REC Watches is a relatively young brand. Despite its short history, it has managed to create some remarkably distinctive designs based on the design and beauty of classic motors. The company was forged upon three basic values. Recover, recycle, claim. Company co founders, Jonathan Kamstrup and Christian Mygh merged timekeeping and motor engineering concepts together to create an innovative brand that takes inspiration from car elements like dashboards, body metal and leather chair materials.
The company utilizes the materials and parts of classic cars that are beyond repair, implementing them into timepieces to tell their story through a reinterpreted design. Reprocessing these forms into a new luxury watch that honours a luxury car in its former life brings something truly unique to the wrist. REC Watches was founded in 2014 and in that same year, the Mini Cooper Collection was launched. Models like the Mark 1 and Cooper were developed from salvaged Minis and powered by quartz movements, the first batch of which swiftly sold out.
After REC Watches’ minimalist quartz collection was born in 2015, Christian and Jonathan presented the brand on the Danish version of Shark Tank. Their models were instantly met with resounding success with 4 out of 5 investors expressing their love for the company. In the November of that year, the P-51 collection was launched. Not only is the collection developed from pre loved Ford Mustangs but it was also the company’s first mechanical range of timepieces. The models were created by Swiss design agency Studio Design and were launched via Kickstarter.
The P51 04 collection by REC Watches was launched as a limited edition range in 2016 and was salvaged from a Raven Black 1966 Ford Mustang recovered in Sweden. Following in the same footsteps as the P 51 collection, REC Watches’ 901 collection was the company’s second collection of mechanical wristwatches and was boosted through raised funds via Kickstarter. Extracted from a Porche 911, the components of each timepiece, once again, offered something one off and exclusive for the wrist.
The year 2018 marked the release of the company’s second line of limited edition pieces, this time the P 51 RTR, developed from carbon, a collaboration with 3 X World Champion Drifter Vaughn Gittins and limited to just 350 pieces worldwide. REC Watches also released just 250 901 RS models which soon sold out, followed by the RJM watch range. This pilot’s watch range incorporates a piece of aluminium into its design, taken from a Spitfire aircraft that was brought down during World War 2. The design suggests a subtle shift in the brand’s approach to watchmaking, despite remaining true to its recover, recycle, reclaim philosophy.
