Elliot Brown Canford

The weight of the watch and the blue dial are the first things that stood out to me. I am a sucker for a nice blue dial, and I think the Pantone chosen for the Canford is beautiful. A radiant blue dial is how I describe it, vibrant and far from dull. It is a clean dial, not over branded and crowded with text, with just the brand name and logo placed under the 12. Another thing to take note of, is that the date wheel color matches the dial color, as this is where the custom printed calendar comes into play. This is something you do not see often, even with higher end brands, as its usually a black or white date wheel.

Let’s get the other elephant in the room out of the way, the domed mineral crystal. If you watch the video, you see I go into why the mineral crystal was chosen. And while Elliot Brown is not the only brand at this price point or higher using a mineral crystal, it is a small room, if you will. Elliot Brown is going for a hard use watch. A watch that was built to take some abuse and continue to work. A special steel movement housing that was made specifically for Elliot Brown, triple seal crowns, hex bolt case back, and the hardened mineral crystal are all in use for this reason. Now it can be argued, I can get the same effect and functionality, if not more with a sub $100 G-shock. Let’s be honest, that is true. However, not everybody wants to wear a 46mm plastic watch on their wrist. They want a watch that is both good looking and can take abuse. The mineral vs. sapphire debate is one that has been discussed at length on various forums and blogs for years. Mineral is more impact resistant and sapphire is more scratch resistant. That’s really the bottom line. So, I leave it up to you to decide which is more important for you. For me, I will always choose sapphire. It simply suits my daily life more. I am more concerned about scratches than I am with shattering a crystal.

The case and bracelet are done in all brushed 316L stainless steel, and as you can see, has two crowns, which are both non screw down. As noted, they both have triple seals to achieve the 200m water resistance. The 2 o’clock crown is used for the internal timing bezel, and the 4 o’clock crown is for the time and date setting. The bracelet is attached to the case using solid flat head screw bars. While these are stronger than standard spring bars, I prefer hex screws, it just reduces the chances for slips with the screwdriver, which usually result in scratches on the case. Now, the Canford does come with a screwdriver, but only one. This is useful for the one piece screws in the bracelet links, but not for the lugs, because you will need to use 2 screwdrivers to remove.

When discussing the lume, you usually refer to the lume on the dial and/or bezel. The Canford does have nice lume on the hands and markers. It is bright, but because of the small dot markers, it is not going to light up the room. Wait, there is lume elsewhere on the watch, in a somewhat odd place.The clasp. Yep, I said the clasp. The ratcheting extension clasp has an Elliot Brown Cross logo engraved into it, that is then filled with C3 lume. A bit of a novelty I will admit, but it is definitely something different.

On my 7.5 inch wrist the Canford is very comfortable, and has a nice presence. It is heavy, but balanced, and I only needed to remove 3 links for that perfect fit.

So what are my final thoughts on the Elliot Brown Canford? It is a substantial watch, machined well, can easily be your go to daily wearer and also serve you well for a night on the town. Would I prefer sapphire crystal? Absolutely. At this price point, I think it should include one of the leather straps as well to give it a little more value. What about the quartz movement? Well, I am not a movement snob, and I have no issues with quartz powered watches. I am more about the style and the fit and finish. And in that area, the Canford pleases. With all the competition in the watch industry these days, do I feel Elliot Brown can be a contender? Sure! They have their place in the market, but I do look forward to future upgrades. I have been told that Elliot Brown has been listening to their customers and is looking into sapphire crystals, and also plan some models with automatic movements. If they are able to do that, then I think they would appeal to more watch enthusiasts out there. Overall, I think the Canford is a well built and attractive watch.

Please let us know in the comments below, WHAT YOU THINK , of the Elliot Brown Canford.

Thank you to Elliot Brown for supplying the Canford for review.