A Closer Look At The Bremont Longitude Collection With In-House UK-Made Movement

 

By Gordon Henderson

 

Leading the charge for Made in the UK watches that are a great quality/value proposition, Bremont unveils the newest Bremont Limited Edition Longitude watches —  the first Bremont timepieces to house the ENG300 series movement. As with all things Bremont, the movement, along with the watch itself, not only represents unique historical milestones for the brand but for the United Kingdom as well.

Emblazoned with ‘Made in England,’ the ENG300 movement represents the first time in 50 years that a the manufacturing of a movement has been done to any scale in the UK since Smiths in 1971. The movement is the product of Bremont’s investment into new machinery, staff training, and the technical team at the headquarters in the picturesque town of Henley-on-Thames. The calibre has been designed to exacting standards. Bremont uses a five axis precision milling machine to manufacture components for the ENG movement series as to within tolerances of 3 microns, which is 3 thousandths of a mm. For reference a the human hair is 70 microns.

Once the individual pieces of the movement are machined, the painstaking assembly of the movement can take place. The 22 jeweled  ENG376 movement that powers the Bremont Limited Edition Longitude features a depth of 4.95mm and diameter of 25.6mm and a 65 hour power reserve.

Additionally the movement boasts a silicon escapement, a custom balance bridge designed to reflect the architecture of Bremont’s state-of-the-art headquarters at The Wing, the home of British watchmaking, and the automatic movement is powered by a full tungsten rotor. A free sprung balance wheel helps to provide additional protection against shock. The finishing touch in the movement comes in the placement of the one piece tungsten automatic bridge.

In keeping with Bremont’s history of incorporating historical materials into the fabrication of their timepieces fans of the brand will be happy to know the trend continues. For the Bremont Limited Edition Longitude, a special ring representing the meridian line was provided to Bremont by The Royal Observatory Greenwich which has been skillfully machined from raw material using Bremont’s in-house CNC machining expertise. Once manufactured, this special insert is set behind the sapphire crystal with Longitude coordinates for the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

The Longitude watches — offered in three versions —  features a small seconds hand at the 9 o’clock and date window at the 3 o’clock, power reserve indicator at 6 o’clock. Versions include a limited edition of 150 pieces in stainless steel ($16,995), 75 pieces in 18-karat rose gold ($23,995.) and 75 in white gold ($24,995.)

These are the first pieces to be produced at The Wing, Bremont’s new 35,000 square foot facility, and the first to house the ENG300 series movement. Given the amount of history the piece is meant to invoke, the sapphire display case back is a welcome addition. The time pieces look to pay tribute to Great Britain’s role in clock, watchmaking, astronomy and both aquatic and aerial navigation.

The Bremont Limited Edition Longitude comes in a walnut presentation box etched with the Longitude globe design and inlaid with solid brass. Additionally, the ENG376 movement is embossed on the inside as well.