Introducing the New Garrick S4

For years now Garrick has voiced its ambition to reinstate British watchmaking to its former glory. Not only through the voice of the brand’s co-founder David Brailsford, but also through the watches which showcase this ambition. Spread across two distinct directions of watchmaking, Garrick offers intricately designed and complex watches on one hand, and relatively affordable options on the other. Knowing Garrick though, ‘relatively affordable’ by no means results in less interesting watches. The new Garrick S4 is another fine example of its continued advocacy. And priced very competitively!

Garrick kicked off its watchmaking endeavours with watches like the Shaftesbury and Norfolk before moving on to higher echelons of watchmaking. First tell-tale signs of Garrick’s ambition to thrive were the Regulator and Portsmouth collections that added complexity and even a proprietary movement into the mix. All this in the span of about three years showed that Garrick meant business, and it hasn’t sat still since. Continuing the philosophy encapsulated in the Portsmouth, Garrick followed with the S1 in 2018 and the S2 a year later. Just last year the S3 was introduced. All three watches used the same proprietary movement as a base, while upping the complexity and level of details and finishing one by one. 

Although the S4 takes a slightly different direction, it is still a true Garrick watch and upholds classical English watchmaking traditions. Not only in terms of style and design, but also by creating as much as possible in its own workshops. Dials, hands, movement parts, and of course finishing is done by Garrick’s craftsmen and the S4 is no exception. Offered as a new entry-level watch for the brand, with previous, more affordable models being discontinued, it seeks to cut as few corners as possible. 

The dial of the new S4 is painstakingly created by hand, starting with a blank piece of brass. Where most dials start out as a stamped piece, Garrick uses a lathe to cut it to size. Feet are mounted, surface is cleaned, heat-treated in a kiln, chapter ring and small seconds sub-dial fitted, and the Roman numerals are laser engraved. After that, the recessed engravings for the numerals are filled with paint, by hand. Future owners can choose between a frosted central part or a guilloché pattern. This guilloché is hand-made on a rose-engine lathe and contrasts with the pattern for the sub-seconds register. Displaying the time are heat-blued and polished Maritime hands.

The 42mm wide and 10mm thick case is made of 904L steel but an 18k gold case is also possible. It houses a Swiss ETA 6498 movement, meticulously reworked by Garrick, instead of the proprietary movement developed with Andreas Strehler’s Uhr Teil AG in the first three S-models. The movement is updated with a frosted three-quarter plate, a new balance cock and a traditional barrel/crown wheel cover, which is engraved by hand. The movement can be rhodium-plated or finished in a gold-plated tone. It features a screwed balance and is regulated in-house to an average deviation of +3 seconds a day. The power reserve remains the same as a standard ETA 6498 movement, so expect around 50 hours.

The Garrick S4 is fitted with a leather strap of your choice, including handmade alligator, calf, buffalo or ostrich leather. While the other S-models already introduced by Garrick are priced a lot higher – justified by the level of detail and that unique movement – the S4 is intended to be a more affordable option. As such, the price is set at GBP 4,995 including taxes (price may vary for non-UK clients). And for those looking to create a bespoke Garrick S4, I’m sure their desires can be catered to, at a premium most likely. Priced at just below 5k before taxes it’s a considerable (and relative, of course) bargain taking into account the vast amounts of handmade and hand-finished parts packed into this very well-made example of British watchmaking.

More information and orders at www.garrick.co.uk.