When it comes to winning awards, Bremont founders Nick and Giles English have certainly cracked the code. They’ve attended so many awards nights recently where they have scooped top honours. The latest is the UK Jewellery Awards 2013 where once again they have walked away with two prestigious awards; Brand of the Year for the second year running and Store Design of the Year.
Just weeks before these latest awards were announced, Bremont was revealed as the joint winner of HSBC bank’s Global Connections 2013 competition, which was set up to find the UK’s most innovative companies. And it has now won its third UK Jewellery Award for its watches.
In the past year it has opened a workshop in Henley-on-Thames, where all Bremont’s watches are now assembled, and from where brothers Nick and Giles English are hoping to develop Bremont’s first in-house movement.
Watch brand of the year 2013
On the night of the awards last year, Bremont launched its Victory watch, a mechanical retrograde with pieces of the HMS Victory incorporated into the case. just a week before this year’s awards it launched the Codebreaker, an automatic flyback chronograph GMT movement which incorporates pieces of pine from Hut 6 at Bletchley Park – the centre of the effort to decrypt the German Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe Enigma machine – and paper from one of the few remaining punch cards.
Bremont is a brand that continues to innovate and has spearheaded the British watch revival. The brand also has plans to open a boutique in Hong Kong and intends on bringing its watch movement operation to the UK. As one of the judges commented: “It’s been a remarkable year for Bremont. And that’s putting it mildly.”
Store Design of the Year 2013
In addition to having won numerous awards for its watches, Bremont has also picked up one for its Boutique in London’s highly desirable Mayfair and Belgravia area.
Situated on South Audley Street, just around the corner from British institutions such as William & Son and James Purdey & Sons, the store is the embodiment of everything that the brand stands for. Walking into it is an immersion in everything Bremont and the brothers English, who founded the brand, are interested in.
It is part gentleman’s club, part watch retailer and part motorcycle showroom. One judge said it was “brand reflective” and “immersive”, while another said it was “smart” in a “great location”. One simply said: “Love it.”
Last month the brothers were granted access to up to £6m in funding to enable them to make all their components in the UK.
I’m a big Bremont fan and glad to see them stack awards. Just looked up that boutique and will definitely visit it next time I’m in England.