Inside Bremont

WHAT have Tom Cruise, Tom Hardy and Harrison Ford all got in common — apart, of course, from being hunky film stars?

The answer is that they all own Bremont watches, manufactured on the site of a former piggery on the way from Henley to Shiplake at an architect-designed factory which is part-science fiction, part-pleasure palace.

So British are Bremont that if James Bond were a real person, he would doubtless wear one, too. They’re class, not flash. More dapper than rapper. More gin sling than bling.

They’re also, it’s safe to say, what we would call nowadays a “considered purchase”.

The new, limited edition Waterman Apex model would cost you more than five grand — and a couple of their styles are labelled “price on application”.

But for £25 you can join a tour, which is what I did with my companion Tristan, who had travelled from London for a look behind the scenes (and who, incidentally, made his considered purchase from the onsite

boutique while we were there).

We are greeted by our guest experience host, Luke Mitchell. With an MA in English literature, Luke is smart in both senses of the word as he gathers us from the plush reception area where the company’s watches are on display.

He built watches for Bremont for four years before changing tack to his current job, which means he really knows his stuff. He leads us through an air-lock area via double security doors to what I shall call the engine room.

Tristan and I are open-mouthed. It is seriously cutting edge in here. One of the machines alone costs as much as a small house.

Luke explains: “Here in the machine shop we have three machines — the NTX 1000, which is a mill that produces the cases, the NLX 2000, which is a lathe that makes case backs and middles, and the MICRO5, which is a smaller five-axis mill that machines components in brass.”

The whole room is immaculate, white and bright, with staff moving effortlessly and noiselessly about their work as only the machines whirr.

Our mouths gradually closing, we move upstairs to where white-coated staff are wearing sterile finger cots. One of them is peering into what looks like a microscope. A glance at the screen beside him and we can see the inner mechanics of the watch he is working on. Does a brain surgeon have better tech than this? We suddenly feel proud to be British. which is Luke’s

cue to explain that before the Second World War, we Brits had the reputation for making the best watches in the world. But when our homegrown horologists were drafted in to help the war effort, the famously neutral Swiss stepped in and took over.

Which is partly what inspired brothers Nick and Giles English to found their business back in 2002 when they were still in their early Twenties, firmly back on British soil.

But their own journey is more moving, more heartwarming and much more personal.

With a keen family interest in flying and military aircraft in particular, Nick was piloting a vintage 1942 Harvard alongside his father Euan, a former RAF pilot, when it crashed during a training flight for an air show in France in 1995.

Nick broke more than 20 bones and his father was killed.

The tragedy unfolded in a field belonging to another wartime pilot, Frenchman Antoine Bremont, whose kindness to the stricken family that day meant the boys would later name their business after him.

Outside the Henley factory now is a British Airways cockpit and the factory is called The Wing.

Though the brothers worked originally in finance, they had been drawn to the watchmaker’s art by their late father’sskill as an engineer plus the fact that Monsieur Bremont’s house was full of clocks. He clearly left a lasting impression on the boys.

In the lobby when we arrived I had noticed a book by Jason Fox, the ex-special forces soldier turned TV presenter and author who spent 20 years leading operations, including rescuing hostages and maritime counter terrorism.

He is now a Bremont ambassador, embodying everything the company wants to stand for.

We fans of Swiss brands such as Cartier and Rolex admire Bremont more and more. By now feeling as British as bulldogs, we are leaving our tour when Tristan enquires about the special edition Henley Royal Regatta watches — and buys one there and then. Time well spent.