British Watchmaking
Renewing the british watchmaking industry
Great Britain has a wonderful history when it comes to watchmaking...
and has probably been the home to more advances in horology than any other nation, there is a reason why the world sets it time by Greenwich Mean Time. Bremont has always been determined to play a pivotal role in the reinvigoration of British watchmaking on these shores. Bremont leads this movement to manufacture beautiful mechanical watches that can compete with any watch manufacture in the world.
The original mission statement when the business was founded;
“To make exquisitely engineered mechanical timepieces on British soil with the lofty objective of reinvigorating the nation’s horological past, using our adventurous spirit, passion for detail, desire to innovate and dedication to the highest quality of customer satisfaction.”
The goal has always been to bring back as much of the process to the UK as possible, our watches are all designed, manufactured and assembled in England. We also have a policy of onshoring as many parts as possible, even our packaging is hand-made in Manchester.
Never judge one of our watches until you have held it in your hand and felt the quality of it, we do not take any short cuts and make the highest specification of watch for its price point and back that quality up with the famous “Tested Beyond Endurance’ motto
Bremont watches
The new home of British watch making
The Bremont Manufacturing & Technology Centre is the next chapter in the brand’s story and the new site paves the way for a new era in British watchmaking
The Wing
BREMONT MANUFACTURING & TECHNOLOGY CENTRE
After bringing over its manufacturing to the UK in 2010 Bremont has been on significant drive to invest in its in-house manufacturing. Located in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, the Bremont Manufacturing & Technology Centre (“The Wing”) launched in 2021 is the next chapter in the brand’s story and the new site paves the way for a new era in British watchmaking with capacity for exponential growth, increased manufacturing capabilities, job creation and skills development.
“The Wing’ is a 35,000 sq ft purpose-built state-of-the-art mechanical watch manufacturing centre enabling the full machining and manufacturing of Bremont’s watches. Sitting on the edge of the beautiful English Oxfordshire town Henley-on-Thames, it was designed by award winning architects Spratley & Partners on a former piggery with strong eco-credentials including a living roof, and recycled air heating system. The site has been transformed into an end-to-end mechanical watch manufacturing centre with CNC machining, finishing and assembly as well as an on-site boutique and significant entertaining space. Just as importantly, the site provides a destination for watch lovers to visit from all over the world.
All watch lovers are invited to come and have a tour around The Wing on an invitation basis, please book your visit here.
BRITISH INNOVATIONS IN WATCH MAKING
It may surprise you to know that watch making is a very British trade. Every major escapement design and around three quarters of related innovations came from these shores. Much is owed to Thomas Tompion (1639-1713), the ‘Father of English Clock-Making’ and the remarkable Thomas Mudge (1715-1794), who invented the lever escapement still used in most watches today. John Harrison (1693-1776), meanwhile, solved the problem of accurately telling the time at sea and by doing so, in calculating longitude as well. They were followed by other illustrious names including John Arnold and more recently, George Daniels.
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1664
Robert Hooke: Balance Spring
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1690
Daniel Quare: Minute Hand
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1755
Thomas Mudge: Lever Escapement
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1765
John Whitehurst: Centre Seconds
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1807
Thomas Young: Chronograph
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1924
John Harwood: Automatic Winding
THE MECHANICAL WATCH
Bremont is built on precise timekeeping. Only the highest quality components are used in our movements. Every core watch bearing the Bremont name is ISO 3159 chronometer-tested, then further subjected to a rigorous quality control programme. The results are all documented in detailed records securely stored at our headquarters.
Every watch in our core collection is accompanied by a performance certificate which confirms that the mechanical movement has passed each of the rigorous precision tests necessary for the ISO 3159 chronometer designation.
Bremont focuses purely on beautifully made mechanical movements. Each one is finished with the highest levels of craftsmanship, whether in a clear-backed case or not and all are guaranteed to within -4 and +6 seconds per day. Bremont offers a 3-year warranty on every timepiece and produces some of the finest quality watches in its price point.
In 2021 Bremont released its own ENG300 movement series marking a significant milestone for both the brand and British watchmaking as a whole. A new manufacturing line for machining base components and T0 assembly has been realised at the Bremont Manufacturing & Technology Centre “The Wing” based in Henley-on-Thames, UK. Bremont has made considerable investment into new machinery, staff and training and the firm’s in-house technical team has re-engineered 80% of the base calibre, including making a number of design improvements, in order to build a proprietary movement to the brand’s unique specification. The ENG300 signals the first time in 50 years that mechanical movements have been built at scale on British shores.
