Thanks to some reader recommendations (that’s right, you!) I’ve gotten word of some other British watch brands that I hadn’t checked out before. Today, we’ll take a closer look at one of them, J&T Windmills.
I tried looking into their heritage/history a bit, and it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The company itself was started back in the late 1600s by Joseph Windmills, who was later joined by his son Thomas. The family line ended in 1737, and curiously their history page doesn’t denote how (or if) the company continued on. From some other sleuthing, it looks like the brand may have been registered in 2006 by Rotary, and the watches may be more of a “Designed in England” rather than being truly British-made. That all said, I don’t have an inside contact at the firm, so I can’t confirm or contradict any of the information I’ve found.
With that, let’s move on to taking a look at one of their watches – the Throgmorton. What struck me first is how the 37.5mm sterling silver case is mounted onto the strap. It’s got the feel of a sort of pocket watch conversion to me, or something that truly feels more like a bracelet. Given the styling of the dial, I’m going to go with the conversion aspect.
The dial itself, with the Roman numerals, fleur de lis, ornate hands and golden inset, really has the feel of something that you’d find kicking around in some dusty box you find in the attic. Overall, this really has a sort of heritage feel to it, with a sort of weird twist to it with the offset crown.
That crown is used for winding the manual Swiss mechanical movement (no word on make/model) that powers the three-hander and date displays; this, of course, under the ever-present sapphire crystal.
In the end, I’m hesitant to even have brought this company (and watch) up. Given it’s questionable provenance, I probably would’ve passed over the company (and the watches) if it weren’t for a reader vouching for them. In the end, the watches look to my eye to be a fashion-watch take on a vintage/heritage style. If that’s what you’re looking for, you can head over here and pick one up for $750. Of note, you could also pick up a matching model for the missus at the same price (case diameter is reduced to 31mm).
If you own a J&T Timepiece, let us know in the comments what your experience has been – and what movement is used inside.
