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Thread: New Arrival, my second Bremont

  1. #1
    Master sweets's Avatar
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    New Arrival, my second Bremont

    I have always been a Bremont advocate here on TZ-UK. Not always a popular thing to be, but perhaps becoming less unpopular.

    It is not because I am a big fan of marketing guff, or in fact of many historically-inspired LEs that contain bits of important stuff. I am neither.

    But I like their designs, being at once traditional, in their round cases, and also innovative. I think the Trip-Tick case is a genius piece of design, giving a complexity and attraction to the case that many other brands cannot match.
    And their watches are very hard wearing.

    I have my Alt-1P, a 2009 watch with very low serial number, and have owned it for over 11 years now. It still looks almost new (a fact noted with satisfaction by Bremont's marketing Director at a recent RedBar Bristol event).
    Plus, I buy most of my watches used.

    And I think Bremont present an excellent option to the used buyer. The residuals for the original owner are not that high, but the quality of the watches offered is very high, so the second hand owner can effectively punch above his/her weight, buying an excellent watch at a very attractive price.

    I remained keen to add another Bremont to my collection.

    So I have recently been trawling through Bremont's back catalogue to see whether there were any hidden gems in there.

    I wanted a dive watch, with an external bezel, as internal ones I find of limited functionality. That ruled out Bremont's most recognisable design, the MB, and its twin brother, the U2.
    I also wanted GMT. I have other dive watches, I wanted one with a difference.

    And I've found one.

    When the first Supermarine 500 models were introduced, I tried a couple on, and although it was a comfortable watch to wear, in terms of diameter and lug length, it felt top heavy, like it was a bit too much heft on the wrist, and the mass seemed to stand too far out above the tapered caseback.
    There is not much one can do about that, and I put aside the idea of owning one.
    Years later, I noted the spec of the Project Possible, which follows on from the Terra Nova, Endurance (and others), all of which address the S500's weight problem by making the case from titanium.

    I tried on a Project Possible at the Bristol Bremont boutique, and it is commendably light and wearable. But I am not a big Bi-metal fan (even if the other metal on the PP is bronze, not gold). The PP is also a bit, ahem, pricey at £5k.

    Plus, the S500 range has all of the anti-mag and shockproof protection technology that the MB range has, making it one tough cookie of a dive watch.
    So I started looking for my perfect S500.
    It had to be titanium.

    I wanted a 0-60 bezel (I may just be me, but I can't abide the pointlessness of compass bezels).

    No bronze.
    The only cadnidate semed to be the Navy Clearance diver would be great, but they really are hen's teeth (100 total), and ferociously expensive a a result.

    So, it seemed Bremont has never made a suitable combination.
    But then I found the Oracle II, part of an America's Cup set of Limited Editions for Oracle Team USA.

    Bremont's associations here were very short lived.

    The America's Cup collection of 4 watches was announced in 2015, with dual endorsement from the America's Cup and Oracle Team USA, but by late 2016 Oracle were already sponsored by Panerai, and Bremont were no longer the timing partner for the Cup itself either.

    I can see that most of these were likely to be sold into the US, as it bears the name of the US team and GB were nowhere in the AC at this stage (other than Ben Ainslie's own personal contribution later in 2017, which was massive).
    But from the front, you would struggle to see that this watch is an America's Cup LE, there are just the 2 words on the lower half of the dial.
    None of these models seemed to crop up on the used market.

    In a Summer 2020 sale I noticed that Mr Porter still had one. New.
    It was reduced, but not enough, I thought, given that it was 5-year-old discontinued stock. They wouldn't engage with any haggling on my part, and it disappeared with other sale stock at the end of the sale.
    Only to re-appear 6 months later in Mr Porter's New Year's Sale.
    I asked again. No haggling. I gave up.

    It became an occasional search, one that I did "just in case" every now and again on Chrono24, maybe on WatchRecon too.
    This kind of search rarely produces anything. You are most likely to spot the pefect watch, two weeks after it was listed, and a week after it had been sold and sent to its new owner. I have had this frustration a few times.

    But a couple of weeks back, whaddya know, one popped up at a dealer in London. What's more, it was priced below what I had offered to Mr Porter.

    I rang and enquired, tickled to be told that it had been bought from Mr Porter in Jan 2021. It actually was the exact same watch I had been haggling for.

    What's more, the dealer had taken it in trade, and allowed a substantially lower sum against it than it was listed for. They were willing to pass it on quickly, almost at cost, because they mostly do Rolex, they had made money on the other half of the trade, and they have found Bremont to be "a little sticky".

    The only problem was that after buying my Tudor FXD, the watch fund was non-existant. I had to complete the sale of my Hanhart LE, which had been listed, without many nibbles, for a few weeks.
    Maybe it wasn't to be.

    But literally the next day, a buyer approached me for the Hanhart on Chrono24, and the deal was done. The funds replenished, I rang the dealer.
    It was on hold for someone else.
    But, he said, he had tried to contact the potential buyer by phone and email a few times, to no avail, so he was ready to sell it to me.
    It arrived at the end of last week, and I am delighted with it.
    It even came with a copy of the receipt from the Mr Porter sale, it seemed that the original owner hadn't managed to haggle anything off it either.
    The slightly anachronistic Bremont Oracle II, a 2015 Limited Edition with more than half of its 3 year warranty yet to run.....





















  2. #2
    Master earlofsodbury's Avatar
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    Lovely watch. I've got a lot of time for Bremont - one mis-step years ago does not define any company. I'd tend to agree the S500 is the pick of their range, love it, and would love to own one, one day. Enjoy

  3. #3
    Master
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    I really like Bremont having done the factory tour. Would like an S302 at some point.

  4. #4
    Grand Master
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    Nice post. Thanks for taking the time to share. Lovely watch too
    RIAC

  5. #5
    Grand Master MartynJC (UK)'s Avatar
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    A long chase and well done with the perseverance. Well deserved prize.
    “ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG

  6. #6
    Master
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    Nice watch, they are a very underrated diver. This is a vid somewhere pressure testing the case showing that’s it can withstand a lot more than quoted.

  7. #7
    Master helidoc's Avatar
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    New Arrival, my second Bremont

    Well done on a successful chase. I think Bremont make great stuff, and if my collection wasn’t so hopelessly out of control, I would add one too.

    Their case work is great. I remember doing a head to head assessment of an Alt1 chronograph against and IWC Pilot Chrono, and felt the Bremont’s case work was another league, much more interesting by quite some margin.

    Enjoy it

    Dave


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Last edited by helidoc; 15th May 2022 at 22:56.

  8. #8
    That is rather nice.
    Excellent hunt too - kudos for sticking with it.

    Let me know when you flip it… :)


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  9. #9
    Grand Master Sinnlover's Avatar
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    That’s a great watch after a dedicated chase
    Bremont get a some stick but the watches I have played with were excellent quality with some nice touches, the S500 is the pick of the bunch.

  10. #10
    Very nice
    Andy

    Wanted - Damasko DC57

  11. #11
    Master
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    Super watch, makes a Rolex sub look boring, (please don't be offended, just MY personal opinion) and a great story behind the acquisition. It's lovely to see a British company competing so well in the swiss stranglegold of 'quality' watches.
    I'm sure you will still have the piece in many years to come like your Alt-1P.
    Here's mine...
    Last edited by Nealywheelie; 15th May 2022 at 21:25.

  12. #12
    Master
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    Nice write up Dave, and nice watch (although being a kiwi I don’t think I could bring myself to wear it!) I to think the S500 is the pick of the Bremont bunch, so much so that I have 2 of them! My original black bezel on black dial has been with me for over 10 years now, brought new in a Xmas sale, and is still looking great and working perfectly. It’s been around the world with me, from Thai beaches to the French alps. It’s recently been joined by the Bamford LE.
    hope you get as much enjoyment from yours as I do mine. Look forward to seeing it at a Redbsr soon.

  13. #13
    Craftsman
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    Great review Dave. Perfect choice for a trip to The Wing..

    Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

  14. #14
    Master jukeboxs's Avatar
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    A Bremont that actually looks nice - I like the flash of colour. Nice catch, congrats.

  15. #15
    Craftsman
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    Well done for your perseverance and thanks for sharing the story. An interesting and great looking watch as well. Love titanium.

  16. #16
    Master gunner's Avatar
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    Nice. Wasn't a fan of the early marketing but that's nice.

    Quite taken with recent offerings too, particularly the Argonaut and Broadsword.


    Last edited by gunner; 16th May 2022 at 09:36.

  17. #17
    Craftsman AmosMoses's Avatar
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    Love the yellow and red hands, they really pop against the black dial.

  18. #18
    Master sweets's Avatar
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    Thanks for the comments gents, I stll have it on, it will get its first soaking tomorrow too, in N Devon. I am not sure whether it is the Farraday cage, or the shock protection, but this is the quietest mechanical watch I have ever owned. I struggle to hear it.

  19. #19
    Master Thewatchbloke's Avatar
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    That particular watch was meant to be yours Dave from the sound of things. I didn't realise they had produced an America's Cup version but I have always admired the Supermarine 500 series, much as I've always liked the MB series (I have an MBII orange barrel). Enjoy!

  20. #20
    Master j111dja's Avatar
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    That's a cracking Bremont.

    We all know about the movement scandal and all the positive and negative feedback on the company ( including their pricing philosophy), but you know what, they make great looking, well built watches. This is a perfect example.

  21. #21
    Craftsman jimmbob's Avatar
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    Lovely stuff, great write up. It's a dangerous thing to admit being a Bremont fan on these forums. You'd probably face less hostility if you told a Scouser you voted Conservative. Congrats.
    I'm wearing mine today on it's new strap which I got from the Strap Tailor. Highly recommended BTW.




    Last edited by jimmbob; 16th May 2022 at 16:14.

  22. #22
    Looks like a good purchase. Great post btw.

    Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

  23. #23
    Grand Master dkpw's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jukeboxs View Post
    A Bremont that actually looks nice - I like the flash of colour. Nice catch, congrats.
    I agree, it does look very good indeed. I regularly poo-poo Bremont, more for the marketing guff than the watches. This one is probably the best one that I've seen.

    It's a shame the AD didn't accede to your requests but you ended up with it and for a better price. Very nice indeed!

  24. #24
    Master geordie's Avatar
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    Great story, nice to see your efforts rewarded and a very attractive watch that I wasn't aware of too

  25. #25
    [IMG][/IMG]

    Nice, mine says hi:-)

  26. #26
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timk View Post
    [IMG][/IMG]

    Nice, mine says hi:-)
    That looks very cool. I have the "standard issue" of that model, albeit an early "Swiss made" one. For me, the best looking watch Bremont have ever made.


  27. #27
    Thanks :-)
    Yours looks in much better nick than mine.
    It was a special they made (350) for the Royal Marines 350th Anniversary in 2014.




  28. #28
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by sweets View Post
    [FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=arial]
    The only cadnidate semed to be the Navy Clearance diver would be great, but they really are hen's teeth (100 total), and ferociously expensive a a result.

    Watchfinder have one at £3,865, not sure if that's a good price...

  29. #29
    Craftsman theancientmariner's Avatar
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    Very nice and I love the Nato strap with it.

  30. #30
    Journeyman jsong6688's Avatar
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    That's a very nice watch right there. Would love to try one on at a dealer


    Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app

  31. #31
    Congrats on the purchase!

    I completely agree with your assessment of the original S500 (and to some extent, the even larger S2000) - my first-off-the-production-line S500 was a large, wobbly, blue mess on my wrist topside. But wear it over 3-5mm of neoprene, and suddenly the curved rubber strap and caseback sat down perfectly. It's almost as if it had been designed for use underwater.

    M

  32. #32
    Master sweets's Avatar
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    As a conclusion ot this thread, I would like to just say thank you very much to Allison from Bremont's Customer service.
    I realised very quickly that this watch had been packaged (at Mr Porter) with the Oracle I Technical Notes, not the correct ones for the Oracle II.
    As the Oracle I was a 3 hander, and this is a 4, there is a difference in the notes, and I wanted the right ones.
    She was kind enough to find me a set of the correct notes and send them out to me.
    She also hunted down the original COSC certificate (which was neither in the package, nor had been received by the original owner).
    I got that today, bundled with a small token.
    Neither were charged for, and Bremont's attitude to looking after their customers is to be applauded.
    Well done them
    D

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