12 November 2016

Design Concepts for Bremont

It is no secret that I love Bremont watches.  I recently acquired my second Bremont, no doubt a third one will come along.

The other day, some watch design ideas popped into my head.  Bremont began in 2002, so 2017 will be the Fifteenth Anniversary of the brand.  What better way to celebrate than with some new, possibly Limited Edition, designs.

I did some photoshop mock-ups to see if it can work.  I have watermarked my images in case someone 'borrows' them and others may mistaken them for real concepts.  I have no affiliation with Bremont...but, Bremont is free to use these as 'inspiration' for their range of watches.

Here are three quick concepts:

Tachymetre concept
Tachymetre

I also have other watches in my collection, one happens to be an Omega Speedmaster.  One of the features I like about the Speedmaster (and other watches) is the Tachymetre on the bezel.  

Bremont has the Chronograph function on many of their watches since the beginning.  But none have had a Tachymetre.  Honestly, I think very few people use this function, but I like the look of it.  

I used the ALT1-ZT as a base and added the inner rotating bezel of the ALT1-WT.  Colours were changed to add a little flare.  Then, I added the Tachymetre (stolen from a Speedmaster) to the bezel. 

Propeller second hand
Propeller Second Hand

The Bremont logo has a propeller under the word mark.  The propeller is also seen on the crown of most of the Bremont collection.  If you have seen any of their videos, the into shows the propeller rotating to reveal the Bremont logo.

So, I took the propeller and made it the second hand.  One problem...well, two problems.  First, it spans the across the entire dial.  My solution to this is to add markings to one tip similar to markings on real propellers.

The second issue, looking at the propeller orientation, they are turning anti-clockwise.  As you know watches and clocks turn clockwise (unless you have a Goofy watch).  I simply flipped the propeller to allow for clockwise rotation.

In the concept above, I took a SOLO and applied the propeller second hand to it.

And yes, I did try to make the hour and minute hands as propellers, but it simply does not work.  There are two major problems.  The first, the hands are different lengths and off-balanced propeller wings just do not work.  The other issue is, the hands are only opposite of each other eleven times around the face.  Example:  12:32, 2:43, 4:54...etc.


Propeller second hand at 9H
Propeller Second Hand on 9H Subdial

One of the coolest things Bremont has done was to use the small second hand, at the subdials, as a propeller.  This can be seen on some of their Limited Edition pieces such as the EP120 and P-51, using each aircraft's respected propeller design as a second hand.  These pieces also have their propeller designs integrated into rotor, which can be seen through the display caseback.  This treatment can also be seen on some exclusive military edition pieces.

I thought that would be interesting to see with the Bremont logo propeller.  Here I took their latest Limited Edition, the DH-88, and modified the second hand at the 9H position.

That is it for now.  Perhaps more ideas in the future.  It would be pretty neat if Bremont took inspiration from some of my ideas and implemented them into their line.

Nick and Giles, something to think about for your Fifteenth Anniversary.

Update (15 Nov 16):  I shared my concepts with the Alt1tude forum and some suggested a moon phase watch.  Slow day at work...here you go.

Moon Phase Concept
I used another SOLO as a base and 'acquired' the moon phase additions from a Jaeger-LeCoultre.  I moved the Day and Month indicator to the 'traditional' 10H and 2H positions.  The date ring just fit perfectly in the inner bezel.

Putting the moon phase subdial at 6H meant I had to adjust the "Automatic Chronometer" to fit inside.  The "London", normally on the inner bezel or under the 6H marker.  I had to modify the 6H marker so the subdial would fit,  since there was already text in the subdial, I moved "London" to 'bridge' the gap between the day and month indicators, just under the Bremont logo.

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