Bremont MKII Chronograph Inspired by a Racing Legend

In 1963, a dozen Lightweight E-type racing cars were built, and soon found immortality after winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida, one of the foremost endurance races of its era. Two Lightweight E-types led the field, one of which crossed the finish line first.

Through the launch of its E-type collection of timepiece, Bremont has paid homage to the car designs of that time. Among the collection is the MKII chronograph, a new white-dialled counterpart to the existing Bremont Jaguar range, incorporating very similar design features to the MKII black dial, but with a new internal tachymeter dial ring which can be used to measure speed.

The Sebring MKII also has new hands and a red stitched ‘racing’ leather strap, a nod to the red racing stripes which adorned the car and the vintage embroidered branding details.

The 43mm, polished stainless steel case – fitted with a double-domed crystal to enhance the vintage appearance of the watch – is made entirely in the UK by Bremont using its renowned, three-part ‘Trip-Tick’ technology which ensures a hardness seven times greater than that of a normal steel watch.

Visible through a sapphire crystal case back, the mechanism again takes design cues from the E-type with an automatic ‘steering wheel’ winding weight. Further automotive imagery can be seen in the ‘tyre tread’ winding crown, which is topped with the Jaguar heritage logo to match that of the dial.

Giles English, Bremont co-founder, said: “Bremont has enjoyed a very special relationship with Jaguar over the years. Nick and myself have always loved the old E-types and were thrilled to be a part of the Lightweight story in 2014 when Jaguar completed the production run of these 18 original racing cars from the 60s.

“The Sebring has such a lovely story in its own right, having won its class in 1963, so seemed a natural source of inspiration for our new MKII release.”

Ian Callum, Jaguar Director of Design, added: “The MKII pieces capture the spirit of what is undoubtedly one of the most iconic sports cars of all time in a subtle and intelligent way. All the Bremont Jaguar watches subtly relay some of the codes of the E-type, but are also easy to recognise as having been created with the car in mind.

“They simply look absolutely right when you wear them in the driving seat – almost as if they had been designed alongside the car back in the 60s.”

Bremont was co-founded by brothers Nick and Giles English in 2003.