Bremont's B-1 Marine Clock

SalonQP saw the pre-Basel 2011 launch of Bremont Watch Company's new B-1. The B-1 is Bremont's first in-house produced piece, a marine clock which draws on the memory of John Harrison's marine chronometers from the eighteenth century, while applying the aeronautical cues for which Bremont has become so admired. 

The clock was designed by Bremont's Technical Director, Peter Roberts, who taught both Peter Speake-Marin and Stephen Forsay at Hackney School of Watchmaking. It's a 40-day clock, weather-proofed and approximately a foot across. With date, a second timezone, home port time, a 90-day time-of-trip dial (ideal for tax exiles, according to Giles English) and a power reserve indicator, the clock is not short of complications. The B-1 uses a classic English movement (excuse the pun), with a lever escapement and twin fusee. It's manual winding (of course), operated via a winding arm from behind.

That it was designed and built in house, and in England is nothing short of incredible: Bremont manufacture. 

And did I mention that that it's not bad-looking either? I particularly like the way that Bremont have kept some of their design "DNA" from previous wristwatches. For example, the strong vertical lines on the dial echo the Supermarine 500; the GMT hand has the same arrow head as the Martin-Baker MB1 and MB2 and the rehaut is reminiscent of the internal bezel on the ALT1-P and ALT1-Z watches. 


Bremont will build approximately one a month, and each one is customisable. Retailing at approximately $60k / £40k, it's not for everyone, but shows that British companies aren't afraid to innovate.  More photos, including the launch at Salon QP, can be found here.