http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/an-open-letter-from-roger-smithWhat was the fault with it out of interest? I do like Bremont watchesDon't see them around often (if ever) but when I do they are appreciated quite a lot
What watch do you wear?
- Thread starter Doran
- Start date
Man of Honour
What has this got to do with his Bremont that went for repair?
I think he's saying (sarcastically) the fault is it's not really a British watch and it's branding is fooling you into buying into heritage but it's really a movement that been brought in. No problem when you're paying £300 odd for a Christopher Ward with an ETA movement but when you're spending £0000's it's a different matter.
Man of Honour
The whole debate in there was related to that watch they made a rather massive goof up on making a claim that had no authenticity to it. Yeah they should be grilled for that and they certainly have but as others have said, Bremont are probably one of the very few who could be "all British" if they took onboard Smith's words and started getting the wheels (cogs? 
) in motion.
The watches are certainly built to a high standard, they just goofed up on this occasion with the claim.
If anyone here wins the Euromillions they should definitely start puling Brits on-board and getting something 100% British in the works that can be mass produced and not limited to exclusivity and ultimately the price that comes with it.
) in motion.The watches are certainly built to a high standard, they just goofed up on this occasion with the claim.
If anyone here wins the Euromillions they should definitely start puling Brits on-board and getting something 100% British in the works that can be mass produced and not limited to exclusivity and ultimately the price that comes with it.
Caporegime
100% British made mass produced watch? No one is going to buy that. You pick a Swiss over one of those with no history in a heart beat surely. Isn't it why everyone get a Swiss, for its history?
Man of Honour
Did you skip a beat completely or something? Sod heritage for the moment, it means nothing in the grand scheme of things, look at Nomos as a good example of what is possible if the company focuses solely on their own watches and movements without resorting to PR and "history".
We can do it as can the Americans but it's cheaper and easier to source high quality parts from Japan or the Swiss. And this is Smith's whole point, it's easy but it shouldn't be, it's meant to be difficult and ends up being the most rewarding.
We can do it as can the Americans but it's cheaper and easier to source high quality parts from Japan or the Swiss. And this is Smith's whole point, it's easy but it shouldn't be, it's meant to be difficult and ends up being the most rewarding.
Last edited:
Caporegime
Forget history? What? 120 pages of people beating about the whole history thing and now it's dropped? Even for a second, I wouldn't buy it, not even as an idea.
Once it's mass produce you lose exclusivity, so you can't command high price, unless you make it limited but if it's mass factory made then you are faced with the Seiko and Casio, brand that people know.
Cheap automatic watches British made, sorry, it defeat every argument the previous 9500 posts about why Swiss watches are great. Why Heritage is great, even you got a kick out of finding out your tudor's origin.
Once it's mass produce you lose exclusivity, so you can't command high price, unless you make it limited but if it's mass factory made then you are faced with the Seiko and Casio, brand that people know.
Cheap automatic watches British made, sorry, it defeat every argument the previous 9500 posts about why Swiss watches are great. Why Heritage is great, even you got a kick out of finding out your tudor's origin.
Rolex make several hundred thousand watches each year, would you consider that to be mass production?
Seiko movements are made "in house", usually a marker for an exclusive brand.
Aye,
Caporegime
Rolex command it's high price partly due to its reliance to its history.
And I say mass produced, it's not to the scale of the £10 Casio is it? And that there is no doubt some text somewhere on their PR from Rolex about the watch is assembled by hand or something.
Seiko do have their in house movement, and they do make expensive automatic and they do have their share of "fans" but look at this threads, I don't think I've seen anyone bought a £5k Seiko.
People still think the Swiss make the best Automatic watches, it's like people say Americans make the best guitars (how else Gibson raise 30% on a guitar that is already £2k+ to begin with and it's not better built or finish than a £500 PRS that's made in Korea). Location or original and history is everything to a lot of people.
Who exactly are your target audience anyway, clearly it isn't the affluent who buy a Rolex, or are you looking for a slice of pie of those buy don't care for brand and wear whatever that looks good, those that buy DKNY Quartz, or those who wears G-shock, who is the target audience that don't care for history to buy something not exclusive, cheap and don't care for brand. What kind of statement are you putting out as a watch maker if that's your target audience?
Associate
- Joined
- 10 Mar 2005
- Posts
- 1,766
Already read Roger Smith's rambling 'open letter'. I'm sure it was targeted mainly at Bremont - not sure why he didn't have the bottle to name them. It's easy to have such an opinionated attitude to British watchmaking when you're selling watches in single-figure volumes typically at £100K plus....
Bremont got the 'Movement made in England' thing wrong - no question. My Schofield is designed in Britain, has a Swiss movement but overall most of the watch is made in Germany (beautifully I might add) - therefore the dial says 'Made in Germany'.
In the case of my MBII I'm quite happy that it has an ETA movement - it's been accurate and fault-free so far. I'd rather buy that than something with an entirely new British made but unproven movement.
I've certainly lost some of my interest in Bremont. I think they've done an amazing job to get to where they are in such a short time. However, in my opinion they are a company that are trying to run before they can walk. They have too many models, too many 'limited editions', too many questionable marketing tie-ins (Chivas Regal?). Their presence at SalonQP this year was pretty lackluster. More worrying is that they appear to be overstretching themselves in terms of production and service - there have been a number of occurrences recently of new watches being delivered with defects and also some service related slip-ups. Speaking of service....
My repair - it was a problem with the AR coating on the crystal. A small area (about 2mm across) had rubbed off the surface of the crystal (Bremont crystals are typically AR coated on both sides). This seems to be a real Achilles heel that lets down an otherwise superbly built watch.
The only resolution for this problem is replacement of the crystal. This was not covered by warranty and cost me £245 - which is more than most brands charge.
Communication regarding progress on the repair was pretty much non-existent either from Bremont or their local AD. Took about six weeks in the end, which isn't too bad - however I have read several accounts of watches being repaired and returned to owners in the US within a fortnight.
It does appear to me that Bremont are really trying to make a push into the US and other overseas markets which I think is diverting their attention and stretching their limits as a company.
Bremont got the 'Movement made in England' thing wrong - no question. My Schofield is designed in Britain, has a Swiss movement but overall most of the watch is made in Germany (beautifully I might add) - therefore the dial says 'Made in Germany'.
In the case of my MBII I'm quite happy that it has an ETA movement - it's been accurate and fault-free so far. I'd rather buy that than something with an entirely new British made but unproven movement.
I've certainly lost some of my interest in Bremont. I think they've done an amazing job to get to where they are in such a short time. However, in my opinion they are a company that are trying to run before they can walk. They have too many models, too many 'limited editions', too many questionable marketing tie-ins (Chivas Regal?). Their presence at SalonQP this year was pretty lackluster. More worrying is that they appear to be overstretching themselves in terms of production and service - there have been a number of occurrences recently of new watches being delivered with defects and also some service related slip-ups. Speaking of service....
My repair - it was a problem with the AR coating on the crystal. A small area (about 2mm across) had rubbed off the surface of the crystal (Bremont crystals are typically AR coated on both sides). This seems to be a real Achilles heel that lets down an otherwise superbly built watch.
The only resolution for this problem is replacement of the crystal. This was not covered by warranty and cost me £245 - which is more than most brands charge.
Communication regarding progress on the repair was pretty much non-existent either from Bremont or their local AD. Took about six weeks in the end, which isn't too bad - however I have read several accounts of watches being repaired and returned to owners in the US within a fortnight.
It does appear to me that Bremont are really trying to make a push into the US and other overseas markets which I think is diverting their attention and stretching their limits as a company.
Man of Honour
ITT: Some folks miss the point completely (not Geezer ).
).
Very nice. I posted a few pages back but got no comments on it, a work colleague has just ordered an MBI as his father is eligible to purchase due to ejecting from an MB ejector seat in 1980. That sort of exclusivity is very very cool in my eyes...
Man of Honour
It was, but it resulted in heat in the kitchen it seems 
Sold for £13.4m
Associate
- Joined
- 10 Mar 2005
- Posts
- 1,766
Agreed. It's a pity some of the 'limited availability' watches have been getting out onto the second-hand market (particularly the RN Clearance Diver Supermarines).
Never seen an MBI being sold-on yet - Ben Shepherd off GMTV is the only 'non-ejectee' to have one that I know of. He got his via his mate who banged out from a Tornado along with a passenger who was sitting in the navigator's seat. The passenger didn't want the watch so let Ben have it. I think the Bremont boys were surprised to see him wearing it on TV. They let him keep it once they heard the story though....