My initial take on Bremont's radical reveal at Watches and Wonders 2024
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- Опубликовано: 26 сен 2024
- This video is my initial take on Bremont's radical reveal at Watches and Wonders 2024 in Geneva, from my perspective as a long time Bremont fan and private watch enthusiast.
For more on my first and exclusive visit to the trade show at Watches and Wonders, please see my earlier video: • The Magic of Watches a...
The sad reality for me is that these look like Ali Express watches. What a fall from elegance and grace.
I agree 100%. I find Bremont to have a very generic, unappealing design language.
My reaction was exactly the same. Ali Express through and through.
Not many people shared your opinion for many years and constantly trashed the brand again and again
I am glad they changed the logo because people will be able to distinguish our Bremonts the way people do with old Heuer and Tag.
The old Bremonts will become collectables
Definitely not the same brand anymore. I never owned any watches from the “old” Bremont, but if I did, this would be really disappointing.
This channel did a great job showing off the quality of “old” Bremont, so it’s sad they would make this change. There are plenty of other brands in the price segment they are going after now. Not sure about this move.
Agree. The acid test will of course be how well the watches sell. Unfortunately, the watch market is not in a great place right now, as this article in the FT from Thursday underscores: on.ft.com/4b4qTL3
For all the reasons you mentioned, this is why it’s always best for watch manufacturers to make incremental changes, both to design as well as marketing. If a brand deviates this far and hands over the reigns, it must be either an unmitigated hit or a disaster to some degree. I think we know where this one landed. Anyway, thanks for making another vid. Always great to hear your unique take. 😎👍🏼
Isn't that what Tudor did with the black bay?
I was never a fan of the 'old' Bremont so I'm actually more optimistic about what they will do in the future. Yes there are going to be teething issues at first but so long as there is an overarching plan in place, all we can hope for is better things to come.
I agree. They had to do something. Their choice was disappoint their existing customer base and attract a far larger base of new customers by making watches with more mass appeal or they could keep doing the same old and stagnate. They have some work to do on their designs but I am willing to wait patiently and see if they come up with something better.
If they just reduced the prices on their original bremont designs, they would be very successful. Not now.
This is wonderfully eloquent and thoughtful.
Thank you
The old logo was almost perfect. It was present and visible and yet it didn’t clutter the dial
Love the tone in your voice , so addictive , I can just listen and visualise the story in my head when you talk .
😊 thanks
The rebranding is dreadful lets be honest. I'm a Bremont fan since I discovered the brand 5years ago and own six of their watches including S301 & S500SE Supermarines, both of which that are far more attractive than the generic tat of the new Supermarine range
I have no desire to own any of the new watches.
I too was a bremont fan and acquired my choice pre-davide (s302). Big money came in, took over and forced certain timelines. It doesnt help that Davide existed in a past era and cant compete in today's fast paced rapid prototyping and low cost decent quality manufacturing enabling a literal army of microbrands with extreme variety. We consumers are spoilt for choice.
But all that doesn't take away that bremont's new releases (and all the changes) are simply severely lacking. Perhaps he surrounds himself with Yes men otherwise i don't see how it could have gotten thru.
Commercial success is a fairytale at this point and Bremont would be lucky not to go under.
[RJ fratello: the new logo was a mistake. Too many parameters changed at once]
[Nico leonard: Davide completely ruined bremont and blocked me]
Great video. Very balanced and you noted that in person the watches are good. But I find it curious how whiny some of the Bremont “fans” can be, including the ones who criticized the brand before. For them now the Triptick case is great and the brand identity was strong, even as they used to criticize the brand. Now they miss it? I agree that the PR could have been handled different with more explanations and featuring N and G (videos would do it, not to shift too much the focus from the new stuff). The tourb could also have been released later not to deviate from the lower price strategy. But the level of senseless criticism from people who never owned the brand is silly and unnecessary. Those are the days we live in. Cheers.
Not my brand any longer.
This is a CEO working his way down the ladder of success. PANERAI, Tudor, Montblanc, and now Bremont. What to expect next? Aggressive pricing isn’t the worst idea as the watch market ex Rolex, Cartier, Omega, AP, & Patek seem healthier than most. Several mid tier brands likely don’t survive a hard downturn. Perhaps Davide Cerrato is thinking a smaller scale LONGINES strategy???
Mine was: WTF?
The divers look really cheap. My cousin, who isn´t really a watch guy but went with me to WandW said they look like 100$ watches.
The watches with the odd case shape look horrendous. Vintage chronographs with similar case shapes can be had for next to nothing and that´s with a reason.
I bought an orange MB2 in 2012. I wore it for about a year until my wife borrowed it. I’ve seen it every day since and it looks good on her. Unfortunately I came to view most Bremonts as a bit gimmicky and if they’d made me CEO I would have simplified the range but kept the trip tic 3 piece case design and the old logo which was simple and distinctive. I’m still available if Cerato wants to get in touch.
Very sad and you have confirmed the fears many had since the new CEO came on board. I think it's safe to assume that the brothers will be out soon enough.. The new watches are ghastly and the new logo is a disaster, what a shame.
My guess is that the brothers are already out with the new releases.
Im waiting untill my AD discounts the Supermarine GMT thats been stinking up their window for a year now. The new ones make me much keener on the old ones. 😂
So, remove the features that made a Bremont a Bremont, introduce a completely new clipart jump-the-shark brand identity while taking a few hundred pounds or dollars off the price and what do you have left? A generic watch with a generic identity that remains, with the dumbed down product, too ambitiously priced compared to the opposition. One step forward, 5 back. If this is the new Bremont, I'll be looking elsewhere.
Glad I have six old school Bremonts in my collection.
After the initial shock of the new watches I have slightly mellowed a bit.
Davide has confirmed in other interviews that aviation watches will retain the Trip-tick cases.
I don’t like these new models but if they help Bremont become more profitable then fine. My concern is the watch market isn’t in a great place right now and competition is fierce in this price segment.
I would be interested to know how good the new bracelets are. The old Bremont ones are ok but nothing special and it’s definitely an area that needs improvement.
There’s only so much you can glean from a brief look, so I’m not entirely sure about the bracelets, how they look and feel… however, they do have the ability to make micro adjustments, so that’s a positive ✅
@@watchenthusiastlondon Sounds like an improvement at least in the clasp. I think it is essential for a good bracelet to have a micro adjustment these days.
I liked the old watches. They had a distinctly British design. Prices were a tad high though, considering you can get Rolex and Omega at those prices. My only problem with the old Bremont is they came on a bit too strong with the selling/marketing. There are brands that have made better impressions with less marketing like Christopher Ward.
I, too, would be miffed if one of my favourite brand of watches decided to become mass-market.
Plus ca change...
I was just watching your Piaget video when I saw this one come up and immediately I remembered thinking of you when Bremont released their new designs/ direction. Definitely curious to hear your take now after a few weeks. Maybe its just me but I think Bremont has two issues to solve. One, the triptych (trip-tick🙄) cases were cool but very large and very thick. That sized customers like me out. Number two and more importantly in my opinion, is the brand's identity. Bremont has always focused fay too heavily on being British, British made, designed, parts of British planes, all of it. I'm sure that works in Britain but why would an American like me or someone from another country find any connection with a brand that entirely revolves around its national identity? In the exact same way an RGM might be for you, its not personal. Bremont had to do something and while I agree this is drastic, its a step that had to be taken. I really do hope it works out for them and I hope their watches evolve into something more unique and interesting. Having more watches and brands is always a good thing.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Perhaps it’s a smart commercial move to go after the US market and to ease off the ‘British-ness’ a little. Jimmy Chin is virtually unknown here in the UK, however he appears to have a high profile in the US and perhaps Bremont sales in America will benefit from the new positioning. We will know in due course…
The brothers got ‘Speake-Marin’d
Following your earlier bremont video I took a tour of the factory. 1 - they had no record of my booking and didn't seem bothered, I think I was the only one who paid. 2 - some of the visitors were from the local W.I. they didn't have a clue what they were even looking at. 3 - the visit was little more than an infomercial. I don't have a lot of faith in the brand. Most movements are ETA clones bought in from Switzerland. The GMT watch had a 60 click uni directional bezel. I was left very disappointed. I just couldn't see any best case argument over not just tudor or omega but to be perfectly honest - san martin. The staff were nice, but as an enthusiast I was left very cold. And I got the same early email as you and all I ever bought was a tour. You are not an existing customer as much as an email address on their list. As for the new watches, they look ok, but I am done at this point.
Sad.
Tell me how are now feelings of Bremont buyers who bought a 10k Bremont but now similar models cost 3,5k.
To hear that such a loyal supporter of the brand is questioning whether he remains a customer, says all you need to know about this new initiative.
The Supernova remains one of my favorite releases in recent years. Hard to justify purchasing something in that price range now, knowing that the company aim to have a plethora of cheap generic pieces worn widely in the near term. This will undoubtedly cheapen all aspects of the brand, even something as high quality as the Supernova.
Well… I am wondering whether the opposite happens, instead. Will we not now, forever more covet the limited production of the Bremont watches of old ?
Owned an alt-1P. Visited the stand at watches and wonders. Sorry to say the new direction doesn’t appeal to me.
Yep. And since W&W, I’m finding that I am enjoying wearing my Bremont watches more so now…
The KEY reason Bremont is strategically doing this is completely due to the awfully excessive business spend and financially submarining Bremont. Two brothers spending like crazy for the past 10 years without showing profit. The influx of capital and changing leadership, product and marketing to produce at higher volume at lower price points is their only viable path forward.
Hi, have you checked out Bremonts new tourbillon watch, what do you think?!
Hi - Yes I have. I’m afraid that I don’t get it (nor will I buy it).
For me Bremont is equal to MB2 series. That for me their most original creation.
I nick and Giles are bremont , I fear many customers will move to other brands .
Thanks for posting. For the moment I suppose I'll just stick with Pagani Design until the watch market settles down on what a good watch should cost. 🙋♂
No Triptic case no deal. Simple as that.
Well, I have bought Bremont watches without trip tick cases (eg Broadsword) however I am very fond of the trip tick cases…
Looks like a micro brand. Selling my S301. This company is well and truly cooked.
They remind me of fortis. Which is not what I'd shop bremont for.
Screams fashion brand now. Logical to attract mass markets to make profits, not for enthusiasts
You made me want a Bremont. Having seen their latest offering, it looks cheap and nasty - it’s lost that British look of understated class. No Bremont for me (maybe 2nd hand).
Or maybe one of the heritage collection…
Both the new logo and the new watches are a big disappointment, to me. Neither looks premium and the watch in particular, looks no better than a Boldr at a fraction of the price.
Just wrong, from where I stand
Never owns a bremont, but the new change made me never want to have a bremont.
The new logo and massive brand name on the dials are awful. Same can be said for the designs. We are witnessing the death of a brand that was already struggling.
BE CLEVER , DONT BUY BREMONT ! WHAT A WASTE OF HARD-EARNED MONEY !
The problem is not the new watches, or the logo, or the designs. As a British brand why don’t they explain exactly what is still made in their UK facility. Why didn’t they just make a less decorated version of the ENG300. We don’t even know if they are using a Chinese case and an already assembled selita movement and just putting them together. I’ve owned 2 bremonts in the past and thinking to pick one up used recently just as a momento but I don’t know.
I have been quietly observing since making this video… Bremont has gone from being a brand with a clear engineering and horological vision and significant purpose, as annunciated by the founders, to being a brand without a soul. You make some good points, not least that it’s unclear precisely what is being made in the manufacturing and technology facility (The Wing), nor to what extent that will continue.
I own many “Nick & Giles” Bremont watches and still enjoy wearing them. The new ‘Davide Cerrato’ watches don’t appeal to me.
I shall continue to keep a close eye on what happens next, but that doesn’t stop me feeling as though I’m grieving the loss of a wonderful British brand.
I suspect that what happens next will very much depend on how well the new watches are selling.
Presumably, the ‘jury is still out’ on whether Davide’s strategy is succeeding. If it were a runaway success, we would no doubt see the complete switch of all branding to the ‘Wayfinder logo’ and a closure of the Wing.
If I were Bill Ackman, I too would be hedging my bets.
My take is that Davide Cerrato is killing the brand, i do not support him as the CEO.
Great video. I am curious if/how your feelings have changed now that you have had more time to think about the transition. Also curious how this leaves you feeling about your older Bremonts (asking as a fellow owner). Thanks!
Thanks. My feelings haven’t really changed since making the video. If anything, I increasingly see less of a future with me & Bremont. Sad. However, I am not sure the new brand or watches fit where I am on my personal journey. I still feel a (irrational?) sense of upset, given the changes to the brand. Much of what I loved has been / is being dismantled.
Beyond that, I’m certainly curious to learn the extent to which the newer watches are actually selling. Change always brings about positives & negatives but once the dust has settled, the justification (or otherwise) for the changes will be established.
And if the watches sell like hot cakes, then I’m delighted for the Bremont shareholders - good luck to them - but that still doesn’t make me a ‘new Bremont’ fan.
For what it’s worth, I’m finding that I appreciate my existing Bremont watches ever more so now. Most of my Bremonts are limited edition pieces & the Longitude and Supernova watches that I bought are extra special to me, given the apparent new company direction.
@@watchenthusiastlondon Hey thanks for the thorough and considered reply. I can certainly understand how someone as yourself would be a bit upset having invested quite a bit in the brand and also finding seemingly a bit of alignment with what they stood for.
I am starting to notice "low availability" and out of stock on some of their older models which makes me wonder if these are soon to be discontinued.
For myself, I have an MBII Savanna (out of stock) which I had been on the hunt for quite some time. Now that I have it (and with the change of direction), I find myself hesitant to put to much wear on it... I guess if I would have tracked one down a bit earlier and spent more time with it (before the changes), I would feel different but the timing probably was the biggest miss on my part.
Anyways, I enjoy the conversation and look forward to your future videos!
What an amazing insight into W&W. Thank you for sharing and with regards to you're father's watch I'm so happy for you.
Thank you so much!