Don Cochrane revived Vertex Watches as both a family legacy and a return to the brand’s military-watch roots. His grandmother’s death prompted the idea; the first modern model, the M100, drew directly on Vertex’s wartime Cal 59 W.W.W. watch. The revival took about 18 months from idea to launch presentation, according to Cochrane’s 2019 interview with Monochrome Watches.
Who is Don Cochrane?
Don Cochrane is the great-grandson of Claude Lyons, who founded the original Vertex Watch Company. He led the modern revival of the family-linked brand. In a 2019 interview with Monochrome Watches, Cochrane recalled visiting his grandparents as a child, drawing watches and looking at movements through his grandfather’s loupe. He described the revival as a way to keep his family’s memory alive.
Vertex’s official heritage timeline dates the modern revival and the company’s re-incorporation to 2015. It records the M100 announcement in 2016 and the relaunch in 2017. The company’s history is its own account, so its dates and production figures are best understood as Vertex’s published version of its story.
Why did Cochrane bring Vertex back?
Cochrane told Monochrome that his grandmother’s death was the immediate inspiration. He wanted to preserve a connection to his family and to the watchmaking history associated with his great-grandfather’s company. The official Vertex heritage page attributes this statement to him: “We didn’t bring Vertex back to sell watches. We brought it back because the world needs more things made properly, with pride, in Britain.” It expresses Cochrane’s stated motivation; it is not independent verification of where every part of every current Vertex watch is made.
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What challenges did he face in restarting Vertex?
Asked about the main challenges, Cochrane identified regaining the Vertex trademark and related intellectual property as the first major hurdle. Recovering the name made it possible to relaunch under the historic brand, but the revival also required deciding which part of Vertex’s past could provide a credible foundation for a new watch.
How did Vertex’s military history shape the revival?
Vertex’s own timeline begins in 1912, when Claude Lyons borrowed £1,000 from his father-in-law to establish the company, initially specializing in Swiss movements recased in Britain. The company says it was commissioned to make watches for the British military in 1915, and that Vertex Watches Ltd was founded in London and Switzerland in 1916.
The strongest link to the modern collection is the W.W.W. watch, part of the group often called the “Dirty Dozen”: twelve companies that supplied watches to the British military during the Second World War. Vertex describes itself as the only British-based manufacturer among the original twelve. Its heritage page says production of the W.W.W. navigation watch began in Switzerland across four factories and that 4,652 Cal 59 watches were delivered in 1944 in preparation for D-Day. These details and figures come from Vertex’s own historical account.
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Vertex’s official timeline says the company closed in 1972, attributing the closure to the quartz crisis and the end of its Hatton Garden lease. The gap between that closure and the modern relaunch means the current collection is a revival, not a continuation of uninterrupted production.
Why was the M100 the first model?
Cochrane said he wanted to revive the W.W.W. Cal 59 first. He saw it as a purposeful watch made for aircrew, soldiers and sailors, and described the M100 as a homage to that wartime model. The official Vertex heritage page calls the M100 the modern chapter’s original tool watch.
The choice gave the relaunch a clear point of connection: instead of starting with a new design unrelated to the company’s best-known history, Vertex began with a modern interpretation of the watch that represented its wartime role. The M100 is therefore central to understanding Cochrane’s approach, rather than simply one model in the present-day range.
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How long did the revival take?
Cochrane told Monochrome that about 18 months passed from the idea to the first product’s launch presentation. He said deliveries began two months after that presentation. Vertex’s official timeline places the M100 announcement in 2016 and the relaunch event in 2017; those dates describe different milestones rather than a contradiction in the sequence.
How did the wartime story lead to the MP45?
Vertex’s official history says the company was commissioned in 1945 to make a mono-pusher timing watch for ordnance disposal, but post-war rationing prevented production. Cochrane connected that unrealized commission to his interest in the modern MP45. In his 2019 account, he said he had long liked mono-pusher chronographs and described selecting a movement after considering multiple manufacturers. He said Sellita was chosen for robustness, accuracy and willingness to provide a manual-wind option. These are Cochrane’s explanations from that interview, not current independent comparative test results.
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What does the current Vertex range include?
Vertex’s official heritage page currently presents four models. The descriptions below summarize the brand’s own positioning, not an independent review or a complete specification comparison.
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| Model | Role or description on Vertex’s site | Detail established by the cited official pages |
|---|---|---|
| M100 | Modern chapter’s original tool watch; a homage to the Cal 59 W.W.W. | Vertex’s heritage page and Cochrane’s interview establish its historical inspiration. |
| M60 AquaLion | Field-and-dive watch | The official M60 AquaLion ND page states water resistance to 600 metres and use of X1 grade Super-LumiNova. |
| MP45 | Mono-pusher chronograph | Vertex describes it as a 41 mm mono-pusher chronograph. |
| M36 | Everyday classic | Vertex’s heritage page gives this positioning; the cited material does not establish further specifications here. |
Specifications, prices and availability can change, and the cited historical interviews do not establish current stock or pricing. For current details, consult the relevant model pages linked from Vertex’s heritage page. The specific 600-metre and lume claims for the M60 are on its official product page.
Where can you hear Cochrane discuss the brand?
WatchGecko’s Time To Unwind episode “The History of Vertex Watches and The Dirty Dozen Story – Ep #51” was published on 24 August 2023. Apple Podcasts lists it at 32 minutes and describes a conversation covering Vertex’s history, wartime watches, the M100, MP45, M60 and the brand’s identity. The listing does not provide a transcript, so it supports the episode’s subject and runtime, not exact quotations.
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