At English Oak Buildings we understand the skills and artistry of the carpenter. It is a trade we are proud to practise, and we still adhere to the timeless craftsmanship of heritage joinery methods. When creating the oak frame we use the traditional and precise technique known as the ‘Scribe Rule’. This is where our carpenters lay out and mark up each individual piece of timber above a life-size drawing chalked onto the floor, creating a specific match between pieces. The joints are then cut by hand and pre-drilled so they can be fixed together on-site using oak pegs.

Which is why we appreciate a stunning piece of carpentry, and were so impressed by the work of Valerii Danevych from the Ukraine. He creates functional wrist watches almost entirely out of wood, with the exception of a metal spring that he includes to allow for movement of the mechanism.

It took three years for the first functional wooden pocket watch to be completed, and he uses a variety of woods. Usually it is birch because of its strength and resistance, but Valerii has also created watched from more exotic wood such as juniper and bamboo.

Some of his watches have power reserves of 20 hours and are typically accurate to withing five minutes a day. It’s definitely something we’d be proud to look down onto our wrist and see!