A little over 18 months into the role, we recently caught up with Bremont CEO, Davide Cerrato to see how it was going, and to talk about the new collection and his vision for the British watch brand as it heads into the next phase.
22 years ago, two brothers started a passion project born out of their and their Father’s love of flying and clocks. Their goal was to make British watchmaking great again, and bring it back to the fore. And like all good stories, out of tragedy, the brand Bremont was born. Most people familiar with Bremont would be familiar with its back story, with Nick and Giles English taking a leap of faith and starting Bremont after their Father’s death in a flying accident that almost killed Nick as well. It has a great origin story, and over the next 22 years, both Nick and Giles would build the brand to what we know it today.
However, like all brands and companies, they need to move with the times and evolve as the world does. In the world of luxury watches, the landscape can change dramatically and quickly, and while the larger brands and businesses can weather the storm of economic change, smaller independent brands are not as immune, and as a result, business leaders need to make decisions to help safeguard it. And this is exactly what Nick and Giles did with Bremont, bringing on industry veteran Davide Cerrato to take over the day-to-day operations of Bremont, and guide it into the next phase of its journey.
18 months into the role, Davide has made an impact on the brand, helping to steer Bremont into calmer waters through several initiatives, many of which we and the public saw at Watches & Wonders 2024 with the unveiling of a new logo, new brand direction and a new collection – the Terra Nova. While these changes caused a bit of a stir among the watch community, once the dust settled and people had a better look at the pieces and understood the new brand direction, all wasn’t as dire as first thought.
We caught up with Davide last month to talk to him about all this and where he is taking the brand, his vision for Bremont’s future and with Watch Advice having recently done a couple of reviews on the new Terra Nova pieces, how he sees the Terra Nova collection fitting into the wider suite of Bremont watches.
As always, Davide was dressed in his usual style – for anyone who’s met Davide, or seen him, the first thing you notice is his style, looking like he’s just done a shoot with British GQ. Even though he had battled traffic getting out of London where he lives, commuting to Oxfordshire where Bremont HQ is, he was as composed, polite and friendly as ever, and gave us an hour or more of his time to take us through the new look Bremont, and how he’s found working with the British brand now he has been there for a year and a half.
“I have found it so far super exciting! It is a fantastic independent brand, I very much love the independent dimension of the brand and the fact that it’s very unique because we’re in UK. It is not the usual place (talking about Swiss watchmaking) and you know, despite the fact that we’re in the UK, we have this incredible manufacturer that is the only end-to-end manufacturer in the UK. The legacy of the company also is very interesting so yeah I’m really excited, and it’s an intense, hectic, passionate time!”
The one thing that strikes you when talking to Davide is that he is a passionate watch guy. You have to be to have worked across so many brands as he has, and to have been in the industry for a long time. Having worked at HYT, TAG Heuer, Mont Blanc and perhaps most famously Tudor, his passion for the smaller and more independent brands comes across when he talks about Bremont, and the reasons as to why he joined the brand in the first place.
“Listen, I’ll be very transparent with you. I followed the path of Bremont since the beginning, because you know, if you’re in the industry you see what is happening, but the size and independent nature of the company was such that it was popping up here and there you know, it was not a continuous flow of information. So when I was contacted for this role, I was very intrigued and very curious. I moved from this surface, or generic knowledge of the (Bremont) story, to trying to understand the inception and the DNA of the company. I was very lucky to have had the opportunity to meet the brothers (talking about Nick and Giles) and to meet investors, and it really grew on me. It’s a fantastic, unique story, it is a human story with a lot of passion and a lot of dreams and big challenges – that’s everything I love!”
Talking with Davide about this, and how he felt he was suited for the role, it seems that in his eyes, the stars aligned for him to take the helm of Bremont.
“One of the investors said at the end of the process that when we met, it was like finding the right key to open a door, it just slid in, it’s true. The fact that Bremont has been in this segment so long, been in sports watches for so long, it was really in a way different paths that were colliding into something that was in a way natural. I did have a lot of journalists tell me that it makes sense in effect, the fit is evident, so I was lucky, very lucky.”
RELATED READING: Bremont Introduces New Terra Nova 40.5 Power Reserve
As mentioned, Bremont is entering into a new phase, a new era for the brand. All brands evolve, they have to otherwise they will be left behind. We talk to Davide about this evolution, and the reason behind the brand refresh from his perspective as it’s not something that’s been widely talked about since the brand re-launch earlier this year.
“What we’re doing is evolving the brand towards the next step of development of Bremont, and now the brand is 22 years old and with history comes evolution. You know, if you want to remain relevant, any brand out there needs to be capable of refreshing, adapting to the new trends, to the new tastes of the consumer and so on, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. The changes we have put together are helping the brand to stay relevant and helping the brand to appeal to a wider group of customers.”
“The brand’s story has been heavily rooted in the UK, the culture, customers and their specific needs. We are present in the US, Australia and Hong Kong, but the real international development has not yet completely happened. The evolution that we are applying to the brand is framed exactly to allow us to be stronger in other countries, like Australia.”
To us, this makes sense. When you think about Bremont, it has a great story: A revival of British watchmaking, a strong link to the British armed forces and also the collaboration it has with ejection seat manufacture and British company, Martin-Baker. Added to this, the strong aviation theme that runs through many of the collections thanks to Giles and Nick English’s affinity for flying and vintage aircraft. However, as Davide puts it, this unfortunately isn’t enough for the brand to thrive in 2024 when looking at breaking into other countries and a wider audience – generally speaking, something that is needed in today’s watch industry.
“The choice of adventure and exploration as the key message is perfect for you in Australia, and it is perfect for the US where there is a very strong outdoor culture. Adventure and exploration have already been embedded in the brand since 2014, so we’re just focusing on that to make it even clearer that we do sports watches or tool watches. The inception of the company and the story of Bremont is about a kind of obsession for robustness, like the Martin-Baker story which is about extreme robustness, accuracy, and visibility – all the dimensions of a perfect sports watch. So, all we have done is clarify that our universe is linked to adventurous exploration with sea, land and air – a very old, but very clear segmentation.”
This clear segmentation, as Davide states is an old one, but hey, it seems to work when it comes to sports watches as each have a clear style, design codes, and a clear purpose for their intended use – even if most people who buy them won’t use them for that, but this is where the inspiration and aspirational elements of watches come in to play for the consumer. Davide elaborates on this…
“There is a dimension of outdoors and nature there that is very interesting for the future of the brand because we can inject elemental sustainability, something that is very relevant for the new generation. On top of this, clarifying our message to that of adventure and exploration. This is evident in the new campaign, ‘Take It Further’, that pitches this mindset that adventurers and explorers have, and thanks to which, they can achieve things that everyone else imagines are impossible. So our pitch is if you have a dream, and you apply the same mindset, you can achieve it!”
It is a nice sentiment, and as Davide says, one that Bremont has honed in on for the past decade, and one reason why they have associated themselves with adventurers and explorers who showcase the limits of what humans can do. This then leads us into the new collection, the Terra Nova which was launched earlier in the year. It is a new style for Bremont, deviating from aviation and focusing on the ‘land’ segment with vintage-inspired field watches.
“We have launched a new line, which is the Terra Nova and we are really leveraging our long ties with the military and really looking back to military pocket watches, World War I watches, with the big numerals and style. We’re taking this further with the release of the collaboration with Jimmy Chin, a limited edition Terra Nova” (talking about the new solid gold and two-tone Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph launched last month in New York)
RELATED READING: Hands On With The Bremont Terra Nova 42.5 Chronograph
Davide explains that the new line has been designed to pay tribute to the British armed forces still, with the style cues of the old pocket watches and field watches of the early 1900s and this was important to do this as it made sense to stay with the heritage of the brand. And while many people thought that this new collection was a complete departure from Bremont’s current collection, Davide makes a good point – the other collections are still within Bremont, and are still important, but the Terra Nova was the new collection to bring to market and showcase this year.
“I perfectly get that there are people that have been surprised and there are people that have gotten very emotional. I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding also linked to the fact that the decision to bring the brand to Watches & Wonders. The brand hasn’t done any fairs for a long time and when these people saw what we were presenting, they thought that was the only thing remaining at Bremont and everything else was stopped and it was not the case. If you go into a boutique today, the novelties probably represent 10%, and the other 90% is still the previous collections. In one to two years time, the overall architecture will be very clear and the change is much less dramatic than it was framed.”
Admittedly, even we as media and journalists fell into this trap a little, thinking that Bremont has departed from its heritage completely. But on reflection, and now talking to Davide, it’s not really the case. Yes, the brand has evolved and the new Terra Nova collection is an example of it, however, hearing how he wants to evolve the other collections, along with the brand is more interesting, and seeing some of the new Supermarine models released just this week, I see now what he is talking about. Different model lines need their own distinct design codes – not all watches need the Trip-Tick case design, as this was done primarily for the Martin-Baker collection to help alleviate excess vibrations and other factors when you’re a combat pilot.
“It is really an evolution – to keep everything that was very good in the brand, but to add or fine-tune or sharpen some elements that can make the brand even more relevant and even more unique. We have reframed the Supermarine line, addressing very clear and simple demands coming from our customers. The Trip-Tick case that was born with Martin-Baker was born in aviation and was born to absorb vibrations, to be anti-magnetic, hardened steel to be a little bit of an indestructible watch, and this will continue to stay by the way. But, when we look at diving watches, you don’t need those technical features (like the Martin-Baker), you can shrink it a little bit, make it a little thinner…”
It’s not just the designs that Davide is working with the teams on, he is also looking to evolve all the products to be better, use better materials and make sports watches that hold up to the environment where you would want to wear them, and just plain wear better overall.
“At the same time, we made a huge investment when we decided to use a 904L steel. It is much more resistant, much more anti-corrosive and it shines much more. We wanted the watches to be easy to service, we have added the new generation Super-LumiNova over the last generation to have much better visibility, so it’s really taking what was already existing and now working on the long-term vision of constantly improving things and specialising each one of the lines as much as possible”
Now, speaking from experience, the new bracelets on the Terra Nova range are a vast improvement on the old bracelets of Bremont old. Gone are the chunky links that felt out of place as is the clasp that didn’t do justice to any of the watches. Instead, the new generation of Bremont bracelets, at least on the Terra Nova range, are much more refined, easier to wear, more comfortable, and now feel like they belong on a watch at the price points they are. If Bremont and Davide can extend this style of bracelet, or similar depending on the style of watches they’re designed for across the rest of the range, then I feel this is a win for both the brand and consumers. He continues to talk about the plans for the pilot’s collection:
“The one collection we have not touched at all is the pilot line because it’s an evolution and a transition and we really wanted to do it step by step. Next year we will present this line a little refreshed, that, once again is not at all a dramatic evolution. There were concerns about the thickness, the size, and concerns about the the ring of the Martin-Baker that is a little bit abrasive, but we have addressed all this. The design will be very close to the original one, the Trip-Tick case will always be there…”
So it seems that Davide is taking a very measured approach to the evolution of Bremont. Yes, we all saw the new collection and new branding at Watches & Wonders, and for many it was a little shock as it seemed that this change happened overnight. But as Davide has stated, this was a while in the making, and the changes have been worked on for a long time and Watches & Wonders 2024 was a grand unveiling. Could all this have happened a little more gradually to alleviate some of the shock for enthusiasts and lovers of Bremont? Perhaps. But sometimes it is easy to just make a splash and get it out there, and then give people time to get used to it. Davide sums it up possibly more eloquently than me.
“You will see between one and two years time the full architecture of the brand, everyone will understand that there was no revolution, there was no shock, people just saw the first piece of the change and when you see the whole architecture and how that is encapsulated, it will become much clearer and it will make much more sense.”
“For me, it’s easy because I see the full architecture of how the brand will look at the end of this process and evolution. For you, for the customer, it is more difficult because at the beginning you just see bits and pieces, you don’t see the architecture, so we need a little bit of time to frame it. And, already from next Watches & Wonders and from the 12 months that will follow, you will see now how the brand architecture works really well, and how much in reality the DNA is really preserved – all the elements of Britishness are super important for us.”
What Davide says here is correct, it is hard to see a vision for a brand’s future from the outside, we just see the first changes and ask the question – why? But when brands start to evolve or change, there is a roadmap in place, and the only ones who see this roadmap are people like Davide and the team back at Bremont, so we just have to trust that they are on the right track. Personally, I feel that they are. They have to be, as we all know the company was not in great shape, as had been widely reported, and we all love an underdog and a comeback story, but unlike the 2 hour Hollywood movie, this takes time and effort to execute. But he is not alone. Davide explains that the brand has so many talented people now working for it with an intrinsic belief in it, and this is exactly what you need!
“It’s really, really exciting and new. There is a strong energy, people are incredibly passionate with a lot of young people in the company, and now we have brought in some older people (I put myself in the older category) from the watch-making world. People with very specific experiences and this is creating a very unique environment where these competencies can be shared. Ideas flow very quickly and there is a very strong engagement of everyone, so it’s really exciting, really really exciting!”
Davide and the wider team at Bremont had just come off a planning and strategy day before we spoke to him, so we asked about this, and how the people at Bremont have embraced the new away forward and team values…
“In reality, these drivers have been embedded in the company since, well, forever. I would say they were aurally shared and passed from generation to generation before, and we have just done the exercise of writing them down and sharing them. If it’s clear, if it’s written, it is much easier to understand, much easier to share and easier to incarnate in a way. Sometimes with this family feeling that you have in a smaller company and in an independent brand, many things are really aurally transmitted by voice, and some people have been there a long time that function a bit like the museum, or the memory of the brand, they’re like our database! So we just did the exercise of framing it and sharing it with everyone. Actually, we had a full day of fun trying to live it with the help of Bremont Ambassador, Jason Fox who is a really super engaging and funny human. It was really exciting, and people are getting more and more excited, so it’s very nice, plus they welcomed an Italian into the UK, which isn’t common!” (which he laughs at!)
Davide is taking all his expertise, and funnelling this into Bremont and the new direction. It won’t be an easy road, however. Pushing into new markets, widening the customer base, bringing new fans into the fold and converting old fans over to the new look Bremont. But, his track record and background would suggest he’ll succeed as both a CEO and designer and it would also seem that the wider team have, and are working towards this new and clear direction.
Having spoken to him in person, seeing the passion he has for Bremont, and wanting it to succeed as an independent brand in a category that’s dominated by the large watch industry players, our money is on him. But like all things, only time will tell. We will keep up to date and across Bremont’s progress and hopefully catch up with Davide again in person at Watches & Wonders 2025 to see the next phase of the brand’s evolution.
