Storied as case-makers to the names you know and love, Dennison makes a comeback as the new stone-dial watch to add to your collection. Hot rocks, high time.
They say a rolling stone gathers no moss. Translation: a person who does not settle in one place will not accumulate wealth or status. But that couldn’t be further from the truth for Dennison, a revived independent watch brand in October this year, which has catapulted to all corners of the globe, and now positions itself as the hot watch to get your hands on.
First things first, you’ll need to understand that in this corner of the universe of all things timely, a Spotify Wrapped of the watch world 2024 would reveal that stone dials were the big hitter. A renaissance of this decadent 70s trend, where literal fragments of stone are placed on the dial, time is told against a backdrop of a tiger’s eye or malachite.
While that’s all well and good and makes for a striking design that will certainly score you a compliment or two, extracting precious stones and placing them on these miniature canvases is no easy feat, and thus demands many pennies from a future owner. Which is why, for the most part, us watch fans have been lusting over archive models from bygone eras from afar, dreaming of the day we usher in a stone dial watch into our collection. But in came Dennison and saved the day – and our bank accounts.
The Dennison that debuted in 2024 hasn’t just become a purveyor of affordable stone dials, rearing our rock-based fantasies to life, but revived a British casemaker to an entirely new audience of wrists. Case in point, for those of you that don’t spend appalling amounts of screen time ogling over watches (jealous of you), have probably never heard of the brand until now.
But that’s what the team behind Dennison are here to change, because it turns out, you do actually know Dennison. A story that began 175 years ago, Dennison’s founder, Aaron Lufkin Dennison cultivated a mission to create some of the world’s best watch cases, supplying them for the likes of Rolex, Omega, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Zenith. And we know you know them.
While the brand closed in 1967, it reopens this year, toying with this concept of ‘the name behind the names.’ What better way to revive a brand, than with a world-famous watch designer, Emmanuel Gueit, who designed for Rolex, Piaget and is the man behind the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore.
Picking up where Dennison left off in the 1960s, while also making a case (and a funky-shaped one at that) for a modern day audience, Dennison bridges the gravitas of its history, with a debut collection that speaks to exactly what the curious wrists of today want: stone-dial watches. Call it two birds, one stone, it’s a tale of telling time, but telling it well.
Why relaunch a brand? Why does everyone want stone dials? Discover the story with Dennison owner, Toby Sutton, one half of Watches of Knightsbridge.
What prompted you to revive a brand? Is it difficult to tackle a brand that comes with heritage?
I knew about Dennison from an early age from when I opened watches that my father owned from the vintage watch trade. Later on I decided to research the company in detail and registered the trademark in 2010. It was only when I stumbled across a watchmaker using some of the original Dennison case making machines which sparked the revival. Last year we decided to relaunch the company from Geneva with the help of Emmanuel Gueit as our lead designer. Reviving a heritage brand comes with the pressure of doing the name justice and not limiting ourselves creatively. Dennison produced such a wide range of amazing case designs over the decades that we had a lot of inspiration to work from. The idea we had with Emmanuel was to rework the classic Dennison cushion case. The focus for Dennison is on the case design and producing elegant and interesting watches which are valued for their design.
Stone dials are truly gripping the tastes of enthusiasts and collectors at the moment. Was this something you wanted to lean into, or was the timing fortuitous?
Stone dials are very on trend at the moment just as they were in the 1970s. Our main focus was on the case and after that we were experimenting with minimalist dials. The stone dials really worked with this case design.
One of the attractive feats of Dennison is the price point. Can you talk us through the intentions behind this?
The idea from the beginning was to offer a beautifully designed watch at an attractive price point to those who value the design and the brand. Primarily we wanted to appeal to watch enthusiasts regardless of their budget. There will be buyers of our watches who own Patek Phillipe and others who will have smaller budgets, however they will both buy a Dennison watch as they have the same eye and passion for watches as we do!
For anyone that had never heard of Dennison before, how would you describe the brand?
Dennison was the name behind the names as we like to call it. Dennison was primarily known as a British casemaker for Rolex, Omega and many others, in its height producing over 200,000 cases per year. Dennison today is once again at the forefront of case design as it was for the best part of the 20th century.
In what ways are you preserving the history of the brand?
As a vintage watch enthusiast and expert I am constantly looking at how we can link the past with the present but in an original way. Since 2010 we have been collating Dennison archives and watches and always learning something new. Last year my colleague met with the family of Philip T. Priestley the author of the book “Aaron Luftkin Dennison, An Industrial Pioneer and his Legacy” and explained to them how we were reviving the brand. They helped us by showing us some of the vast archives that the author collated in his time whilst writing the book.
Which Dennison model are you wearing on your wrist today?
The Dennison Tigers Eye. The watch impresses me more and more every day I wear it.
Words by Scarlett Baker
