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Bremont ALT1-C 43mm Stainless Steel
Ref. ALT1-C/WH-BK
Sits in Bremont’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Bremont watches we list, which start at £1,950.
Price range £1,950 to £3,750 across 12 Bremont watches in stock.The ALT1-C has always been Bremont's purest expression of the pilot-watch brief — a chronograph built around function rather than ceremony. The 2018 refresh brought applied baton indexes to a dial that had previously used printed markers, and the effect is cleaner: a white dial that reads sharply in low light without relying on decoration to hold the eye. Beneath it, the BE-50AE is a chronometer-rated movement built from a heavily modified Valjoux 7750 base, and the exhibition caseback shows why the modification matters — custom decoration and a skeletonised Bremont rotor that makes the origin of the movement almost beside the point. The Triple-Tick case construction — a hardened steel chassis with a DLC-treated barrel sandwiched between the top and bottom sections — gives the watch its characteristic profile. At 16.5mm it is not thin, and at 133.6 grams on the wrist you know it is there; this is not a watch that disappears under a cuff, and it is not trying to. The brown calfskin strap has the bolstered, purposeful cut of aviation equipment, with contrast stitching that reinforces rather than decorates, and the push-button deployant clasp holds it without fuss.
- Reference
- ALT1-C/WH-BK
- Brand
- Bremont
- Collection
- ALT1-C
- Case size
- 43mm
- Case thickness
- 16.5mm
- Lug width
- 22mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- White
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- BE-50AE
- Functions
- Chronograph, Date, Small seconds
- Water resistance
- 100m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Deployant clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Condition
- Pre-owned
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 49.8mm
- Power reserve
- 42 hours
Learn more about Bremont
Nick and Giles English founded Bremont in 2002, four years after their father died in a plane crash that Nick survived. All three had restored and flown vintage aircraft together, and the brand that emerged is inseparable from that. The name comes from Antoine Bremont, a French farmer who sheltered the brothers after an emergency landing.
Bremont set out to rebuild British watchmaking, which had effectively ended in the twentieth century. The early watches used Swiss movements in British-designed cases, with the Trip-Tick three-part case construction and a hardened outer barrel treated to over 2000 Vickers.
The military and aviation work is real rather than thematic. Bremont holds contracts with squadrons across the RAF, the US Air Force, and other services, producing issued watches for specific units, and has made watches for Martin-Baker ejection seat survivors — tested to the ejection forces themselves.
The company has also built watches incorporating material from historical objects: oak and copper from HMS Victory, aluminium from the Wright Flyer, and steel from Bletchley Park.
The manufacturing ambition advanced with the opening of a facility in Henley and the release of the ENG300 series in 2021, the first Bremont movement designed and largely made in England. Production is in the low tens of thousands annually.
- 2002
- Nick and Giles English found Bremont.
- 2007
- The first watches ship with the Trip-Tick case.
- 2009
- The Martin-Baker collaboration begins.
- 2021
- The ENG300 becomes the first English-made Bremont calibre.
Also in 6 collections
This watch appears in Stainless Steel Watches (2,613), Back in Stock (2,028), Automatic Watches (1,479), Chronograph Watches (957), Leather Strap Watches (835) and Pre-Owned, Ex-Display & Vintage Watches (257).
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 100m water resistance covers swimming and watersports
- 49.8mm lug-to-lug keeps the 43mm case wearable
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Bremont's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 43mm sits at the larger end
- 16.5mm thick, so it will not disappear under a cuff
- Leather does not suit regular contact with water
Bremont ALT1-C alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | ALT1-C/WH-BK | CBN201D.FC6543 | BR0394 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,750 | £3,815 | £3,660 |
| Case size | 43mm | 42mm | 42mm |
| Water resistance | 100m | 100m | 100m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Leather strap | Rubber strap |
| Power reserve | 42 hours | 80 hours | — |
| This watch | Closely matched | Closely matched |
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Yes. At 100m it is rated for swimming and snorkelling, though not for diving.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedHow long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 42 hours fully wound — enough to survive a night off the wrist, but not a full weekend.
What size strap does it take?
22mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Will it fit my wrist?
Lug-to-lug is 49.8mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16.5cm (6½ inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
How to size a watch to your wristIs it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
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