Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The New Bremont Altitude Chronograph Pulsograph Valjoux 23
The Altitude soars to new heights with a restored vintage Valjoux 23 heart in resilient titanium Trip-Tick armour and a salmon dial.
Following CEO Davide Cerrato’s arrival in 2023, many Bremont fans feared that the strong aviation, tool-watch spirit of its founders, the English brothers, would be diluted. Released in 2025, the redesigned Altitude Collection, an evolution of the hyper-resilient Martin-Baker (MB) pilot watches with Trip-Tick cases, proved otherwise. In a move bound to win over collectors, Bremont releases a special 40-piece edition of its Altitude Chronograph, powered by a historic, restored Valjoux 23 movement.
It’s fair to say that Cerrato hasn’t settled for complacency. He’s ventured beyond the redesigned portfolio of tool watches with some truly unexpected models. The Terra Nova Jumping Hour was surprising, to say the least, as was the more complicated Altitude Perpetual Calendar GMT Mono-Pusher Skeleton, with a sophisticated Agenhor module, skeletonised aesthetics, and aviation-grade Trip-Tick construction. The Altitude Chronograph Pulsograph Valjoux fits into this category, an unexpected hybrid of a vintage Valjoux chronograph movement protected by a resilient Trip-Tick case.
The 42mm chronograph benefits from the redesigned three-part Trip-Tick case construction, which sandwiches a central titanium barrel between the case top and caseback, and is reinforced with a flexible, rubberised anti-shock mount and a soft-iron anti-magnetic ring that protects the movement. Made from lightweight yet resilient brushed titanium, the case height of 12.52mm is lower than that of other Altitude chronographs, thanks to the slim proportions of the Valjoux movement. Fitted with classic piston-style pushers and a large screw-down crown, it is reassuring to note that the 100m water-resistance has been retained.
The big news, however, is the incorporation of a NOS (new old stock) Valjoux 23 chronograph movement. One of the most revered manual-winding chronograph movements of the 20th century, the Valjoux 23 – also seen recently in a Raymon Weil watch – was produced from 1916 to 1974 and adopted by top-tier brands like Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin. Although the brand does not reveal the date of this restored movement, its compact architecture (29.5mm x 5.8mm) and signature features, such as the nine-pillar column wheel, the sinuous levers, the large balance wheel and Y-shaped central bridge, leave no doubt about its provenance.
Sourced, restored and finished by Chronode, the acclaimed haute horlogerie atelier founded by Jean-François Mojon, the manual-winding Valjoux 23 has been decorated with contemporary finishes. The bridges, including the Y-bridge, reveal a finely grained surface with contrasting mirror-polished chamfers.
The salmon dial of the Altitude Chronograph Pulsograph Valjoux 23 captures the pinkish-coppery dials popularised during the Art Deco era. Underscoring its vintage heritage, the chronograph features a graduated pulsometer scale on the periphery, a useful tool for doctors in the early 20th century to gauge heart rate.
Decorated with different finishes, the smooth surface of the pulsometer sits adjacent to a snailed minutes track with Super-LumiNova blocks at 5-minute intervals. The wider chapter ring, which hosts the applied stencil-style gold Arabic numerals with white Super-LumiNova inserts (blue emission), displays a grained finish, and the central area of the salmon dial has a vertically brushed finish.
The two sub-dials – 30-minute totaliser at 3 o’clock and running seconds at 9 o’clock – stand out with their brushed silver-coloured, snailed interiors. Bremont’s new three-pronged propeller logo is used as the hand of the running seconds with white luminescent tips. All the hands are crafted in black gold, with Super-LumiNova also applied to the hour and minute hands. The fun distortions you can see on the periphery of the dial are caused by the vintage-style glass-box sapphire crystal protecting it.
Limited to 40 pieces, the watch is paired with a warm brown nubuck leather strap with a quick-release system and pin buckle. The watch retails for GBP 24,950. More information at bremont.com.
1 response
I was just talking with a friend of mine yesterday about Bremont and how we liked the original direction of the company esp the MB I/II/III and bronze diver from the early collections. Bremont were really good at trying to create a story and the connection to the modern British military was thought through.
However, the recent rebrand (esp with the prices) just hasn’t worked for us. None of the watch people I talk to are supportive either esp the pricing, we’re not sure what sector they’re aiming for. Couple that with the fact that if you walk into a dealership in the UK and ask to see another brand within a few minutes you are being offered a Bremont. Twice in the last two weeks I’ve been offered a factory tour. It just feels like a hard sell on a brand which has lost its way slightly.
Then I see this and think, wow, finally. Great design, dimensions and heritage aviation cues and I’m wondering if this is the Bremont I can get on board with. Now I have no idea about the Valjoux 23 costs etc but then I see the price £24,950.
I’m sorry, but even if I’m a collector, really!? I always reserve that price in my head for Holy Trinity level watches, like I said, really!