The Bremont Mustang P-51
By Noodlefish, published on 27 January 2011
From the Bremont Press Release, this morning:
Following on from the great success and interest generated by the arrival of the very special and unique EP120 Limited Edition watch back in late 2008, Bremont are releasing the Limited Edition ‘Bremont P-51’, a chronograph chronometer built with original parts from the famous 1944 Mustang WWII aircraft P-51K-10 (serial number 44-12016), a Pacific war veteran also known as ‘Fragile but Agile’.
Original aluminium metal from the aircraft fuselage is integrated into both the dial and the movement of the timepiece; with the dial itself inspired by the clocks found in the P-51 aircraft. The 43mm hardened steel Trip-Tick™ case, using Bremont’s B-EBE2000 technology, integrates the new rotating ‘Roto-Click’ inner bezel that houses four ball-bearings inside the case. As with many of Bremont’s latest watch designs, the P-51 is assembled the company’s atelier in England rather than their workshop in Biel-Bienne in Switzerland, and houses a modified Swiss BE-54A automatic chronometer movement that also shows UTC time. The watch will be limited to only 251 pieces and will retail at £7,450.00. The watch is to be unveiled at Basel 2011 and released in the autumn.
My initial comments are as follows:
- Wow (thought it might be best to get that out of the way.)
- This is a stunning watch, incorporating elements of the classic Elgin / Waltham 8-day cockpit clocks with Bremont’s traditional, strong styling
- In doing so, the Mustang P-51 stays true to Bremont’s design ‘DNA’ while also being a decent homage to a fantastic ‘plane (Fragile but Agile has a splendid history too). The use of the four-bladed rotor echoes the similar blades of the Mark IX Spitfire, further linking this to the previous model (EP 120)
- I must admit to some surprise at the ‘plane chosen – I didn’t think I’d see the word ‘Fragile’ on a Bremont!
- There are some lovely little details on the watch – the UTC hand and numbering are improved, in my opinion, from the EP 120; the accentuated hands add legibility, while the seconds hand seems to be displaying Bremont’s increasing quirkiness (cf the Martin-Baker hand on the MB range of watches)
- The SuperLuminova is bespoke, and lends a faded, lived-in look to the watch, further echoed by the light PVD-treatment on the stainless steel case, while the internal bezel’s solid Roto-click should keep owners happy
- I like the 30-minute counter at 12 o’clock, although would probably have preferred a slightly longer counter myself (I must admit that I tend to use chronos for timing football matches!)
- Bremont may not have announced (yet) an in-house watch movement to follow their superlative B-1 Marine Chronometer, but they will be assembling these watches in England, rather than the traditional Switzerland
- And finally, I would like to see a side-on view – as I’d be interested to see whether Bremont have maintained the RAF-inspired “roundel” on this watch
The Bremont P-51 will be officially shown at Baselworld this March. I, for one, am very much looking forward to getting my grubby little mitts on it…
The Bremont Mustang P-51
Noodlefish shares his initial thoughts on the newly announced Bremont Mustang P-51, a watch made out of a plane. Or something.
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5 Responses to “The Bremont Mustang P-51”
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El Guapo
28 January 2011
Wow is right. I saw the EP120 and loved it. Glad they’re following it up with this one. Would’ve loved to see it with a countdown bezel…that would’ve made it tougher to resist.
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Thomas
11 February 2011
How much in US dollars
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Ivan Y
11 February 2011
Thomas — at the current exchange rate, we’re looking at $11,900.
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Chris I
28 January 2011
Wow, there is a lot going on here. Pushers, crowns, complications, oh my. But it all seems to hang together for me. I don’t usually like theme watches as most are too silly and trying too hard. This one comes right up to edge of being too much. But,I pretty much like everything Bremont does and this is no exception. It still looks like a Bremont.