Norwich School is delighted to launch a bespoke watch exclusively designed by an ON for ONs. Rachel Lightfoot, Development Manager, tells us more...
"In October 2022 Giles opened Bremont HQ in Henley on Thames to the ON Society for a tour of their HQ and now with 20 years of British watch making under their belts we are delighted to launch this Bremont ON watch to our NS community.
We share with you the finished design of our exclusive Bremont ON watch. I hope you will agree that ON Giles English (88-92) has created a classic ON dress watch we will love for years to come.
This limited production BREMONT AIRCO ON watch is available exclusively to ONs (Old Norvicensians). I am also delighted to tell you that a small donation per watch sold will go towards bursaries, gifting a transformational Norwich School education to a future ON.
You will see that our Bremont ON watch has some rather tasteful features. Please look closely... on the face you will find the subtle NS houses around the edge, BREMONT ON & the year the school was founded in 1096.
And on the rather beautiful open case back of the watch, you will find Norwich School. And a place for an engraving of your choice where you can personalise the watch for you."
To find out more or to place your order please get in touch: rlightfoot@norwich-school.org.uk or 01603 728431.
ABOUT BREMONT
Bremont is an award-winning British luxury watch brand, manufacturing mechanical watches in Henley-on-Thames, England. Bremont is making considerable investment with its UK watch making and manufacturing and in 2021 opened The Bremont Manufacturing & Technology Centre, a new state-of-the-art 35,000 sq ft purpose-built mechanical watch manufacturing centre enabling the full machining and manufacturing of Bremont’s watches.
Co-Founded by brothers Nick & Giles English (ON: 88-92) in 2002, Bremont has made a substantial impact on the watch making industry in a very short period of time. The brand remains true to its original principles of: aviation and military, British engineering and adventure. As well as manufacturing watches for some of the most exclusive military squadrons around the world, Bremont continues to play an influential role in revitalising the British watch industry, the birthplace of numerous timekeeping innovations still used today. The brand is now in the top handful of chronometer producers in the world. www.bremont.com
Nick and Giles English Biographies
Nick English
Nick English, born and raised in Cambridge, graduated with a First in Geography from Manchester University in 1993. During his teen years, he spent many hours flying and displaying historic aircraft with his father, Euan, and his brother, Giles. He also flew with the RAF as an undergraduate.
Nick qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in 1996 and then went on to work at Henry Ansbacher, a corporate finance boutique. These years were interrupted by a horrific vintage plane crash in 1995 where, whilst practicing for an air-display, his father, Euan, died and Nick broke over 25 bones. This was a tipping point in Nick and his brother’s lives. They left the City in 1997 to restore and maintain historic aircraft in a business their father had set up as a hobby.
Whilst surrounded by these historic aircraft, Nick and Giles set up a secure digital media distribution business in 1999 called Virtue Broadcasting Plc, which they took public in 2001.
It was in 2002 that Nick and Giles decided to pursue one of the main passions in their lives – mechanical watches. Fully appreciative of the role Great Britain had played in the evolution of horology over the centuries, they set out to re-establish the British watchmaking industry and so The Bremont Watch Company was born. The watches, all of which were chronometers, took five years of development and in July 2007 their first watches were sold in the UK.
Having since moved to ‘The Wing’ in Henley-on-Thames – a state-of-the-art manufacturing and technology facility which opened in 2021, Bremont have brought horological manufacturing back to Britain on a scale not seen since the 1970s. Today, The Wing has enabled the brand to grow production exponentially and launch its first manufactured movement series The ENG 300.
Bremont watches are now sold all over the world through Bremont’s own brand boutiques, online and a significant wholesale network. The brand has won numerous awards and prides itself on manufacturing watches on British shores.
Nick lives with his wife and three children near Henley-on-Thames.
Giles English (88-92)
Giles English grew up in and around aviation and inherited both this passion and the love of engineering from his father. Unsurprisingly, he then went on to read General Engineering and Naval Architecture at Southampton University. As a post-grad he joined Williams de Broë Corporate Finance, advising them on IPOs for engineering businesses.
In 1995, Giles’ life changed drastically after he witnessed his father and brother suffer a terrible plane crash; his father died but his brother Nick survived against all odds. Upon Nick’s recovery, Giles made the decision to leave corporate finance and, with his brother, went to rescue North Weald Flying Services: an Essex-based family business restoring historical aircraft.
It was here that Nick and Giles realised they worked well as a team and started to formulate a plan to launch Bremont – a British watch making business built around their love of engineering, developed from a family love of horology passed down through generations. Knowing this was going to be a long and costly process, Nick and Giles raised funds by starting a business pioneering audio and video on the internet; Virtue Broadcasting listed on the Stock Exchange in 2000 and, at the time, Giles was the youngest Director on the UK Stock Exchange.
Bremont was founded in 2002 with Giles and Nick as founding shareholders, but it was not until 2007 that the first watches were available to buy, having spent five years in development. The brothers had to mortgage their houses and commit everything to a business that everyone thought was impossible.
Passion, dedication and a will to succeed have grown Bremont to be a top 10 chronometer producer worldwide, with retail coverage spanning four continents. In 2022, the business launched its first movement series to be manufactured in the UK – the ENG300 series – facilitated by the move to The Wing, Bremont’s Manufacturing & Technology Centre in Henley-on-Thames.
With Giles and Nick’s unique approach to product and marketing, they have built a strong business in a very crowded market, returning watchmaking at scale to Britain after half a century of absence.
In 2013 Giles was himself in a serious aeroplane crash when his 1930s Gipsy Moth suffered engine failure mid-flight. On forced landing, Giles broke his back in multiple places, but has fortunately gone on to make a full recovery. His enthusiasm for life is stronger than ever.
Giles lives with his wife and three daughters in Northamptonshire.