Watch we dig

It’s no secret: The PELOTON magazine staff has a thing for watches. So when the Camden Watch Company got in touch to show us the No. 88 Camden x KPP project, we obliged. We talked to watch designer Anneke Short to learn more about the British company, based in Camden Town, London, and this special watch.

PELOTON

Tell us how the No. 88 Camden x KPP project came about? Kitty Pemberton-Platt [who’s head of social media at Rapha Racing] has been a supporter of ours since day one, literally. She came into our first-ever pop-up and was the first person to ever mention our company on social media. From there, she then became an ambassador for the brand, helping us spread the word and share what we were doing. Kitty is an avid cyclist and her aesthetic fit so well with what we were doing.

We ourselves love cycling, and it’s a pastime with a great heritage here in the U.K., so we had this idea to create a timepiece that would take inspiration from all things cycling-related. But we knew that we couldn’t do it alone, we needed this to be completely authentic, and we needed someone who lived and breathed cycling but who also had a keen eye for design. And that’s when we approached Kitty.

What is your connection to cycling, if any? We really love cycling, but running your own business, certainly in the early days, doesn’t give you a huge amount of free time so we’re not able to get out as much as we would like. We designed jerseys for Camden Watch Company a few years back and sold them at cost price and we have our own small team in Switzerland who race for us. This year, we’re also really happy to announce that we are sponsoring Scarpa, a new, all-female racing team here in the U.K., of which Kitty is a member.

We love your handwritten note and the message: “Camden, a place of no judgements. Where punks, goths, burlesque dancers and rockers find a place to call their own.” How does this ethos work its way into your watches? Thank you! The main idea that sits at the core of everything we do is the motto of Camden—“Not for one but for all”—the idea being that we want to create great, thought-through products at a price that people can actually afford. Camden is a place that is so inclusive and so accepting of people from all walks of life (“no judgements”), and we really try and embrace that in everything we do.

Walk us through a typical weekday at The Camden Watch Company? It varies wildly depending on the time of year. Christmas for example is all hands on deck, all about packing up orders and dispatching all our watches on time. Early in the year we really focus on the year ahead and start planning new designs. Design is really the driving force behind what we do, so it can take years before new products hit the shelves; we need to be 100-percent happy with every part of the watch before we even consider releasing it. And we are still a very small company so a lot of time is spent on getting our name out there in the most fun ways imaginable. Everyone in the company has a specific role to fulfill but also needs to be prepared to roll their sleeves up and get their hands messy when needed! £149 (GBP); camdenwatchcompany.com

From issue 75 of PELOTON. Buy it here.