Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
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Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by problem son »

I joined the CW Forum relatively recently and I am wanting to be a fully active member of the Forum. This activity includes research and the writing of quite long topics, using the Google Chrome facility of being able to juggle a few websites at the same time, thus being able to cross reference between them and the CW Forum.

Last night I wrote what I considered was an interesting and relevant topic comparing Bremont with Christopher ward and I came up against a problem that has hit me once before when submitting a long post - that of losing the whole post when submitting it merely because the Forum has assumed that you have logged out when in fact you have done no such thing.

With no autosave function, this question of losing one's work becomes quite depressing, and I feel that my precious time and intellectual energy was wasted, especially as Christopher Ward London came out surprisingly well against Bremont, especially in what I call the "honesty stakes" in the literature on their respective websites. Not only are Christopher Ward's ambitions clearly and honestly stated, there is no hidden agenda as to where the watches are made, and there is also an independent Forum to keep the company up to scratch. With Bremont, the old mantra about the greatness of early English horology and the desire to revive it receives publicitity it doesn't really deserve, and I do feel that this mantra has now become a cliche and ought to be dropped. An interesting note here about them is that while Bremont is actually a French name, Christopher Ward, who pride themselves on making fine Swiss watches at an affordable price, have an English name and make watches with a certain English feel to them.

I have to admit that the start of these two companies was different in nature although at roughly the same time, and I cannot but give Bremont a special mention when I consider that the company arose out of a tragic air crash in which Euan English was killed and one of his sons, Nick English, was seriously injured. Although the family love of aviation never died, and often appears as inspiration in their watches, flying was not really an option for business, so the brothers Giles and Nick decided on another enterprise where engineering skills could be put to good use - i.e. watches. As for Christopher Ward London, the start was more leisurely and watches started being produced more quickly (in 2005, a year after the commencement of the company) Bremont watches, founded in 2002, did not start production until 2007.

Bremont make some lovely watches, and their latest limited edition is the special Bremont Lightweight Jaguar E-Type watch, of which only six were made in keeping with the six cars produced. Apparently though, more are on the way, so customers who were all unable to actually buy one of the original six watches will be able to purchase one in due course. Also, some the aviation inspired watches by Bremont are also very beautiful, especially the two subdial Bremont Boeing Model 247, which was made with assistance from Boeing's UK headquarters and costs £4495.

Having given this price, it has to be said that the comparison between the two companies breaks down when it comes to pricing, with Bremont placing themselves at a pretty high level, while Christopher Ward, who also make watches as pure and lovely as some Bremonts, deliberately place themselves at a market position where they can rightly claim that they produce "the cheapest most expensive watches in the world."

I cannot afford either a Bremont or a Christopher Ward watch new at the moment and so I am not biased in my view of the marketing strategy of these two companies, both of which use Swiss movements (though with some design work at Bremont done in the UK) I cannot believe that there is that much difference between a high-end Christopher Ward Chronograph at £600 and a Bremont chronograph at £4000 odd. Also, Bremont produce some limited edition watches at fantastically high prices, which may be beautiful but are somehow pointless, such as the steel Bremont Wright flyer, which is a lovely single subdial watch and is priced at £17,950, purely because it contains a piece from the Wright brothers original 1903 wing cloth. The Christopher Ward specials - usually related to motorsport - are far more affordable - and there are some very beautiful and subtle examples, such as the Italian red-faced chrono. Gorgeous.

This comparison is not meant to be a direct competition between two important modern English watch companies, both of whom produce some very fine watches. It just points out some things that purchasers need to be aware of when buying expensive watches. The lesson is really that the prospective purchaser need to look and look carefully before shelling out thousands on a watch that is not hugely more expensive than one produced by a similarly excellent company. It is, of course, different if that purchaser has got that one particular watch in mind that he just must have. a watch he chooses to spend all his spare money on. Then, all rules can get broken, and I only hope that the purchaser is pleased with the watch that he spent thousands on. For me, a Christopher Ward watch would suffice and would cover the dream nicely - one of the 40 mm models with an automatic movement perhaps.
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by Lavaine »

A well thought out and well written post. As for losing long posts, I would suggest writing long posts in Notepad or Word, and then 'cut and paste' into a forum post.
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by ddav »

There is the option of save draft in the full editor.
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by JRAD »

Nice post. I certainly love some of the Bremont LE runs, especially the P51 but can not justify the price. I think a big part of it is the intent of the company. It appears the Bremont has the specific intent of being exclusive and high end while CW has the intent of making quality affordable. Right now, that is infinitely more appealing to me. :clap:
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by blowfish89 »

Bremont to me is classic British high-end merchandise - overpriced and an acquired taste, didn't appeal to me (yet). I prefer the looks (and price) of a C60 Trident to a Bremont Supermarine.
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by gwells »

i think there are definitely differing levels of finishing quality between the two brands. i would give that edge to bremont without hesitation.

the real question becomes are those differences enough to justify the cost difference? well, that's pretty much the question with all brands that are steps up the ladder in that respect. it's a curve of diminishing returns and the narrower that sliver gets, the fewer people there are willing to justify the cost difference. are those extras that bremont offers worth the thousands more? is the rolex submariner really worth that much more (beyond resale value) than a steinhart? for some, wholeheartedly yes. for others, no way (and for others still, you'd be insane to pay that much for either).
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by smegwina »

For once I will keep this brief! :)

Bremont are worth the price difference!
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by JRAD »

smegwina wrote:For once I will keep this brief! :)

Bremont are worth the price difference!
I can only speculate since I have not seen one in person. But I certainly would make one my next watch if I had the coin.
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by reggie747 »

Bremont are worth the price difference!
What what what....??

I demand a lot more to wholly substantiate your statement my dear boy !!
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by downer »

Having owned both, I would say there is quite a large difference in quality - as you would expect considering the price difference.

CW represents better value for money, but Bremont is a better product.
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by atnits »

downer wrote:Having owned both, I would say there is quite a large difference in quality - as you would expect considering the price difference.

CW represents better value for money, but Bremont is a better product.
I'm sure you're right. Would you think CW is narrowing the gap, though, perhaps over the last year?
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by downer »

atnits wrote:
downer wrote:Having owned both, I would say there is quite a large difference in quality - as you would expect considering the price difference.

CW represents better value for money, but Bremont is a better product.
I'm sure you're right. Would you think CW is narrowing the gap, though, perhaps over the last year?
They are narrowing the price gap.... Not sure if CW quality has improved.. For sure, they are using better movement (Sh21) than in the past, but the cases etc have not changed afaik... Having said that, with the exception of the Slimline, I have not handled many recent CW watches, so I may not be the best judge...
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by bootsy »

Funnily enough I've just been in the City Bremont Boutique this lunch time wearing my CW. My family have 3 CWL including a CW61 ( which the bezel came off but CW did fix ) so I have a good idea on the quality.

Bremont cases are much, much nicer the CW but they are also very, very big. SIze wise the 43mm wears okay and the lugs are wonderfully curved but the height of the watch makes it stick out a lot. The straps are gorgoeous. Just tried on the prototype Boeing which looks much better in the flesh. Their website does Bremont no favours, everything looks worse than in person.

In my opionion all Bremont watches are 500 pound too expensive. Compared to Tudor they seem overpriced.
I much prefer the honesty of Schofield. His latest watch describes in detail what bits are made where. I would love it if Bremont were just as honest about it and then we could track how much more is being done in the UK each year.

I am more likely to get a Schofield or Robert Loomes than a Bremont after the communication nightmare of the Wright Flyer.
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by wildrover »

Have both CW and Bremont. Prefer CW prices and Bremont design. Just found Pinion and think they are awesome and more importantly English.
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Re: Comparison between Christopher Ward and Bremont

Post by Berkshire »

Both brand headquarters are local to me and I've met people who have or work in both camps. Unlike CWL strip the veneer off a Bremont and there is a very different watch beneath. :problem:

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