Dent & Co White Gold Ministry Chronograph Watch Review

A lot of famous British citizens have worn watches produced by the iconic Dent & Co. The list is long, from King George V to Winston Churchill. Even Big Ben is a Dent masterpiece. 

Among these well-known individuals is a member of the recent British Renaissance: Simon Cowell. The host of the hit program “American Idol” sports an incredibly attractive White Gold Dent Ministry Chronograph. A photograph of the piece adorning his wrist during a visit to Christopher’s children’s hospice in Guildford, Surrey, is on Dent’s website. There you’ll see actual, physical evidence that Simon Cowell can loosen up. He’s happily posing with two children and pulling silly faces. His Dent sits just inches away from an autographed picture of himself. 

Slightly to the right, Dent & Co. puts the focus on what this beautiful watch actually looks like up close. The White Gold Dent Ministry Chronograph strikes at the heart of British watchmaking. On the one hand, it looks to the future. Dials cut into the Roman numerals, the crown and the pushers flare out from the side, and the case blends seamlessly with the face. If anything, it resembles a European luxury sedan, a brand-new silver BMW or Mercedes. 

Yet it looks to the past too. It clearly reminds the wearer of Big Ben. Were you to stand on the bridge over the Thames, stare up at Big Ben and then glance down at your watch, you’d know they were relatives. 

This is an important relation for Americans to recognise. Unfamiliar with the British legacy of fine watchmaking, Cowell may introduce Americans to another resurgent element of British culture. After all, there are few British in the eyes of the U.S. public as often as Cowell is. It isn’t called “American Idol” for nothing. Those that watch carefully may unearth another British treasure.