The beginning of the watchmaking calendar can be a difficult time for the smaller watch brands. Between the SIHH in Geneva and Baselworld in Basel, it’s easy for a niche brand to fall between the cracks.

Not so with Schofield, the young British brand that recently released its latest model: the Telemark.

The classy Telemark by Schofield

Those of you following the Winter Olympics might be familiar with the Telemark concept. It’s a style of skiing that originated in a Norwegian town that goes by the same name. These days a solid “Telemark” landing is what ski jumpers need to have a chance at a medal.

All that’s to say that I like the name “Telemark” for a watch model. Now, what about the rest of it?

In many ways, the Telemark draws on the earlier successes of the Daymark model. That was the first “house” model released by the Sussex-based company, and it quickly developed a loyal fan base.

Admittedly, I also liked the look of the Daymark, which boasts a vapour-blasted stainless steel unibody case, a utilitarian dial, and oversized hands. Those same features are clearly prominent with the Telemark, which is a good start.

One thing that’s obviously different is that this is a white-dialed watch, which is a first for the brand. I would have thought that style choice was inspired by snow and skiing given the name of the watch, but not so.

Apparently the design is inspired by a coastline outside of the British Isles. The design also draws from a 1965 film called ‘The Heroes of Telemark’, which is apparently a hit with sartorial crowds. Whatever the inspiration behind it, the watch strikes a nice balance between rugged and refined.

The dial is clean and the offset date marker at 4:30 is a nice addition. It is surrounded by the Unicode symbol for a lighthouse, or a naval contact mine, depending on the point of view.

The dial is fully numerated and is reminiscent of Bauhaus design elements. The brand’s trademark oversized and lumed hands add to the great visibility of the timepiece.

Telemark case back sporting a lighthouse

On the inside, the workhorse ETA 2824-2 movement powers the watch, which is a trusty and relatively cost effective calibre. You can’t really go wrong with any option from the 28xx family of ETA movements, which have a long heritage that goes all the way back to Eterna and the 1950s.

When it’s all said and done, the Telemark strikes me as a solid timepiece. And as an added bonus, it’s great to see British watchmaking starting to make some ripples – and perhaps soon to be waves – in the industry.