A New Philosophy of Watchmaking

A letter from Charles, founder of the new wave watch company

Hi there, I’m Charles, founder of the new wave watch company.

I’ve spent the last seven years living in China, surrounded by one of the most important manufacturing ecosystems in the world. I also happen to love watches.

While living here, I often posted videos about things in China that interested me. One day, I made a video about the fascinating history of Chinese horology, from Yi Xing’s pioneering mechanical clockwork in the 8th century, through Su Song’s astronomical clock tower and the imperial workshops of the Qing dynasty, to the rise of modern Chinese mechanical watchmaking and recognition at the GPHG.

Then something unexpected happened.

The first Chinese watch brand to win a GPHG award reached out. We struck up a friendship, and suddenly I had a level of access and insight into the Chinese watch industry that I could never have expected.

What I discovered was an entire industry that much of the world knows very little about. Independent brands pushing original design. High horology beginning to emerge. Manufacturers with extraordinary technical capabilities. Generations of knowledge and infrastructure capable of producing incredibly sophisticated mechanical watches.

The deeper I went, the more I started thinking about what could be done with all of that capability.

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of democratic luxury. Exceptional design and craftsmanship often come at a price, but there are moments when technology, knowledge and industry reach an inflection point, and suddenly things that were once inaccessible become possible.

Nowhere did that feel more relevant than in watches. Millions of people love them, yet so much of the industry remains financially out of reach.

So I asked a simple question:

How good could a mechanical watch under £1,000 actually be?

Could we use the extraordinary capabilities around us to create something genuinely ambitious?

Original design.
Serious mechanical watchmaking.
Interesting materials.
Obsessive attention to detail.

So I decided to find out.

Nearly two years of sketches, prototypes, factory visits, mistakes, changes and starting again followed.

P2 is the result.

I hope the level of attention and care comes through, both in the watch itself and in the words of the people who already own one, which you can read below.