Christine Borg-Mirza: Head of Retail at Bremont

[jwalker9]

Hello All!

I thought it was time to bring attention back to our Q&A portion of the forum by having a new interview with Bremonts new Head of Retail, Christine Borg-Mirza. Thanks to Christine for her willingness to participate!

Could you introduce yourself and your role with Bremont?
I am Christine Borg-Mirza the new Head of Retail for Bremont and look after all five boutiques globally.



How did you first learn about Bremont?
I remember back in 2009, seeing this new brand in Selfridges. One of my colleagues explained the brand to me and I remember thinking, how brave the founders were trying to position themselves in the watch industry. However, once I met Giles English, who talked me through Bremont and the story behind the British watch industry, I realised that as a watch specialist, I was compelled to introduce Bremont to our Selfridges clients and make sure they were fully informed of this up and coming watch brand.




During your time with Selfridges, did you help with the MBII Selfridges Edition with the yellow barrel?
I did not have any input in the design of the watch but I helped sell them. Did you happen to snag one? Only ten were made, and staff were not allowed to buy any. To be honest, they sold too quickly to our growing Bremont watch collectors.
However, I do own an MBII with a yellow barrel, as it was gifted to me by Nick and Giles when I left Selfridges in 2013, but it has a different serial number on the back and is not from the original ten.



You’ve worked in the luxury timepiece industry for quite some time now. Why were you drawn to work with Bremont?
I have been in the luxury watch industry for 30 years now (I started when I was five). No question, I have always been a fan of the smaller brands that did not mass produce watches. So it was not difficult for me to be drawn to Bremont, they are niche as currently the skilled watch makers in the Henley factory build only 10,000 watches per year.
Bremont are a classic, well-engineered mechanical watch brand, that is great value for money, if you look at my watch you would not believe its 10 years old! However, a huge aspect that I am drawn to is that Nick and Giles have brought the British watch making back to the UK, where is rightfully belongs and I am super excited to be part of rebuilding this comeback.



Over the years, which model have your clientele been most drawn to?
Most of my clients own more than one Bremont, the two favourites over the years has been the MBII Orange and my watch the Alt1 C/AN, I love the fact that it doesn’t seem to put these men off seeing a woman wear that watch! In addition to these, quite a few of my clients also own the historical LE timepieces as well.



What is your favorite Bremont Limited Edition watch to date?
The Victory has always been my favourite, it blew me away when I first held that watch in Basel back in 2012 and for sure it was love at first sight. Luckily, I am a proud owner of one, and when I reached my 20 years anniversary with the previous company I worked for, I was asked to select a watch. I felt it was apt to select a watch that resonated, hard work, dedication and loyalty as Lord Nelson was in his battles and stated in his last words “thank god I have done my duty”




Thanks again to Christine! If you have any additional questions you'd like to ask Christine, please post them below and I will get you an answer! Even better though, hopefully you will see her in a Bremont Boutique someday soon!






Cheers,

Jeremy