We Need to Talk About Sheffield Watches

Today I'd like to talk about Sheffield Watches. I noticed there latest drop sold out in days and the next drop will be in the fall according to sources. So who are Sheffield Watches? According to the website it looks to be a passion project from a gentleman named Jay Turkbas.

Reviving the Dream Watch

Reviving the brand of his first Sheffield Allsport dive watch has been a personal journey for Jay. (Isn't nostalgia the most powerful of commercial pursuits). It reinforced his belief that quality, technology, and affordability should go hand in hand, and in this case making exceptional timepieces that are desirable and accessible to all.

Jay's primary mission was to create modern interpretations of the original Sheffield Allsport timepiece that captured the essence of its predecessor while incorporating updated and improved features and technology.

Jay leaned on his 30 plus years of successful sporting goods product development and innovation to launch the project. It is no secret that many large and micro-brand watches, as well as components are produced in China. Some brands are going beyond and assembling the watch components in the US or Europe.

But, for the most part many of the components remain sourced from Asia. These new Sheffield models were built in China using Japanese Miyota movements. And, unlike some other micro-brands, the country of origin is stated on the back of the case. Jay is not backing away and has been very transparent about where the watch is being manfactured and where the movement is from.

Since 1992 he has made over one hundred trips to multiple countries in Asia, Taiwan, China, S Korea, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Cambodia working with all levels of factories producing both hardgoods and softgoods.

Many micro-brands and top tier watches use automatic movements. Jay has opted for quartz movement in his Sheffield watches for two reasons. First, his core focus was to create a top tier robust chassis of 316L stainless steel, a sapphire crystal, and the seal of a screw down crown in order to meet his 200 meter waterproof requirement.

Second, the accuracy and reliability of a Miyota quartz movement trumped the idea of an over specification and extra cost impact which wasn't needed to validate the total package and value of these new Sheffield models.

Jay has pulled his inspiration for the designs from the iconography of his youth. Watching the TV series Sea Hunt and James Bond movies wanting the cool watches the characters wore. When he was 11 his parents gave him his first “Dive Watch” a Sheffield Allsport. The poison is in the wound you see, to quote Vladimir Nabokov.

Personal Thoughts:

I love the price point, the passion, the transparency. I would also love to road test one of these Sheffield watches is someone from the brand is reading this. Jay get in touch, maybe an e-interview?

Feedback online

Comments on YouTube

• Clean design. It looks awesome! I also like that it is quartz. Simple and easy to maintain. I like the dial layout and the deep look as well! I appreciate the simple no date dial, branding, drilled lugs, nice hands and the bezel insert.

Comments on Reddit

• For those not familiar with the new Sheffield watches the quality is excellent, I feel my watch compares to watches costing twice as much or more.