Time is ricking on a brand new British time piece

Luxury ‘collector' watch brand Brax la Rue is bucking the trend and proving that success is possible in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown.

The new UK based company has already caused quite a stir despite the fact that its first Tourbillon watch hasn't been officially launched until today (1 September 2020).

The 500 stunning limited edition timepieces have been hand assembled and are individually numbered. They are housed in a 42mm diameter stainless steel case with anti-reflective sapphire crystal glass and hand winding Tourbillon movement.

What's more, one of the watches will be worth significantly more than its sale price thanks to world famous micro-artist Graham Short who has engraved a tiny badger's paw print on its working mechanism - viewed through the glass on the reverse of the watch.

Graham is considered to be one of the most talented living micro-artists in the world. He is well-known for engraving a portrait of the Queen onto a pinhead, which recently sold for £100,000, but admits that the Brax la Rue paw print, engraved using a using a shard of diamond glued to the tip of a needle, was his most difficult engraving yet.

The dedicated artist, dubbed ‘hands of a genius', spent over 50 years going to physical and mental extremes to produce the highest-quality, and tiniest, hand engravings ever seen - in fact his smallest works of art cannot even be seen by the naked eye.

As well as the portrait of the Queen, his masterpieces include engravings of Jane Austen and Harry Kane on bank notes, and an engraving on the edge of a commemorative medal given to the artist by Neil Armstrong.

Brax La Rue started when watch enthusiast Peter J  Fuller had a vision to make watches a little different. Peter explains: "There are so many watch brands out there already, but through Brax la Rue I wanted to create something different, unusual and unique; something that will make people look twice. I want Brax la Rue to become a great British brand."

The Tourbillon was patented in 1801 by Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet. Tourbillon is French for ‘whirlwind' - its purpose being to negate the effects of gravity on time accuracy. It is housed in a rotating cage with the whole assembly constantly moving. So whatever position the watch is in, any timing variations are cancelled out.

The Brax la Rue limited edition Tourbillon watch will be launched on Ingiegogo, a platform which supports new start-up businesses, on 1 September 2020.