an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . february 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message accurist type 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 . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 establishment 1.2 innovation and old england 1.3 digital quartz technology 1.4 growth 1.5 accu .2 collection 1.6 ownership 2 advertising and sponsorship 3 the speaking clock 4 british real time 5 royal observatory millennium countdown and the maritime museum collection 6 awards 7 references 8 external links history edit establishment edit 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 . 1 2 3 4 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 . innovation and old england edit 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 . 1 2 3 4 5 digital quartz technology edit 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 1 2 . 3 4 5 6 growth edit 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 . 1 2 4 by 1993 accurist watches had become the largest brand in the uk in value terms and started expanding into international markets . 5 accu .2 collection edit 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 . 2 4 ownership edit accurist watch business was purchased by time products uk ltd in 2014 . time products also own the brands of sekonda seksy and limit watches . advertising and sponsorship edit advertising and sponsorship has always been an important part of the accurist watches marketing strategy . in the 1960s accurist watches sponsored the most popular television show in the uk sunday night at the london palladium providing the company with national exposure . 4 7 during the 1970s john cleese starred in a series of television spots the so called accur ankle accu wrist advertising campaign selling watches in various unusual locations . that campaign was voted as one of the world s top ten commercials by us television presenter johnny carson . in december 2009 john cleese agreed to lend his voice when the same commercial but with contemporary watches was re launched . 4 7 8 other significant campaigns by accurist watches include the sec s machine and the two timer . 4 in 1998 accurist launched its innovative put some weight on campaign to promote its range of solid silver watches . the campaign set about highlighting the fashion industry vogue of using unnaturally thin models stimulating public debate about the danger of using such images . one particularly arresting image of an ultra thin model with the caption put some weight on succeeded in drawing public attention to the issue drawing comment from women s groups medical organisations and the advertising standards authority asa . 4 9 in 2006 accurist watches became the first brand in the uk to be co featured in the english football team s advertising campaign . 4 10 in 2010 the company promoted the charmed by accurist collection using print and television advertisements . the print advertisements were included in various magazines such as grazia and marie claire . the television campaign was shown on living tv and on 500 screens of 50 uk shopping centres . the idea behind these advertisements was show that women can use different beads using the same watch and totally change the way it looks . the campaign started running in september 2010 but in november and december of the same year the appearances were much more frequent . 4 11 12 the speaking clock edit the speaking clock arrived in the uk on 24 july 1936 9 years after it was first introduced in the usa . callers were greeted with the phrase at the third stroke the time will be ... . the service had received 13 million calls by the end of its first year 4 13 14 15 16 in march 1986 accurist watches became the first organisation to sponsor the bt speaking clock which received 30 million calls per year . the recorded greeting changed to at the third stroke the time sponsored by accurist will be ... . brian cobby was chosen to lend his voice during the sponsorship years and he was the first male to be recorded for this service . the company used the slogan accurist the standard by which all watches are set supporting their credibility and quality . accurist watches decided to cease the sponsorship in august 2008 due to the change in the way people read and keep the time . they announced the launch of the british real time website 4 13 14 15 16 17 british real time edit in autumn 2008 after accurist watches decided to end its sponsorship to the speaking clock they launched the british real time website . this website is accurist s online version of the speaking clock using video clips british people speaking the time more than 13.000 video clips were recorded . 4 17 as of january 2015 the website is no longer operational . royal observatory millennium countdown and the maritime museum collection edit in 1997 accurist watches started sponsoring the royal observatory greenwich london being the first and only brand ever being associated with it . 3 accurist watches created an atomic clock in order to count down the last 1000 days to the new millennium which was placed on the prime meridian and was controlled by eight satellites showing the days hours minutes seconds tenths of seconds and hundredths of seconds until the new millennium . accurist watches was immediately associated with the royal observatory and was promoted around the world as there was a big event at greenwich to celebrate the new millennium . accurist watches took advantage of this partnership and started using the slogan accurist . the standard by which all watches are set and accurist mean time . at the same time the company launched a range of replica accurist millennium countdown clocks in a worldwide scale . in 2003 accurist watches strengthened the agreement with royal observatory and produced a collection of replica clocks from the national maritime museum and the observatory itself . 3 4 5 16 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 awards edit the company s commercial accur ankle accu wrist starring john cleese was awarded the palme d or advertising award in the 1970s . 3 4 5 24 in 1986 accurist watches was awarded by the national association of goldsmiths the first ever award of excellence in recognition of their contribution and influence in the uk watch market . 2 3 4 24 25 in 1997 accurist watches won the volume watch brand of the year award and in 2001 they gained the client service award at the uk jewellery awards for their commitment and continuous support to their customers . 1 2 4 10 24 25 26 references edit a b c d e f accurist watches the history of one of the leading watch brands permanent dead link jamesthomsononline.com 28 july 2011 a b c d e f g accurist watches the history of one of the leading watch brands watchestime 2011 a b c d e f g accurist watches a watch for every occasion permanent dead link a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r http www.accurist.co.uk a b c d e roger trap 30 march 1997 . time has come for accurist . accurist announces timely set up of new travel retail division melody ng 20 june 2011 a b john cleese set to reprise accurist ad role campaignlive.co.uk 27 october 2009 cleese turns back time with rejuvenated watch ads 26 october 2009 accurist censured after complaints about indecency in watch ad ben bold brandrepublic.com 6 july 2005 a b accurist watch archived 3 november 2011 at the wayback machine . 27 june 2011 accurist pushes charmed with six figure campaign archived 17 march 2012 at the wayback machine . 2010 accurist charms tv audiences archived 12 october 2011 at the wayback machine . 2010 a b the speaking clock in the uk bbc 4 april 2003 a b at the tone i will be 75 years old . the speaking clock celebrates its 75th anniversary rich jarrott 29 july 2011 a b time has a new number as speaking clock turns sixty news backgrounder pr newswire on behalf of bt 2011 a b c d accurist announces timely set up of new travel retail division melody ng 20 june 2011 a b martin wainwright 25 august 2008 . speaking clock sponsor says it s time for change . the guardian . lydia conway 2000 . evening standard childrens london 1999 . simon & schuster . isbn 9780684868417 . new scientist . new scientist . 160 2154 2158 . 1998 . http books.google.co.uk books ei qwa8trrkccse waxvbskag & ct result & id dtxbaqaaiaaj & dq accurist watches millennium & q accurist search anchor astronomy & geophysics the journal of the royal astronomical society volume 38 1997 derek howse 1997 . greenwich time and the longitude . philip wilson publishers . p. 117 . isbn 9780856674686 . the millennium graham dolan accurist watches accurist watches the grand complication visit4ads a b c accurist watches a timeless british classic 30 july 2011 a b tiffany 21 july 2011 . ccurist watches a timeless british classic nbsp nbsp by find watches . archived from the original on 2 april 2012 . accurist watches the history of one of the leading watch brands permanent dead link mark warr 12 january 2011 external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title accurist & oldid 743411300 categories manufacturing companies based in londoncompanies established in 1946watch brands1946 establishments in englandhidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from october 2016articles with permanently dead external linksarticles with wayback