Founded in 2002, Bremont is a relatively young brand based in the United Kingdom. The portfolio focuses on pilot’s and military watches, but includes dress, motorsport and dive watches as well. Brothers Nick and Giles English are the founders and serious airplane enthusiasts, flying vintage aircraft like a 1930s biplane and 1942 WWII Harvard aircraft around Europe. Their father was a RAF pilot with a PHD in Aeronautical Engineering, but was tragically killed (and Nick badly injured) when his Harvard aircraft crashed during a training flight. Nick recovered and the brothers soon pursued a passion of watchmaking, born from childhoods of restoring mechanical clocks and miscellaneous objects in their father’s workshop. The brand name comes from Antoine Bremont, a French farmer and clock enthusiast who helped the brothers after an emergency landing in his field in the late 1990s.
Today, all of Bremont’s core watches are either COSC-certified or ISO Chronometers and “The Wing” was opened in 2021, the 35,000 square foot Manufacturing & Technology Centre. Design, machining and assembly occur there with the potential to produce 50,000 watches per year. In 2021, Bremont introduced its first manufacture movement, the ENG300 automatic that’s largely manufactured in The Wing and features a silicon escapement and 65-hour power reserve.
Bremont became very collaborative and developed partnerships with major British names like Jaguar and British Airways, and became official timers for institutions like England Rugby and Isle of Man TT. Bespoke military watches are also a major part of the brand and the Bremont Military and Special Projects Division make up about a quarter of all production. For example, the limited edition Bremont MBI pilot’s watch was designed solely for pilots who ejected from aircraft using Martin-Baker systems. They’re designed to endure the extreme conditions associated with that (temperature, vibrations, g-forces and more). A red midsection distinguishes it from later civilian variants (MBII and MBIII).
Bremont’s current portfolio is diverse, consisting of three pillars – Field Watches (Terra Nova), Dive Watches (Supermarine) and Pilot’s Watches (Altitude). In 2009, the Supermarine 500 dive watch debuted with a unique design, such as a 2 o’clock crown and underlying crown guard, sapphire crystal bezel and signature Trip-Tick three-piece case that separates it (and other Bremont watches) from the common two-piece watch case. As the name suggests, water resistance was rated at 500 metres and the name itself comes from legendary aircraft like the Supermarine Spitfire and Supermarine S6B Schneider Trophy Seaplane. The diving portfolio is vast today with Supermarine models, the Waterman Apex II, S302 and more.
Pilot’s watches and chronographs are Bremont’s signature pieces, and twin crowns at 2 and 4 o’clock dominate the non-chronograph designs with the 4 o’clock crown rotating an internal bezel. The Broadsword is a contemporary take on the “Dirty Dozen” watch and even has a bronze case option, there are plenty of special motorsport chronographs like the Jaguar C-Type and Isle of Man TT Limited Edition, and many pieces come with GMT functionality.
Founders Nick and Giles English proved that taking substantial risks can pay off and Bremont is a model of success for luxury British watchmaking. They have since retired from executive positions and Davide Cerrato became the new CEO in 2023.
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