BRAND ENGINEERING
In early 2016 we set out to create a classic British watch brand that celebrated great moments in history through innovative design and engineering. We had a clear vision of what Zero West represented and knew we possessed the collective skills to turn that vision into reality.

The first step in the design process was to research watch movements and after extensive evaluation, decided to base our designs around the superbly engineered and highly developed Swiss ETA movement range. They are without doubt some of the finest watch movements ever made.

With the beating heart of our watches defined, we set about styling and designing our range of highly engineered and ergonomically optimised watches. Our vision had to encompass our extensive expertise in aerospace and luxury product design and manufacturing arenas. Our criteria was to design watches that could survive harsh military environments whilst being beautifully styled. We achieved our goal within a year.

Our case components are fully machined from aerospace grade materials using state-of-the-art multi-axis computer controlled machines, which enable us to repeatably manufacture to the highest standards and tolerances. Completed machined parts are entirely hand finished by time served craftsmen to bring them to a flawless polish. Sapphire glass scratch resistant crystals are custom made to our design and exacting specification with double matched convex curve, thus minimising optical distortion. An anti-reflective coating is applied to the inner surface of the glass to reduce glare and reflections.

Dials and hands are designed in-house and manufactured to the very highest standards. Parts undergo rigorous inspection during all stages of the manufacturing process to ensure that every part is defect free. Where our designs include luminous features, we specify and use only genuine Swiss Tritec X1 Super-Luminova pigments so that we have the best possible afterglow performance.

After evaluating hundreds of commercially available watch straps and drawing a blank in finding the perfect leather strap to complement our designs, we took the bold decision to set about researching, designing and making our own. The process of sourcing Horween and English bridle leathers, cutting, skiving, saddle stitching and edge finishing took over a year to develop and perfect. The effort and attention to detail and our determination to bring this critical element in-house was a rewarding one. We think the results speak for themselves in our uncompromised drive for perfection and quality in the Zero West brand. Check out the straps page here

Zero West watches are professionally built in England and incorporate a robust sealing mechanism protecting them to a minimum depth of 10ATM. At the end of the build every finished watch is meticulously inspected and pressure tested. From our extensive military and aerospace design experience, nothing is left to chance, resulting in an uncompromised wristwatch that will stand the test of time, ZERO WEST – There’s a time and place for everything.