Bremont Watch Company

MS: Michael Sandler - TimeZone.com NE: Nick English - Bremont Watch Company

MS: How did you become interested in watches, and what drove your decision to form your own watch company?

Nick (seated) and Giles English Click image to see full-size

NE: It started from an early age with Giles and I spending most spare minutes with our father in his workshop. He was a remarkable man, an aeronautical engineer from Cambridge, who spent his spare time building aircraft we still fly, boats we sailed the world in, musical instruments he played in bands and restored clocks which still hang on our walls. He was a watch collector too. To keep us quiet as kids he often used to bring out an old grand-father clock he had purchased from a local auction years before and let us tinker with it until we thought we had it working!

The other big influence in our lives has been flying. Our father was displaying vintage aircraft in air-shows most weekends whilst we were children, and Giles and I would take it in turns to go to the airshows. We would hardly be able to see out of the back of the WWII aircraft as he did the display with us in the back seat. We picked up flying (how could we not?!) and were displaying aircraft in our teens and still do. Our lives however changed in 1995 whilst I was practicing for an air-show. I hadn't flown with my father for a few months, and that March day we decided to go for a aerobatic formation practice with another aircraft - flown by a friend of mine. My father tagged along in the back seat for fun. During the aerobatic flight something faltered with the other aircraft's engine (also a T-6 Harvard) and we took evasive action whilst upside down to avoid it. The aircraft flicked into an inverted spin at low altitude. We recovered but in an effort to avoid trees the aircraft flicked into the ground and broke up. My father died on impact and I was thrown out and broke 30 bones.

Our lives changed dramatically at that point. Having done a brief spell with the RAF Reserves, we were both working in corporate finance at this point. This was really our tipping point . At this point we both decided to leave our city jobs to run a business restoring vintage aircraft. Whilst doing this, we found an opportunity to do what we had really wanted to do with our lives - set up a British brand making our own watches. It meant more than ever now. With the incredible history of watch making in Britain (Harrison, Mudge, Graham, Daniels etc.) we felt that it was the time to start, using some very special people. We had a very clear idea of what we wanted to achieve and now was as good as any other time to start.


MS: Can you tell us a little about the history of Bremont, especially prior to your formal introduction in 2007?

NE: When we started in 2002, we were pretty confident that 2 years later we would have a watch we were happy with. It was 5 years before we released our first watch into the retailers. It took us three years to decide on a name for the brand! From the very start we had both decided that we did not want to 'inherit' another brand. You walk around Basel and you realize that so so many of the brands out there with a long 'history' in fact have bought a history for a company making watches 80 years ago, stopped, and restarted 10 years ago. Where is the continuity in that? How do you know what the original founders ambitions were with the brand? Where is the tooling and the plans for the original movement, if there was a movement? All of these questions went through our heads and it became clear we wanted it to be a new brand focused on technical excellence.

Our family's last name (surname) is English. Having a British watch brand called English could appear to many as slightly clichéd, and probably fairly tricky to trademark(!), and so it came down to a flying trip we were making 2 years after my plane crash. Giles and I were flying a German 1930's Bucker Jungman down through France in weather we probably should not have been flying in. The weather worsened and with fuel running low we put the aircraft down in a small pea-field in the champagne region of NE France. If land like this in the US or UK like this you apologise to the farmer and buy him a bottle of scotch, in France can get a lot more complicated a lot quicker with the authorities. The farmer came out and offered to help. He was in his late 70's and he helped us push the aircraft into his barn. We stayed there for 2 nights as the weather cleared. He, quite incredibly, was a former wartime pilot himself and had a workshop much like our fathers. We had a lovely couple of days with him and talked for hours from everything from aircraft to watches. He reminded us hugely of our father. His name was Antoine Bremont. We kept in touch, and this was really the birth of the Bremont brand.





MS: Bremont is a British company. Where are your watches actually manufactured/assembled?

NE: Following the decision to start a watch brand, we found some workshop space in Bienne in Switzerland. Although we were very much British in outlook, when we started we quickly realized that the skill-base we needed , especially when it came to multiple watch manufacture, was still better placed being in Switzerland.

All of the design was being done in the UK, and indeed a lot of the finishing - like the hardening of the steel cases - was being completed here, but the final assembly, the movement itself and the case and dial construction etc was all being done in Switzerland.

Over the last few years we have wanted to do more and more in the UK to the extent that we now have a new range of watches - the Bremont MB's - being assembled at our workshop in England. All of our serious testing happens over here in the UK, as does the new movement design. It has got to the stage now that we have fully designed and built a new movement for a rather special ship's clock here in the UK.


MS: Can you tell us a little about the size of the company (numbers of watches produced, number of employees, distribution model, etc.)?

NE: We are still small in watch company terms. We will probably only make around 2500 watches this year. With the two workshops we employ just under 20 people.


MS: Can you describe the philosophy behind the design and production values of your watches?

NE: When we started we had a very clear view of what we wanted to achieve. We wanted to produce a watch which by any watch makers standard was without question beautifully made. All watches made by us would be mechanical chronometers. We wanted to make 'understated' watches that were not 'bling' in appearance, and so could never be classified as being fashion pieces. We have felt that so many brands have gone down the mass-market shiny/bling watch route that almost betrays their past. They therefore had to be fairly timeless in appearance. Perhaps the most important design philosophy was one of durability. We wanted the watches to look great in the boardroom but robust enough to be used in any situation. Our personal background is so focused around aviation that is hard for some of this design inspiration to not filter through, you only have to look at the Bremont MB or the EP120 and you can see this very clearly.

<td>Bremont Martin Baker IIClick image to see full-size

Bremont ALT1-C Click image to see full-size	Bremont EP120 Click image to see full-size

MS: Are there particular watches in history from which you are taking design cues?

NE: Sure, I think every watch brand takes inspiration from other time-pieces that have been out there. Our technical director who is very must a purist believes that there are only 3 shapes a watch should be - 'round, round and round'!! How can we possibly deviate away from this factor alone! Watch brands/models I personally have been inspired in the past include iconic watches like the IWC Mk 10 and 11, the 1950's Rolex Explorer, the vintage Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms and indeed some of the early Smiths' military clocks and dials found in so many of the vintage aircraft we fly.


MS: Can you speak a little about your principles of "Individuality, Precision and Endurance"?

NE: Giles and I have always tended to do things differently. We tend to drive cars and motor-bikes and fly planes that are not the norm for most day-to-day commuting requirements. I think this comes genuinely comes from our interest in all things mechanical from a very early age and appreciating things on their own technical merit. We are only producing roughly 2500-3000 watches by hand this year and they have to be individual on this basis alone. Many of the US Air-force squadrons we are making watches for now, have come to us due to the interest and aviation pedigree of the Bremont MB, but also because they do see themselves (quite rightly) as being elite in aviation terms. They were becoming tired of wearing watches that could be found on so many other people. I think this sums up the 'Individuality' fairly well. To own a watch that has so many hours of someone's time put into it counts for a lot in this industry where so many watches fly off a production line with hardly any human input during the manufacturing phase.

Precision goes without saying with a watch of this nature, but every watch of ours is Chronometer tested in Switzerland.

I mentioned briefly early on that one of our key principles was that of robustness. This 'Endurance' tag has become a huge part of the brand. You only have to look at some of the testing the Bremont MB went through and you can see what I mean. The Bremont MB is arguably the most tested watch out there in the market place. I don't think a watch, since the Speedmaster was sent to the moon, has a watch been tested to the extremes that the Bremont MB and the Supermarine 500 have been. Even after all of the testing the Speedmaster was never developed further based on the test results, it was simply the best watch available at the time for their requirements. The Bremont MB was developed over a 2.5 year period with Martin Baker, the British company that make 70% of the world's air-force ejection seats. They have saved over 7200 lives to date and have never had an ejection seat fail since they started making them in the 1940's. They wanted to produce a watch that would withstand the same testing as the seats themselves. These tests, other than multiple live ejections, included 40 years worth of vibration tests, shock tests, electro-static and severe climatic tests (at altitude), salt-fog and corrosion tests etc. To withstand these tests the watch had to be modified significantly. One example is the way the movement is mounted. The movement had to be mounted in a proprietary rubberized movement mount so at no point is the movement attached to the case, unlike traditional watch design where the movement is held in the case by a series of movement clamps. What is incredible about the project is that the whole process was video documented over a period of two years - it makes some incredible viewing seeing a mannequin being ejected at 690 mph with a high definition camera on the watch! The same technology developed in the Bremont MB was then integrated into our diving watch - the Supermarine 500, which makes this a totally unique and extremely robust diving watch.

Testing of the Bremont Martin Baker watch Click images to see full-size

Testing of the Bremont Martin Baker watch (including vibration testing) Click images to see full-size

MS: Can you tell us about the individual Bremont model lines?

NE: There are basically 6 or 7 lines. There are the Supermarine and B line mentioned above. We then have 3 main chronograph ranges. The more classic looking of these is the ALT1-C range. We then have the ALT1-P range which has very good readability and an internal rotating bezel. Finally on the chronographs there is the ALT1-Z range (for Zulu) due to the second UTZ time zone on the watch. We then have the BC-series of watches that are the more entry watches to the Bremont clan, which are the '3-hander' automatics as we call them.

Moving forward, many of the developments planning are actually based around movement changes/modifications. We are doing more and more in-house and this will become obvious at Basel next year. We take the British bit quite seriously and hopefully this will become even more evident with time.


MS: Are there any particular watches that you would like to highlight?

NE: I think the EP120 was an interesting one. EP120 is a very famous Spitfire MkVb WWII aircraft. It is very original with an incredible history behind it. We were lucky enough to be given part of the aluminum skin covering from this aircraft as it was being restored. We made a limited edition of this watch with this metal built into the dial and movement. We made 120 of these watches - all were pre-ordered and were sold last year. It is incredible to think that part of your watch, that you can see, was flying over Normandy in 1942. We liked that.


MS: What are some of the factors that you believe differentiate Bremont?

NE: From the outside, obvious things that make us different include the fact that we are really one of the true British watch makers out there. There are very few of us, and we do look at watch-making differently from the Swiss, and hopefully this shows.

Technically, in addition some of the areas high-lighted above, Bremont has a very unique Trip-Tick three piece case construction. Virtually all watches out there use a two piece case - the case itself and the case back. Ours are very differently constructed using a top bezel, a middle barrel and the case-back. This allows us to use different materials (like steel and aluminum in the MB) but it also gives the case a very unique case look with beautifully sculptured lugs than almost pour over the middle barrel. They are very technically designed cases and I think the time and effort that has gone into them really shows.

One of the key differentiators for Bremont has also been the hardness treatments that are applied to our watch cases. From a very early stage we wanted to produce a watch that had an understated but refined satin finish to the case, but we also wanted the cases to be very tough too. To achieve this we had to take our cases (which are made in Switzerland) and transport them to the UK where they are finished by a specialized company that finishes and treats the jet turbine blades for leading engine manufacturers. We use a similar technology where the cases are diffused with Carbon at very high temperatures (to make the underlying substrate harder) and then finished with a number of other proprietory treatments, The result of this time and effort is a stainless steel case which is 2000 Vickers in hardness, as opposed to about 350 Vickers for a normal stainless steel case. This is quite exciting and the difference is very obvious indeed after the watch has worn for a while.

Other key differentiators for Bremont, which have been touched on in part, are things like the nine layers of anti-reflective treatment we apply to BOTH sides of our sapphire crystal which is very obvious when ones looks at our crystals in day-light, the unique way we mount our movements in some of our watch models (rubberized anti-shock mount) and the soft-iron Faraday cage found surrounding the movement in the MB and S500 models.

One other final difference between Bremont and other watch manufacturers is that we only produce mechanical COSC certified chronometers. We just find it hard to get really passionate about quartz watches, and because of this, it is probably a road we will never decide to go down. This is why so much effort has gone into producing a mechanical watch with the durability of the MB or the S500 - we just wanted to prove that robustness for a military watch does not have to be limited to quartz movements.

Bremont Supermarine Click image to see full-size

MS: Please tell us a little about the background of your technical director, Peter Robert?

NE: Peter qualified as a Fellow of the British Horological Institute in the early 70s and then became the first student from the UK to attend the original WOSTEP course in Neuchatel, under the founder Monsieur Farine. Here Peter designed and constructed a unique mechanism for the Valjoux 72 chronograph.

Peter then advanced his experiences by spending a period of time with IWC in Schaffhausen. He then became an "Official Rolex Watchmaker" training and working at the main factory in Geneva - and then transferred to Rolex UK for some years. Peter then spent time with Garrard - the Crown Jewellers after which he qualified as a lecturer so that he could teach technical horology. Peter spent 13 years teaching technical horology and was head of watchmaking where he taught many fine students including Stephen Forsey and Peter Speake- Marin. Peter also designed for the students a rather interesting version of a detent escapement.

Peter then returned to Rolex in Geneva where he worked in a rather special watch department. On returning to the UK Peter became a consultant in technical design for various watch companies and a consultant training lecturer for Rolex in London. Currently Peter continues as a lecturer with Rolex - keeps his hand in to pure watch-making looking after watch collections for a select clientele, but most of his time is now taken up with his position of Technical Director with Bremont watches where is doing what he really loves!


MS: As you know, many TimeZoners are movement fanatics. Is there any intention for Bremont to move towards becoming a true manufacture (with in-house movements), or are you content with the current model?

NE: It is interesting actually, from my brother and my perspective we entered the watch-making world 8 years ago from a back-ground more in aviation rather than horology. We had tinkered with watches and clocks all of our lives through our father, but restoration of vintage of aircraft was our real back-ground. Our approach has always been slightly different from others in the luxury watch industry. We are actually caught in the middle of this debate. All of our watches use chronometer tested mechanical Swiss movements at the current time, but as a company we have always wanted to develop a movement to make the watches more British. We have an incredible Technical Director in Peter Roberts, and he has been instrumental in us developing a new ship's clock in-house for release this time next year for example. We are also designing and building our own in-house modules to bolt onto our existing Soprod 7750's for a new module we will be showing next year too. A new 'in-house' movement from Bremont will follow not too long after that.

Bremont U2 Click image to see full-size

Bremont Supermarine Click image to see full-size

Most of our range however currently uses a mixture of Sellita, Soprod and ETA movements which are then finished in-house with a few other tweaks. The reason for using a Valjoux base in our watches was a very simple one. Let's go back to flying. We have flown a number of different aircraft over the years from wartime to modern day aircraft - and there are probably 3 or 4 key western manufacturers of reliable aero engines. The same Lycoming and Continental engines used in aircraft in the 1940's, for example, are still being used in today's aircraft - with very few, if any, modifications. Would you fly over the North Sea during winter with a recently released "in-house" engine produced by a new aircraft manufacturer? I wouldn't, and there many examples of fatalities where people have tried. It takes many years to refine and test an engine. Look at Pagani Zonda, Lotus, McClaren, AC Cobra, Red-Bull Racing and many other leading car manufacturers/racing teams and you will find that the same reasoning is being used motor industry.

This is the approach Bremont and many other luxury watch brands have taken over the years. There are countless examples of this. Take some of the major "credible" brands out there - the most desirable Rolexes ever made were the pre-1999 Daytonas which used Zenith movements, and before that Valjoux. Every Patek Philippe chronograph before the 21st Century had an outside movement, including Lemania. Breitling, IWC and Panerai all use versions of the Valjoux or Unitas movement. Whilst this is true, it must be remembered that there can be an enormous difference in quality between an entry-level and top execution chronometer rated 7750, for example. Materials in the movement can differ substantially and the finish can be very different too. It is for this reason, which many chat-rooms fail to consider, that the 'same' 7750 can be found in a £600 watch or a £15,000 watch. In many examples are just not comparing like with like.

The other point to consider is that the vast majority of the apparent "manufacture" brands buy-in parts like rubies, screws, hands, dials, and balance/main-springs in any case. Where do you draw the line for a movement to be classified as being totally 'in-house'? Consider this point - virtually all of the world's luxury mechanical watch brands use balance springs produced by one manufacture - Nivarox. Nivarox is the name given to a metallic alloy that is very wear-resistant, non-magnetic and virtually immune to temperature variations. It just so happens that the only company making these springs is owned by the Swatch Group. The balance spring is really the heart-beat of any mechanical watch and so this is quite a integral part for a "manufacture" not to be producing.

Recently there has certainly been a large drift towards in-house movements by luxury watch brands - especially over the last 3 or 4 years. The catalyst for this, however, is really the threat of non-supply of movements from the Swatch/ETA stable from which many brands are dependent. This has been on the horizon for a while.

So are Bremont heading down the 'in-house' movement route? The answer is yes and no. No because we will undoubtedly continue to use movements like the Valjoux 7750 base for our chronographs in some form. They are so robust, precise and well proven.

Yes, because as we mentioned before, it is a real desire of ours to make our watches even more British. They are designed, finished and assembled (depending on the model) in England, but still have a Swiss heart-beat. There would be something very satisfying and special about producing a movement in England, in a country that once led the world in the field of horology. The form and finishing of a classic English movement is very different from the Swiss equivalent and it would be a tremendous accomplishment to be able to produce a movement that once again competed with the Swiss. The Germans have done it with Lange & Sohne and Glashutte, and so there is no reason why the British cannot do the same. Great British watch-makers like George Daniels and Roger Smith are making beautiful truly hand-made British movements but only in very limited numbers. We would like to do the same but on a larger scale. It is a huge challenge but one worth trying.

We have some very British adaptations to our movements coming out in Basel next year, and well as a Ship's clock which has been totally designed in-house and built in the UK. It is 28 cm across and a very special piece indeed.

Bremont ALT1-C Click image to see full-size	Bremont EP-120 Click image to see full-size	Bremont Supermarine Click image to see full-size

MS: What are your goals for the company over the next few years?

NE: To build the brand into an internationally recognized (outside of the UK), yet niche, manufacture of very interesting and well constructed chronometers.


MS: What do you see as the greatest challenges for your company over the next few years?

NE: I think the challenge with Bremont is the same with any smaller "niche" watch brand, and that is one of exposure. The marketing budgets of the large luxury and watch groups dwarfs the budgets smaller independents have available. It is however a fun and interesting challenge that we find totally engaging.

One area that has proved to be very successful and enjoyable in the UK (and further a field) in terms of the public understanding what we producing and the effort that goes into each watch, are events. We are the Timing Partner to a number of high profile UK events like the Festival of Speed at Goodwood, the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race and the The Epsom Derby, but what we find works well to compliment these larger events are a more intimate events with real enthusiasts. We are planning to have a series of these events with collectors and enthusiasts over the coming months in the US.


MS: In a very short period of time you have managed to attract an incredible amount of interest from a number of high profile people. Who are these people and what do they wear?

NE: We are lucky in this respect. I think we simply appeal to those individuals interested in 'all things mechanical' like us. They want something well made, different and something that fits with their personality. Orlando Bloom is a big fan and owns four or five pieces, Tom Cruise loves his ALT1-C, as does Ewan McGregor and Ryan Seacrest (who also owns three Bremonts and can be seen wearing them on American Idol a lot). There are then people like Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear), Bear Grylls and Liam Neeson, which is very flattering.

Orlando Bloom, Bear Grylls and Ewan McGregor Click images to see full-size

MS: And now our traditional final TZ Interview question: What watch are you wearing today?

NE: The new DLC coated U2 prototype I have been testing for a few weeks now. A great watch - a black DLC version of the Bremont MB with a sapphire back. It is out in a couple of months!


MS: Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview. I'm looking forward to seeing Bremont continue to grow.


Link to the original content --->>> http://www.timezone.com/library/tzints/201005173326

The 120 and the Supermarine ROCK!

Thanks Mark!

From the NY GTG hosted by TZ and Bremont.

Jay and Adam from Dwc! Being a pilot watch company I really dig their first foray into the dive scene, clean well built dive watches but not the cheapest pricing! Over all very cool stuff, thanks for posting Mark!

What an incredible story that is ! ..Bremont, along
with these people behind it, are very impressive ! Wow !!!
It's nice to see some of the people behind these awesome
watch brands out there. Makes you want to go out and
get a Bremont in this case !..What's neat is that they
set out to make understated watches, but I think they
are kind of EXTRAORDINARY !..Thanks again for this info
Mark !!!

Nice looking watches. Very interesting company, but I'm a little perplexed as well. From all appearances their watches are very nice and real high quality. The downside is they have no heritage or track record which in my view helps justify the exorbitant prices. I'd love to see those watches in person.

There have been posts elsewhere regarding the heritage of Bremont and it's relation to pricing.
I don't see the necessity for it. Design, engineering, testing, materials, etc., all done top notch. No settling for anything second best.
To me, this is what sets the price.

aikiman44 wrote:

There have been posts elsewhere regarding the heritage of Bremont and it's relation to pricing.
I don't see the necessity for it. Design, engineering, testing, materials, etc., all done top notch. No settling for anything second best.
To me, this is what sets the price.

Kind of like Kobold and others.

I knew that was coming.

I'm in agreement with you Aikiman. I don't get that argument either.

It's

Ferrari didn't give away cars while they were "building their heritage." If a company like RGM, Kobold, Bremont, etc, are doing the design, modding movements, making their own, making their own cases, and not buying them and movements by the shipload from China, good on them. Charge what the market will bear, and don't give it away.

porschefan wrote:

I'm in agreement with you Aikiman. I don't get that argument either.

It's

Ferrari didn't give away cars while they were "building their heritage." If a company like RGM, Kobold, Bremont, etc, are doing the design, modding movements, making their own, making their own cases, and not buying them and movements by the shipload from China, good on them. Charge what the market will bear, and don't give it away.

Well, if they are indeed doing all that then I would agree. I don't know that they are-can anyone here answer that question? The value thing will always be a perception, its easier for me to see the value in an established company with some heritage.

It seems to me that the companies mentioned are doing what Tim stated. If they used catalog cases, non-modified movements and were aping previous designs, I think the facts would have been made public by now.
Hard to keep secrets these days.

Its not so hard to keep secrets. The hard part is finding the truth, because so much of this hobby is perception. I'm not bad mouthing Bremont, just not convinced yet.