This article was written and contributed by Simon Lazarus who writes for several national and international publications.
It’s certainly Top of the Watches for one high end maker this year as Bremont starts on its global expansion.
From December, the luxury timepiece maker, currently located in Hurley and Switzerland, will start manufacturing its own collection of extravagant mechanical watches in the Marlow Road building in Henley in December. The Swiss facility is closing and will be followed by the site in Hurley as the company has outgrown the premises.
“Normally watches of this quality are put together in Switzerland but now we can do it here in Britain. For the first time in 30 or 40 years, mechanical watches on this level are being made in the UK. All of these watches are going to be produced in Henley, which I love.” Nick English, Bremont
In fact, Bremont has ended this year on a real high thanks to receiving the prestigious award of luxury watch brand of the year that was given to them at the 2012 UK Jewellery Awards.
Bremont are now considered to be a major powerhouse in the chronometer arena and are ranked as one of the top 15 producers across the globe.
But there is more good news. This is because they will be creating more than 10 new roles at their new headquarters located in Henley whilst being able to develop their plans for world domination.
This is set to take the company into some of the most recognised emerging markets such as the Middle East and South America.
These particular developing markets will open up a brand new clientele to the brand, especially in places like Brazil.
Brazil’s economy is considered to be the 5th largest in the world (even bigger than Blighty herself!) and the increasing demand for luxury products has exploded in recent years. That’s a lot of Latin spirit you might say.
In order to deliver expectations as well as orders, founders Nick and Giles English have transformed a former saw mill building in Henley in order to come in line with the painstaking demands of making their watches.
The British brand has doubled its output in the past twelve months which has seen them produce more than 6,000 individual timepieces.
Their attention to detail has seen the majority of their separate parts and assembly taking place in the United Kingdom.
So what does this mean for the good people of Henley? Around 40 staff will have new roles assigned, whilst this figure is set to rise via the introduction of an apprenticeship initiative.
According to the Henley Standard, English declared; “We’ll be looking for good people to join us. We’re finding the quality of the watchmakers here (in the UK) is phenomenal. These guys have been locked away for 20 years but now we’re digging them out and they’re proving to be fantastic.”
Bremont has also had a helping hand from HSBC who have injected £700,000 into their business. This was done in order to support them in their global enlargement into other markets aside from Asia and the US not to mention their new development.
Bremont Victory at Salon QP
Bremont hit the headlines this week for an appearance at the Salon QP show in London where they launched a number of timepieces dedicated to Lord Nelson whose own famous pocket watch will be on display.
Working in close collaboration with the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Bremont’s Victory presents original yet exquisite fixtures from the HMS Victory including oak timber and copper pieces.
