Elegant UNKNOWN watch collection

No one knows exactly when the first civilisation bothered setting about recording the passage of time. There are plenty of contenders, with the Sumer of modern-day Iraq probably amongst the first to have stared absently at the descending passage of the Sun, willing it to hit the horizon so they could sneak off to the wine presses. How these unknown time keepers would have longed for an UNKNOWN timepiece.

Designed in London several millennia too late for the Sumer, the new range of UNKNOWN watches will arrive just in time to secure a spot on your Christmas wish list.

Two models from this November's début collection have been unveiled, both sporting minimal, elegant faces and understated design: The Classic (£80, above), as its name suggests, is a clean face of five minute interval markers with contrasting coloured hands, while the Dandy (£85, below) adds Roman numerals to the 12 and 6 o'clock positions and a date indicator window at 3 o'clock.

An 'Urban' range and illustrated set of 'Natural Science' watches will round off the launch collections, which you can find on their website.