I enjoyed reading this article in Salon QP about future expansion for Bremont. Go give it a read!
I enjoyed reading this article in Salon QP about future expansion for Bremont. Go give it a read!
For me, this was the most interesting bit:
The 2018 date in the article is probably a bit optimistic but it is looking good....the first movements designed and created for Bremont by Irish horological whizz Stephen McDonnell. He has been on the job for a couple of years now, and Giles estimates one more full year of his time is still needed. The target is a family of modular complications built around a workhorse base of comparable quality and robustness to the Rolex 3135, but with greater flexibility – oh, and a bespoke geartrain too.
I had thought the licensed mechanism in the Wright Flyer was going to be the one they would use as a basis for their movements. Has the plan changed to something totally bespoke and more like the Christopher Ward SH-21 idea?
Agree. I'd estimate they could probably be 5 years off. Given the time and money it took the 'big boys' of Breitling and Omega et al to achieve in-house, I think that's a more than fair time estimate.
Well, that movement wasn't ever 'in-house' - it was built in collaboration with LJP for the Wright Flyer. That and this 'in-house' Bremont movement are two different things. Whilst both are, and will be, achievements, one is very much a bigger deal than the other both for Bremont and the wider watch community.
J.
Thanks for the clarification. Based on what I had read I had thought the idea was they would license the design and gradually make it all themselves.
Was the reason that a non ETA movement was chosen due to the expense of the watch? It seems odd to have done that just for a one off but I suppose it makes the Wright Flyer more prestigious than having a modified off the shelf movement. Was the movement larger so it was able to be thinner and indeed is that the plan with the new movements? Most Bremont cases are much bigger than the movement itself. Using a wider diameter would allow a thinner movement and so a thinner case. The main complaint I hear from others about Bremont watches is that the height of the case makes them harder to wear.