Review: Hands On With The Bremont Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph

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With all the talk around Bremont’s new lineup, not to mention the change in direction, we wanted to let the watch do the talking, so we’ve gone hands-on with the all-new Bremont Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph to see for ourselves!

Bremont is a brand not without some controversy, well, at least this year when they and CEO Davide Cerrato revealed an all-new brand identity and logo, along with new releases at Watches & Wonders this year. Since then, we have spoken at length with Davide, (stay tuned for that interview in a few weeks), and while time will ultimately let the public see this all come together, the way he describes it, his grand plan makes sense. That being said, whilst the changes took many off-guard, us included, rather than getting involved in the online rhetoric, we thought we would do what we do best – get our hands on the new range and see how the watches are in real life, in the hands and on the wrist. After all, you can never really give an opinion on a piece until you’ve had experience with it and even more so when you can spend considerable time with it over a few weeks. So this is exactly what we did!

First Impressions

Full disclosure, this isn’t the first time that I have seen his piece, so my first impressions for this hands-on review is more like second impressions. However, the first time was at Watches & Wonders 2024 and was for about 5 minutes, which is all you get with any given watch when the brands are showcasing the new watches to the media. So this time around, I had a little more time, in fact, all up about 2.5 weeks with the Bremont Terra Nova Chronograph. So here’s what I thought for my (second) first look.

Overall, the watch looks good. A fact that was backed up by a few watch guys who we showed it to. The vintage style numerals, done in solid block Super-LumiNova suits the style of the piece, given it’s designed to be a field watch, taken out into the wilds. The case is solid, the new bracelet design is a lot better than the old Bremont bracelets and the chronograph is easy to read. The addition of the compass bezel is a good touch and again, makes sense given its intended purpose but, the watch is on the larger side and wears possibly larger due to the case design, and depending on your wrist size, may or may not suit. Something I’ll delve into more later.

The Design

Bremont has designed the new Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph to emulate early pocket watches and then field watches of the early 20th century – the style of the numeral font, the fauxtina-coloured lume in the day, and even the old school sub-dial design, similar to that found on aviator watches in the 40s and 50s.

Bremont has created block numerals out of Super-LumiNova for this piece and applied them to the dial for a great 3D effect, not to mention maximum light absorption. The sub-dials are circular-grained in a subtle way, and these blend seamlessly into the dial as they lack the outer ring that you often find which breaks the sub-dials out from the main dial. However, these are recessed so there is an element of depth to them, which I like. I do feel the circular graining could be a little more prominent, but this is a personal preference, so doesn’t detract anyway from the watch.

The case is fully brushed steel and with the new Terra Nova collection, Bremont has moved to a 904L steel, which makes these pieces a little more durable and resistant to corrosion, not to mention having a slightly more luminous hue to it. To me, I’m not 100% sure the move to 904L steel is entirely necessary due to the fact that it is harder to work with and does increase the production costs a little, whereas 316L steel does the trick for most brands without any issue. That being said, it in no way detracts from the watch at all, and the average person won’t be able to tell for the most part, but they’ll feel safe in the knowledge that it is harder wearing.

The new bracelet design Bremont has come out with is a winner. Style is always subjective, so you’ll either like it or you won’t, but for me, it gives me more vintage vibes here and something unique on the market. The design also aids in the wearability of the watch, something I’ll talk more about in the next section. The bracelet does come with quick-change spring bars, so you can easily detach the bracelet and swap it for a strap. Just be aware that you’ll need to have a second set of spring bars to swap it out, but this is an easy fix with a 22mm lug width. Bremont does have a leather strap which is also equipped with quick-change spring bars as an option, and also a Nato strap, however the Nato will need a spring bar tool to attach it as it isn’t quick change.

The one design element that I felt could have been addressed is the balance between the case and the bracelet. For me, the case of the watch seems a little too big for the bracelet, or if you look at it the other way, the bracelet seems a little too small and refined when compared to the case. Had the case been a little thinner or smaller, I feel that it would blend better into each other, but it’s a minor criticism for an overall well-constructed bracelet.

How It Wears

Putting the watch on, it feels nice. Yes, that seems like a vanilla statement, but sometimes it is just that – nice! The case sits flat on my wrist, and the slightly angled lugs help with the way the bracelet moulds around the wrist. I did find the end link a little stiff where the second link rubs against the inner lug, but again, this is a minor thing and if you have larger wrists, or if it’s done up a little tighter, you’ll have less movement in the bracelet and won’t bother you at all.

Speaking of the bracelet, the way Bremont has designed it means that it is more refined than the previous Bremont steel bracelets. With smaller links and a flatter inner surface, the bracelet wears much more comfortable and is a much better fit for a steel sports watch. In addition, with the double folding push button clasp, doesn’t irritate the wrist at all – something that can happen with this style of bracelet and those afflicted with arm hair!

RELATED READING: Hands On With The Bremont Terra Nova 40.5 Power Reserve

As mentioned, the size of the Bremont Terra Nova Chronograph isn’t overly large on paper, but the design seems to lend itself to the watch wearing a little larger than the specs suggest. At 42.5mm in diameter, 14.8mm thick and a 48.8mm lug-to-lug, the Terra Nova is smaller than say, my Panerai 312 or Sea-Dweller, but to the eye, feels a little larger on my wrist. The bracelet and case balance I mentioned earlier probably add to this. However, this is a watch designed for adventure and exploration, so it’s not intended to be under a suit and jacket cuff, so the thickness shouldn’t worry you all that much given it is more illusion than actuality. Case design is in most cases, always the main factor in how the watch wears vs the measurements.

On my 17.5cm wrist, when looking at it in the 3rd person, the Terra Nova Chronograph doesn’t look any bigger than some of the other pieces I’ve worn recently around the same size. Bremont has made this for functionality, which is the whole premise of the Terra Nova collection, and Bremont as a whole. Easy to read, an easy-to-grip bezel, and an easy-to-operate chronograph – tick!

Functionally, this watch works well, and does exactly what it is designed to do. The chronograph pushers are not too stiff when pushing them in, but does give a little resistance which will avoid accidental starts or stops. The chronograph seconds hand is rose gold plated, which again adds another warmer element to the watch and plays into the vintage style of the piece, although it doesn’t stand out as much as the white counter hands on the sub-dials, but that’s probably neither here nor there. The lume glows bright green, aided by the solid block letters, and as you can see below, glows brightly even in the daytime inside.

While I had this on my wrist, the weather was a little up and down, so my wrist did go through the usual 0.5-1cm fluctuations I get between the cooler, drier days, and the warmer and more humid days. As my wrist is prone to this, I noticed that the watch was either perfectly fitted when my wrist was at its biggest, but did move around a bit when it was at its smallest. Now this is a me issue, and I have this problem with any watch that doesn’t have a micro-adjust or on-the-fly adjustment system – essentially most integrated bracelets or bracelets with a double folding clasp. But I thought I would mention it as something to take into consideration if you have the same issue with fluctuating wrist sizes like me.

The Movement

Inside the Terra Nova Chronograph, Bremont has the Modified Calibre 13 1/4’’’ BE-50AV. Bremont doesn’t hide the fact that their movements are modified calibres (it’s in the movement name). In this case, it is an ETA 7750 that Bremont has used as the base and then tweaked and played with it to get it to their specifications. The Terra Nova Chronograph has a closed case back, so while you can’t see the movement, and with this style of watch, I wouldn’t expect a display case back at all, what you do get is a nice motif of a world map, with the Bremont and Terra Nova markings on it, along with the water resistance of 100m.

I touched on it before, but the chronograph movement seemed to be fairly smooth when I tested it out and had enough play in the pushers without too much resistance. I will say it was probably on the stiffer side of what I would prefer, but then again, buttery smooth chronograph pushers are few and far between, and this one sits squarely in the middle range, and is appropriate at its price point. The one thing I would have loved Bremont to have used is a screw-down crown. For a sports watch that is designed for adventure and exploration, it is probably the one major improvement I would have made to the watch given its intended use. Had this been a watch that was more formal or a generic everyday watch, I wouldn’t worry as much, but the fact remains that it isn’t. The chances of the crown popping out while in water or wet are pretty slim I would think, but I’m erring on the side of caution here.

Overall, it is a workhorse movement, most ETA’s are, and if Bremont has adjusted it like their other models which have chronometer certification via ISO 3159, you’ll find it highly reliable. While Bremont doesn’t state this is the case for the Terra Nova, I have the strong feeling that they are and just not tested, which means they can’t state it as fact. In the time I had the watch, it ran pretty accurately and gained about 2 seconds per day while wearing it over the few days I tracked the accuracy. With a 56-hour power reserve, you won’t be left out of power easily, and if you’re wearing this as your everyday watch, or on a frequent basis, there will be no issues here.

Final Thoughts

Having now had several pieces from the new line, like the Terra Nova 40.5 with the power reserve Sam reviewed a few weeks ago, the standard time only and now this, the 42.5 Chronograph, evaluating the watches on their own merits has been great as it has allowed me and the team to cut through the online noise and really look at the pieces for what they are.

Over the two or so weeks I was able to wear the new Bremont Terra Nova Chronograph, I found it easy to wear, and could imagine getting out exploring with this piece on. Call it the wanna-be adventurer in me, but I always find myself imagining what would be on my wrist should I be a Jimmy Chin, or Aldo Kane type (both Bremont ambassadors and people who I’ve followed well before they become one). The Bremont Terra Nova Chronograph does tick a lot of these boxes and seems up to the task. While I wore it around town for the most part, running about with work, kids, etc, I never found the watch overbearing on the wrist, even though to the eye it can look bigger than suggested.

At the almost A$10,000 price point, there is a wide range of other watches out there, (there always is), with different pros and cons, so I would say, as I do always, do your research and try on the pieces to see what is right for you. For me, the Terra Nova Chronograph is a good-looking, robust field watch, and style-wise, there are not a lot of options that directly compare, however, outside of the field watch genre, then aviators, dive watches and racing chronographs are a dime a dozen, so it really comes down to your personal preference.

Bremont are on a new journey, or should I say a new path or era in the brand’s history, and the Terra Nova collection is the first new collection from Bremont of this new era. Like all things new, it is one step at a time, like the improvements to the bracelets, or developing a new collection and then iterating it over time. Talking to Davide a few weeks ago, the plan he has makes sense, and as mentioned, we will have to see how this plays out in real life and over the next few years, but it is exciting to see how it will take shape. It was no secret that the brand was in trouble, multiple media outlets had reported on it, so I won’t go over old news here, but what I will say is that Davide is a smart man, a passionate watch guy and a respected industry professional, so I feel Bremont is in capable hands. For now, we’ll just have to watch this space!

Reference: Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph

Specifications:

• Case dimensions: 42.5mm diameter, 14.8mm thickness & lug-to-lug 48.8mm
• Case Material: Brushed and polished 904L steel two-piece case
• Dial: Black anthracite metal dial with 3D vintage Super-LumiNova® block numerals, rose gold plated chronograph seconds hand and date window at 6 o’colck
• Bezel: Bi-directional steel bezel with a ceramic insert and directional markers N/S/E/W
• Crystal: Domed anti-reflective, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal.
• Water resistance: 100 meters/ 10ATM
• Movement: Modified Calibre 13 1/4’’’ BE-50AV, pivoting on 27 jewels
• Movement Frequency: 4Hz / 28,800bph
• Power reserve: 56 hours
• Bracelet/Strap: 904L stainless steel quick-release bracelet with double folding clasp. Option of brown leather or grey Nato strap (sold separately).

Australian Retail Pricing: AU $9,050 on steel, or AU $8,600 on leather or Nato

Availability: Available now at the Bremont boutique in Melbourne, Hardy Brothers and online at au.bremont.com

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