Bremont Launches New Longitude Limited Edition Collection

The Bremont Limited Edition Longitude watch has arrived after much anticipation and is driven by a proprietary movement – the ENG300, housed inside a steel, rose gold and white gold iteration. The Bremont Longitude watch pays homage to a significant milestone in the history of maritime timekeeping, bearing a piece of original brass on its caseback, extracted from the Flamsteed Meridian Line at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, London.

Keeping track of accurate time whilst navigating the seas is not something to be taken for granted. Especially when you consider the painstaking hours that it took the first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed to chart nearly all 3000 stars on a map using a telescope in 1675.  By doing so, the foundations for timekeeping and navigation were laid and Longitude was discovered. The brass Flamsteed Meridian Line in Greenwich marks the point at which his observations were made and by the eighteenth century, nearly all vessels were using this very innovative charting system. In 1884 it was agreed that the world would adopt Greenwich as the Longitude zero point and the centre of time. Flamsteed’s unwavering devotion to developing this concept is shared with the values of esteemed British watchmakers, Bremont who now releases the Limited Edition Longitude watch in honour of this. The brand has become renowned for meticulously crafting elegant timepieces that bear significant references to important milestones in history, and the Bremont Limited Edition Longitude watch is no exception to this declaration.

Bremont grows and evolves

Today marks something new for Bremont. The Bremont Longitude watch is the first limited edition model designed by Bremont brothers, Nick and Giles English to house an independently manufactured movement at its core. The components of the first Bremont in-house movement were being produced last year. Subsequently, this year saw Bremont move all of its operations together under one roof with the opening of the new headquarters and manufacturing facility in Henley-on-Thames -The Wing. We covered this in more detail here. Taking the leap to create its own mechanical movements has taken the commitment of the entire team and involved the investment of apprentice watchmakers, the growth of its working premises, and the implementation of a full training program supported by the British School of Watchmaking.

The new in-house calibre

Bremont has been talking about a high-end in-house calibre for some time now. The details were kept under wraps as to which watch would house it and how many would be produced. All we knew was that it would be developed under the direction of Stephen McDonnell. The green shoots of British watchmaking are reviving traditional manufacture once more and that can only be made possible by the help of watchmakers like Bremont, who are determined to stand alone whilst setting a precedent for rival aspiring watch manufacturers and passionate collectors alike.

The proprietary Bremont movement inside the new Longitude Limited Edition watch is called the ENG300. “ENG” because it is produced entirely on British soil maybe? Or a reference to the brother’s name? Both perhaps? Anyway, the 22-jewelled movement has been equipped with a full tungsten rotor and a custom balance bridge, paired with a silicon escapement. The silicon escapement, as we know, is not only highly corrosion-resistant but impervious to magnetic attraction. In addition to this, its composition is lightweight. These components come together in the engine ENG300 to echo the architecture of Bremont’s state-of-the-art headquarters at The Wing.

It seemed only a matter of time before the launch of a manufacture movement by the British watchmaker. Bremont experts have dedicated so many years to perfecting their manufacturing facilities - growing and strengthening their “wings” as such. And despite the controversy back in 2014 surrounding the La Joux-Perret, there would be no better time than to launch a movement synonymous with the development of The Wing itself – a location that is both a museum, a viewing platform for fascinated watch enthusiasts, and a place to invent new timekeeping mechanics.

Bremont has chosen to utilize a full balance bridge to support the assembly of the balance wheel. There’s also the implementation of traditional adjustment screws used on the free-sprung balance wheel to consider. These are not only more precise but harken back to historic marine chronometry – another strand that connects the brand to the message behind this special limited edition watch. The automatic winding bridge jewels and wheel bridge are also modified, whilst Original brass from the historic Flamsteed Meridian Line at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, London can be seen forming a ring around the movement through the back of the case.

The new Bremont Limited Edition Longitude watches

There are three case materials available in the new range of Longitude watches from Bremont. The steel, 18ct rose gold and 18ct white gold models all measure a compact 40mm diameter. The steel version is integrated with 100-meter water resistance, whilst the gold versions offer 50-meter water resistance. The cases are all developed using Bremont’s Trip-Tick® construction with a scratch-resistant PVD treated case barrel and feature a screw-down onion crown and a caseback with integrated flat sapphire crystal. The surrounding metal is bolted down with screws in matching material, creating a frame around the sapphire window, which offers a clear view of the brass ring of Meridian line, with Longitude coordinates for the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

The steel Bremont Limited Edition Longitude watch, limited to 150 pieces, presents the time on a black metal dial. The rose gold version, limited to 75 pieces, features an anthracite metal display. The white gold version, also limited to 75 pieces, features a silvery-white metal dial. In all three models, a raised central globe with debossed longitude lines comprises a meridian line running from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock. The chapter ring running around the edge of the dial displays the minutes – the steel version being the only watch that features this ring in a contrasting shade to its central dial.

The applied Roman numeral at 12 o’clock on each dial is polished and joins stick markers around the rest of the hour track that have been treated with Super-LumiNova. A big date feature lives at 3 o’clock, balanced by a small second sub-dial at the ninth hour. In addition to this, the remaining energy of the new ENG3000 Calibre can be read from the 6 o’clock location in a power reserve indicator. At full charge, the colour red indicates the red ball at the top of the Royal Observatory in the Greenwich building. The polished nickel-plated, rose gold or blued steel hands (respectively) are all polished, completing the dial with a high-end finish.

Protecting the surface of the dial is a domed piece of scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass that has been treated with layers of anti-reflective technology. The new Bremont Limited Edition Longitude watches are completed on alligator leather straps. The steel model features a brown alligator band with white contrast stitching. The rose gold iteration features a brown leather strap with cream stitching, evoking a subtle vintage feel. The white gold variation is completed on a black alligator band with white contrast stitching.

For more information on the new Bremont Limited Edition Longitude watches, you can check the range out here, or call our sales team at Jura Watches on 01335 453453 to secure yourself one of the 75 gold versions or one of the 150 available steel versions.