Holton Automatic, The Ultimate Off-Grid Watch?
Some things are just meant to be.
The Holton Professional instantly won hearts and minds like no other watch we've created, hitting all the right notes with a no-nonsense approach to life, full-on military credibility, easy to wear sizing and durability beyond question.
Making an automatic version with all of the Holton's tech spec fully in tact was one of the easiest decisions we've ever made. If you're not familiar with watch terminology, 'automatic' is a collective term used to describe a self-winding, spring powered watch with what's known as a mechanical movement rather than a quartz one powered by a battery. It can be hand wound by turning the crown (the winder) or simply worn where the motion of your wrist causes a semi-circular rotor to rotate, winding the spring automatically - hence the name. The movement we selected is a reliable workhorse, the NH35, and once housed inside our bespoke movement shield, suspended inside a toughened, waterproof and shock resistant stainless case, it's fit for just about anything you care to throw at it.
So many automatics find themselves in watch winders or hidden inside a drawer for fear of damage during more active or risky activities or as a result of their cost of acquisition... not this one. It's designed to be worn every day and never taken off, no matter what.
With specialist military development and the most arduous testing already under the Holton's belt, it has to the ultimate off grid watch. No battery to change every few years, these models are human powered so they'll go and go with nothing more than an occasional wash for at least 10 years (but of course we can replace and service any component should you wish to have yours fettled by our in-house Horologists). That's the beauty of any Elliot Brown watch; we can keep it on your wrist for as many years as you wish to wear it.
The only discernible difference between auto and quartz Holton models is the deeper case back needed to house the deeper mechanical workings of the automatic movement.
Every Holton up to this point has been finished in a gorgeously technical, dark matt PVD gunmetal finish. PVD stands for Particle Vapour Deposition, the name given to the coating which has a hardness rating of 1200HV (stainless steel is about 300-400HV) and a fascinating fact is that one of our watches takes 12 hours to take on a full coat that meets our standards, which is roughly twice the industry 'norm' in terms of thickness so it'll never be an issue. Particles bombard the watch case, impregnating the surface of the 316L marine grade stainless steel and build up to a point where there's a rock hard shell. If we made the layer any thicker, the case would begin to loose the crisp definition we work so hard to engineer in. If you've had a watch in the past with a PVD coating that scratched off easily, our's don't do that, in fact we have never had to replace a coated case.
High grip hobnail knurling on crown and timing bezel
Sorry, we went all technical for a moment there... the real reason for mentioning Gunmetal PVD is that the Holton Automatic is also available in two other stunning finishes. The first is natural stainless steel but instead of brushing or polishing it, we vapour blast it with tiny particles (like sand blasting) to create the most incredibly fine matt finish that's almost cast aluminium silver-grey in colour. With the pale grey-green Superluminova dial and bezel detailing hailing from the same colour family as the case, the result is literally stunning. Simple wins. It's technical, easy on the eye, slightly less 'military' and it just so happens to work perfectly with our heritage webbing straps that lend it a field watch vibe.
The Holton Auto 101-A12-N10 uses gorgeous aged PVD bronze applied to a finely brushed case that oozes warmth with subtlety that doesn't shout look at me. Instead it's discreet, tasteful and oh so cool, with the look of something more vintage yet with the clean aesthetic of a modern classic.
The desert grey webbing strap is a thing of beauty too. A technical slice of fabric designed to stand the test of time with ultimate comfort. Every single thread of its finely woven finish made to our exacting standards on a Victorian loom. It's colour sits between brown and grey and works with pretty much anything, much like a leather strap would but with heaps more durability and fitted with our matching bronze PVD patented clamp buckle.
It's a hard decision choosing between them, but whichever you choose, each Holton Automatic is unmistakable as an 'Elliot Brown' which has become a right of passage in some circles.
The ultimate off grid watch?
We'll let you be the judge of that 10 years from now when your watch can tell a few stories of it's own.
