ALT1-C Rose

The Bremont Rose is released to commemorate Bremont becoming Official Timekeeper to the England Rugby Team and the Twickenham Stadium.

What I love about Bremont’s Limited Edition or commemorative timepieces as that they are discrete from the dial perspective.  With these exceptional special pieces from this English manufacturer it is always a wonderful discovery flipping the watch over to reveal subtle points of interest. The colour combination of The Rose is unique within the catalogue and will always be associated with this particular watch. It has been carefully chosen to offer a tribute to its inspiration: the colours of the George Flag and, therefore, the England Rugby team kit. This colourway is carried over to the light blue Nubuck strap.

The white-on-white rose emblem within the subdials has to be searched for. Another subtle and clever addition is the use of ENGLAND at the base of the dial, instead of the usual LONDON.

The true collector’s additions, of the  English rose and the “Swing Low” of the English Rugby anthem, are on the caseback. This creates a beautiful timepiece to behold without any distracting logos, images or scripts on the dial.

Unlike other similar sport tie-ins, you have to believe that, hypothetically, the ALT1-C could easily survive a game of Rugby on the wrist of a Prop Forward with its Chronometer rated accuracy intact. This is yet another well thought out special edition from Bremont where it is obvious that the subject matter is a genuine passion of the English brothers. I just feel sorry for the ardent fans of other Rugby playing nations because they are missing out on a gorgeous timepiece.

The Bremont Rose comes in a unique blue leather wallet with blue and red stitching and an embossed rose. It will retail for £4995. Also available of a steel bracelet at £5395.

 

Project Possible Limited Edition

Bremont’s catalogue increases each year but never seems bloated because of this. You get the impression that the upgrades to the catalogue are pre-empted in a fashion similar to Microsoft in their hey day. However, the Project Possible Limited Edition, based on Bremont’s popular Supermarine S500, has been created to commemorate the most incredible human feat that concluded just 5 months ago. 

Nims Purba MBE is now an all-time legend in mountaineering and will be remembered for as long, and with as much admiration, as George Mallory and Sir Edmund Hilary. The concept of his extraordinary undertaking was to summit every single one of the world’s tallest mountains in less than 8 months. Each one of these mountains is over 8000m where the summit is in the “death zone”, so called because human life cannot exist there. The previous record for a single human being to achieve this was 7 years, 11 months and 14 days! Nims reached the very top of the final mountain, Shishpangma, just 6 months and 6 days after the first summit in Project Possible. He achieved this incredible mountaineering record with the help of a rotating group of climbers, all of them Nepalese.

Nims’ extraordinary diary reads thus:

April 23^rd, summited Annapurna
12^th May, summited Dhauagiri
15^th May, summited Kanchenjunga
22^nd May, summited Everest
22^nd May, also summited Lhotse
24^th May, summited Makalu
3^rd July, summited Nanga Parbat
15^th July, summited Gasherbrum I
18^th July, summited Gasherbrum II
24^th July, summited K2
26^th July, summited Board Peak
23^rd September, summited Cho Oyu
27^th September, summited Manaslu
29^th October, summited Shishapangma

In the process of this unprecedented accomplishment Nims also broke 6 other world records:

• The most 8000m mountains summited in the spring season: Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Kanchenjunga, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu)
• The most mountains summited in the summer season: K2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II and Broad Peak. This also meant that Nims Purba was the first person to summit all 8000m peaks of Pakistan in one season.
• The fastest summit of the three highest mountains in the world.
• The fastest summit of the five highest mountains in the world.
• The fastest summit of the lowest 8000m mountains in the world: (Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II and Broad Peak)
• The fastest summit of the higher 8000m mountains with consecutive summits of Everest, Lhotse and Makalu in 48 hours.

After completion Nims said “I believed in this project and made sure to surround myself with the people who believed in it too. This was never just about me, which is the reason I’ve been able to overcome some huge obstacles on this journey. By achieving this goal I knew I could inspire people from all generations across the world. I hope to have shown that anything is possible when you set your mind to it.”

Just as important to our particular anecdote is that Nick and Giles English saw the potential and importance of what Purba was trying to accomplish and sponsored Project Possible from the very start. In fact, you could follow Nims’ progress on the Bremont website. The English brothers also had the foresight to place a standard, over-the-counter S300 on the wrist on Nims. As you read the catalogue of super human skill, bravery and stamina above consider that this S300 was with him every arduous step of the way. 

After the final mountain was summited, Nick English, Bremont co-founder, said “We’re incredibly proud to have been involved with Project Possible since the beginning. Nims is a total inspiration and it goes without saying that what he has achieved is utterly remarkable. Never has a mechanical watch been so well travelled in such a short period of time. Our watches have a history of being tested to their limits in extreme environments, and this is absolutely testament to their durability and reliability.”

The Project Possible Limited Edition is based on Bremont’s popular S500 divers watch and offers something new to their line-up by adding a bronze bezel over an all titanium case. The S500 has been enhanced by the addition of a pertinent GMT function. Other than this the S500 differs very little from the S300 that Nims Purba wore during Project Possible with Bremont’s proprietary Trip-Tick® case plus antimagnetic, shock resistant, deep water resistant and chronometer rated attributes.

Only 300 pieces of the Project Possible Limited Edition will be produced. It comes on a 22mm Khaki Vintage side stitch strap and will retail for £4995.

ALT1-C Griffon

The brief history of Bremont is often told because it is of interest, not just to the purchaser of one of their timepieces but also, to anybody who is inspired by successful ventures that are fuelled by passion and delivered with humility. It is the English way (sorry, it was always unavoidable). The story of the exploits of these driven brothers is counterbalanced with sadness due to the loss of their Father whilst doing what he loved most, flying. However, this adds further character and personality to the two inspirational founders. 

The ALT1C Griffon is a discrete homage to their father and the Spitfire that he helped to restore and operate. This piece of British history is now owned by Rolls Royce. The Griffon was the most powerful of the Rolls Royce engines that was used to power this legend of the skies.

The ALT1-C Griffon is based on the first model that Giles and Nick ever designed. This very same watch can be witnessed as a prototype during initial extreme, real-life testing by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Borman (brand ambassador) during their “Long Way Down” motorcycle adventure in 2007, the very same year the Bremont dream started to come to fruition. Needless to say, the watches performed faultlessly.

The symmetrical monochromatic dial, with rhodium plated hands, offers incredible legibility due to its “military instrument” design that the brothers originally aspired to. The Griffon comes with Bremont’s unique Trip-Tick®case in the brand’s hardened steel (six times harder than standard steel used within the industry). The diameter is a comfortable 43mm and has 100m water resistance. It comes on a wonderfully tactile 22mm vintage leather strap. The movement is, of course, Chronometer rated to ISO 3159 standards, as are all Bremont watches.

The Griffon is a beautiful looking timepiece with a poignant backstory. This is, effectively, where it all began.

ALT1-P2 Jet

On the face of it (pardon the pun) the ALT1-P Jet seems to follow the usual trick employed by watch brands this time of year by adding a new dial colour, case material or both to an existing model. However, this is not the case (pardon the pun again) with this new release because the original U-2/51 Jet was released as an homage to the stealth fighters employed by air forced around the world, for which Bremont have a strong relationship.

 with and it’s follow up, the ALT1-P2 Jet will be tested by aviation pioneers Gravity Industries. These daredevils recently smashed the speed record, previously at 32mph, for a jet powered person (yes, there really is such a thing) by flying through the air over Brighton beach at 85mph!

Upon its release a couple of years ago the U2/51 Jet was assisted in being one of the most desirable releases from Bremont as it was chosen by friend of the brand, Tom Hardy, as he took to the screen in the lead role of his new Superhero film Venom. Tom will be wearing the ALT1-P2 Jet in the sequel.

Regardless of this inadvertent popularity boost, the U2/51 Jet and Alt1-P Jet are both stunning looking timepieces. The famous Bremont Trip-Tick® case wears a full DLC coat remarkably well and distinguishes the ALT1-P2 Jet from other vintage wannabees on the market. The vintage patina inspired ‘51’ lume, originally created for the P51 Limited Edition, shouldn’t work with the contemporary stealth aesthetics of the case but it really does. Unlike other brands, Bremont acknowledges that this type of faux patina lume is left wanting with regards to brightness and longevity compared to standard Superluminova®. This is why Bremont apply up to 20 coats of the ‘51’ lume. The subtle red details on the lollipop chronograph seconds hand and sword running seconds hand add a welcome touch of colour.

The modified Chronometer tested movement is visible behind a smoked sapphire glass. The water resistance of the 43mm case is 100m.

Order your ALT1-P2 before Tom Hardy wears his on the big screen, because after that you can be assured that there will be a lengthy waiting list, just like there was for the U2/51 Jet upon the release of Venom.

The ALT1-P2 Jet will retail for £4195 on a black leather strap and £4595 on a DLC coated bracelet. 

 

All words by Richard Atkins. All images sourced from Bremont, unless otherwise stated. This article may not be reproduced in part or in whole without the permission of the author.