Logo which is instantly recognisable. Tick
Designs which are instantly recognisable. Tick
Style, story and rough and tough designs which sell easily. Tick
Cash cow LEs which sell out immediately. Tick.
Now throw that all away and try to make a silk purse out of the sow’s ear you bludgeoned everything into. Tick
Hubris trumps all
Aesthetics aside, is it just me that finds a tourbillon on a tool watch something of an oddity?
I wasn't a Bremont fan to begin with, but at least you could say they were doing their own thing, something actually distinctive, with the story they were trying to tell and the designs of their watches. It wouldn't be silly to talk about there being a Bremont DNA, and I'd have thought that was where the value of them lay.
These new designs seem very generic. I don't know what the point of Bremont is if it becomes just another purveyor of quite expensive, not very interesting watches. We have more than enough of those already. Some have commented that they look like microbrand efforts, which is fair, but really there are quite a few microbrands that have better designs than these. And they are much, much cheaper.
A slightly trivial example maybe but this is the service sheet for my MB2 that’s with them now.Originally Posted by Fullbreakfast
Pretty obvious this is a Bremont so no idea why they are walking away from something distinctive unless they just can’t do it for the price point they’re aiming for.
I suspect the brand will just go downhill from here …
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I’ve made it clear I’m pretty horrified at the new designs.
It’s a new company now , new owners, new management, Nick & Giles are no longer in charge, and the brand no longer represents their ethos.
I’m solidly Generation X, I’ve watched the brand grow, loved their early designs, and got close to getting one, but didn’t quite get over that line.
The brands future isn’t with me, or even my generation. It’s now Millennials who have grown up with smart watches and smart devices. They are probably earning good money now, but have large mortgages, young families, and are in a place where £3-4K is a lot, but feasible for a discretionary luxury purchase to reward career / life progress. I’m quite certain there has been work done on figuring out their target market, how to hook them now, and hold them for the next two decades.
I think they are on the wrong path, but what do I know? No one should take business development advice from me!
Dave
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I was a Bremont fan in the early years and even recall their launch at Goodwood Festival of Speed where I was very close to buying an Alt-1 Zulu.
Dabbled in a few of their watches over the years and even did the Wing tour which was very interesting. Wouldn’t say I’m a mega fan, but liked the brand and products. Case shape and customisation were fairly unique features.
The new releases are certainly not for me.
Has a whiff of Breitling’s rebranding. Fresh investment, departure from their iconic models, new movements, etc. Time will tell I guess.
True, Breitling did rebrand in about 2012(?)with the cartoonish marketing, but they didn’t change the core of their range too much…the Navitimer B01, with the new movement, was a definite improvement on the old generation navitimer and they didn’t change the aerospace much. They continued to improve the 2022 Navitimer and look to be making improvements with the aerospace. Bremont, however, have made significant changes to branding and design that seem universally panned here. Part of the problem might be the lack of historic design which keeps other brands from straying too much.
I see from the beginnings section of their current site, that M Bremont, his farmhouse and his welcoming Gallic hospitality have been erased from history, much like a retouched, inconvenient photograph from Stalinist Russia.
David
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
In the FT interview with the new CEO posted in this thread earlier he confirmed it is a Sellita inside them.
I can only access the article once so can’t remember if he specified which one.
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Nice to see a watch journalist not hold back either https://www.ablogtowatch.com/new-rel...-nova-watches/
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That is pretty brutal.
I thought the article was very good and stopped short of being too brutal but the public comments....wow!!
I've just read someone calling the Supermarine the 'Stone Island Aquaracer'
Last edited by TaketheCannoli; 11th April 2024 at 14:44.
... I've just read someone calling the Supermarine the 'Stone Island Aquaracer'
I thought it was great to see a watch journalist not hold back too. There's some balance (e.g. praising the dial design) but he does not hold back what he sees as the shortcomings.
It was also noticeable that they launched these new models on the same day as the new Rolex and Tudor releases. Surely they would have known that the clamour for Rolex and Tudor would take over the media coverage?
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I still see this
I'm not sure why, but I'm getting real Invicta vibes.
I do not predict it to end well; the similarity to microbrands comments seem on point.
All of a sudden I really like the old Bremonts.
Speaking of Christopher Ward they have gone through several logo changes. Many people mistakenly believe that the CHRward (or something similar) was the original logo it wasnt, there was a CW logo before that and when they changed to the second style there was plenty of criticism and odd explanations as to why it made sense (Apparently there was some historical/medieval abbreviation of Christopher to Chr) being one example. At the time CW were going for the affordable luxury label (Not sure but it may have been around that time they advertised one of their watches along side a Tudor) They also brought out CW wallets, ipad cases etc.
Now they have moved onto perhaps their fourth logo a lot of people seem to look back at the CHRward logo as a preferred look, you dont really see many of the original logo watches about but people are still happy to pay out for the second logo and even wish it was still being made.
Point being changing the logo is not necessarily a terrible thing and a bit like CW Bremont are damned if they do and damned if they dont. Probably the biggest lesson CW have learned on their journey is to charge more for their watches and people will believe that they are buying a "luxury" item. When they were charging under a grand for a jumping hour complication (or £500 in their sales) and just over a grand for a moonphase or world timer they were apparently "junk" and "DFS watches" Now they are charging north of 2 grand they are a "serious competitor"
When I first looked at this thread I assumed Bremont had suddenly put their prices up along side the logo change but they seem to be about the same price they always have.
In fairness, I think that the new logo is only a small part of the negative reaction to the changes at Bremont.
Christopher Ward have for some time made affordable good quality watches but handle a typical Christopher Ward next to a typical Bremont and the difference is very noticeable which it should be given the difference in price. I had initially thought that what Cerrato was going to do was carry on with the older designs and introduce a new range that was more affordable to produce and therefore the price bracket could be brought down closer to what Christopher Ward might be doing if they sold through shops. In actual fact, I haven't the faintest clue what Cerrato is doing, or trying to do.
Excuse the bad pic, but this is my C6 Kingfisher - one of CWs first offerings in quartz, and the first logo I believe. I don't wear it anymore as it's too big and heavy for my liking, but style wise I still much prefer it over anything that CW have done since.
Yes, that was the first logo also my preferred one. I had a pilot watch with that logo and their sector watch which I think was probably their best designed one but at 44mm was just too big and ended up selling it.Excuse the bad pic, but this is my C6 Kingfisher - one of CWs first offerings in quartz, and the first logo I believe. I don't wear it anymore as it's too big and heavy for my liking, but style wise I still much prefer it over anything that CW have done since.
I must have had about 4 or 5 CW watches over the years and sold all of them. I just got sick and tired of the endless brand change, new logo, new direction etc I just felt like a marketing guinea pig, probably a lesson there for Bremont.
Regarding what Bremont offer and what many micro brands offer I think thats pretty much standard now. Gone are the days when things like enamel dials, hardened cases are finished. There was a time when exotic dials were found on higher end micro brands now you can find them everywhere. CW are charging over a grand for a watch with a avventuria dial, you can get one with bracelet and rubber strap from Venezianico for about £800.
The new Bremont watches look a little like some of the Hamiton military watches that have come out its a shame they have dropped the ice hard cases though.
We are there but only represented as an insignificant comma.
The article linked was excellent. Bremont are now the unaffordable micro-brand.
David
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
In a world obsessed by details, that is terrible.
Also that the line of longitude seems to pass west of Cornwall and the Cherbourg peninsula.
For a British timekeeping brand, the Greenwich Meridian is kind of important.......
Just had a quick look, neither Nick nor Giles have posted in Insta for a while. It is clear their role in the company has been cut substantially
They bought Yard O Led.
I've never really liked their watches but with this new brand and models....
I like them even less.
I saw they posted a Yard o led workshop machine in their story on the morning of W & W show.
It seemed like quite a distancing post, leaving clear water between them and the show.
Schoolboy error.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I would have expected a serious watch blog to have checked out whether that was just a very poor render, rather than an accurate representation of what the case back really looks like…
We are there but only represented as an insignificant comma.
The article linked was excellent. Bremont are now the unaffordable micro-brand.
The fact remains that they don’t seem to know where the Greenwich meridian should beI would have expected a serious watch blog to have checked out whether that was just a very poor render, rather than an accurate representation of what the case back really looks like…
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
This is not the same Bremont
Am not sure if they will gain new fans but will definitely lose a lot of current ones.
That’s my view and it makes me wonder why the new owners bought Bremont, if the intention is pretty much to start over.
Full disclosure so you know where I’ am coming from: I’ am not a Bremont owner, have no skin in the game, found some of the cases a little too thick for my taste but was coming around to the idea of buying one and supporting the return of watchmaking to these shores. I do not see anything attractive in the new line-up. Though I am outside the 25-45 demographic Cerrato is targeting.
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Perhaps Mr C has noticed that there are more clueless anglophiles like him in this world than Englishmen. Perhaps he doesn't give a toss what the English think, so long as he can sell his Hey Britisher Classiness Is Here bs abroad.
Like this?
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Bad photo' sorry, but, like this?Like this?
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If I owned a current Bremont -
one of the nicer old ones with the knurled central case - I’d be worried about parts availability going forward. I suspect that supporting their old models might be difficult when the company goes pop.
This appeared on Instagram. I can't imagine they'll find many buyers for this at what it must cost.
I can only echo what's been said here - such a dramatic change in direction and not in a good way. Such bad designs - the dial text alone on the Terra Nova models is dreadful. The ablogtowatch article was spot on - it's pretty much the only watch site that gives some independent opinions. That approach is carried over into the podcast too.
I was hoping under the new CEO that we'd see well judged revisions to the existing lines - maybe a smaller diameter MBII for example. Perhaps the brand is in a bad way and desperate measures are needed. You can always find Bremonts (even the latest models) with significant savings at sale time.
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That looks awfully like the Mont Blanc Geosphere :DThis appeared on Instagram. I can't imagine they'll find many buyers for this at what it must cost.
I can only echo what's been said here - such a dramatic change in direction and not in a good way. Such bad designs - the dial text alone on the Terra Nova models is dreadful. The ablogtowatch article was spot on - it's pretty much the only watch site that gives some independent opinions. That approach is carried over into the podcast too.
I was hoping under the new CEO that we'd see well judged revisions to the existing lines - maybe a smaller diameter MBII for example. Perhaps the brand is in a bad way and desperate measures are needed. You can always find Bremonts (even the latest models) with significant savings at sale time.
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What the hell is that!?!?!
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My thoughts exactly.
Surely that is not real?This appeared on Instagram. I can't imagine they'll find many buyers for this at what it must cost.
It looks so clumsy and unrefined.
The hands; the all CAPITALS in the text around the tourbillon; and on the upper "world" subdial the numbers appear to go anticlockwise?
Bit AliExpress, that.
^ This ^
It looks like hot garbage - a bad copy of a more refined watch, executed (and it should be) in poorly-matched materials.
With a ‘map’ representation of World time they have to. Not sure how others do it TBF.
Last edited by Kingstepper; 13th April 2024 at 06:49.
Confess I hadn't considered that aspect, but I think my response would have been to rethink whether that was a sensible design decision in the first place.
I had the same thought but it was re-posted by Bremont today. Just awful and probably 10s of £thousands. The most recent Collective Horology podcast is worth a listen - harsh but fair critique of the new branding.
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This does make me think I should pick up an original Supermarine. Always liked them when they first came out. And from what I gather, fantastic build quality. I always lusted after a EP120 Spitfire too.
Kozza6.
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Personally I don't feel that these new designs are that bad, they seem a bit generic and bland but at least they are inoffensive. I really don't like the new logo and font though, looks just awful.
“We are not leaving behind the idea of bringing watchmaking back to the UK and we want to still be seen as a British challenger — but the Britishness will be expressed much more through exploration, designs, colours and references to the golden days of British watchmaking.”
Having suffered the roasting over their alleged in-house caliber back in 2014, and finally achieving that goal it will be disappointing to see the brand decommit from their aim to lead the new wave of British horology.
R&D requires significant investment, the current VC owners will be focussed on their exit plan which requires low costs and higher volume of sales.
It makes financial sense to revert to watch assembly using mass market components.
Designing and milling a new case design is easy enough.
Cerrato enjoyed success at Panerai, less so at Montblanc - the jury is out on his first year at Bremont.
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