Offering stylish and customisable unisex timepieces, Mister Wolf is a global brand that sets out to make luxury more accessible without the hefty price tag. Founded by Leighton Clarke, who came from a watchmaking background, he worked with industrial designer Tom Fereday to conceive the debut collection, MW1.

The brand provides a unique online experience where you can customise the features of the instrument, from the colour of the case, hands and dial to the style of the band, and see the result of your creation as you change the elements.

My customised timepiece ended up with a tanned leather strap, a black hands and dial – an overall classic aesthetic that looks relevant with subtle yet strong contrast.

The watches come in two sizes – 32mm for women’s and 39mm for men’s – and are finished with impeccable attention to detail. Inspired by military style timepieces, the casing and crown have a softened chamfered edge and luminescent paint finishes the MW1 range. The minimal and utilitarian aesthetic makes it easy to pair the instrument with your wardrobe and wear in any events.

Clarke is working on his next range which, no doubt, will continue the modern updates on classic aesthetic and boutique experience of owning a unique watch. I chatted to him about the inspiration behind the brand, what’s next in the pipeline and how to choose and customise your first Mister Wolf timepiece.

– What is the inspiration/story behind Mister Wolf?

I’ve been inspired to create Mister Wolf through a love of retail and design, whilst combining skills from my background as a watchmaker. I wanted to offer a beautifully designed, reliable product that our customer can choose to get involved with. We wanted to put a slight spin on the traditional method of buying a watch –we let you decide.

– How did the collaboration with Tom Fereday come about?

Working within the retail design space for a few years, Tom and I crossed paths on several occasions. I had always appreciated Tom’s aesthetic and after approaching him regarding designing the case for our launch model, he was immediately interested and drawn to the overall concept of Mister Wolf.

– What is special or different about Mister Wolf that sets it apart from other custom watch brands?

There were two elements that were really critical for us – original design and ensuring our customer had the ability to get involved. We wanted to provide an easy and a unique shopping experience that you can have fun with and add a little of your own style to the outcome.

– Watches are one of the few jewellery pieces that serve both form and function. How does the brand balance between the two?

Our design is really clean, pared back with a little character in the artwork. We’ve always intended for these simple lines and satin steel case finishes to sit alone beautifully or complement anyone’s style.

– Where do you see the brand in 3-5 years?

I’m already itching to start working on MW2 reaching an international audience.  It will be a natural progression to launch new models; however they will be incredibly considered. Mister Wolf will always be about many combination options to suit retailers and clients, not about 100’s of models with limited options.

– What tips or advice would you give when customizing one of the watches?

Have fun! I’m so happy to see every combination looking great. We currently have 220 options for both our 32mm and our 39mm models, but we’ve spent the time ensuring all our finishes work perfectly together, as well as supported by a beautifully designed case. In the end, we wanted our customer to have that feeling of “I created this. For me.”