Hands-on: The Entirely New Bremont Supermarine 300m Dive Watch

Let’s go straight to the point. Bremont, one of the foremost British watch brands, is changing. The founding brothers, Nick and Giles English, are no longer the faces of the company, which has had a new CEO for about a year now: Davide Cerrato. As expected, his arrival has meant a new strategy, starting with redefining the brand around three pillars: Air (pilot’s watches), Land/Exploration (with a brand new collection named Terra Nova) and Sea (dive watches, known as the Supermarine). Today, we’ll be talking about the latter, as there is an entirely new collection, the Bremont Supermarine 300m. And it is indeed a very different watch from what we’ve come to know in the past. 

According to a recent encounter I had with Cerrato (which will be posted in a video interview soon in this magazine), there are multiple reasons for the changes we can witness at Bremont. First, the brand is still very much rooted in the UK market, with a large part of the sales effected in the United Kingdom. Bremont, as a brand, needs to enlarge its customer base and look at new, largely unexplored territories. This, according to Cerrato, required streamlining the range and creating clearly defined collections, which he has focused on three classic pillars for tool watches: land, sea, and air. Land is a new topic for the brand, which has been presented recently with the Terra Nova collection. Air needs little introduction, as pilot and military watches are the essence of the brand. The sea is a topic that has long existed at Bremont, with the Supermarine collection, but which needed to be redefined – once again, according to Cerrato, in order to expand the brand.

And here we are in 2024 with an entirely new, completely redesigned Bremont Supermarine 300m collection – there are also date models available, not covered here. And yes, it changes everything, starting with the case design, getting rid of the classic (some would say emblematic) Trip-Tick case construction. While some feared that this case would be entirely suppressed from the brand’s catalogue, Cerrato told us that it would stay, mostly in the pilot and military ranges, but also on some editions of the Supermarine – the recently revised Supermarine S302 GMT Diver models are still built around this case.

However, this isn’t true for the new Bremont Supermarine 300m, which represents the new core model for the collection – the classic dive watch, if you will. Aside from a new logo (called Wayfinder, which claims to summarise the three pillars of the brand), the brand’s aquatic proposition has been entirely redefined and made more consensual. As a replacement for the Supermarine Type 300 and Type 301 (smaller models with a 40mm case), the new Supermarine 300m wants to be sleeker, slimmer, more capable and at a better price.

Made from 904L stainless steel (a relatively rare choice in the category), the case has nice, all-rounder dive watch proportions, measuring 40mm in diameter and 49mm in length – it does feel marginally shorter on the wrist than this number would suggest. Another change concerns the overall thickness, now at a fairly reasonable 12mm including the caseback and crystal (a reduction of about 1mm). Let’s now talk about the design. As said, gone is the Trip-Tick case in this context, replaced by a more traditional 3-part design with an asymmetrical shape. Mostly satin-finished, with nice polished bevels on the sides, the case features flat flanks and integrates crown guards, but also a second protruding area at 9 o’clock to add protection to the bezel.

For the rest, the Bremont Supermarine 300m is a well-equipped dive watch with a domed sapphire crystal, a screw-down crown and an engraved steel screwed back. It features a unidirectional bezel with an aluminium insert – a deliberate choice from Cerrato, who prefers the metallic sheen of an anodized ring rather than the polished look of a ceramic insert. It is a pleasant watch on the wrist, with an undeniable feel of quality and robustness. The design will surely generate debate, mostly from the old fan base that might miss the previous case design, while at the same time, new-to-the-brand enthusiasts will look at this model with fresh eyes. Evolution for a brand is always a complex task. I personally would say that the watch has gained in practicality and comfort and feels robust. It has, however, lost some of its identity.

Regarding the dial, two options are available for the Supermarine 300m no-date: blue or green (a black dial is available with a date). Both have a fine-grained texture and a light gradient effect to match the colour of the bezel. The evolution of the identity is less blatant here, as the overall look feels familiar, in line with the previous S300 and S301. The no-date display is enjoyable and the brand has made the choice of applied markers and numerals, moving away slightly from the military inspiration of the past. The sword hands are classic Bremont, while the seconds hand has been reshaped with an arrow tip. A nice detail is the continuity of the markers from the dial to the bezel, said to create a naval-inspired crosshair.

Inside the case, hidden under an engraved back, is the calibre BE-92AO, using the latest version of the Sellita SW300 base, with an upgraded power reserve – now 50 hours. This automatic movement runs at 4Hz and features a stop-seconds mechanism. It is not chronometer-rated but is adjusted internally and should run pretty close to these standards.

The final evolution for the Bremont Supermarine 300m concerns the bracelet (again in 904L steel), which inaugurates a brand new design. I must admit that it is a very nice bracelet, with small and highly flexible links and a soft feeling on the skin. The undulating design (sort of a double rouleaux) is pretty unique and the bracelet is equipped with both micro-adjustment on the clasp and a quick-change system. The watch is also available on a colour-matched rubber strap (blue or green) or vintage-style leather strap (both with pin buckle and quick-release bars).

The new Bremont Supermarine 300m is now available from the brand and its retailers. It is priced from EUR 3,550 on a rubber strap or EUR 3,850 on a steel bracelet – a slight reduction compared to the previous collection. For more details, please visit bremont.com.