Something perhaps not considered here is vintage models. If prestige and connoisseur do not overlap one could argue that vintage Rolex fits this overlap. Equally the same could be said about more esoteric Rolex models like the milgauss.
I've been writing a script for my own thoughts on Bremont .. a sort of 'review' of the company. It's taken me a while to step back and not react so emotionally to the changes because Bremont took such a hard left turn that it gave us all whiplash. A feeling I think you also seem to share. The 'Nick & Giles' era definitely had it's fair share of misfires but also so many unique and cool watches. As I explained to a friend recently .. their original motto (or even mission statement) was 'Tested beyond endurance'. That is such a fine and strong message ... masculine, sure, and not so much a boast as it was a promise. Then you have the absolute weak-sauce tagline of 'Take it further' .. which just wreaks of feminist corporate b*ll*x .. the kind of tagline that gives you glaucoma from how much it makes your eyes roll. I withheld my judgement on the new pieces until I had a chance to see them. And when I did it was so aggressively underwhelming an encounter as to be more bland then beige. It's not necessarily that the new pieces are bad .. I'm sure they're perfectly fine timepieces. But as you pointed out .. in a luxury brand you're looking for uniqueness, and a design that excites you to wear it. I actually had a long discussion with Chat GPT to get some perspective on the changes of Bremont .. I included a lot of data from what I knew and told it to take into account that I'm looking for an unbiased answer and that my perspective would probably be biased. It produced a lot of interesting comparisons of a technical nature between the old Superamarine S300 and the new 2024 version. In the end ChatGPT agreed that the older pieces were of a more robust design. And I'm using some of these points in my next video on this. I own 6 Bremont pieces .. my favourite being (as I've said many times) my Kingsman edition. That piece appeals on so many levels. The nerd factor of it being a tie-in to a spy thriller movie .. the technical nature of the Alt1-WT being an incredibily feature rich and useful watch .. and the design which stands out because nothing else looks like a Bremont. It starts conversations when people see me wearing it because it's a handsome piece .. but it's also something they've not seen before. And isn't that what we all want? .. Something unique .. something that other people aren't wearing? So when I saw the new 2024 Bremont designs I couldn't believe they were going in this direction .. a derivative case, with an 'old west' style dial and a meagerness that just seems so painfully underwhelming. And the fact that these new pieces are barely seen as wrist shots on insta, or facebook .. and that the sales of them appear to be low speaks volumes about the fact that they're exciting absolultely nobody. Old Bremont seemed like a collection of pirates .. and renegades .. getting together to create something really special. Unfortunately I think Nick and Giles just had too many people whispering advice into their ears and they drifted from the core concept of the Alt1 and the MBII. New Bremont is so very corporate. They've sacked almost all the old staff . sold the CNC machines and laid off a bunch of the watchmakers and expecting the American audience to pick up the sales. The fact the the British isles was MISSING from the backplate of the first run of Terra Nova's is frankly unforgivable. And I know there's a particular anti-british sentiment with the higher-ups at Bremont right now. Bottom line is .. Bremont's heart and soul has left the company. And Davide is doing it no favours. It's my hope that Bremont re-discovers itself .. and loses that stupid new logo (what absolute brainlet thought that was a good idea?!?) and that the company continues. But they're going to have to do much better than the 'Terra Nova'. Bremont had a brilliant design language .. changing that was a huge mistake. Discontinuing the develoepment of the ENG movement is also a huge mistake. Well .. these are all things I am going to talk about in my video. So I thank you for sharing your thoughts as you're a discerning collector and clearly someone who loves the Bremont of yesteryear. On that note .. I just bought myself the Argylle GMT watch .. seeing as no one else has bothered to review it .. I''m intending to be the first :D.
That is truly intriguing, for I tend to wear mine directly upon the bone, though a portion of it was surgically removed in an attempt to repair my arm after a rather unfortunate altercation. Interestingly, this alteration has afforded me the opportunity to position my watches in what I consider to be the ideal spot on my wrist. Wearing it atop the bone offers a remarkable sense of stability, preventing the watch from shifting excessively. Moreover, I find it allows for effortless glances at the time.
Thanks for yet another great instructive video. Your posh accents help pay more attention to what you are saying. I wonder if you ever use any expletives in your life :) I certainly do and not with a posh accent but with a French one. With regards to IWC, I would highly recommend the IW371615 Portugieser Chronograph, there is a French gentleman there that is very good at taking care of his customers.
The state of Bremont makes me sad. Im not sure what the solution is to get them to a profitable state is but going down market rarely seems to work with luxury products, and theres so much competition in the price point they're targeting. I did come close to buying a Fury model recently for a deep discount, but I just dont have any confidence that Bremont will exist long term, unfortunately.
You are an amazing storyteller! Thank you so for sharing your Odysseus story. I was at the ALS Boutique in Berlin earlier this month. The wait-list quoted for this model was 4+ years. On the secondary market, it's going for nearly 1.5-2 times the MSRP. At these prices, it doesn't make sense to pursue one!
I feel the same about the FP Journe Chronometre Bleu, except the difference is that with Lange, you at least get given a timeline, not so with FP Journe 😳
A good case of poor naming confusing matters. I kept forgetting what, "Prestige," meant. Why not name the categories after their differentiating property? Feeling, image, value and ... whatever the he'll prestige is.
I think 'luxury' is entirely based on how much you are willing to spend in contrast to how much you earn. Luxury for me is spending 1K or more on a watch. And love your videos btw!
Nothing premium about those entry level brands. Premium is a superlative. Its meaning in latin is Award, and only the best is awarded, so a superlative. Nothing prestigious about Bremont. Must have been a British thing. These categories make little sense. All Langes fit all, for example. Premium and luxury are mostly interchangeable. Prestigious is probably both those, but also known to a larger crowd. Conaiseur to a smaller, and may not necessarily be luxury or premium, just niche. Funny how some watches are cat both Prestigious and Conaiseur. The RolexDaytona would be the former, only. The Zenith Chronomaster the later, only. The Speedy, both.
The dictionary definition of the words is different from the definitions / categories used in the framework. If you prefer, consider the definition of each category and then rename them. The whole point of sharing these thoughts, is simply because I found that using the framework is a helpful explainer to my buying and wearing habits, and I thought you might find that interesting / helpful for yourself too.
This watch, like all CWs (apart from bel canto) looks cheap. All their watches hold back on metal cos metal costs money, their bezels are all too small with oversized dials, and their dials are not very refined imho.
Bremont; being local, I was all lined up to one to add to the collection. I waited, due to the promise of what was coming at Watches and Wonders. I saw what was announced, and immediately scrubbed that idea. A real shame, and the devaluing of the 'original' models is enough to not even want one of them.
I do enjoy, to a limited extent, Pete’s thoughts on watches and watch collection. But I do think his “over-thinking” actually closes himself off from the less-clinical appreciation of watches. For example, if you let yourself get mentally taken by the role of Tudor as the subordinate of Rolex (something that he’s going to talk about), then you may be missing an opportunity to enjoy a really good watch. People should be more open-minded and curious and allow themselves to try new things. I would have never thought that a BB54 was meant for me, but when I allowed myself to try it, I found how wonderful it is to own, and the joys keep coming as I try it on different straps.
Ah… the BB54. I keep circling around that watch myself but have t ever taken the step. It’s a wonderful timepiece. I’m hesitant because of the “goldy” bits which, sometimes turn me off and at other times don’t seem to bother me. 🤷♂️ congrats on your watch and wear it well.
Great content sir, I was recently in London attending the Time London event. I have a large UK base of viewers, would love to collab and chat watches with you. I do a twice daily livestream, at 11:45 am UK and 11:45 pm UK time. Swing by and talk some watches with me - ARCHIELUXURY
Hello Archie - you did me the courtesy of a watch review before 💥 A truly memorable episode. Happy to chat - will email you offline. Trust you’re keeping well. 🙏
Check out the Blancpain 50 fathoms. 45 mm and 42 mil. Best sports dive watch there is. High end movement wonderful history and they are 10K preowned. On a different level that you can wear every day.
Another outstanding contribution to horological history! For me, it all comes down to how the timepiece makes me feel, the personal vibe I want to create or the mood of the environment I find myself in. For instance, watching your videos is for the Luxury Connoisseur, therefore it requires me to at least rock my Patek 5205R Annual Calendar. Anything less would be well, a premium experience. 😀 btw your collection is obscene...in the best possible way.
As always a thought provoking philosophical episode and the bonus was us getting to see your whole collection. I have to say those older bremonts you have are really marvelous watches and you must feel so let down by what happened to the company, but if so, try to just enjoy your collection of the "OG's as the kids say. Your videos are always special and yes i"ve been a fan of Pete's for years
Slightly embarrassing to admit, but that wasn’t my whole collection. There are others, but what I brought out for the video was sufficient to demonstrate what I was trying to convey… 🤭
I always enjoy your videos, and became very interested in Bremont as a brand through your videos. I loved what they stood for and what they were trying to achieve. However, it is so disappointing to see a brand who had such ambition and whom were firmly placed in the 'connoisseur' catagory to undergo such a dramatic change in direction. I can't help but feel they've lost their identity, the same identity which made them so popular among Watch enthusiasts in the first place. I love the 'old era' Bremont watches, especially the Supernova (and seriously considering purchasing one), however, I wonder, would you still have purchased yours knowing where the brand is now?
I don’t regret any of my purchases. When I bought my Bremont watches, I felt like I was a part of the future the brand was striving to achieve. As you say, that’s all changed now. However, in a way, I treasure my ‘1st Generation Bremont’ ever more so today, given how the company has changed…
I am the owner of thirty watches and your description of how you choose what watch to wear coincides with my experiences. If I am going to a prestige watch event such as WatchTime in the US, I will wear a gold Svend Anderson neo-vintage piece or something along the lines of the connoisseur realm. When I am going to a business meeting, I will pull a luxury piece out of the watch box. When I go to a rough and tumble part of Mexico border town, I will wear a Longines Heritage Military reference, a Hamilton Bronze or a Seiko 1959 Alpinist Re-creation in order to be under the radar. I share your enthusiasm for classic Bremont, although I have never bought a Bremont reference. Bremont was building an excellent customer base among people like yourself who had broadly based collections. I find the direction of the new controlling ownership to be confusing, although my local Richemont dealer (a large seller of Lange references until they went all in-house) who did a large Bremont business tells me that he has grown fond of the new Bremonts. I think this may be political so as to not hurt the feelings of his customers who bought old Bremont from him. It is ironic that Christopher Ward is becoming a brand that is uniformly well received by luxury and connoisseur watch buyers. I never looked at the brand until the Bel Canto came out (which I now own) and I have now seen the entirety of the Christopher Ward line twice in person in the last 4 months Ionce at Wind Up in Chicago and once at a private Red Bar event hosted by Christopher Ward’s U.S. manager who ironically used to be Bremont’s U.S. manager) and I have been quite impressed with certain of their references including the 12s. Bremont’s new downward price direction is confusing to me and it undermines years of accretively building the stature of the brand by making impressive well designed and finished third-party movement powered references with a certain English flair for people who knew watches and usually had reasonably large collections. Bremont promoted exclusivity even though its price point was never more than mid tier. All that seems to have been forsaken and Bremont now seems willing to slog it out in a much more competitive lower price point sector of the market. I don’t see why any one would choose a new Bremont over the more premium new $1800 USD Christopher Ward references, Longine’s references in the low $2,000s USD and certain Sinn, Tutima, Muhle Glashutte and Hanhart references. Loved your William Wood.
Interesting video and correlation. Regarding Bremont, my interest had been building with this brand until recently. I even had the notion to visit their headquarters in-person one day (from the U.S.), but that idea has since died down. I liked what they once stood for, and I do not like what they are now trying to be. I've lost interest, and Bremont would do well to keep in mind that watch enthusiasts have MANY options and can easily find interest in other brands. Also, promoting some guy who likes backpacking in nature does nothing for me and in fact diminishes the brand, in my mind, rather than enhancing it.
Thank you for another excellent upload, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Amazing to see the collection that you have, particularly your father's Vacheron & Piaget watches which are both incredibly beautiful. That said, were I to pick one of your collection that I would love to own, it's got to be the Lange 1. There's just nothing about that watch I would change, it's just perfect or my taste.
I haven't finished watching yet, but I just wanted to say that your videos are a true treat. The smooth tonality and cadence of you voicing your thoughts are mesmerizing. Thank you for that
Great break down video. I have similar wearing habbits although since I have a much smaller collection I'll pick a watch and wear that for a couple of weeks before rotating it out. If a particular event pops up, I may pick one of the others to suit the occasion, whether it's a fancy dinner party or a weekend hike. I try to give equal attention to all my watches but some pop out of the rotation quicker than others.
Its fun to apply his framework case by case and model by model and situation by situation. When It comes to brands and general public, the framework is much more objective. But in different parts of the world these categories mean different things. Every watch above 1000$ is both luxury and possibly prestige in eastern Europe and most third world countries. Rolex wants most their models to be seen as prestige, cuz this is where they make most the most money, but an enthusiast might at some point sell most of his collection and decide to buy a Sub or a Datejust cuz its the most flexible choice and it has the best metal bracelet. And for him this is a connoisseur choice, despite Rolex marketing it on the other side of the spectrum.
Sincerely love all your videos I’ve seen so far. I’m a bit crushed because I discovered Bremont through watching you, and no sooner had I become ready to purchase my first watch from them, did I discover that they had been placed under new leadership. Strange new branding and basically lost my interest. I now find myself hunting original logo Bremont. I know there’s one out there for me but I haven’t squeezed the trigger yet. It’s amazing that the old logo was so awesome and the new logo looks like other watch brands and does not fit on the dial. Please keep up the great work. We enjoy hearing you talk about our shared interests and passion.
wow, i do not like the way any of this turned out including how Lange reacted, and while I was not looking at the Zeitwerk they have some less expensive watches I was considering.
