The Holton Professional has taken Elliot Brown into groups, agencies and secretive corners of the globe we never imagined.
In our early days here at Lake Yard, on the edge of Poole Harbour, we bumped into a police officer asking a photographer to avoid pointing his lens towards our Royal Marines neighbours during a clothing brand fashion shoot. We got chatting...
His friend was the welfare officer at the SBSA charity and we had seen first-hand the effects of such a kinetic existence on both the operators and their domestic relationships. We had an ambition to do our bit by raising money for the charity as we had done in a previous business with the water clean up charity, Surfers Against Sewage via a range of watches and other products.
The SBSA project went live in 2015/2016, a significant sum was raised through sales and special editions given for auction at prestigious events.
Our close relationship with the SBSA continues to this day and we took it as the genesis to give large charitable donations from the special watch projects we create.
Unbeknown to us, “badged operators” were wearing the SBSA Canford on tours and realised how durable they were compared with every other watch they had tried – often referred to by them as fish food due to weak strap pins. We were asked if we could create a new dive watch for the unit and began imagining how it could be brought to life.
Ultra grippy 60min divers bezel, instantly legible even in dark murky water but with no signature under night vision, waterproof beyond any operational dive depth, shock resistant, happy in salt water, unbreakable straps that are easy to change on the fly, dark coloured to blend in, must look the part but also mustn’t shout look at me.
Our natural go-anywhere do-anything DNA already includes testing every watch in water at 200m, protecting the movement with a shock protection system, marine grade stainless used for all components, solid unbreakable strap bars and straps, thick anti reflective sapphire crystal, bolted down compressor type case back and the brightest SuperLuminova luminescent paint.
We needed to give the crown extra protection from heavy impacts, make the straps easier to change, create a tough divers bezel that would take all the knocks but work perfectly when using wet neoprene or leather gloves, make the dial ultra legible but with a strong connection to our 12,3,6,9 house dial style and imbue the design with military heritage for a sense of familiarity and connection.
Put simply, it had to look awesome, wear easily for any occasion and function beyond anything that had gone before.
No pressure!
We created a unique pyramid shaped knurled bezel and took the knurling onto the top edge also – enabling the bezel to be operated with the palm of a gloved hand.
The bezel insert containing the 60 minute count down markers is case hardened – allowing it to take the inevitable knocks and remain unscathed.
The crown is hobnail knurled for secure grip, placed at 4h out of harm’s way, recessed into the outer casing and screwed down for maximum security.
Add thick toughened sapphire, as much PVD hardened coating as we could without losing the crisp case definition, single sided solid stainless strap bars and complete with broad arrow “crows foot” and NATO stock number.
First prototypes were issued for field testing. They just needed a couple of minor tweaks. Version 2 prototypes were made and put through the most rugged testing imaginable in sweltering, dusty deserts, hot humid jungles, underwater excursions and HALO jumps often from freezing into tropical waters. No changes needed, production given the green light.
There is a story around the NATO stock number the OG Holton Professional carries. It was a requirement, then a change of financial year and enabling contract meant it was no longer needed. Don’t ask!
As pieces of ‘issued’ military equipment, they were required to carry the broad arrow mark often referred to as a ‘crows foot’, marking them as military property.
The first batch of Holtons was delivered to the stores in person in 2017. That was the start of the most interesting journey we could have ever imagined. Their use amongst other units and agencies around the world lit a fire under Elliot Brown as a trusted partner for covert special watch projects all over the world.
We don’t talk about them, it’s a conscious choice out of respect and to protect identities but if you’re ever in Poole and happen to visit, you might see a wall in the office covered with cap badges and coins, all from agencies and elite groups we work closely with, all via word-of-mouth recommendation. It’s our unwritten CV.
When Holton launched, we already had a plethora of interchangeable straps and we felt the most appropriate dial colours were the original black, that isn’t actually black but a very dark grey, that somehow looks blacker.. go figure, and olive drab. Both in dark gunmetal matte PVD finish and offered with different straps.
We were, and remain, extremely cautious about messing with the original Holton. It took us until 2020, and we changed virtually nothing externally other than a slightly deeper dished case back to accommodate the movement and its shock protection system.
We don’t do research or focus groups (as you may have read elsewhere!) so we launched the three hand automatics in our three office favourite hues of original black and gunmetal, vapour blasted steel and black for a more “civvy”, easy wearing vibe and a lovely warm antique bronze that has a unique character we couldn’t overlook.
Having lived with the OG black and green dials, and seen how the new automatics were doing so well, we were searching for another colour with a strong military connection that would be a perfect fit for Holton.
That’s when we discovered the coolest of cool colours that goes by the name Night Invisible Varnish Orfordness. Oh yes that!
It’s such a great story and needless to say, it’s the most apt shade for Holton – even out-selling the original models thanks to the all-encompassing styling of dial, hands, case and strap that together form a compelling choice.
When watch companies attend retail events, it’s always nice to bring something new. It makes the shows more exciting for everyone and on this occasion we swallowed hard and decided to have a go at a limited time release of the Holton Whiteout.
It was only available to pre-order for the duration of the event and very quickly became the talk of the show. We sold hundreds in two and a half days and left the event feeling grateful, elated, lucky and excited at what had just happened.
The Holton Whiteout Auto GMT proved what our gut instinct had been screaming at us, that the GMT version we were holding prototypes of and looked so damned good would surely set pants on fire just as it had for us. The wait was unbearable.
In March 2024 we launched three new Holton Automatic GMT’s in trademark black and gunmetal, NIVO with its paler case and dial and a vapour blasted matte steel case with black and vintage sand colour detailing on the dial, complete with matching raw edged leather strap.
After the success of the original Holton GMT Automatic Whiteout, we introduced the Holton Automatic Black Whiteout, the yin to the original Whiteout’s yang, with fully lumed white dial that glows cool blue against a dark gunmetal PVD stainless case as opposed to the original’s vapour blasted matte steel case.
This time as a long-term model as opposed to a limited release. We also made some white rubber straps that go perfectly with it for the full arctic vibe.
Holton has earned its stripes as one of the toughest watches on the planet, but even with that accolade, we took it further and imagined a Holton so tough you could scrape it down a road and you’d mark the road!
We fully case-hardened the whole watch as opposed to a hardened external coating like DLC, PVD etc. The result is a watch case and bezel made of stainless steel that has been made 6x harder than standard 316L marine grade stainless, with a most pleasing feel and a slightly warmer, darker colour than normal vapour blasted matte stainless.
It’s gorgeous and knowing how tough it is gives the wearer a comforting sense of invincibility.
