop - we would be lost without her keen eye and stellar organisation.
She is also the very talented designer behind our new line of unisex Mr Jones Watches T-shirts, inspired by the office dogs: Stanley, Shrimpy, Woody and Wren.
“Designing the t-shirts was an exciting opportunity to work on something creative for the company. My role revolves around admin tasks, so I loved being able to channel my energy into design!"
Read on to get to know Ellie a little better…
Tell us about yourself
“I’m Yorkshire born and bred. After graduating from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in fashion, I moved down south to London in 2018 to start my career and have been at Mr Jones Watches ever since!”
What’s your role at Mr Jones Watches?
“I first started as a Studio Assistant five years ago, answering all your customer emails and packing up orders. I was given the opportunity to take on more responsibility and grew into my role of General Manager and have continued to help and watch the company flourish into what it is today!”
What do you like doing in your free time?
“I love spending time with my friends, exploring new and exciting places around London… I have also recently begun reading again and I can’t put them down - I’ve read five books in two weeks!”
Who is your favourite office dog?
“I couldn't possibly play favourites! But I’m sure it’s pretty obvious to everyone in our workshop who’s the top dog…”
(Ellie even designed the dog biscuits which are available in our Covent Garden shop which Stanley absolutely loves!)
What’s your favourite Mr Jones watch and why?
“I find it really difficult to choose, as I love so many… but I have Ricochet and The Last Laugh myself, so I’d say those two.”
Have you enjoyed getting to know Ellie? Head over to our ‘Meet our Team’ page to meet the rest of the Mr Jones family!
Have you grabbed one of our new T-shirts? Let us know which one you have by tagging us on social media @mrjoneswatches.
]]>We recently asked Crispin, our founder and director (aka Mr Jones) to shed some light on his love of vintage watches.
What is your favourite vintage watch?
“One of my most prized watches, and a rather modest one, was made by Smiths in 1945. It’s a 13-ligne and represents the rebirth of watchmaking in England.
“Smiths first started as a watchmaker and retailer in the late 19th century and were the last producer of mechanical watches in this country. They stopped making watches in 1971.”
Tell us more about how Smiths got into making these watches.
“In the early 20th century, Smiths transitioned into making car speedometers along with other watchmakers, leading to the quite steep decline in watchmaking in the 1920/30s.
“At the outset of the second world war, the lack of native watchmaking was identified as a problem by the government as the construction of time fusers for bombs relied on similar mechanisms to those used in watchmaking.
“Smiths were given considerable financial support from the government to establish watchmaking and built a factory just outside Bishop Cleeve in Cheltenham, UK.
“They received orders for pocket watches, stopwatches and wrist watches from the military as part of the war effort. They managed to supply both pocket and stopwatches, but struggled with the miniaturisation of the mechanism down to the size of a wrist watch.
“Smiths were unable to produce a reliable enough watch movement to deliver in any kind of volume. High precision wrist watches were needed for aerial navigation before radar was widely available.
“In the Horological Journal in 1947, Smiths announced they had started offering a few 13-ligne watches to the public. The watch I have is one of the few 13-ligne produced which represented the end of the government contract.”
How did you get your hands on one of the 13-ligne Smith watches?
“I purchased this watch at an auction held in Cheltenham in 2017, it is fair to say the auction house had little understanding of what they had, but the wider Smiths collecting community understood the significance of the watch being sold.”
Can you tell us about the watch’s interesting features?
“Under the plates the watch has its unique number scratched - C226. I read this as being the third batch (i.e. A, B, C etc.) and number 226 in that batch, which makes it within the first few hundred produced by Smiths.
“The dial is a very simple pad print in one colour, with slightly flamboyant hands to balance this out.
“The case is stainless steel and was produced for Smiths by Dennison Watch Case Company which had a factory in Birmingham, UK.”
What do you admire most about this watch?
“I cherish it. It's a very early example of English watchmaking and I really value it for its history above anything else - the value is not commensurate with how rare a thing it is.”
We have held a variety of vintage pieces over the years which you can see by heading over to our vintage archive.
Have you bought a vintage watch from us? If so, let us know by tagging us on social media @mrjoneswatches.
It seems that everyone fell in love with this feline inspired watch as all 200 pieces were snatched up within 33 minutes, making Mispoes! one of our fastest selling watches to date.
The playful design was created for us by Belgian Art Student Kaat Deceuninck, whose inspiration came from watching her own cat play in the garden for hours on end.
Kaat explains the inspiration for her design:
“I often find myself spending time watching my cat play with his toys or even with the mice he catches.
“Although it’s really engrossing to watch, afterwards I always feel like I wasted all that time.
“When I got the assignment to create a watch design I wanted to tell a story that is relatable and easy to understand.
“To see the world through the cat’s eyes means we can understand that no time is ever really wasted - we just need to be more like the cat and fully live every moment!”
We can all relate to the feeling of time slipping away from us at one point or another, and the struggle of trying to catch up with lost time instead of simply enjoying the moment.
Mispoes! captures this notion perfectly (or purrfectly if you like puns!) literally showing us the classic idiom “a game of cat and mouse” and reminding us that we should celebrate getting lost in time, even just for a little while.
Translated from Dutch, Mispoes! means “you missed, cat!” and is a phrase used when someone misses a catch or aiming a paper ball at the bin. The cat and mouse are trapped in an endless pursuit, with the cat never fast enough to trap the mouse - mispoes!
Kaat followed in the footsteps of her teacher, Kristof Devos, designer of the ever-popular A perfectly useless afternoon to our London workshop to go over her design with our team.
After the design was finalised, our team got straight into producing all 200 pieces ahead of the release…
The dials for Mispoes! were all airbrushed by hand to create the textured grassy setting for the cat and mouse to play in.
The design was also intricately printed layer by layer, with Mispoes! going through six different printing rounds in total.
Did you manage to get your paws on Mispoes!?
If you missed it, you can sign up to our waiting list here.
If you’re the cat that got the cream and are eagerly awaiting your watch, tag us in any pictures on social media @mrjoneswatches when it arrives!
]]>
The design set a new milestone by becoming our first watch to launch with 200 pieces, and also including a secret message that appears every hour…
This rebellious watch was designed by London-based artist, Ana Dias who was influenced by her love of writing and playing with words.
Berry Late! comes with a sweet twist that embodies our brand to a ‘T’ as we’re all about having fun with time and looking at it differently. This watch takes it to the next level…
For most of the day, you’ll look down at the design and see Ana’s signature illustrated strawberries, clouds, and a mix of child-like lettering that cannot be decoded.
But at every hour, the letters unscramble to read “Fuck it! Time is just a social construct”, adding a touch of humour and irony to our perception of time.
Ana recently visited our London workshop in Camberwell to see her finished design for the first time, and she even got to pick up a shift with our Head of Printing, Ellen, who showed her how to spray the dials and how to use one of our PAD printers!
Here is what Ana has to say her design:
"Berry Late! is very much an embodiment of who I am (not the being late part because I’m always on time!)
"The watch combines my love of writing and playing with words coupled with a sense of irony and the absurd.
"The face draws us in with a combination of bright colours and childlike lettering, which seduce us with their sweetness.
"At the same time it pushes back against this saccharine world with the violence of the language and the absurdity of the message.
"It’s an angel with a dirty face, it's pastel punk."
Our team worked extremely hard to produce all 200 pieces ready for the release, essentially doubling their workload as we usually only release 100 for our limited edition watches.
The printing process for Berry Late! is one to be admired, all 200 dials were hand-airbrushed to create the gradient design.
The clouds on the glass were carefully printed with translucent ink to achieve the illusion of being able to see through the clouds.
We had an absolute blast creating this watch… Did you manage to grab one? Or were you Berry Late!?
If you missed it, you can sign up to the waiting list here.
If you’re on cloud nine awaiting your watch, make sure to tag us in any pics on social media when it arrives! @mrjoneswatches.
]]>Whether you want a watch to match her personality, complement her style or just to make her smile, we have the perfect selection to choose from this coming Mother’s Day…
A perfectly useless morning
If your mom is a fan of the great outdoors, then A perfectly useless morning is the perfect watch for her. Serving as a reminder to take a break and enjoy the moment, this watch tells her to pause, go outside and enjoy what nature has to offer this Mother’s Day.
Shop A perfectly useless morning here.
The Everyday Special
Remind your mom of a special memory that the two of you shared together with The Everyday Special. The customizable watch hands allow you to add any message or date, making it the perfect, unique present.
Shop The Everyday Special here.
Mare Adesso
For the moms who love wildlife, Mare Adesso is the watch that they need this Mother’s Day. Let Mom admire its sun-setting scene as the whale soars over the ocean, leaping in and out of the water.
Shop Mare Adesso here.
Slow Down
Remind your mom that it’s okay to stop and take a break during her day with Slow Down. As time passes, the leaves and flowers move around the watch face, but at 12 o’clock, the words “slow down” magically appear, creating an invitation for Mom to pause.
Shop Slow Down here.
Remember that any of our watches with a steel back case can be engraved to leave a special mark this Mother’s Day.
Which watch will you get for your mum this year? Tag us on social media at @mrjoneswatches.
]]>Tadaima was designed by London-based Illustrator, Yo Hosoyamada, who was inspired by her hometown of Tokyo.
Being away from her hometown for long periods of time, Yo wanted to capture the feeling of arriving home when she looked down at the watch.
Tadaima is a Japanese greeting said upon arriving at home. We can all relate to that feeling of walking through the door after a long day, particularly when we are missing our own “home”, wherever that may be.
The watch shows off the electric city of Tokyo, but also captures a moment of peace and tranquillity with only a bird and an observant cat being seen in the completely man-made cityscape.
Yo visited our workshop in South London to go over her design with our director and founder, Crispin Jones. She tried her hand printing her design and got to see the full watch making process.
Here’s what Yo has to say about her design:
"ただいま Tadaima is the Japanese for ‘I’m home!’, the first thing you say when you walk through the door (the reply to tadaima is okaeri which means ‘welcome home’).
“It’s something you say when you come home after a long day of work, or after you have been away for a while. It also means ‘right now’ or ‘the present’.
“Living and working away from my hometown of Tokyo, I wanted to design the watch that would serve as a window or a portal that could transport me home whenever I wanted.
“It’s a homage to the city I love that means I can carry it with me wherever I go.”
Once the design was finalised, we started the printing, production and assembly to bring her inspiration to life for the limited release.
The dials were individually hand-airbrushed by our talented print technicians, creating the golden sunset over the Tokyo skyline.
This watch also includes an impressive jump hour feature incorporated into the tallest building, meaning the hour quickly “jumps” on the 59>00 minute shift. Blink and you’ll miss it!
Tadaima has now set a new record and is our fast selling watch, with all 100 pieces snatched up in just over 15 minutes!
Did you manage to get your hands on ただいま Tadaima? If not, you can sign up to our waiting list here.
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