You wouldn’t expect Henley-on-Thames to be a challenger to the great valleys of the Swiss Jura when it comes to watchmaking, but if Bremont has its way, it will at least be a contender. Set up by brothers Nick and Giles English, the British watch company shares its Oxfordshire headquarters with a facility for assembling and finishing its suave luxury timepieces.
“We’re training up apprentices,” says Giles English. “We have a very powerful history of watchmaking in the UK, and we want to celebrate that and change the notion that something has to be Swiss-made.” He’s not alone. A small vanguard of independent UK brands, including Meridian, Robert Loomes, Schofield and IWI, has appeared in recent years. So while there’s still strong reliance on Swiss technology within the market, Bremont is the trailblazer for an authentic watch industry back home in Blighty.
Choose a beautifully simple ALT1-C Chronograph (from £4,145), manufactured, in the brand’s words, “to look as good on a wrist in 30 years’ time as it did the day it was first designed.”
