Accurist
| Privately Held Company | |
| Industry | Retail Jewellery |
| Founded | Clerkenwell, London |
| Founder | Asher Loftus Rebecca Loftus |
| Headquarters | Leicestershire |
| Products | Watches |
| Parent | Time Products (UK) LTD |
| Website | http://www.accurist.co.uk |
Accurist Watches Ltd is an English watch manufacturer, headquartered in Leicestershire. The company has a reputation of providing high quality watches.
In 1946, Asher Loftus and his wife, Rebecca, founded Accurist Watches, in Clerkenwell, London. They felt that there was a gap in the UK watch market, for a brand that combined Swiss made quality parts, with a distinctive style and competitive prices, and at the same time providing longer guarantees. To achieve that, in 1968 they opened a Swiss office in La Chaux de Fonds, in order to manage the manufacturing more closely.
In Spring 2014 Time Products UK Ltd acquired Accurist and since then, Time Products UK Ltd has given a new life to this true British watch brand. With the introduction of the new product, branding, advertising and a show-stopping in-store display, it has been a very exciting time for Accurist.
Accurist Watches was one of the first manufacturers that introduced fashion into the watch industry. In 1967, Asher's brother, Richard, launched the Old England collection, which were soon worn by celebrities such as Twiggy, The Beatles and The Princess Anne. In keeping with the fashions of the time, this collection was far from traditional as it was characterised by oversized numerals, bright colours and contemporary designs.
In early 1970s, after the invention of digital quartz technology, Accurist Watches introduced a collection using the digital quartz movement. This range was so cutting-edge at that period that became the official watch for the pilots of the newly launched Concorde aircraft.
In 1983, the company decided to move its manufacturing from Switzerland to Japan, in order to take advantage of the cutting-edge Japanese technology which was booming at that time. It proved to be a strategic move, as after that Accurist Watches enjoyed a 500% increase in their UK business.
By 1993, Accurist Watches had become the largest brand in the UK in value terms and started expanding into international markets.
Just before the new millennium, in 1999, Accurist Watches launched their Accu.2 Collection, targeting mainly younger consumers. Strongly advertised by the "No ordinary old timer" campaign, the collection became soon one of the most successful ranges of the company, stocked in more than 1500 shops and retail outlets across the UK.
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Wikipedia