The William Walker Watch
- Gabe
- Feb 28, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 11, 2019
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I came across the William Walker Watch’s Instagram page a few months ago and was personally moved by the story and passion behind it. All photos were taken by Jared Steadman and are used here with his express permission. References are listed at the end of the post, I'm using a makeshift citation style due to the limitations of the platform that I hope will not be terribly intrusive.
It’s what we do moment to moment and day to day that creates the impactful things we achieve in our lifetimes. For many people, these milestones are marked by buying or being gifted a wristwatch to represent the hard work and time dedicated to achieving that goal. However, it is less common for a watch to be created in dedication to a single person, but that is exactly what Jared Steadman set out to do. The posthumous laureate of his project is William Walker (1869-1918), the man who saved the Winchester Cathedral in the most humbling way. In this post, I outline how the watch came to be by telling Mr. Walker’s story, providing a profile of Jared Steadman, the man behind the project, and discuss the watch itself.
How a Diver Saved a Cathedral
The Winchester Cathedral doesn’t sit overlooking the coastline of nearby Southampton, it stands distant from the ocean, the nearest body of water being the river Itchen. Yet, a professional diver was the man who saved it from collapse. The cathedral was constructed between 1079 and 1093AD on a foundation of beech logs, and over the next 800 years this foundation slowly began to decay due to water damage, putting the future of the long standing structure in jeopardy (2,5). The point of crisis happened in the early 20th century, cracks formed in the walls, chunks of rock fell from the ceiling, and the structure started to lean (5). The future of this building which had served its community as a house of worship for generations seemed bleak.
In response, Thomas Jackson and Francis Fox, architectural and engineering consultants respectively, outlined a solution: replace the entire foundation beneath the cathedral. All that was needed were 25,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks, and 900,000 bricks to replace the beechwood (3,5). The original plan was to dig trenches beneath the cathedral and fill them with concrete. This was interrupted by the trenches flooding from the high water table the cathedral had been built on, and so an alternative method was devised (3, 5).
Unable to compete against the onslaught of water filling the work space, a single person would need to place each bag, block, and brick underneath the cathedral, fully submerged, in the pitch black, with nothing to guide themselves but touch. William Walker was the professional diver hired for the job, and for the next six years, from 1906 to 1911, his work days were spent underneath the cathedral, submerged in 6 metres (20ft) of water, replacing its foundations. Brick by brick, bag by bag, and block by block (3,5).
The project was successful, and the Winchester Cathedral stands to this day. The next year, in 1912, Mr. Walker was met by King George V and Queen Mary, and made a member of the Royal Victorian Order at a service in his honour. Sadly, he passed away some short years later in 1918 from the Spanish flu. William Walker was known as a hard-working and humble man, and his legacy continues to this day (5). This was the story that inspired Jared Steadman to design and produce a wristwatch in William Walker’s memory (2).
Profile of Jared Steadman, Lifelong Watch Enthusiast
Jared Steadman is the founder of the young 220 Watch Company, and director of the William Walker Watch project. Watches have been a part of Jared’s life since he was a child, receiving Swatch watches in his Christmas stocking for many years growing up. A PADI Divemaster himself, Jared loves divewatches, and when not wearing the William Walker watch he often sports a Tudor Pelagos. Also in Jared’s personal collection is a Christopher Ward C9 5 day automatic chronometer. For other activities, Jared has a G-Shock G1000 for the gym and a Suunto Core Black for hiking. A theme of his mechanical watches is Jared’s appreciation of in-house movements, the Christopher Ward’s, despite it being developed in Switzerland, is the first in-house movement from a British based company in 60 years. Next on the list for acquisition is the Zenith Captain Winsor Annual Calendar with the fumed palladium dial, a truly stunning piece housing the El Primero movement (2).
Jared moved to Winchester 10 years ago from London due to its quieter pace and natural beauty. The cathedral is a common backdrop of the area, and being massive history buff, Jared soon learned more about its history. While visiting the cathedral’s museum, he was struck by how the window seal of William Walker’s dive helmet looked like the bezel on a watch. After learning about the story of William Walker he was hooked, and soon became inspired to design and create a watch in honour of the man who saved it (2).
The William Walker Watch
The William Walker Watch project was officially born in August of 2018, but the idea has been in Jared’s mind for over two years. Originally, Jared had no intention of creating the watch himself, contacting a local jeweler with some horological history with the idea. While they liked the idea, they did not have the time to dedicate to the project, and so it was shelved for the time being. The William Walker Watch as a possibility was born when, on little more than a whim, Jared contacted over twenty Chinese manufacturing companies. Out of these, only one was willing to work with Jared at the level of detail and quality he wanted. It was important to Jared to create an authentic product, as many of the watch’s attractive details and design are directly inspired by the diving gear that William Walker wore while working underneath the cathedral (2).
One of the most unique aspects about the watch are the materials it is made from, its case made from copper and its bezel from brass, the same materials as Diver Bill’s helmet. Copper is a rare and unique choice in watch making that has some characterful qualities. An attractive quality of copper and brass beyond their dark, yet warm orange tones, is how the materials age over time. Copper and brass interact with oxygen and their environment, making them change dynamically in appearance (3). As a result, each watch becomes unique to its owner, interacting with the oils of their skin, and the air they are exposed to in the wearer’s day-to-day life.
The dial is made from a gorgeous dark-blue enamel, with gold coloured hands and hour indices (3). The dark depth of the dial, especially when outlined by the brass bezel reminds me of the dark abyss Diver Bill worked in six hours a day, for six whole years. Beautiful long and slender dauphine hour and minute hands are accompanied by a simple but elegant stick-seconds hand to point out the passing of time. The strap the watch comes on is also a nod to the diving attire worn by Mr. Walker, a green canvas strap with a double-deployant clasp (3).
Beyond William Walker’s diving gear, Jared was also inspired by other watches. The watch went through many different design iterations, but the final product has design cues originating from the likes of the Patek Philippe Calatrava 5227 and H. Moser & Cie watches (3). The influence of the Calatrava can be seen in the choices for the dial and hands of the watch. When it comes to H. Mosier & Cie, Jared states that it is the elegance of the watches paired with casual straps that he appreciates, and this fits well with the dive suit inspiration of the watch (3). The watch gives a smart-casual vibe, with many rakish elements due to the materials of construction.
In addition to the design and execution of the case and dial, Jared spared no lack of attention to what is powering the watch. Ticking inside is an STP calibre 1-11, 26 jewel, Swiss automatic movement, with 44 hours of power reserve(3). The movement is nicely decorated as well, with cotes de Geneve on the rotor, and perlage work on the bridges, all viewable through a sapphire caseback (3). The final version of the watch will have a custom blue rotor, with an image of William Walker's helmet overlaid in gold.
The STP 1-11 is a lesser known competitor to the ETA 2824-2, the common, but robust and reliable workhouse movement owned by the Swatch corporation that is used by many other microbrands and watch companies alike (1). By most accounts and by looking at the specifications for each, the two movements are fairly comparable, with the STP gaining a few edges here and there. However, watch companies using the ETA 2824 tend to have more capital to invest in caring for the movements prior to shipping to consumers, and so in real-life results in performance can vary, and the two are more or less equivocal (1).
Conclusion
A great amount of attention to detail and authenticity to the design has been given to the watch honouring William Walker. But beyond the beauty of the watch itself, many of the reasons why I have been so taken with this watch are largely symbolic. We can live our lives by meaninglessly doing nothing, our efforts can serve no greater purpose. Metaphorically, a person could pile bricks and blocks underwater for no reason at all. I think many things we do in life can be like this. Or, we can choose something greater than ourselves to put our efforts towards building, preserving, creating, or growing. William Walker, in a very clear and literal way, demonstrated how little things can accumulate into something profoundly meaningful. Life happens by placing one brick at a time, I hope we all find something bigger than ourselves to dedicate our efforts to.
Purchasing Information
You can back the Kickstarter campaign here to pre-order the watch for 295 pounds: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/103746336/william-walker-watch?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=William%20Walker%20Watch. After the Kickstarter, the watch will be sold for 595 pounds. Only 300 watches will be made, and Jared is uncertain if future batches of the watch will be released (4,3,2).
Video of the Watch
Jared made a video examining the watch which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuCIgKNwmi4
Specifications:
Case Diameter: 40mm
Case Thickness: 12mm
Lug Width: 20mm
Lug-to-lug length: 47mm
Crystal: Double domed sapphire
Movement: STP calibre 1-11. Swiss made self winding automatic. 44 hour power reserve, 26 jewels.
Bezel: Brass Case: Copper
Crown: Signed, screw down crown.
Straps: The watch comes on a canvass strap that matches the colour of William Walkers dive suit, with a double deployant butterfly clasp, and an additional blue NATO strap, which brings out the colour of the dial.
Caseback: Sapphire
Water Resistance: 10ATM
Presentation Box: Made from beechwood (the same as what once made up the foundation for the Winchester Cathedral, which decayed and caused the crisis).
References
1. Kwok, J. (2017, July 12). STP 1-11 vs ETA 2824. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.noduswatches.com/blog/stp-1-11-vs-eta-2824
2. Steadman, J. (2019). [Personal Interview].
3. williamwalkerwatch. [Instagram page]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/williamwalkerwatch/
4. William Walker Watch. [Website]. Retrieved from https://www.williamwalkerwatch.com/
5. William Walker: The Diver who Saved the Cathedral. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/our-heritage/famous-people/william-walker-the-diver-who-saved-the-cathedral/
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