When Nick and Giles English launched the Bremont brand 20 years ago, they knew they would be competing against centuries of Swiss horology heritage. But the brothers had something special up their sleeve: a desire to re-establish a once thriving British watchmaking industry and bring back horological manufacturing on a grand scale. Bremont is now one of a handful of watch companies in the world that crafts its timepieces all under one roof, and as its culture and traditions evolve, we spoke to Nick about what makes his brand tick.
In the 1800s, almost half of the world’s clocks and pocket watches were made in this country, but the art of industrial high-end watchmaking was since lost to Switzerland. Bremont is bringing it back, but with a new face: “We are not trying to be Swiss watchmakers in the UK,” says Nick emphatically, “We are making watches as the Swiss would, but with a British spin. Giles and I didn’t grow up with watchmaking in our blood; we are aviators and engineers, and those passions add character to our brand.”
As young entrepreneurs, the brothers listed their previous company on the Stock Exchange all the while restoring and flying historical aircraft, an enthusiasm learned from their father. The time was then right to indulge a love of horology, underpinned by their hard-won business sense: “When we started Bremont in 2002, we were prepared. We’d had great fun but had grafted,” he says, “We knew there was an incredible skillset in the UK to make this quest possible, and we’re both ‘glass half full’ people!”
FLYING HIGH
The brothers succeeded: today Bremont is Britain’s largest manufacturer of luxury watches. The leap forward into movement design and engineering took place in 2021 at their state-of-the-art centre in Henley-on-Thames, dubbed ‘The Wing’ because of the building’s contours. Here, an in-house technical team works end-to-end – on the design, movement manufacture, casing and assembly – before the exquisite range of chronometer watches is distributed, including to 13 Bremont boutiques across the world.
Bremont is the first business in over 50 years to make mechanical movements at scale on these shores. Their first proprietary movement series – the ENG300 – is incorporated into Bremont’s three new core models: the Supernova, Audley and Fury.
An additional triumph is that the company has reinvigorated a British chronometer test – the new Bremont H1 Timing Standard – to certify the collection on-site.
Swiss designers have visited and been floored by the 35,000 sq ft facility, and Bremont now hosts up to 16 tours per week for curious watch fans. “The precision engineering is done in the same clean and sterile environment you’d find in a Swiss watchmaking industrial park, but we’ve added some wry British humour,” Nick explains, “There’s a bar, some socialising spaces and all the design touches that convey what Giles and I are into.”
PUSHING LIMITS
Bremont’s aviation and military partnerships also help to tell the brand’s story. It began with Martin-Baker, the ejector seat manufacturers, commissioning a Bremont watch for pilots who safely ejected, and now Bremont’s bespoke projects for the global military – crafted for centenaries, kinship, or keepsakes – account for 20% of the business. Bremont is the preferred supplier to His Majesty’s Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence. It gives immeasurable credibility to the brand’s maxim of ‘Tested Beyond Endurance’: “When we show an F35 pilot wearing our watch, he’s not a model – he’s the real pilot of that plane,” Nick says of their marketing campaigns.
On the water, ORACLE TEAM USA chose Bremont as Official Timing Partner for the 35th America’s Cup. Nick and Giles are keen sailors too, so this was a dream come true. On land, Bremont has recently sponsored two extraordinary women: Preet Chandi, a British Army physiotherapist who recently became the first woman to solo traverse the South Pole, and Kristin Harila, a Norwegian athlete who is poised to embark on a challenge to summit 14 of the planet’s tallest peaks in under six months (and break the world record). “They are two understated women doing incredibly overstated things and beating men while they’re at it,” Nick says, “and one of our mechanical watches – the S300 Kaimu – is designed to achieve it with them.”
STEPHANIE DRAX
