One of Bremont’s debut watch collections was the ALT1-P, which for many years was among the British brand’s bestsellers. A pilot’s chronograph by design, all the ALT1-P’s models combined a rugged sense of high utility with an elegant instrumental design that always felt well-connected to the aviation craft that inspired it. One of Bremont’s more recent pilot’s chronograph watches from this larger family is this ALT1-P2 Jet, which is also the first in this collection to come in a black-colored DLC-coated steel case. The ALT1-P2 Jet also has a tan color of luminant material that, in my opinion, is far more eye-pleasing than a white or green color of lume. In all, this handsome military-style luxury sports watch offers a versatile conservative style with a personality that slyly suggests “danger.”
The 43mm-wide case is 16mm-thick with lugs spaced for 22mm wide straps/bracelets. It has 100 meters of water resistance and a domed AR-coated sapphire crystal over the dial (there is still some glare, but not enough to appreciably affect legibility). Over the rear of the case is something I’ve not seen before at Bremont: a beveled-edge sapphire crystal caseback that has been given a smoked treatment. This means that the sapphire crystal not only continues the “stealth” theme of the watch but that it makes up the actual shape of the caseback, as opposed to just being a flat segment. I think it is actually pretty cool how Bremont introduced this unexpected and welcome touch.
The watch case is also highly shock-resistant. The ALT1-P2 Jet uses Bremont’s popular “Trip-Tick” case construction that uses a shock-absorbent movement core and other special case construction features. A curved flange ring around the dial offers an enhanced sense of visual depth, while the face offers an excellent balance between space for the eyes to breathe and lots of markers to suggest its instrument-inspired heritage. Bits of red accent the desert sand-toned color of the Arabic hour numerals, markers overall, and hands. Overall, I really like the color scheme of this “Jet” version of the ALT1-P2 as the black and tan hues make for a great modern look.
Inside the watch is a movement Bremont calls the calibre BE-53AE automatic. This is a revised version of the Swiss Made ETA Valjoux 7753 chronograph, similar to the Valjoux 7750 but with a different orientation for the chronograph subdial as well as the calendar system. Operating at 4Hz with 42 hours of power reserve, the 7753 is, for the most part, a great movement. My one reservation is the inelegant lack of a quick-set feature for the date. To advance that date rapidly, you need to press (with a tool) an inset pusher located on the side of the case at the 10 o’clock position. I really don’t know why no one has proceeded to engineer this oddity out of this otherwise great caliber. While it can be challenging to view the movement’s full decoration through the smoked sapphire crystal on the back of the watch, you can see that it is nicely decorated and presented well. More so, the movement is a Swiss COSC-certified chronometer.
For those who want a less stealthy look, Bremont also offers a few versions of this watch without the DLC coating and with more traditional dial colors at the Bremont ALT1-P2. For me, the all-black military style of the Jet makes it a winner, but the standard steel versions of this watch are highly competent and several hundred dollars less expensive in price. Bremont offers the ALT1-P2 Jet on two strap options. which I have sort of mixed and matched for this review. One version of the ALT1-P2 comes on a nice-looking thick, tapering (in regard to the thickness, that is) matte-black leather strap. Another version of the watch for about $600 more comes with a DLC-coated steel metal bracelet.
What you should know is that the version of the ALT1-P2 Jet on the bracelet Bremont sells includes end links at the ends of the bracelets where they match the case. This provides a more seamless look where there isn’t a gap between the case and the bracelet. Here, however, I took the bracelet from a different Bremont watch (same bracelet) that doesn’t have the end links and put it on the ALT1-P2 Jet. Despite the gap (which doesn’t bother me), I prefer the bracelet without the end links because it makes the bracelet fall more easily and thus wrap more readily around my wrist size. If fitted with the end links, then the case length would increase and the watch case would not sit as comfortably or snugly on my wrist. I also want to say that, while the strap is nice-looking, I find it to be too thick and stiff for my taste and wrist size. Thankfully, there are a number of other straps that would look great with the ALT1-P2 Jet, many of which you can purchase directly from Bremont.
Diamond-like carbon (DLC) as a coating results in a black coloring but is mainly designed as a scratch-resistant material. It works very well, and I have to say that I’m generally very impressed with how Bremont watches put up with normal wear and tear. Not only is their base steel specially hardened for extra scratch resistance, but the quality of the DLC coating on the ALT1-P2 Jet case is similarly high-quality. I have seen this and other Bremont watches shrug off scrapes that would otherwise have certainly left marks on most other watches.
While Bremont is an aviation brand by design, I feel like the brand can return to telling the story of why it started to make pilot watches in the first place as a means of reestablishing a relationship between the watch collector community and the larger ALT1-P collection. These are excellent tool watches that you can just as easily dress up as you can wear in any professional setting. They aren’t cheap, but Bremont doesn’t cut corners on the experience and offers a really well-made product with a legitimate personality without being too risque to thwart conservative buyers. That isn’t easy to do, and wearing this watch has been both comfortable and compelling. Price for the Bremont ALT1-P2 Jet watch on the black leather strap is $5,595 USD and the ALT1-P2 Jet on the matching DLC steel bracelet is $6,195 USD. Learn more at the Bremont watches website here.
Necessary Information:
>Brand: Bremont
>Model: ALT1-P2 JET
>Price: $5,595 on strap and $6,195 on bracelet USD
>Size: 43mm-wide, 16mm-thick, ~49mm lug-to-lug distance
>When reviewer would personally wear it: When I want to wear a serious-looking pilot watch, but when good looks are also important.
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: Lover of stealth-looking aviator timepieces with a timeless design and true tool-watch spirit.
>Best characteristic of watch: Case design and construction materials lend themselves to a high-quality, durable, and environmentally resistant package. Handsome conservative look with a stealthy edge to it. As I configured it, the ALT1-P2 Jet is very comfortable on the wrist.
>Worst characteristic of watch: Leather strap option is not great for all wrist sizes; some crystal glare; a bit pricey.
