Hot on the heels of their collaboration with Garrick, Fears have announce another, this time with Christopher Ward. Again, both companies being founding partners of the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers.
This jump-hour watch is limited to 50 pieces and available to purchase by Club members of the Alliance with all profits from sales being donated to the Alliance to support its various initiatives.
Differently to the Garrick watch this one features a bespoke 40.5mm Fears case and uses a JJ01 Christopher Ward movement. The movement being developed in house based on a Sellita SW200.
They are making just 50 of these models. They will only be available to Club members of Alliance on a first-come, first-served basis when it is launched.
The ‘Fears Christopher Ward : Alliance 01’ will be available to Club Members to order on Friday 27 January priced at £3950 (inc. VAT).
Well where do I start ? I have not been keeping up for sometime and a lot is going on. It used to be that I would see some news that I could report and now the world of British watches really frothing with news and not just with new brands popping up on Kickstarter actual exciting watches.
So to avoid any risk of favoritism I will treat these items in alphabetical order.
Bremont
Bremont have been working away somewhat separately from the rest of the British watch industry whilst investing heavily in their UK manufacturing facility in Henly-on-Thames. Last year this investment led to the launch of the ENG300 movement which was housed in the limited edition Longtitude which were available for between £15k and £22k which clearly minimised the impact a little. Clearly a company with the vision and ambition of Bremont would not go to the effort of developing a movement just for a limited run watch.
So this October saw the announcement of not one but three new ranges of watch. The Supernova, the Fury and the Audley. To my eye the Fury and Audley are very clearly the style of watch we have come to expect from Bremont. The Supernova offers something different a steel sports watch with an integrated bracelet.
Bremont Supernova
I am not sure the the Supernova brings something new to the watch market, from everything I have seen it will be a very nicely made piece in the spirit of the more well known models from Switzerland. What it does bring is a British alternative which in itself from my point of view is positive. On sale for £7,995 which is more expensive than the usual non-limited edition Bremonts, but looks good value when compared to the better known continental offerings.
Bremont Fury
The 40mm Fury, a re-interpretation of the classic pilots watch, again more expensive than we are used to from Bremont and other similarily styled watch, but again it features the Bremont made H1 certified movement. H1 being the new chronometer timing standard, directly comparable to the ISO3159:2009 Chronometer test.
Bremont Audley
The final watch in the series is the the classic dress watch, named after Bremonts showroom in Mayfair, London. Avilable in steel (£5,995) of rose gold (£14,995).
Christopher Ward
C1 Bel Canto
In my mind Christopher Ward are a company producing very well made watches at very reasonable prices. They have produced some pieces that cause you to look twice, such as the C60 Sapphire. This October they announced the C1Bel Canto, featuring a striking hour. This watch is already listed on the website as “sold out”. Now personally it is not a style of watch that I particularly like but what they produced for the price just seems spectacular value for money. As you can see from the images this is not a watch that will go un-noticed, especially when it starts to chime. I guess we will have to start looking out for them on the used market.
Fears
Brunswick 40Brunswick 49 – bracelet detail
Fears have been super busy. Due to my lockdown induced laziness I have not really covered this year’s news from Fears very well apart from via Instagram posts which is a real shame as Nicholas Bowman Scargill has continued to bring some really interesting pieces to market. After the Garrick collaboration there was the the limited edition for the Californian watch retailer Topper. This watch featured a black or white californian dial and wait for it – a 40mm version of the now established Brunswick case. We then returned to the standard 38mm Brunswick case for the Royal Purple jubilee year celebration. The obvious question is; what else are Fears going to do with the 40mm case? So here we have it the Brunswick 40, a sportier Brunswick on a steel bracelet and with 100m water resistance. A possible “one watch”, sporty and elegant. This new watch is available with a Pink, Silver or Blue dial. The bracelet of course is not an “off the shelf” design and as a secret design “egg” the inside of the butterfly clasp features the “flower of Bristol” , honouring Fears’ home city.
The watches are priced at £3750 for more information go to the Fears website.
Now he has relocated I do not get many opportunities to meet with Nicholas Bowman-Scargill of Fears, so it was a pleasant surprise when he suggested a coffee as he was in town.
As well as a catch-up he wanted to show me his forthcoming new watch. There have been a couple of teasing images recently on Fears social media postings but I was not sure what to expect. So it was a huge surprise when Nicholas opened his now familiar Globe-Trotter watch case.
The Fears Garrick, a collaboration between Fears and fellow founding member of the Alliance of British Watch & Clockmakers, Garrick. David Brailsford of Garrick and Nicholas cooked up this project over a coffee, hence the projects code name “Costa”. The result is a watch that clearly has the DNA of both of the partners. The overal case shape and exposed balance being very Garrick, the dial detailing being very Fears.
The details:
Case
The elegant Fears Garrick’s 42mm case is made and finished in Garrick’s Norfolk. The curved sides of the polished 904L stainless steel case help the slender watch slip easily under a shirt cuff.
DIAL
The watch features an Old English White dial, with a fine matt texture. Deep glossy black printing is combined with seven lines of blood red on the power reserve display at 2 o’clock. These lines represent the moment when the watch’s main spring has wound down. Across from this display at 10 o’clock is the running
The glossy black printing is combined with seven lines of blood red on the power reserve display at 2 o’clock. These lines represent the moment when the watch’s main spring has wound down. Across from this display at 10 o’clock is the running seconds.
Applied by hand to the dial’s surface are the diamond-cut numerals, produced in the bespoke ‘Edwin’ typeface.
HANDS
The Fears Garrick features the distinctive ‘Fears’-shaped hands, which are hand-finished by a watchmaker, Fears is one of only a handful of British watch brands that construct watch hands in-house, in the UK.
MOVEMENT
Visible through the Fears Garrick’s exhibition case back is the exclusive, manual winding Garrick UT-G04 movement. Based on the Garrick UT-G01 this version features a power reserve indicator at 2 o’clock. Visible from the dial side is a free sprung balance e wheel, made from Garrick’s exclusive alloy Sircumet
SHIPPING IN JULY 2023 The Fears Garrick watch involves a considerable amount of hand-making and hand-finishing and as such they are made in very small batches. They are currently selling watches from a batch which will be shipping in July 2023. Clearly more details are avaible at https://www.fearswatches.com/collections/fears-watch-collection/products/garrick
This Christmas 2021 was I suspect for many of you, like ours a fairly subdued event. However for me there was an horological highlight, no not not a new watch, my wife thinks it is too difficult to choose, but a watch book. Bringing my watch book collection now to two.
This year the book that doubled my collection was “Elegantly Underestated – 175 Years of the Fears Watch Company”. This very well presented volume gives the background to the company brought back to life by Nicholas Bowman-Scargill in 2016.
Over my time thinking more about watches I have realised that much of the interest in the hobby is about stories. Only though an interesting story can a watch differentiate itself from an apparantly technically identical, or even superior product. Witness a Tudor Black Bay with an ETA movement being more collectable than the current version with an in-house COSC movement. Collectors like to to tell the story about their watch.
However, I am not accusing Nicholas of publishing this book as a cynical myth making marketing ruse, of all the people I have met in the watch world he is the person with the most passion for his company’s heritage it being is so intertwined with his family’s history. The author of the book Jane Duffus, is also the three times great niece of Edwin Fear the founder of the company.
This book is very much written as a history of the company, not a technical description of all the countless watches the company has produced. It explains the lives the lives of the founders and their successors, giving social context to the times they were working in. The history of Fears is also very much intertwinned with that of Bristol, the home of the company. To my mind this actually makes it more readable, so much so that I finished it in one sitting.
Any readers who might have visited this blog before will be aware that I have known Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, the 4th Managing Director of Fears Watches for a few years. I was therefore very pleased to receive an invitation to the celebration of this important anniversary. Given the recent lack of any watch connected social life the invitation itself regardless of the location would have been accepted in double quick time, but this party was held on the top three floors of the Shard in London. Apparently the tallest building in Europe – wow.
An idea of the view
The event as well as a great excuse for a party was an opportunity for Nicholas to showcase his latest book of the company’s history and the limited edition commemorative watches.
The book I have already covered in a recent post has received a positive reaction from those that have seen it. I particularily enjoyed Nicholas’s exhaustive background explanation as a guest on a recent Scottish Watches podcast ( here’s a link)
You will notice commerative watches, plural. The commerative series is known as Archival and it comes in two variants, both of which based on a 1930’s model suitably scaled to a more modern size. Consistent with Nicholas’s attention to detail the size increase is 17.5%.
The inspiration
The two variants are the Archival 1930 and Archival 1930 Small Seconds. The series will be limited to 175 pieces, one for each year ot the history of Fears. Each watch will have the number of a year engraved on the case back.
Of the entire series 39 will be the small seconds version, these watches representing the years that the Fears company was dormant before being re-started by Nicholas.
The two models differ by the movements that power them, with the two-handed Archival 1930 (136 watches) using a new old stock manual winding movement dating from the 1960s. While the three-handed Archival 1930 Small Seconds uses a new old stock manual winding movement dating from the 1930s. Both are movements that Fears used in the past. Each movement, having never previously been used, has undergone a full re-build and recondition in the workshop while receiving an upgraded mainspring to enhance reliability. The small seconds version using a NOS Swiss made ZentRa 185/ETA 717, circa 1935, and in the two handed version you will find a ETA 2360, from circa 1968. Both movements are manual wound running at 18,000 vph.
As we have come to expect from Fears both of these watches are beautifully made. I was lucky enough to have the chance to see and try the in the metal a few days before the anniversay event.
The17.5% size increase nicely satisfies modern tastes, this is a watch that sites very snuggly on the wrist, this helped by the gentle curve of the caseback. This stikes me as being a watch that offers similar utility to the Brunswick, a watch that can be dressed up or down by using a different strap. I continue to suggest to Nicholas how good his watches can be “casualised” using prelon straps. You can just see this watch on wrists at the Hamptons over the summer.
The hint in much of the the Fears literature is that these watches are the first of the Archival series. I am sure many of us will be looking at the back catalogue and will have our own ideas of what should be next. Always be wary of suggesting a dive watch, how many times has Nicholsa been quoted as saying he cannot swim. Maybe if he had swimming lessons he might change his mind.
Here are the full technical specs:
Archival 1930 specification
CASE
316L stainless steel, 40mm x 22mm rectangular-shaped with curved front and back (depth 8.54mm). Closed caseback. Made in Germany
LUG WIDTH
20mm
MOVEMENT
New-Old-Stock, Swiss made ETA 2360, circa 1968, manual winding, 17 jewels, 18,000vph (2.5Hz) and 40 hr power reserve. Reconditioned, serviced, and fitted with an upgraded main spring in the UK
GLASS
Sapphire Crystal to front with ARdur® Swiss anti-reflective coating on inside and outside. Crystals made in Hong Kong, Anti-reflective coating applied in Switzerland
DIAL
Vintage Champagne with 18ct yellow gold coating. Polished and matte finishes. Glossy black printing. Made in Germany
HANDS
‘Fears’ hands – Bevelled, diamond polished and Blued. Made in Germany
FUNCTIONS
Time
WARRENTY
2 Year guarantee from date of purchase
STRAP
Oxblood Red, British calf leather, lined in Alcantara®, handmade. Leather tanned in the UK, Strap made in Belgium
SERIAL NUMBER
Individually numbered, sequentially
LIMITED EDITION
Engraved with a unique year from 1846 – 1976 and 2016 – 2021
MODEL REFERENCE
BS8-1930-0
RETAIL PRICE
£3,500 inc. VAT (£2,916.67 ex. VAT)
Archival 1930Small Seconds specification
CASE
316L stainless steel, 40mm x 22mm rectangular-shaped with curved front and back (depth 9.28mm). Closed caseback. Made in Germany
LUG WIDTH
20mm
MOVEMENT
New-Old-Stock, Swiss made ZentRa 185/ETA 717, circa 1935, manual winding, 15 jewels, 18,000vph (2.5Hz) and 38 hr power reserve. Reconditioned, serviced, and fitted with an upgraded main spring in the UK
GLASS
Sapphire Crystal to front with ARdur® Swiss anti-reflective coating on inside and outside. Crystals made in Hong Kong, Anti-reflective coating applied in Switzerland
DIAL
Vintage Champagne with 18ct yellow gold coating. Polished and matte finishes. Glossy black printing. Made in Germany
HANDS
‘Fears’ hands – Bevelled, diamond polished and Blued. Made in Germany
FUNCTIONS
Time with subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock
WARRENTY
2 Year guarantee from date of purchase
STRAP
Oxblood Red, British calf leather, lined in Alcantara®, handmade. Leather tanned in the UK, Strap made in Belgium
If you have not signed up to Giles Ellis of Schofield Watches ‘ amusing weekly newsletter you would have missed this interesting insight to the lives of some of the people behind Britain’s exciting watch sector. Giles posted images of their desks. If you do not want to miss further insights into the world of Schofield you can sign up on the Scofield website.
Giles Ellis – SchofieldNicholas Bowman-Scargill – Fears Piers Berry – PinionAlex Brown – Elliot Brown
I started my journey into the world of British watch brands by asking myself questions about the importance of heritage. This question coming from the appearance of Bremont on the market. I think most watch enthusiasts would agree that alongside prestige, heritage or at least a story is an important element of consideration in the choice of a watch.
On person that has understood this very well is Nicholas Bowman-Scargill the (4th) Managing Director of Fears Watches. Until the companies re-launch at Salon QP in 2016, Fears was not a brand most enthusiasts would, as marketing people would say, name spontaneously. Within the space of very few years Nicholas has very skillfully has managed to remind the watch comunity of his brands heritage, which I have not heard anyone question. As well as making the most of this history Nicholas has very successfully and tastefully taken design elements from the company’s history.
Last week saw the announcement by Bristol Books publishes a 176-page book today about the 175-year history of the Fears Watch Company. Titled, “Elegantly Understated: 175 years of the Fears Watch Company” the book takes a detailed look at one of Britain’s oldest watch companies from its founding in 1846, through to its closure in the late 1970s and its re-birth in 2016. Researched and written by Bristol-based author Jane Duffus, the book traces Fears’ extensive history across four chapters, each covering the era of one of the Fear family’s managing directors. The book’s foreword has been written by Roger Smith OBE, renowned watchmaker and Chairman of the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers.
Printed and hardback bound in the United Kingdom, “Elegantly Understated” includes numerous photographs and illustrations from the Fears archive. Both watches and artefacts are reproduced in full colour along with maps of the former locations and the logos used by the company in each era. “Elegantly Understated” has been published in the year in which Fears celebrates the 175th anniversary of Edwin Fear founding his workshop on Redcliff Street, Bristol in 1846.
The author’s research over two years unearthed many new facts about the company, which had been thought lost when it closed its doors in the late 1970s. Her numerous interviews included members of the Fear family as well as one of the final watchmakers to work for the company in its first incarnation. This research has resulted in a detailed history not only of one of the oldest watch companies in Britain, but also of a family business that persevered through numerous world catastrophes such as two world wars and the great depression.
Commenting on “Elegantly Understated” being published, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, (4th) Managing Director of Fears Watch Company, says “I am delighted that the history of the company which I’m honoured to run today, has been published in time for such a significant milestone year in Fears’ history. Jane’s enthusiasm for creating this book meant her research left no stone unturned and resulted in her discovering new information that I’d previously not been aware of. To have this all in one place, in a beautifully bound book, filled with interesting anecdotes and numerous pictures is a huge joy for me. I hope that people enjoy reading and learning about Fears’ extensive history as much as I have.”
Commenting on writing “Elegantly Understated”, Jane Duffus, author, says “Tracing the Fear family’s history through time has been such a rewarding experience. This is a story that is about more than watches, because the Fears story also covers two world wars, a financial depression and even a global pandemic. This story about a heritage watch brand has also become a reflection of British society through the past 175 years, and I feel very proud to have been involved with this project. I hope others will enjoy the book just as much as I enjoyed working on it.”
In writing the foreword for “Elegantly Understated”, Roger Smith OBE commented “The 175th anniversary of Fears arrives at a pivotal time for British watchmaking. When we founded the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers to guide the resurgence of our sector, we immediately recognised the importance of Fears as one of our true heritage makers with a fascinating and genuine continuation of one of Britain’s oldest watchmaking families. It was therefore a privilege to contribute a foreword for this important book and I wish Nicholas and the Fears family my very best for another 175 years – and volume 2!”
This initiative underlines to me what an excellent PR job Nicholas is doing for his re-born company. This following his very innovative offer of the loan of a Fears watch to those needing to make the right impression for a job interview. Should Nicholas ever decide watches are no longer for him he would have a great future in PR. We all hope he continue with his current calling – watches
Recently British watchmaking has for sometime been regarded something of a cottage industry, like other similar industries there is an element of chummy collaboration. Often representatives of the various brands will mention other brands in interviews. They have realised that there is enough space for them all to thrive so why not co-operate. Up until now that co-operation has been informal.
During the last ever Salon QP a conversation between Mike France of Christopher Ward and Roger Smith led to the idea of taking this co-operation to another level. I understand all my favourites such as Fears, Pinion and Vertex are getting involved. The video below gives you all the background.
There was also a really nice chat with Mike France and Roger Smith on the Scottish Watches podcast
To support this initative you do not have to be a watch manufacturer. Anyone with an interest in British watchmaking can join up. I for one have put membership on my Christmas list. For more information:
Like many of you, one of the things I am missing during these current social restrictions is a catch-up chat over a couple of watches. One person I have particularly missed is Nicholas Bowman- Scargill of Fears Watches. Nicholas was one of one of my first meeting with any brand and we have kept in touch ever since.
You can imagine therefore how pleased I was to get a message from Nicholas asking if I would like to see some new watches. Of course, I would, is this a sign life might eventually return to something resembling that we had enjoyed only a few months before?
Before meeting I tried to think what the Nicholas might have up his sleeves this time. He has always excluded a diver. He has stopped offering the quartz Redcliff range. So, it had to be a development of the Brunswick. Maybe a chronograph… a different case material.
I clearly, I do not think in the same way as Nicholas. After keeping me in suspense for a good ten minutes he finally revealed these two new variants of the much-appreciated Brunswick. One steel cased with a Salmon dial and a second version of last year’s gold plated Midas with a silver dial. As well as offering more choice to Brunswick clients these watches represent an evolution of the design details of the range.
Both variants feature the new ‘Edwin’ numerals—specially designed for Fears by a horological typographer, Lee Yuen-Rapati. Named after the founder of the company. Lee spent time in the Fears archive, studying all the different typefaces that Fears has used throughout its history, he created a new typeface that is modern, yet influenced by them. The result is a very elegant, classic set of numerals, with some vintage flourishes. Each applied numeral has been treated like a jewel: after being cut out with a CNC machine, to a height of 0.5 mm, they are diamond polished and sand-blasted to create a perfectly smooth and matte finish. Each numeral has then been coated in anthracite, lending a subtle, warm and grey finish, which complements the coppery, pink tones of the dial surface. Finally, each one is applied by hand to the dial, affixed by tiny rivets. The Fears branding is slightly smaller and the model name Brunswick has disappeared, finally the word “England” appears for the first time below the sub-dial acknowledging not only the parts of the watch which are made in the country, but also the fact that every watch is hand built in England.
The new Midas also offers a solid case back. Personally, I have never been a huge fan of display backs and I love the opportunity that a solid case back offers for personalisation or for a simple dedication in the style of retirement watches. The Midas also comes fitted with a new lovely dark brown alcantara lined leather strap, the colour I am hoping Nicholas will continue to call “Otto”.
Both these watches both manage to offer even more elegance to the already elegant Brunswick range. Maybe next time Nicholas will surprise me with an elegant diver’s chronograph.
The Fears Brunswick Salmon retails for £3,150 inc. VAT and is available from 25th of September. More information can be found at www.fearswatches.com/brunswicksalmon. The new Brunswick Midas retails for £4,250 inc. VAT and is available to purchase today with delivery commencing 30th October. More information can be found online at www.fearswatches.com/brunswickmidas.
Then if you would like to hear more from Nicholas about these watches why not have a listen to this recent Scottish Watches podcast
Fears Watches are to partner with the UK Government’s GREAT Britain campaign, which highlights the best the country has to offer the world. It’s an honour for Fears to have its 174-year heritage and British credentials recognised during the company’s fourth year of trading since its re-launch in 2016.
The announcement comes as Fears concludes production of its final Quartz powered watch at the end of February 2020. Since the launch of the mechanical Brunswick in 2017, Fears has been slowly moving towards an all mechanical watch line up. Once the remaining stock of quartz watches are sold all Fears watches will be powered by mechanical movements and, like the Brunswick, will be hand built in the UK. Fears builds its watches in the East Anglian city of Norwich using bespoke components made in Germany (cases & dials), Switzerland (movements & winding crowns), UK (hands and strap leather), Hong Kong (sapphire crystals) and Belgium (strap
Commenting on the announcement of Fears partnering with the GREAT Britain campaign and concluding Quartz production, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, (4th) Managing Director of the Fears Watch Company says, “It’s an honour to have Fears’ extensive heritage recognised by the UK Government’s GREAT Britain campaign. The GREAT Britain campaign does outstanding work in highlighting and promoting British manufacturing and highlighting the many things that make Britain great today. Fears has a unique history in the British watch industry. Having traded for over 130 years from the middle of the 19th Century until 1976, Fears used to export to 95 countries around the world, something I hope we will achieve again. This recognition comes at a time when we’ve ended production of the Quartz watches that re-launched Fears in 2016 and now focus solely on hand building mechanical watches here the UK. The first three years of trading since the relaunch have been beyond all expectations with a lot planned for the coming year.”
Commenting
on Fears becoming a partner of GREAT, Jack Karet, Chief Partnerships
Officer of the GREAT Britain campaign says, “The GREAT Britain campaign
shines a light on the very best of what our
whole nation has to offer to inspire the world to visit, do business,
invest and study in the UK. Partnership is at the heart of this, and we
are proud to celebrate our iconic heritage brands, such a Fears, across
the globe.”
