Bremont MBI & MBII

One of the most exclusive watches in the world. No amount of money can buy you a Bremont MBI. In order to be able to buy one, you should have had the unfortunate experience of having ejected from a aircraft equipped with a Martin Baker ejection seat.

To carve its niche in the watch making industry, Bremont has followed the marketing strategy used by Rolex. Build indestructible watches, and demonstrate their indestructibility in the field.

Why Bremont? The Bremont brand was the creation of two brothers, Nick and Giles English. According to an official press release the story behind the brand is as follows:

Nick and Giles English are professional aviators who have lived in and around aircraft since childhood, thanks to the enthusiasm of their father, the late Euan English.

Euan English was an exceptional man: an adored father, a talented engineer and, notably, an RAF aerobatic champion and display pilot of the highest calibre. It is to Euan English, who died in March 1995 while practicing for an air display in a North American Harvard, that his sons dedicated the time, thought and energy that have resulted in the Bremont watch - a watch of which the brothers are proud and of which they believe their father would be proud as well. Part of the impetus to create this watch stemmed, perhaps surprisingly, from gratitude. Although Euan English, lost his life in that Harvard, his elder son, Nick, was spared: he was flying with his father and sustained multiple injuries in the crash. As the aircraft spiralled to the ground, Giles could only look on before running to help his brother, simultaneously creating a fraternal bond which can never be broken.

The following year, Nick and Giles were back in the air, flying across France in a 60-year-old plane. Bad weather forced them to make an emergency landing in a pea field in the Champagne region. As fate would have it, the field was owned by a former WWII pilot who, despite his considerable age, remained as passionate about aircraft as Nick and Giles.

Also passionate about horology, he assembled a house full of clocks, and wore a particularly special wristwatch - the one given to him by his father. His name, Antoine Bremont, was chosen to grace this new family of watches because his passions in life exactly matched those of the brothers.

Bremont MBI. Martin Baker manufactures ejection seats. Ejection seats allows pilots to bail out of supersonic aircraft before they crash. As a tribute to the pilots who have had to eject from aircraft, and who were saved by a ejection seat made by Martin Baker, Bremont and Martin Baker created the MBI. In commemoration of this partnership, the dial of the watch bears the MB emblem of Martin Baker.

The Bremont MBI has a large and durable 43mm case. Inside the 43mm case is a iron Faraday cage making the watch highly resistant to magnetism. The movement is mounted and designed for shock resistance. The case is water resistant to 100 meters. The outer ring of the dial of the watch can rotates so allow the user to measure intervals of time of sixty minutes of less. The bi-directional rotating ring is rotated using the crown at the 4 o'clock position. The crystal of the watch is domed to prevent it from popping of due to sudden drops in air pressure, which is important for a watch which might be used ejecting from an aircraft.

The movement of the watch is a COSC certified Swiss-built movement which produces 28,800 beats per hour, and this movement displays the day and the date. The movement has a shorter than expected 38 hours.

Bremont MBII. For those who have not had the unfortunate experience of having to eject from a crippled aircraft with a Martin Baker ejection seat, Bremont offers the MBII. Nearly identical to the MBI, the MBII comes with a different strap and does not have the Martin Baker emblem on the dial.

About Bremont. Bremont Watch Company Ltd. is a British watch company established by two brothers, Nick and Giles English. Bremont has been selling watches since 2007.