Fears Brunswick PT
The Fears Brunswick PT is the latest addition to the company’s product portfolio and, arguably, its most impressive watch to date. Since Nicholas Bowman-Scargill revived the family firm in 2016, it has continuously grown thanks to each model exuding notable style and British charm.
In 1846, Edwin Fear established his watchmaking business In Bristol. Subsequently, Edwin’s son, Amos Daniel Fear, took over the reins of the company. Thereafter, the family firm was renamed ‘Fears Limited’ and became a limited company.
Over the years, Fears enjoyed much success despite a number of challenges including the Wall Street Crash and the repeated bombing of its premises during WWII. Sadly, the company ceased operations in 1976.
Edwin Fear’s great-great-great-grandson, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, initially worked for Rolex in London; evidently, he had watchmaking in his blood. Proud of his ancestry and eager to rekindle the family business, he relaunched Fears in 2016.
Each model name selected by the brand is inspired by a significant place in the company’s past. For example, the location of Edwin Fear’s first workshop and showroom, 33-35 Redcliff Street, Bristol, provided inspiration for the name of the revived firm’s inaugural model, the ‘Redcliff’.
Having met Nicholas on a number of occasions, I can attest the softly-spoken, dapper and personable chap is the perfect ambassador for his brand. He is clearly aware of the value of his family’s watchmaking legacy and charmingly describes himself as the ‘(4th) Managing Director’. Furthermore, Nicholas has two notable attributes, he is an aesthete, conceiving handsome models, while at all time he demonstrates a dogged determination to make Fears a resounding success.
Initially, Fears began producing quartz-powered watches, but in 2017 the company released its first mechanical watch, the Brunswick. Named after Brunswick Square in Bristol, the model was inspired by a Fears watch from 1924. However, this wasn’t a mere vintage-themed replica, Nicholas infused the watch with some contemporary elements, demonstrating he is an accomplished designer.
The initial Brunswick, the aptly named Series 1, featured a white dial and was housed in stainless steel. This watch was endowed with a ‘top-grade’ ETA 7001 and retailed for £2300 at the time of launch. I wrote about this model at the time and I remember marvelling at its impressive quality-price ratio. Over the years, Nicholas has been prolific, introducing new dial variants as well as an unusual bronze watch coated with two layers of gold, named the ‘Midas’. Fears has now ceased producing quartz models, focussing entirely on making mechanical watches.
All variants of the Brunswick feature openworked hour and minute hands, a small seconds at 6 o’clock and a traditional chemin de fer framing the dialscape. In addition, period-style Arabic numerals are employed to denote the hours.
Now, the British brand has released its most ambitious watch to date, the Fears Brunswick PT. Similar to its older siblings, this latest creation is also housed in a 38mm cushion-shaped case and formed of platinum, the noblest of precious metals. The dial is presented in anthracite. The dial is suffused with ‘three surface finishes’, bestowing it with a two-tone appearance that attractively engages with light.
Brunswick aficionados will note the hour and minute hands are no longer openworked, albeit they share the same profile as the existing references. The platinum-plated indexes, presented in a new font, denote the even-numbered hours, while the intervening hours are marked using ‘D-colour, flawless diamonds’, albeit customers can choose to eschew the precious stones in favour of platinum plated dot indices.
Since I first met Nicholas Bowman-Scargill back in 2016 at SalonQP, a watch exhibition formerly held in the UK, the company has ascended to new heights. In 2020, Fears became a partner of the UK Government’s GREAT Britain campaign, a state-backed initiative to promote the best of British.
Rest assured, with Nicholas Bowman-Scargill at the helm, Fears’ future looks bright and is certainly a brand to watch.
The brand’s press release (22nd March, 2021)
Fears Watch Company today launches its first watch to be made in solid precious metal since the 1960s with the release of the Brunswick Pt in Platinum. Weighing nearly three times that of the steel Brunswick, this new watch features a case crafted in the traditional way, entirely from this noble silver-white metal. The precious case houses a new dial coated in real Anthracite and set with six flawless diamond indices.
Before machine-produced precious metal watch cases became the norm, each case would have been made by hand, often by a jeweller, and requiring great skill. This time-consuming process is being used again by Fears who have worked with award-winning Goldsmith Justin Richardson in Canterbury, England to create the Brunswick Pt’s case. Using nearly 100g of Platinum, each case takes 100 hours to shape and polish by hand resulting in a deep lustre, before receiving its London Assay Office hallmark. Continuing a Fears tradition since 1846, the company’s hallmark is the initials of the Managing Director at the time, and so the case and buckle have been marked by the London Assay Office with the initials of Fears’ current Managing Director: “NBS”.
The dial on the Brunswick Pt features a Platinum-exclusive Anthracite Grey, made using a coating of real Anthracite. The natural colour combines with three surface finishes to result in a dial that changes in the light giving a two-tone affect. 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 bevelled by hand. Finishing takes one day for each hand, using polishing and frosting on either side of the bevel to give increased legibility. Finally, the Brunswick Pt is fitted to a hand sewn strap, made using Kevlar® with contrasting platinum coloured stitching and Fears Blue Alcantara® lining. The strap is joined by a platinum pin buckle, whose shape mirrors the silhouette and cross section of the watch’s case.
Commenting on the launch of the new Brunswick Pt, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, (4th) Managing Director of Fears Watch Company, says “Since I was a young boy I’ve always been fascinated with Platinum. Not only by its incredible weight but also by its mesmerizing bright white shine when perfectly polished. Having known that Fears used to make watches in precious metals I was keen to re-create one, but in a traditional way and tackling the difficulties that come with working 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.”
The Fears Brunswick Pt retails for £28,200 inc. VAT and is available from today, built to order with up to four pieces each year being made. More information can be found at https://www.fearswatches.com/brunswickpt. The new Brunswick Pt is also available with a non-diamond set Anthracite dial and can be fitted with dials used in the stainless steel collection of Brunswicks.
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