2024 is a major year for Bremont, with the company undergoing a change in top-level management as well as overall strategy. The UK-based company is not veering from its primary mission of making British-themed sports and adventure watches, but under new head Davide Cerrato, the Bremont brand has realigned itself for growth and appeal given where experts in the luxury watch field believe the industry is headed. With this in mind, it’s important to mention Bremont’s rebranding, which includes a new font for the Bremont logo text as well as a compass Wayfinder-inspired logo. That logo is not going to be used on all of the Bremont watches (for example, not its pilot watches for now), but is a part of the Terra Nova and updated Supermarine timepieces. More on that later. For now, let’s talk about the “middle member” of the new Terra Nova collection, which overall includes at least four different movements across a few model varieties. These two watches are part of the Bremont Terra Nova 40.5 Turning Bezel Power Reserve family, which currently has at least two dial color options and a variety of strap/bracelet choices.
It took a number of years for the timepiece community to fully embrace the Bremont of yore, and when the company unveiled the dramatic rebranding along with a new watch collection in April 2024, the community wasn’t sure what to make of it. I will be the first to admit that it was challenging to come to a conclusion about the Terra Nova series merely from the marketing images that Bremont released. It wasn’t until meeting with Bremont in person that I got a chance to appreciate the very competent and marketable Bremont Terra Nova family. Now, after spending some time with the Terra Nova 40.5 Turning Bezel Power Reserve (admittedly not the sexiest name), I’d like to give my thoughts on this version of Bremont’s new timepiece family.
Bremont has been very prolific with the Terra Nova collection upon launch. The debut watches include a three-hand version of the Terra Nova in both 38mm and 40.5mm wide cases, a 42.5mm wide chronograph version, this 40.5mm power reserve version, as well as a higher-end tourbillon model. Include all the various strap and dial color options, and there are at least 20 Terra Nova SKUs currently available. The Terra Nova 40.5 Turning Bezel Power Reserve model is positioned above the three-hand Bremont Terra Nova models, and under the Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph in terms of price.
The Turning Bezel Power Reserve watches are explorer-style field watches with an emphasis on ‘land exploration’ features, and light complications in the form of the date, subsidiary seconds dial, and the power reserve indicator. Despite the dial elements, legibility is very high thanks to the large attractive hands and incredibly readable hour markers. These Arabic numeral hour markers are cut from solid pieces of luminous material. That gives the Terra Nova family a higher-end look, as well as excellent legibility in the dark after the dial has been charged with light. The best thing for me is that the complications on the dial are clear to see, but they don’t overpower the hour markers and hands – which should be primarily what the user looks at when glancing at the dial. The two current dial color options for the Terra Nova 40.5 Turning Bezel Power Reserve are “gradient blue” with white colored luminant, and “gradient anthracite” (gray) with a tan vintage-style luminant color. Both dial options are pretty nice, and I think the most important choice someone makes is the strap that goes with it. More on that below.
At 40.5mm wide, the Terra Nova case in this form doesn’t sound too large, but it does wear on the bigger side given the overall cushion-style lines of the case. The 904L steel case is also about 12mm thick and has a modest 47mm long lug-to-lug distance. Elements like the larger crown (which is pleasant to operate) and the 22mm wide bracelets/straps visually maximize the size of the watch, despite the relatively modest actual dimensions. Over the dial is a domed AR-coated sapphire crystal and the Terra Nova 40.5mm case is water resistant to 100 meters.
Around the dial is a bi-directional rotating compass-style bezel. There are some light navigational features you can use this type of bezel for, but it is really a fashion statement. For the 40.5 Turning Bezel Power Reserve collection, Bremont opted to go for a brushed steel bezel. This makes the collection unique as the three-hand versions of the Terra Nova have smooth, non-rotating bezels, and the Terra Nova Chronograph has a slightly similar rotating bezel, but combined with hour markers and topped with a polished black ceramic insert.
I admire the overall handsome, conservative appeal of the Terra Nova dials. Bremont is going for mainstream appeal here, as opposed to enthusiast-focused originality. One thing I don’t believe was strictly necessary was applying the graphic logo to the dials. I am typically not a fan of brands using graphical logos on their dials, as I feel in general, text-based logos work best. Bremont already puts the new Wayfinder logo on the crown, so at least it is somewhere on the watch. It isn’t a big dial, but I think these dials might be just a bit nicer and more serious without the graphic on the dial itself. There will also be people who take issue with “Terra Nova” being written on the dial, though that text doesn’t bother me. What is or isn’t written/placed on a watch dial is a huge topic of discussion and debate among timepiece enthusiasts.
Inside the Bremont Terra Nova 40.5 Turning Bezel Power Reserve watch is the Bremont caliber BE-79AL automatic movement. This movement is based on the Sellita SW279 and operates at 4Hz with 38 hours of power reserve (a bit low by today’s standards, though the average power reserve is quoted by Sellita at 41 hours). It includes the dial complications mentioned above. Being someone who really likes power reserve indicators, I like this dial layout because it doesn’t include data or complications that aren’t useful to most people.
With the Terra Nova collection Bremont both wanted to show off what it is capable of in terms of quality, but also to set a lower-price standard than some of its previous timepiece collections. Bremont also wanted to offer something familiar, along with something new. A good example of that ethos in action is the new metal bracelet option which you can see on the gray-colored dial version of the Terra Nova. It isn’t a technically novel bracelet, but it is comfortable with links that aren’t too thick, and it has a unique design that melds well with the Terra Nova theme. If a matching metal bracelet isn’t your thing, Bremont offers the Terra Nova 40.5 Turning Bezel Power Reserve on either a brown leather strap (as pictured) or on a black and gray NATO-style strap (the bracelet costs a bit more but the straps are the same price). Personally, I would have cut out one of the SKUs and just offered a bracelet or leather strap model, each with the NATO-style strap as an added accessory.
The best way for me to sum up the Bremont Terra Nova collection is to suggest that it is part tool watch and part lifestyle watch. Its heart and features are in the tool watch world, but it is designed to be a handsome lifestyle item sold out of luxury watch stores for people who want to reward themselves. That means the watches combine functional and decorative elements in a way that is supposed to excite people about adventure, but mainly for use on the streets. With that said, any luxury adventure watch still needs to perform well in an actual adventure scenario, which the Terra Nova watches (along with most other Bremont watches) are entirely designed for. If you haven’t made up your mind about the Bremont Terra Nova collection, I simply recommend checking some of them out for yourself. Price for the Bremont Terra Nova 40.5 Turning Bezel Power Reserve watch on a strap (or the optional grey and black NATO) is $3,950 USD and on the metal bracelet is $4,250 USD. Learn more at the Bremont website.
