Monday 12 December 2016

British values – timeless in appeal and function



Soon after the American elections of 2016 Mr. Nigel Farage the leader of UKIP (United Kingdom Independent Party) met with the President-elect of United States of America Mr. Donald Trump. What the discussion entailed was not reported but what Mr. Nigel Farage reported was bringing British values to the fore in the re-ignition of UK-US relations.



How are British values defined? Do you go by the Government’s edict of teaching British values such as tolerance, mutual respect, freedom among others which by its very nature is abstract?  Or it can be described as understated pride in its history and institutions. The signing of Magna Carta (800 years ago) really started the principles of British values; adherence to the monarchy is perhaps more British than any other country.

From several discussions and opinions in online forums one aspect becomes clear - Decent values, solidity and the belief that integrity and fairness are timeless; to put a metric on these observations – BBC, monarchy and timekeeping immediately come to mind. Please bear in mind that these are just representative of some values that are quintessential British. The first two BBC and the Queen stand atop most British icons and the third is even more relevant with Big Ben.



British watch and clock making skills are legendary and has been handed down generations of exemplary watchmakers – from Robert Hooke to George Daniels. The skills go back almost 400 years and the present day modern watchmakers such as Bremont which is founded by a pair of extraordinarily talented watchmaking brothers called Giles English and Nick. Even their name is solid Britannica as their credo is the world observes timekeeping in Greenwich Mean Time and not Geneva. Garrick is another British brand trying to establish a strong connect by creating their own movement, David Brailsford the founder of Garrick is like Mclaren – he is building watch cases from scratch – equal to chassis building of the legendary McLaren F1 cars.

Mastery of movement is the hallmark of British watchmakers. Apart from innovations by the English brothers (Bremont,) talented watchmakers who are BHI trained bring to the table passion into restoration and servicing. Perpetual Time reviews (unique web resource of information on watches) bring stories of British values that have stood the test of time. Fame and limited fortune notwithstanding Perpetual Time reviews bring back pride into the dexterity and craftsmanship of watchmaking.

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