I thought it might be good to catch up with the other half of the founding partnership. And now, a few minutes with Nick English.
James Henderson – What was your first watch, was it a gift? Is there a story behind it?
Nick English – I remember my first ever watch being a very plastic swiss diving watch when I was about 8 years old – and I cannot even remember the make!. I loved it! The face was great and what was very cool for back then is that you could ‘pop-out’ inner watch case and put it in another case surround and strap. Red was certainly the colour I remember most!
JH – When you were a boy, what did you want to be “when you grew up”?
NE – A fighter pilot – ideally a WWII fighter pilot, but I missed that(!)
JH – Where did you go to school, what did you study?
NE – I went to a school called Kimbolton near Cambridge in England. It was a quirky school in a big old castle. I enjoyed most of it and managed to get some good flying (gliding) in with the CCF, it had a great sailing team and a great workshop where you were allowed to go and make things out of wood and other materials. In England at school you have to study most subjects. I always remember being fairly bad at languages which my French-Canadian wife and French speaking kids find rather amusing. My French is still pretty horrendous!
JH – Neither you or your brother were previously in the watch industry, is that correct? What was the spark that motivated you to launch your own watch company?
NE – Our father was a huge inspiration to us. We spent the whole time making things with him in the workshop – including planes, boats, cars and restoring old clocks. He was an incredible engineer (an aeronautical engineer from Cambridge) and loved all things mechanical which we inherited. His love of flying and restoring old vintage aircraft was also passed down to Giles and myself, and we are still lucky enough to be flying this old planes. Our father died in 1995 in a plane crash whilst practicing for an air-display, and I broke around 25 bones (I was in the front seat). This changed our family’s life and it was the tipping point for Giles and I. We realised very quickly that we wanted to do something we enjoyed doing. Life is short.
JH – So what is it like working with your brother Giles?
NE – It is great. I do all of the design, marketing, press, operation, finance, and he sweeps the workshop floor, carries watch boxes etc – it works well!! No seriously, we both do a bit of everything and I cannot think of a time when we have fought. We both share the same vision and same passions in life and so it makes working together very easy.
JH – Do you ever consider doing something else?
NE – Nothing work wise. Obviously there are a lot of things in life I am desperate to do, but work-wise , no.
JH – What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in the launch and development of Bremont?
NE – To be honest, I think with any smaller brand like Bremont (especially when you are positioned alongside some of the finest brands in the industry on the shop floor), the challenge is competing with the big bucks of the large watch groups. For Bremont, it is all about people understanding what goes into the watches – the time, effort, ridiculous amounts of testing etc, and if you have a enormous marketing budget then this is relatively easy – you can almost buy you way in. We certainly have to be innovative in the way we get the message out there. A very satisfied customer is the best marketing you could ever have.
JH – Realizing that it is difficult, but do you have a favorite “child” when it comes to what Bremont has put out there?
NE – The cream faced ALT1-C. It was the first watch that I wore and one of my pet designs. very simple and understated. For Giles I am sure he would say the black ALT1-P for the same reason. I also love my stainless steel U2 watch. The love wearing it knowing how much effort and testing has gone into its design and precision. This watch alone was the culmination of over 4 years testing with Martin -Baker (the pioneering ejection seat manufacturer). I love the simplicity of its dial. You will not get bored of this watch in 20 years time!
JH – Who else out there is making watches that interest you?
NE – I love what Peter Speke-Marin and Roger Smith are doing. They are both lovely chaps too.
JH – If you weren’t doing this, what do you think you might be doing?
NE – Restoring and flying vintage aircraft full time.
JH – What is a typical “day in the life” of Nick English?
NE – That’s a difficult one! The best way to answer that is perhaps tell you how today in panning out. Wake up just before 7a.m, make my three small children breakfast – usual mayhem trying to get two five year olds and a 4 year old out of the door. Off to work – have spent the morning tweaking some designs we have been working on, answering emails and designing new work-shop we will hopefully be moving into the coming months in the UK. Giles and I are ambassadors of the Royal Navy Historic Flight and we have an event later today down at the Yeovilton military base. Heading off there in a bit in the Bremont ‘Bus’ – a 1954 French military aircraft called a Broussard. Picking up a few people on route. It is a big fund raising event for the flight which keeps vintage Navy aircraft in the air. An incredible cause and Bremont is auctioning off a rather special limited edition Marine Clock and two limited edition MBII watches for the cause. Will undoubtedly be on the phone later tonight as the US wakes up!
JH – Who is the next Bremont out there, and what advice do you have for them?
NE – I cannot answer the first bit really – I really hope it is a British company. There is an incredible history of British clock and watch making and it would be great if this resurgence continues. My advice would be to not to Baselworld first – we would have never done it had we seen how many brands are out there!! But joking aside, if you don’t have the true deep seated passion for the product itself, then my advice is yo not go into making watches, you will full flat at the first hurdle.