Elliot Brown Holton, the Professional Canford [Review]

Elliot Brown’s signature watch is called the Canford. We have sold a few of them in the shop to very happy customers. Now Elliot Brown has taken the essence of that model and fine tuned it. The result is the Holton Professional.

Although the Holton Professional was inspired by the Canford, this new piece was designed from the ground up in collaboration with an undisclosed branch of the British armed forces.

The Holton is 1mm smaller than the Canford, making it a manageable 43mm diameter. The length has also been shortened at 52mm lug-to-lug vs the Canford’s 54mm. The Holton is easier to get under a shirt cuff at 12mm thick, compared to the 13.5mm Canford.

The biggest difference between the two pieces is that the Holton Pro places the bezel on the outside of the watch. This means the extra crown at 2:00 on the Canford is not there since it’s not needed to control the internal rotating bezel.

The Holton Professional has night and day legibility. The 2mm anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal gives a clear view into the matte black dial. Matte black is a great choice for a military watch because it eliminates reflection, allowing for a quick and accurate glance of the time. The matte black theme can also extend out to the case if you so choose. It is a great option if you are looking to go all tactical.

When the lights are low, the lume on the Holton is impressive. The C3 LumiNova material is applied evenly and consistently. The bezel is also fully lumed. We have seen Canford models with minimal lume, so if lume is important to you, the Holton is the way to go.

The bezel profile is slim, but grippy thanks to the hobnail pattern. The 120 clicks are uni-directional rotating with minute markers for timing your dive or your parking meter.

The hobnail edge of the bezel also matches the screw-down crown, which is placed at 4:00 for comfort and prevent it from digging into your hand.

If you do take the Holton under water, the water resistance from the factory is 200m/660ft.

The EPDM (not EPMD) rubber strap is custom molded to fit the case. EB wrote up a full post about the details of designing their rubber straps, it’s worth a read if you’re seriously considering this watch. If you have your own choice of strap that you think will look good on the Holton, the lug width is 22mm. There is a tool included to remove the screwbars for strap changing.

The solid caseback features the Elliot Brown shield logo. Underneath is a Seiko Instruments caliber NH35A. The retail price of the auto is £650 GBP which translates to about $880 USD. There is also a quartz version with a Ronda caliber 715 inside. The auto is recommended in this model, but if you want quartz/rubber, the price is a lower £450 (about $580 USD).

The watch pictured in this review is reference 101-A11-R01. It is available in our watch shop.