Horological Meandering

piersb
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Bremont - A closer look at these luxury british watches

Following on from some responses I received about Bremont from my Baselworld post on other forums, I decided it would be a good opportunity to share some photos I recently took from a cross selection of Bremont's watch collection.

Having been a watch fantatic for a number of years now, I become interested in Bremont a new British brand, when I saw people like Charley Boorman, Bear Grylls and Ewan McGeggor wearing the watches on TV.

After buying and then selling a couple of watches in 2009 (And becoming tired with a couple of brands) I felt that I really wanted a new brand I could invest in and these guys where at the top of my list. When I enquired more into Bremont, I was amazed to realise that they where actually based in the same small Oxfordshire town that I lived in!

So after contacting and meeting with the team I arrange a short session to photograph some of their watches....And for me to spend a bit of time trying them on, without the added pressure of a sales assistant trying to 'sale' the watches to me!

So onto the photos... I took all of these in one session (about 2 hours) and to add some interest I managed to get hold of the Bremont watch worn by Charley Boorman for 'Long Way Down' and the one worn by Jake Meyer, for his K2 expedition. These two watches really enforce the Bremont Watch Companies' brand statement 'Tested beyond endurance'!

Bremont BC-S1 watches

Firstly, are the Bremont BC-S1 watch range. These are 39mm in size and come in black or white. These watches are very clean and elegant looking.

Bremont BC-S2 watches

Now onto the Bremont BC-S2 range. Identical to the Bremont BC-S1, however this range is sized at 43mm so feel slightly more contemporary in fit. Like the BC-S1 range, the S2s come in Black and White, but also a beautiful black with green markings. (sorry not many photos of this one!).

Bremont ALT1-C (Classic) watches

This is Bremont's classic range: I can only imagine the frustration people will get when trying to choose one of these watches. The ALT1-C range comes in: Black, Cream, Racing green, Anthracite and silver. The cream ALT1-C is probably the most 'classic' in terms of brand statement from Bremont. The green is really eye catching - there aren't many green watches on the market, and this is really powerful to look at. The Anthracite and silver watches are more 'dressy' in style (I think American Idol, Ryan Seacrest has either an Anthracite or silver Bremont ALT1-C). Whilst these are quite normal looking when you catch the light, the reflections on the surface are stunning!

Bremont ALT1-P (Pilot) watches

Next up are the Bremont ALT1-P range. These come in two colours only, a black ALT1-P and a blue one. The black looks cool and understated, however like the racing green ALT-C the Bremont blue ALT-P is amazing.

Shown below is the blue ALT1-P that was worn by Jake Meyer who is a Bremont Ambassador. Jake who by the age of 21 had climbed 7 of the worlds highest summits took this watch with him on his climb of K2 in 2009. As a result, the watch has loads of characters - a few dings and scratches - but still keeping the time and looking great (Even if it probably does need a strap!).

Bremont ALT1-Z (zulu) watches

The final watch in the ALT1 range is the Z or 'Zulu' which allows two different time zones to be displayed. The black Bremont ALT1-Z was totally sold out when I came to photograph this range, so instead I managed to grab the grey ALT1-Z that Charley Boorman wore for his 'Long Way Down ' motorcycle journey with Ewan McGreggor. It was during this programme that I first became aware of 'Bremont' as a watch brand. Charley's watch is beautiful, the strap display's tons of 'patina' from wearing it and like Jake's has nice character marks and dings on it.

Bremont Norton Limited Edition

Following on from the motorcycling theme, Bremont released a Norton Limited Edition model in 2009. This is a great looking watch, similar in style to the ALT1-C range, but with the Norton logo and typeface for the markers present.

Bremont Martin-Baker MBII

Another release for 2009 was the Bremont Martin-Baker watch. Martin Baker is a British engineering company who supply ejector seats for 70% of the Western world's air forces. Working alongside Martin Baker, the watch was designed and then tested to withstand force required push an ejector seat. Using Bremont's Switzerland based movement, the watch was then finally assembled in Britain, making it Bremont's first 'Made in Britain' watch. When it launched, the Martin Baker MB I, (with it's distinctive red barrel colour) watch could only be be available for purchase to those who have ejected a Martin-Baker seat. (Martin-Baker seats have saved over 7283 lives to date; each watch will be engraved with the individual's ejection number).

This model the MBII was avaliable for sale to the public, and can be bought with either an orange, green or Anthracite barrel colour.

Bremont Supermarine

The Supermarine is Bremont's first 'Dive' watch and feels very different to the classic 'Pilot' style of the Alts or BC range. This is housed in a 42mm case, but with an added dive style bezel, makes the watch feel chunkier, and slightly more contemporary looking (think Panerai Submersible and Glycine Lagunare). The name 'Supermarine' is inspired by the classic British plane 'Supermarine Spifire' .

Similar to the other ranges this is avaliable in a variety of colours: Black and Green, Black, White and Blue. The Lume is the stand out characteristic here - It really does glow with power and added with the Pro-Dial style markers, and metal bracelet creates a powerful alternative to buying an Omega or Rolex diver.

Bremont Supermarine Descent for Baselworld 2010

For Baselworld, Bremont created a black DLC version of their Supermarine watch. This is a ltd edition of 407 pieces (407 is the top speed achieved in a S6B by George Stainforth in 1931).

Bremont U-2

Already covered in an older post, we finally have a new Bremont watch for 2010: The Bremont U-2. Similar in style to the Martin Baker watch, but produced in DLC, the Bremont U-2 will only be available to the USA U-2 squadron. However to avoid dissapointment with collectors, they will also be releasing a 'Public' version, which has a slightly cleaner dial design design. Here's a couple of pictures of a prototype I saw at Baselworld.

First are photos from the Bremont U-2 'public' version.

Next are photos from the Bremont U-2 'Squadron' version.

Well I hope you enjoyed reading my post. I hope to revist Bremont again soon to take more detailed pictures of their newer models, and hopefully to take some of the models I missed like the Bremont EP-120.

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