While I can’t imagine a sweeping partnership between Bremont – Britain’s modern watchmaker with several ties to the British army – and the country’s Ministry of Defence came easily, but here we finally are, with the Armed Forces Collection: a trio of cool new military watches that come with the formal blessing of the MoD. Unlike the many special custom limited editions that Bremont has produced for various military units over the years, these three new watches will be available for civilian purchase as well. Whereas it’s worth mentioning that these are not watches commissioned specifically by MoD for outfitting troops in combat, even still, for collectors of the famed ‘Dirty Dozen’ WWII-era watches, or just general military watch fans, it’s a pretty neat and very rare kind of partnership indeed, marking the first time a luxury watch manufacturer has been allowed to formally use the “signs, symbols and Heraldic Badges” of all three branches of Britain’s armed forces.
Unlike the watches of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ (comprised of general purpose field and aviation watches by Omega, Jaeger LeCoultre, IWC, Longines, and eight others) from over fifty years ago, Bremont’s new MOD watches don’t bear the legendary ‘Broad Arrow’ logo on the dial, but they do come with the formal seal of approval by Her Majesty’s Armed Forces – hence the HMAF just under the brand wordmark at 12:00 –, and their overall design language feels like familiar territory for anyone who’s ever owned a proper military watch once commissioned by the Ministry of Defence. Bremont has simplified the case design for these watches, eschewing the brand’s signature multi-piece Trip Tick case in favor of a sleeker, more traditional two-piece hardened steel case with a stamped screw-down back engraved with the badges of all three branches inside a crosshair motif.
The Bremont Armed Forces collection consists of three classically MoD-inspired watches, each distinctly tailored to the branch after which it is named: the Broadsword (Army) three-hand field watch with a small seconds indicator, the Arrow (Royal Air Force) monopusher pilot’s chronograph, and the Argonaut (Navy) dive watch with its colorful handset and inner rotating dive bezel.
Specifications: Bremont Broadsword
Dimensions: 40mm
Lug Width: 20mm
Case Material: Stainless Steel (hardened)
Water Resistance: 100 meters
Crystal/Lens: Sapphire
Movement: BE-95-2AE (automatic chronometer)
Frequency: 28,800 bph (4Hz)
Power Reserve: 38 hours
Strap/Bracelet: green sailcloth
Price: $3,445
Specifications: Bremont Arrow Chronograph
Dimensions: 42mm
Lug Width: 20mm
Case Material: Stainless Steel (hardened)
Water Resistance: 100 meters
Crystal/Lens: Sapphire
Movement: BE-51AE (automatic chronograph, COSC-certified)
Frequency: 28,800 bph (4Hz)
Power Reserve: 48 hours
Strap/Bracelet: blue sailcloth
Price: $4,745
Specifications: Bremont Argonaut
Dimensions: 42mm
Lug Width: 20mm
Case Material: Stainless Steel (hardened)
Water Resistance: 300 meters
Crystal/Lens: Sapphire
Movement: BE-92AV (automatic chronometer)
Frequency: 28,800 bph (4Hz)
Power Reserve: 42 hours
Strap/Bracelet: rubber
Price: $3,695
Quick Analysis & Summary
As it stands, the early favorite is probably the Broadsword – the simplest, and most classically-inspired of the three (for comparison’s sake, check out the Vertex contemporary re-issue of their vintage ‘Dirty Dozen’ watch right here), though the Arrow marks the first time Bremont has deployed a mono-pusher chronograph into its line, and the end result is nicely executed. The Argonaut is a visually cool concept, but a crown-operated inner rotating dive bezel, to me at least, doesn’t feel like a design element that an actual military unit would actively seek out; let’s not forget that an elite British military unit did formally commission a modern dive watch, but it looked quite different. Nevertheless, I’ll withhold full judgement until I get a feel for it on the wrist. All three watches feel as though they’re priced relatively competitively for what we’ve come to expect from Bremont – especially the Arrow, which comes in just under the brand’s entry-level chronograph ALT1-P watches, whose price starts at around $5,000.
I certainly expect there to be more to this story, so stay tuned, as we’ll be headed to New York City in the coming weeks to get some proper hands-on impressions of these, and the rest of Bremont’s 2019 novelties at the brand’s annual Townhouse event. In the meantime, you can learn more about the Armed Forces Collection at bremont.com.