Debuting at WatchTime New York: Bremont Terra Nova Jimmy Chin Chronograph

If you had strong feelings about Bremont's overhauled collections and rebranding earlier this year but haven't yet seen the watches in person, WatchTime New York this weekend is your chance. And you'll also get to see the latest additions such as the ceramic Supermarine dive watches and the new Terra Nova chronograph variants made for the brand's cliff-scaling ambassador Jimmy Chin.

At Watches & Wonders 2024, Bremont launched the field-watch-inspired Terra Nova as an entirely new collection. It was the brand's flagship release of the show that helped introduce its retooled identity, and it included an entire range of models. In various colorway options were the Turning Bezel Power Reserve and the simple three-hand models, and the latter came in a couple of sizes. The Terra Nova Chronograph, however, only had one variant (though, with different strap options): one with a black-and-fauxtina-lume colorway.

Now we get to see that design further come alive as it builds out the collection with new variants. The original has a 42.5mm case in 904L stainless steel, rotating compass-point bezel, indices made of solid Super-LumiNova blocks, and a Valjoux 7750-based movement called the BE-50AV with a chronometer certification. The Jimmy Chin version shares most of these features, but is comparatively jazzed up.

With contrasting subdials a là the popular "panda dial" design, it stands out most for bringing some bling. Yes, it comes in two variants, each with varying carat counts of rose gold. The first is in steel with a bezel (with ceramic insert) and crown in rose gold, and tonally matching dial elements such as the hands and subdials. It's limited to 100 examples at a price of US $7,750 each. The other version features all of the above, except that its case is in solid 18k rose gold. Only 15 examples of this one will be made at a price of US $30,950 each.

But what do these chronographs have to do with the intrepid American ambassador Jimmy Chin? Wouldn't a solid gold watch weigh him down on the mountain? A tool watch with high-end features is a little counterintuitive, but not exactly novel. Those such as this year's absurdly impractical solid yellow gold Rolex Deepsea, for example, or Bremont's own Terra Nova featuring the brand's first tourbillon — they're halo products and outliers among their respective collections. These models, too, are limited and serve to show an upscale side of Bremont as well as a more nuanced side of Chin than just that of a gruff mountaineer.

In addition to being good at clinging to rocks, Chin is also an accomplished filmmaker, photographer, alpinist and all-round adventurer. He's the stuff watch marketing dreams are made of. Turn the watch over, and the sapphire crystal window features a photorealistic image of a mountain range — with the movement peeking out from behind it. The image is a photo taken by Chin, and near the bottom is his personal logo which is his own name in Chinese in the style of a traditional seal, a reference to his heritage. The red chronograph seconds hand echoes the logo. Each watch also comes with a copy of Chin's book of photography, There and Back: Photographs from the Edge.

It's always best to at least see and try a watch in person before forming a final opinion of it. Reactions to Bremont tend to be knee-jerk almost no matter what they do, and I believe that some minds will be won over as the dust settles, people become more familiar and accepting of the brand's new direction, and as the collections themselves continue to evolve. I, for one, look forward to seeing Bremont's latest releases this weekend and making my mind up once I've had them on my wrist.

To learn more, visit Bremont here.

And to secure your tickets to WatchTime New York 2024, click here.