The Tool Watch You Didn’t Know Existed
History:
Every watch brand in the industry has it’s origin story of how it came to fruition; some sharing a deep rooted history, spanning time since the 18th century and others just more recently developing their presence. Throughout time many brands have come and gone and while some have stayed resilient and established a cult like popularity, others have remained behind the spotlight. The later seems to be true of Bremont watches, a British Watch manufacturer that has been around since 2002. Drawing in design ques from the world of aviation and motorsport, Bremont makes numerous reliable tool watches and various elegant watches that blend their passions together.
Taking it back prior to the inception, the inspiration for Bremont came in March 1995 after Nick was practicing an air display with his father Euan in a 1943 WWII Harvard aircraft. After tragically crashing, Euan was killed and the brother Nick suffered from over 30 broken bones, placing him in critical condition, which he would later make a full recovery from. This tragedy lit a spark in Nick and Giles which led them to the realization that life was too short to be wasted and that they should pursue their passion: crafting beautifully engineered mechanical devices.
A few years later in 2002 the brothers would go on to found Bremont. When conceptualizing the brand and developing a name for the company Nick and Giles came to the realization that it is only right for the company’s name “Bremont” to be based around aviation and inspired by one of their flight experiences. The name “Bremont” was dedicated to a farmer named Antoine Bremont who graciously housed Nick and Giles when they had to emergency land their 1930’s biplane in the farmers field. The brothers felt as though it was fitting to name the company after Antoine, as he embodied so much of what they loved, having half-restored wall clocks everywhere, various engine parts scatter throughout his shop, and for the fact that Antoine still wore his fathers wrist watch.
Since the inception, Bremont has made various timepieces inspired by aviation and automotive both new and old. To engrain the essence of these industries into their brand, Bremont has conducted joint ventures/partnerships with some of the following illustrious companies:
Rolls Royce Aviation
Martin-Baker
Williams Racing
Jaguar
Ben Saunders
Martin Baker Lineup
Unarguably, the most iconic piece in Bremont’s lineup is the Martin Baker series watches. The joint partnership between Martin-Baker, who supplies 70% of the world’s Air Force fighter ejection seats and Bremont has lead to one of the most durable and rigorously tested tool watches ever made. The story goes like this, in 2007 Martin Baker approached Bremont with the thought of creating a watch from the ground up, with the main prerequisite being the watch would have to withstand the same rigorous testing program as the ejection seats themselves. Bremont set out to do exactly that, creating a watch with design elements taken directly from the ejection seats themselves and incorporating it with excessive durability and reliability; just 2 years later in 2009 the Bremont MB watch was born.
The current Martin-Baker lineup consists of the MB I, MB II, and MB III with various customizable options and special edition offerings included throughout the lineups. Starting with the original, the MB I is a unique and bespoke offering and is only available to those that had ejected from a Martin-Baker ejection seat. The MB I has a fair amount of distinctions that separates it from other MB watches, with the most notable being the red colored knurled barrel (only available on the MB I). The equivalent of the bespoke MB I for the general public that is not ejecting from fighter jet seats, is the MB II. The Bremont MB II is fully customizable, has a few limited run special editions, and varies slightly from the MB I in its design details. The last piece in the Martin-Baker lineup is the MB III which differs from the previous two watches, featuring a 24 hour GMT function along with time on center, a date display at 3 O’clock, and the same DNA as the previous two iterations.
Testing:
All three variants in the Bremont Martin Baker lineup are inherently tested to the same rigorous conditions as one another. Bremont and Martin-Baker came to an agreeance when designing the watches that each piece should be able to survive and undergo the same testing that is required by Martin-Bakers ejection seats. These extensive tests include the following:
Live Ejection Testing: Extreme G-Force testing replicating a live ejection event which can reach upwards of 20 g’s
MFOS Crashworthy Test: Multi functional operators seat is used in various helicopters. This test simulates a dynamic frontward crash at over 18 g’s
Extreme Temperature Endurance: Watch is held 1 day at -40 C and then up to 40 C for another day
Vibration Testing: Vibration testing to simulate a 30 year life of an aircraft
Altitude Testing: Tested in a chamber to simulate going to 100,000 feet for 60 minutes before rapidly being brought down.
ACDT Test: Aircraft carrier deck test exposes watches to the salt fog and humidity experience on a 6 month tour. Exposure to salt then drying for 96 hours to test for corrosion resistance
Martin-Baker I:
The Martin-Baker I is a rather bespoke offering from Bremont; the reason for this is that the MB I is only offered to people that have been ejected from a Martin Baker ejection seat. The MB I is not only a restricted offering but it is a slightly different offering in terms of aesthetics. The major differentiating feature on the MB I is the covenant red bezel which is exclusive to the MB I and not offered in the MB II or MB III lineup. Additionally featured is a day/date display at the 3 O’clock location, this is a feature that was synonymous with the first iteration of MBII watches (current iteration of the MB II has a date display only). The MB I also has slightly different details such as yellow outer chapter indices, the coveted fully yellow seconds hand, and a Martin-Baker symbol at the 6 O’clock location. All of these details are distinctive and are what separate the MB I from it’s descendants (MB II & MB III).
Features:
Functions:
Hours, minutes, and seconds on center
Day/Date display at 3 O’clock
Trip-Tick construction
Inner soft iron anti-magnetic faraday cage
Bi-directional inner roto-click bezel operator by 4 O’clock crown
Red barrel exclusive to MB I for Martin-Baker ejectees only
Movement: Modified Calibre 11 1/4” BE-36AE Automatic chronometer
Frequency: 28,800 Vph
Power Reserve: 38 Hours
Water Resistance: 10 ATM (100m)
Case Diameter: 43mm
Case: Hardened Stainless Steel
Crystal: Domed anti-reflective sapphire cyrstal
Martin Baker II:
The Bremont Martin-Baker II was intended to be a similar offering to the MB I but for the mainstream consumer that hadn’t been personally ejected from a pilot seat. Much of the design language you see on the MB I is also prevalent on the MB II such as the knurled barrell, knurled crowns, bi-directional inner rotating bezel, outer 60 second chapter ring, similar hands/indices, insignia stating London, anti-shock, and of course the Bremont logo. What you will not find on this piece is of course the distinct red barrel offered solely on the MB I, the day/date indication at 3 O’clock (date only on current iteration), the MB logo above “Anti-shock”, or the other miniscule details shown on the MB I above. While this is not a direct replica of the MB I, it shares many common components (including the movement), shares the same design language, and undergoes the same rigorous testing as a MB I and the Martin-Baker ejection seat.
Features:
Functions:
Hours, minutes, and seconds on center
Date display at 3 O’clock
Trip-Tick construction
Inner soft iron anti-magnetic faraday cage
Bi-directional inner roto-click bezel operator by 4 O’clock crown
Movement: Modified Calibre 11 1/4” BE-36AE Automatic chronometer
Frequency: 28,800 Vph
Power Reserve: 38 Hours
Water Resistance: 10 ATM (100m)
Case Diameter: 43mm
Case: Hardened Stainless Steel
Crystal: Domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal
For the MB II, Bremont has offered a configurator, allowing a “Nike ID” type customization of this watch. With this the buyer can choose from over 1000 possible combinations; allowing them to make the piece uniquely theirs. The personalization combinations come from the ability to edit the following options:
Case Materials:
Stainless Steel (Silver)
Diamond Like Carbon (Black)
Dial Colors:
Black
Blue
White
Knurled Aluminum Barrel colors:
Jet
Purple
Yellow
Orange
Bronze
Green
Anthracite
Blue
Titanium
Case Back:
Open Display
Closed Case Back
Straps (Stitch):
Black Leather (white, black, orange, blue, green)
Brown Leather (white)
Blue Leather (white)
Grey Leather (white)
Black Rubber
Blue Rubber
Metal Band
Buckle:
SS Pin Buckle
SS Deployment Clasp
Martin Baker III:
The last in the lineup is the Martin-Baker III, a GMT movement that carries the same DNA as the previous two Martin Baker watches. The MB III still has the knurled barrel, knurled crowns, bi-direction inner rotating bezel, similar hands and indices, and similar dial insignia. The difference with this watch is of course the movement which incorporates a GMT function, giving this piece a dedicated 24 hour hand. This dedicated 24 hour hand paired with the inner rotating bezel allows the user the actively keep track of two time zones; one time can be read from the standard hour/minute hands and the other can be read from the 24 hour hand referencing the adjustable 24 hour scale on the outer chapter ring. Aside from this addition the watch is true to the MB lineup sharing much of the design nomenclature and of course the rigorous testing protocol expected of the MB series watches.
Features:
Functions:
Hours, minutes, and seconds on center
Date display at 3 O’clock
24 hour GMT hand on center.
Trip-Tick construction
Inner soft iron anti-magnetic faraday cage
Bi-directional inner roto-click bezel operator by 4 O’clock crown
Movement: Modified Calibre 13 1/4” BE-93-2AE Automatic chronometer
Frequency: 28,800 Vph
Power Reserve: 42 Hours
Water Resistance: 10 ATM (100m)
Case Diameter: 43mm
Case: Hardened Stainless Steel
Crystal: Domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Ratings: Chronometer rated to ISO 3159 standard
The Bremont Martin Baker lineup has been steadily growing from it’s original inception of the MB I. Today the MB lineup is seen as the brands flagship models with thousands of different customization combinations. What do you think is next for the Martin Baker lineup?
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