Refinement by Watermark Designs is a kitchen and bath fittings collection inspired by vintage cigarette lighters from the 1940s and 1950s New York. Designed by product and interior designer Benjamin Peak, the collection takes cues from the textured surfacing of vintage lighters and the era’s language of finely detailed personal objects, translating those references into softened edges, tactile surfaces, and a clear, consistent geometry. The result is a collection that is historically informed without becoming nostalgic.
A defining priority in the design development was tactility. Throughout development, Watermark and Peak focused on how to soften edges and corners to create a more worn-in feel while maintaining a defined line. That process was central to the final character of the collection: the pieces needed to feel comfortable and substantial in the hand while preserving the precision of the original design intent.
Developed as a cohesive system, Refinement maintains a unified visual language across the collection while offering flexibility in specification. Knob options include smooth, linear knurled, and ridged versions, while lever handles are available in smooth and linear knurled styles. With more than 30 finish options, the collection can work across a wide range of interiors and material palettes without losing its visual consistency. This balance of consistency and flexibility makes it well suited to high-end residential and commercial interiors where a coordinated fixture program is important.
Refinement is conceived, crafted and customized in Watermark’s Brooklyn factory, where artisans, engineers, and designers work together to bring each collection into production. Watermark combines precision machining with hands-on finishing to achieve the level of surface detail and consistency the collection requires. For Refinement, that production process was especially important. The textured patterning had to remain clear and repeatable, the edge treatment had to feel intentional, and the finish had to support the detailing rather than obscure it.
By combining Benjamin Peak’s design direction with Watermark’s in-house manufacturing capabilities, Refinement translates a historically grounded reference into a precise, tactile and highly specifiable collection.
