Each month we're going to be featuring one of our watches and looking at it in a little more detail, giving you some insight into the design and inspiration, as well as some behind-the-scenes content on how the project came to be.
In addition, we'll be offering a complimentary additional strap with every purchase of the Watch of the Month - simply add the extra strap to your cart and head to Checkout where you can use coupon code WOTMJAN25.
And this month, January, we get the ball rolling with the Glenbeg White, sibling to the Glenbeg Blue - the watches that represent our collaboration with Ardnamurchan Distillery.
Ardnamurchan Distillery, nestled on Scotland’s remote Ardnamurchan Peninsula, is dedicated to making single malt Scotch whisky using the lightest-touch approach to distilling in a remote location, including adding value to co-products and empowering a realistic and tangible circular economy. Established in 2014 by independent bottler Adelphi, the distillery blends traditional methods with innovative eco-friendly practices, utilising local renewable energy sources. With a focus on authenticity and traceability, Ardnamurchan offers both peated and unpeated whiskies that reflect the rugged beauty and rich heritage of the region.
Its award-winning expressions showcase a balance of complexity, character and purity, making Ardnamurchan stand out in the world of artisanal whisky production.
The Tension of Time
Time, in this context, is being stretched in two directions. At Marloe we talk about spending our time well. About using it wisely because it slips through our fingers all too quickly. We want to slow time down, it’s our enemy. The obverse of that time coin is whisky, where time is our friend. We want it to speed up. The longer whisky matures in the cask, the more remarkable it gets. So that tension of time is a really interesting perspective to design from, and why we were so delighted that Ardnamurchan Distillery felt the same way.
This is a special collaboration between Marloe Watch Company and Ardnamurchan Distillery and is a big moment in Ardnamurchan’s journey. Our task was to design something that encapsulates everything that happens over on the West Coast of Scotland, from the mechanical precision and alchemy of production, through to the casks maturing in the dusty dunnage warehouses.
10 Years of Distilling
As far as partnerships go, watches and whisky seems like a pretty obvious one.
This, coupled with the clear and resonant frequency on which both Marloe and Ardnamurchan Distillery operate and conduct themselves, meant that the suggestion of a collaboration by Sales Director of Ardnamurchan Distillery, Connal Mackenzie, was met with significant enthusiasm.
Knowing that Ardnamurchan Distillery was celebrating their decade of distilling in 2024, it felt like the perfect time to launch a watch and whisky project, where we’d select together a single cask of whisky to sit alongside the watch in a stunning collaborative package. The Glenbeg Blue is a fitting tribute to the alchemy of whisky, and the sustainable and modern approach to the tradition of whisky production that Ardnamurchan Distillery delivers.
The Glenbeg White is the follow-up to this Single Cask model in the range. We’ve taken the exact same case, dial, hands and crystals, but modified the movement and the dial colour to match the Ardnamurchan Core Range AD/ whisky.
“This special project has been a joy from start to finish.
It has been a true collaboration. I have been fully immersed into “watch land”. Both Gordon & Oliver have included Ardnamurchan in every step of the design process - from materials, dials, hands and colours to the extensive packaging and copy that accompanies this unique project. I am very proud of how it has turned out.”
Connal Mackenzie - Sales Director, Ardnamurchan Distillery
The Devil's in the detail
Case Design
This is the most challenging part of watch design, for it’s the biggest and most obvious part of the watch, and also the most important to get right. If the case is designed in a way that is uncomfortable to wear or bulky and awkward, you won’t want to wear it at all!
The Glenbeg also has to feel like it belongs inside the production house of Ardnamurchan Distillery, and so we spent a lot of time crafting the form of the case to look and feel like a piece of distilling equipment, with gently barrelled sides, multiple step changes and beautiful, sculptural lugs. The 9 o’clock side of the case features Ardnamurchan’s motto: “Headland of the Great Seas", and reinforces the coastal character of Ardnamurchan’s whisky.
The caseback is inspired by the "Forsyths" brass still door hatches, iconic in design and highlighting the red paint fill of the copper rotor, so that the caseback looks like the still within which the whisky is brought up to cask filling strength.
Wearing the Glenbeg is a joy, with the watch sitting low and slim on the wrist, yet still grabbing your attention through beautiful wrist presence. It’s all working together with the crown design, the dial design and colour palette, to make the Glenbeg a truly striking watch.
Copper Applique
We have taken inspiration from the cask ends at Ardnamurchan, where the wooden staves meet against the cask end, forming the sealed vessel that matures its whisky.
Ardnamurchan paints its cask ends, and so we've used those shapes and colours to represent the casks lying in stow, sleeping soundly until the whisky inside is ready to be released.
The Persuader
The hour and minute hands are a reference to the tool used to extract the bungs - small wooden plugs that keep the whisky inside the casks, whilst allowing access for checking and quality control.
This quite intimidating tool has a large screw tip which, when turned into the softer oak plug, grips the wood tightly. With the hammer side, the screw is bashed into the plug further and, with a quick whip of the wrist, removes the bung from the cask.
Ardnamurchan calls its bung extractor tool "The Persuader", and its hexagonal form served as perfect shape for our hands.
Caseback Design
The Glenbeg White features an internally printed Ardnamurchan motif on the caseback, beautifully encapsulating the resonant partnership between Marloe and Ardnamurchan Distillery. Beneath this printed design you can see the immensely reliable Miyota 9039 Japanese automatic mechanical movement whirring away.
Sapphire Crystal
As hard as diamonds. That's all you really need to know about Sapphire crystal. Tough, clear and undeniably supreme when it comes to transparent materials, the crystal that covers the dial of the Glenbeg is coated in 3 layers of anti-reflective coating on both sides of the crystal, to minimise reflections.
Calibre Selection
When we were considering which movement to deploy for the Glenbeg White, we knew we had to choose with absolute confidence, a calibre that would deliver for us on all fronts.
We wanted a movement that has a high-beat rate for that elegant sweeping seconds hand, as well as excellent shock protection and hacking seconds for accurate time setting.
We decided on the Miyota 9039 as it ticked all of the boxes - internally we refer to it as a bullet-proof workhorse, but that's a bit of an injustice, as it's a truly beautiful calibre.
Unboxing The Glenbeg White
The first watch to be shipped in our new book-style box, the Glenbeg White arrives nestled in the foam puck that protects it in transit, and is visible through the aperture in the information board. Lifting this, you'll see the recess for the main strap below. On the opposing side is another board, this time with three strap recesses underneath for additional strap storage. It's a neat and elegant solution.
Scan the QR code on the left-hand board and you'll be swept off to the brand new Marloe Reference Library, where our digital booklets are now live, allowing us to pack more information, additional beautiful photography and more of the story into this new mobile-based, searchable platform.
Once you have the Glenbeg White on your wrist, the book box can be returned to its outer slipcase and placed neatly on a bookshelf, discreet and space-saving. Who knows, you might even be able to assemble your very own Marloe library of astonishing quality watches.
