We take a closer look at the new Fears Brunswick PT, which will be a new line for Fears and will come as a Limited Production model of only 4 per year.
One of our favourite brands, and certainly favourite characters, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill sent us an email recently. Whilst we are always excited to receive emails from him, this one was particularly special. It had the subject heading “Fears turned up to 11!”, and outside of just the usual stuff about how we’re his favourite watch publication of all time etc, it also included a teaser video that was taken from the full clip below.
Suffice to say seeing this video made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and so given the current environment, the usual Sam Smiths pub rendezvous was replaced by a late-night Zoom call with the man himself, Nicholas, to find out more about this amazing piece.
My assumption was that a piece this amazing just had to be a limited edition, following on from the success of the Brunswick Brown Limited Edition released recently. However, to my shock and delight, Nicholas informed me that it will be a new line for Fears, and will come as a Limited Production model. They will release 4 per year, which given the craft that goes into this watch, and that I will touch upon later, makes total sense.
Fears have not released a watch in a solid precious metal since the 1960s, another factor that makes this watch so special. This watch also continues a family tradition that has been in place for 175 years. Ever since the brands inception, the company’s hallmark has been the initials of the Managing Director at the time. As a result in this platinum example, the case and buckle have been marked by the London Assay Office with the initials of Nicholas himself “NBS”.
What we have here is the quintessential Brunswick case, but with a few nuances. First of all, as you will have gathered the case is milled from a block of solid Platinum, which gives the watch some serious weight, 3 times heavier than a normal steel Brunswick in fact! The other nuance with the use of platinum is how the case is constructed. Before machine-produced precious metal watch cases became commonplace, each individual case would have been crafted by hand by a jeweler. This tradition is something Fears have brought back in the Brunswick PT, with award-winning Goldsmith Justin Richardson taking 100 hours to shape and polish by hand each individual case…
The Brunswick PT’s charm does not stop at the incredibly machined case, it also extends through to the dial. The dial features a platinum-exclusive dial-in Anthracite Grey, which is coated in real anthracite. The natural colour combines with three surface finishes to result in a dial that changes in the light giving a two-tone effect. Each dial is hand finished, involving over 58 processes, and features a contemporary layout with alternating platinum-plated Arabic numerals and flawless diamonds. The discreet diamond markers complement the D-colour, flawless diamond set into the Platinum winding crown.
The Brunswick Pt’s hands follow the same distinctive Fears shape used on other models but are represented in solid rather than skeletonized form. Each hand is first water cut from a sheet of Platinum before being leveled by hand. Finishing takes one day for each hand, using polishing and frosting on either side of the bevel to give increased legibility. The thing that we touched upon on the podcast is just how good these hands look, even in photos. At certain angles, the high polish half of the hand becomes invisible against the deep grey dial. The level of craftsmanship in each individual hand is almost as mind-blowing as the care and attention on the case.
“Since I was a young boy I’ve always been fascinated with Platinum… I’m pleased that our first solid precious metal watch is a contemporary take on what a precious metal watch can be in the 21st Century. Combining Platinum and diamonds with materials like Kevlar is the result when you turn Fears up to 11.” Nicholas Bowman-Scargill
The contemporary feel of the watch is certainly carried on with the choice of strap material. The strap is made from Kevlar® and features contrasting platinum coloured stitching to compliment the case. The underside is lined with Fears Blue Alcantara® lining which offers an incredibly supple feel when on wrist. The strap is joined by a platinum pin buckle, whose shape mirrors the silhouette and cross-section of the watch’s case. The other little detail about the buckle which is typical Fears attention to detail is that the groove in which the end of the pin sits is actually the shape of the Fears pipette! Wonderfully playful little Easter egg there!
This watch looks amazing. I feel very lucky to have got to have sat down with Nicholas on a podcast and hear about it from the horse’s mouth, and I cannot wait till we can be sitting in a quiet London pub somewhere and I get to see the watch in person! This watch has been released this morning, and the podcast episode that we recorded has also been released! So please check that out either here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
And of course please go to the Fears website and check this watch out! And definitely express an interest in one if you so wish! This is a serious watch and if you are luckily enough to have the cash you couldn’t do much better…
