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James initially pursued a career in mechanical engineering, obtaining both academic and vocational qualifications in this field. He then transferred these skills to watchmaking in 2004 when he began working for a luxury retail group in South Yorkshire. During this time, James gained the British Horological Institute Certificate in the Repair, Restoration and Conservation of Watches.
James spent several years working as a watchmaker for the group, ultimately becoming responsible for the running of one of its busy and profitable workshops. During this time, he gained vast experience working with a wide range of contemporary luxury brands, in addition to the restoration of many vintage and antique timepieces.
James initially joined the school as a Lecturer in 2011 before becoming General Manager in 2016. During his time at the school, extensive teacher training and additional courses at WOSTEP in Neuchâtel, Switzerland have been completed.
With a healthy interest in watches from an early age, Tom completed a qualification in watchmaking immediately after leaving school. Since then Tom has enjoyed a successful and varied career spanning more than three decades.
Tom’s first role saw him working in a busy watch workshop. After several years this progressed into a supervisory role before moving on to a similar role at LVMH in their Manchester Service Platform. Tom then moved to Goldsmiths where he became a regional manager, responsible for the management of seven of their workshops in the North West. With a wealth of knowledge and experience from all facets of the UK watch industry Tom now takes great satisfaction in training the next generation of UK watchmakers.
Since joining the school in 2008 Tom has undertaken comprehensive teacher training and additional courses at WOSTEP in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
BSOW alumni George Brown studied watchmaking on our first ever WOSTEP 1800 Hour Course in 2018. Graduating top of his class he went on to work for Breitling before returning to the school as a lecturer in 2024. Since returning to the school George has undertaken further training in Switzerland to develop his skills further.
A mechanical engineering graduate, Ed initially pursued a career in the aerospace sector before turning his passion for watchmaking into a career by enrolling on the 3000-hr course in 2022. He was recruited to the teaching staff part way through the course and graduated in 2024, with further training and mentoring here at the School and in Switzerland with WOSTEP before embarking on his teaching career.
Simon started his career as an apprentice jeweller at a busy retailer at the age of 16, spending seven years honing his skills, before joining LVMH in Manchester in 2013, where he received six years of extensive training as a watch polisher. From there he joined Watches of Switzerland as a senior Rolex accredited polisher before becoming polishing manager, leading a team of five polishers. Simon joined BSOW in January 2024 and looks forward to sharing his love of restoring watches and providing high quality polishing training to the UK industry.