COUNTDOWN TO WTLA

London to La-La Land: Bremont 2019 Collection Lands at WatchTime L.A.


Bremont, as it has done for the past few years, skipped the big Swiss watch fairs in 2019, choosing instead a handful of more intimate “Townhouse” events in London and New York City for the launch of its 2019 collection. If you live on the West Coast, however, you may well have missed both of those. Good news: Your chance to check out Bremont’s newest timepieces comes in just over a week, at the inaugural WatchTime Los Angeles event on May 3-4. Here’s a rundown of some of the pieces you’ll discover.

Bremont Supermarine S300 White - reclining
Bremont Supermarine S300 White

The new Armed Forces Collection, a trilogy of new models developed in partnership with the British Ministry of Defence, is the centerpiece of the 2019 offerings. The watches take their inspiration from the famous “Dirty Dozen,” a series of watches commissioned by the British Army during World War II and are the first Bremont Military timepieces available for purchase by civilians. They are also the only watches authorized by the MoD to bear the heraldic badges of all three of Britain’s military services, the Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force (RAF). These badges are stamped on the solid casebacks of all three models, whose two-part cases are made of hardened steel, though not in the familiar ‘Trip-Tick” configuration of more expensive Bremont watches. Like the original “Dirty Dozen,” the Bremont Armed Forces pieces meet a specific set of criteria for usage in the field, including water resistance, luminous markings on the dials, and chronometer-certified timekeeping accuracy.

The Bremont Broadsword, the model that most directly references the look of the Dirty Dozen watches, is a two-handed field watch with a date at 3 o’clock and a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. The black dial hosts white Arabic numerals and hands filled with custom mint-colored Super-LumiNova. Inside the 40-mm case is Bremont’s COSC-certified BE-95-2AV movement with a 38-hour power reserve. The Broadsword comes on a khaki green sailcloth strap. Price: $3,445

Bremont MoD Broadsword - Front
Bremont Broadsword

The Bremont Arrow, also in a 42-mm case, is the pilot’s chronograph of the new collection, powered by the chronometer-rated, automatic BE-51AE movement. Operated by a monopusher at 2 o’clock, this aviator-inspired timepiece features a central red-arrow-tipped chronograph seconds hand, a date window at 6 o’clock, and subdials at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock for 30 elapsed chronograph minutes and for running seconds, respectively. The matte black dial has mint-colored Super-LumiNova details. This watch’s strap is in RAF-style blue sailcloth. Price: $4,745

Bremont MoD Arrow - Front
Bremont Arrow

Doing dive-watch duty is the third new model, the Bremont Argonaut, which draws its name from the sailors of Greek mythology. Its 42-mm, 300-meter-water-resistant case is equipped with an internal, unidirectional rotating bezel operated by a crown at 4 o’clock, of the type used on vintage “compressor”-style divers’ watches. The self-winding BE-92AV caliber inside powers the three-handed timekeeping display, with the minute hand — the most important indicator on a military dive watch — emphasized by bright orange coloring. Mint-green Super-LumiNova on the hands and numerals also aid in underwater legibility. The Argonaut is mounted on a navy blue sailcloth strap. Price: $3,695

Bremont MoD Argonaut - Front
Bremont Argonaut

Alongside the Military trilogy, Bremont offers new models in its existing collections, including the Bremont Supermarine S300 White. The dimensions remain the same as those of previous S300 models, at 40 mm x 13 mm, and it uses the same BE-92AE chronometer-grade caliber. The stainless-steel case features Bremont’s proprietary Trip-Tick construction and boasts 300-meter water resistance — thanks, in part, to the screw-in caseback, which features an engraving of the Supermarine Spitfire aircraft in relief, a nod to Bremont’s focus on aviation history. The sapphire crystal is domed and anti-reflective. There’s a color-matching date aperture at 3 o’clock, and the hands, numerals and indexes are coated in Super-LumiNova — all hallmarks of existing S300 watches.

What makes the Supermarine S300 White stand out from previous iterations is its painted white dial, complemented by a dark blue ceramic bezel. Following the Supermarine Waterman unveiled last summer in the S500 series, this is the first light-colored dial seen inside the S300 series. (Dive watches with white dials are, of course, notably less ubiquitous than those with black, gray, or blue dials.) The Bremont Supermarine S300 White is priced in line with previous S300 entries at $4,095 and comes on a blue Temple Island rubber strap and an additional blue and white striped NATO strap (lug-to-lug is 20 mm).

The S300 White isn’t the only new dive watch on the menu. Bremont has also updated the Supermarine S2000, its most potent diver that boasts a water resistance rating of up to 2,000 meters and has a larger case diameter than the S300 at 45 mm. The Trip-Tick three-piece case is in hardened stainless steel and, as with the original model from 2013, includes a shock-resistant movement mount to help protect the watch from shocks. The movement is housed inside an antimagnetic Faraday cage to protect the balance, balance spring, and escapement. The model features a helium escape valve and a crown protector on the side of the case. What’s new this year is the colorways, which feature either yellow or red accents on the bezel and dial, and an engraving on the caseback which features a submarine screw in relief. The new Supermarine S2000 models are priced at $5,595 on a rubber strap and $5,995 on a bracelet.

The new Bremont MBIII 10th Anniversary is a celebratory timepiece that commemorates 10 years of the partnership between Bremont and ejection-seat specialists Martin-Baker. Bremont first started working with Martin-Baker all the way back in 2007 when the British manufacturer approached the watch brand to create a watch that could pass the same rigorous testing that the ejection seats themselves go through. It took two years of R&D work before the first Bremont/Martin-Baker timepiece was officially released and it was reserved for pilots who have been ejected from an airplane that uses a Martin-Baker seat (who else remembers this clip of Jimmy Fallon presenting his veteran father with an MBI timepiece in 2015?). Following the original MBI, the MBII and MBIII were released for civilian use and have become some of Bremont’s most recognizable timepieces.

This year, Bremont is releasing an anniversary GMT timepiece that combines all the traits that have made the collaboration a success so far. The model features a 48-click, inner rotating bezel that uses the brand’s proprietary Roto-Click construction. Martin-Baker references abound throughout the watch, with the white dial featuring an ejection danger triangle logo at 6 o’clock, and the caseback features an etching of an MK16 seat from an F-35 fighter jet. The stainless steel 43-mm case, built by Bremont at its facility at Henley-on-Thames, outside of London, is enhanced via the knurled titanium middle. It’s priced at $5,584.

You can check many of these new models from the brand at the forefront of modern British watchmaking, along with those of 27 other luxury watch brands, at WatchTime Los Angeles. Tickets are on sale now!

 

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