Any time any brand stops iterating and starts creating, it’s exciting. We live in a (watch) world of incremental changes, with established brands opting for small tweaks like a new dial color or a moved date window over introducing wholly new models. One the one hand, it costs quite a bit more to develop and launch a new watch than it does to make a small change to an old one. On the other hand, small changes don’t make a new watch, however much brands would like you to think so. This year, Swedish brand Bravur is introducing an entirely new line of watches, the Bravur Team Heritage collection.
Since releasing the first iteration of its Grand Tour chronographs in 2021, Bravur has ingrained cycling into its designs. (In the intervening years, the Grand Tour has evolved into a second and third generation.) While it still offers pared-down models oozing with Scandinavian charm, the cycling spirit that the Grand Tour captured also drives the new Team Heritage line. The new 38mm cases are a bit more angular than we’re used to seeing from the brand, but upon closer inspection, take the blocky aesthetic we’ve seen from brands like RZE and Boldr and softens it a bit. To wit, the midcase has no hard angles, which will likely create a draping effect on the wrist. The case is finished with a soft satin finish, with polished chamfers and a brushed top to the fixed bezel. One standout from this first glance is the way the tops of the lugs are rounded, creating a fluid rather than abrupt transition with the rest of the case.
The Team Heritage models are available in black PVD, with an entirely matte finish, or stainless steel, though the purple-dialed MER variant is only available in steel. gets a sapphire crystal and 100m water resistance. The 18mm accommodates the buyer’s choice of a fitted FKM rubber strap or a perforated racing-style leather strap, both of which are quick-release. While the case appears well-designed for the wrist, with lugs that seem to dip below the plane of the caseback, I’d still opt for the color-coordinated rubber, for both comfort and style.
The Bravur Team Heritage watches come in three dials, all celebrating a historic cycling team and using the three-letter designation set by the sport’s governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale. Common amongst the dials is a split bushed/polished handset with Super-LumiNova fill and a seconds hand with a coordinated seconds hand (full color on the purple MER dial, black with accent fill on the counterbalance on the other two). In a nod to the cycling spirit of the brand and these watches, each dial has a cycling cap design at 6 o’clock. The similarities stop there, though, and I think the collection has a dial for everyone.
The REN dial (for Renault) features a sandwich design in a spoke-like pattern with black and white stripes through a yellow background, with a numerated minute track around the dial’s edge. The PEU dial (for Peugeot) has an embossed checkerboard center and raised square hour markers framed in a green outline (A nod to the BP logo that was on the team’s jerseys); at 12 o’clock, the marker echoes the checkerboard pattern in the center. Finally, the showstopper (though not my favorite, which goes to the PEU): The MER dial, which pays tribute to the Mercier team. This bold purple dial has a raised yellow chapter ring, a heavily frosted center with a brushed ring, and applied molded Super-LumiNova indices. The MER is the only option with lumed indices, as the others only have lumed hands.
The Team Heritage line is powered by a Swiss automatic Sellita SW200. The brand has used Sellita movements for almost all of its mechanical timepieces, so this is no surprise. The SW200 runs at 28,800 vph and has a power reserve of 41 hours. The caseback is decorated with raised text and a cycling cap design not specific to any of the teams.
The Team Hertiage lines adds the sportiest case yet to the Bravur stable. Once again, the brand appears to have made watches that are heavily inspired without being alienating. You don’t have to love cycling to love these watches. That’s exactly how themed watches should be executed. The Bravur Team Heritage watches are priced starting at $1,195 USD. For more information, please visit the Bravur website.
