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FOLLOWER REVIEW: Matt’s Bremont ALT1 World Timer FOLLOWER REVIEW: Matt’s Bremont ALT1 World Timer

FOLLOWER REVIEW: Matt’s Bremont ALT1 World Timer

Felix Scholz

Matthew-Bremont-ALT1-WT-Wristshot

Name: Matt
Watch: Bremont ALT1-WT

What – is the story behind your Bremont ALT1?

I’ve long been a fan of Pilot’s watches, beginning with my first purchase of a Citizen Wingman when I was learning to fly 15 years ago.  This served me well working in the Kimberly for several years.  As my interest in watches grew, I planned to one day purchase a Navitimer, in my opinion a classic that has a look that will never date.  The slide rule, while accurate and functional is – as any pilot will tell you – of no great use in the real world.  The only thing I ever used it for on my Wingman was currency conversion.

An employer change requiring a good deal of travel throughout the country and overseas quickly led to the realisation that the most useful complication in a Pilot’s watch is a GMT hand.  While it’s useful for travel, its purpose is served best in day to day flying activities, as all time mesasurement in aviation is in GMT/UTC.  This includes everything from weather forecasts to ETAs passed to air traffic control.  To be able to quickly glance at the UTC time rather than having to add or subtract hours, gives my rather small brain less to think about.

This led me to the Rolex GMT Master II which then became my future intended purchase. Shortly after I was reading a thread on a helicopter forum where someone was seeking watch advice.  A poster suggested Bremont, a brand I’d not even heard of.  Some brief research led me to the story of the brothers English and their ethos of making rugged and functional timepieces.  I was hooked.  The watch that really sung to me, as it has for many others I’ve since discovered, was the MBII.  Unfortunately, the lack of a GMT hand made it unsuitable for the intended role, so  I decided on the ALT1-Z.   This was of course until the ATL1-WT was released which ultimately wound up on my wrist.

Bremont-ALT1-WT

When – did you get this watch?

I bought the watch in March last year from the Bremont Boutique in London.  I had been in Norway working for the week prior, so took a couple of days to do some watch shopping.  At the time there were no Bremont dealers in Australia, and a phone order really didn’t seem appealing.  The experience I had with the guys in their Mayfair store was fantastic, and would recommend a visit to anyone finding themselves in London.

Where – has this watch been?

It’s my daily watch, so it pretty much goes where I do.  So far it’s been to Singapore, Sydney, Launceston, The Sunshine Coast, Perth and the North West of WA.  It’s also had a couple of runs up to Kuala Lumpur.  In the next couple of months it will come with me as I head back to Norway for a few days.

Why – do you love this watch?

I love its versatility.  It looks good in any environment.  Equally as good under a suit as with a t-shirt.  I love that its been built to be worn and used.  Whilst it doesn’t live a particularly hard life, it’s nice to know that it doesn’t need to be treated with kid gloves.

How – does this watch show who you are?

Hard to say really.  I’m not really a big fan of flashy, and although the watch is itself quite busy, the fact that Bremont isn’t yet a widely known brand among those who are not watch enthusiasts means that it doesn’t draw much attention.  This I like.

If you could buy any watch tomorrow what would it be, and why?

Easy one.  A Bremont MBIII.  The original Bremont that jumped out at me, with a GMT hand.  Perfect. A GMT Master II will however need to find its way into the collection at some point though.