The Bremont Victory. limited edition chronograph

Transcription

1 The Bremont Victory limited edition chronograph With the blessing of the Royal Navy and the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Bremont has produced this unique watch that includes original historic parts of oak timber and copper from hms Victory to commemorate Nelson and the ship itself. Part of the proceeds of each watch will go towards the ship s restoration.

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3 Contents Bremont Watch Company 3 hms Victory: Past & Present 7 The Bremont Victory Limited Edition 19 Technical Notes 27 Watch Care & International Warranty 39

4 Bremont Watch Company Time began for Bremont when we embarked on a journey to make beautifully engineered watches of exceptional quality. Restoring and playing with mechanical objects has been in our blood from an early age, as has our love for watches and many things historical. The timepieces had to be tested beyond any normal call of duty (not just in the workshop), and of course be immensely precise and durable. We make our watches to the highest specification with only the finest finishes available on all our mechanical movements. Once in a while we produce a watch that embodies a part of history so important that it takes something very unique and rather special to complement it. We believe that the Bremont Victory is one such watch. It has to be limited due to the scarcity of materials used in its construction. Importantly for Bremont, many of the materials used in the watch have been crafted in the UK. Historic oak has been beautifully veneered and finished for Bremont in Cheshire, copper cases cast and rotors etched in Birmingham, steel cases hardened 3

5 in Cambridgeshire and of course the watches designed and assembled in Henley-on-Thames. We stand by our product and are one of the few companies offering a 3 year warranty on every watch we produce. We hope you get the same satisfaction as us when you wear your Bremont Victory and we look forward to seeing it on your wrist at one of our future events. Nick & Giles English Bremont co-founders 5

6 HMS Victory Past & Present hms Victory is the only surviving warship that fought in the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. In the latter she served as Lord Nelson s flagship at the decisive Battle of Trafalgar in Her career began some 40 years earlier. Ordered by the Navy Board on 6 June 1759 during the Seven Years War, this firstrate 100 gun ship was designed by the Surveyor of the Navy, Sir Thomas Slade. Building commenced at Chatham Dockyard on 23 July 1759 under Master Shipwright John Lock and was completed by Edward Allen on 7 May , the Annus Mirabilis or Year of Victories, was the turning point of that war for Britain. Victories had been won on land at Quebec and Minden, and at sea off Lagos and at Quiberon Bay where Admiral Hawke, in a rising gale, smashed and drove ashore the French fleet. These facts may have been significant in the naming of the new battleship was also 7

7 the year that Pitt the Younger, later to become Prime Minister and the political bastion against France, was born and William Boyce wrote the song Heart of Oak. The ship was actually named Victory on 30 October Her cost, when completed in 1765, amounted to 63,176 (a century later hms Warrior 1860 cost 330,000). Ironically, in 1759, James Watt invented the steam engine with the separate condenser: within 70 years this innovation would bring about the demise of the sailing Man of War and allow the introduction of ships like hms Warrior After sea trials the Victory was put into reserve until France joined the war of American Independence. First commissioned in February 1778, she became the flagship of Admiral Keppel, and thereafter was nearly always an Admiral s flagship. In March 1780, following new practice ordered by the Navy Board, she was docked and her hull sheathed with copper to combat shipworm and marine growth. This innovation also improved her speed saw the Victory under the flag of Admiral Kempenfelt who, on 13 December, fell in with a French fleet off Ushant. The French, bound from Brest to the West Indies, were escorting a convoy of troopships. Though Kempenfelt s squadron was numerically inferior, he captured the entire convoy from under the escorts noses, and the Victory added another battle honour to those gained by her forebears of the same name. In October 1782, under the flag of Admiral Black Dick Howe (his complexion, not his temper, gave him the nickname), she took part in an action off Cape Spartel and the Relief of Gibraltar. After the war she was refitted in March 1793 at a cost of 15,372, and her armament increased. Her sides, previously payed bright with rosin (distillate of turpentine), above the lower deck ports were now painted a dull yellow ochre. The area below remained painted black. But storm clouds were brewing over Europe; France s economy had been shattered by the war with Britain. Taxes soared, discontent prevailed and, inspired by the American achievements, the people of France began their own bloody revolution in The outcome was to change the face of Europe for ever. With the opening of the French Revolutionary war in 1793, hms Victory became the flagship of Lord Hood who was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean fleet. The opportunities were enormous. Toulon, the main French naval arsenal, surrendered to the British fleet, and the whole French Mediterranean fleet and its stores fell into British hands; but the government could not, or would not, provide reinforcements and Toulon was recaptured (a young artillery officer named Napoleon Bonaparte played a prominent role). When it was clear that Toulon must fall, the opportunity to burn the ships and the stores was bodged. The fleet then captured, but was unable to hold, the Island of Corsica. It was at the taking of Calvi where he lost the sight of his right eye that a young Captain, Horatio Nelson, first made his name. In 1794 Victory returned to Portsmouth and, after another refit at Chatham in 1795, returned to the Mediterranean. Not all of hms Victory s actions were glorious victories. That July, the Victory was in the unsuccessful action off Hyeres where 8 9

8 Admiral Hotham failed to fully engage the French fleet. The consequences of his failure were serious, since Britain had to withdraw her fleet from the Mediterranean, and operate from Lisbon. Nelson was himself at this battle, commanding the 64 gun Agamemnon. Admiral Sir John Jervis hoisted his flag in Victory the following December. On 14 February 1797, off Cape St Vincent, the southwest corner of Spain, Jervis led Victory with 14 ships of the line against a Spanish squadron, comprising 27 ships under Admiral Cordoba. A decisive victory was won. Much was due to the quick perception of Nelson who, now a Commodore in the 74 gun Captain, left the line of battle (an unheard of act for a junior officer), to prevent the two halves of the Spanish squadron from rejoining. Nelson engaged and boarded the San Josef then, using that ship as a patent boarding bridge captured the neighbouring ship San Nicholas. This action earned Nelson a knighthood and promotion to Rear Admiral. In October 1797 Victory returned to England and was surveyed at Portsmouth. Now 32 years old and battle-weary, the ship was sent to Chatham to await her fate. On 8 December, considered unfit for service, Victory was ordered to be converted to a hospital ship. Fortune reversed the decision when the second rate Impregnable was lost off Chichester Harbour on 8 October 1799, leaving the fleet short of one three-decker. Consequently Victory was given a new lease of life. Another survey considered that she was in want of middling repair at an estimate of 23,500. Refitting commenced at Chatham in The middling repair turned into a great repair as more defects were found. She was modernised, her open stern galleries being removed and the entire stern closed in. Two extra ports were cut on her lower gun deck and the magazines were lined with copper. The heavy ornate figurehead, now very rotten, was replaced by the simpler, lighter design she carries today. Her pole masts (made from a single tree trunk) were replaced with composite masts (made from a number of trunks banded with iron hoops). The ship was also repainted with the black and yellow livery as seen today, although the port lids remained yellow. These were later painted black producing the Nelson chequer pattern which became standard after Trafalgar. By March 1801 war had exhausted Britain and France. Political pressure had forced Pitt to resign and the new government negotiated a fragile peace with France. Just before the peace Nelson, under Admiral Parker, had crushed the Danes at the Battle of Copenhagen thereby destroying the Northern League and Napoleon s ambitions. During the short peace, Victory s refit continued and she was finally undocked on 11 April The cost of this great repair now amounted to 70,933. All her heavy lower deck 42 pounder guns were replaced with lighter and more manageable 32 pounders. Threat of invasion by Napoleon caused renewed hostilities with France and, on 16 May, the Victory sailed for the Mediterranean carrying Lord Nelson, the newly-appointed Commander-in- Chief. From this point Nelson and Victory became synonymous

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10 For the next 18 months Nelson blockaded the French fleet in Toulon to prevent them escaping to join forces with other squadrons based on France s Atlantic arsenals. Periodically, ships of Nelson s squadron would retreat to the safe anchorage of Agincourt Sound, Corsica. It was there, on 19 May 1805, that Nelson learned from one of his frigates, the eyes of the fleet, that the Toulon fleet under Villeneuve had sailed. Not knowing where they were bound Nelson headed east first but, not finding the French in Egypt, beat back westward to Gibraltar where he learned that they were headed for the West Indies. Napoleon s invasion plan was that Villeneuve should sail to the West Indies to draw the English from the Channel. In hot pursuit Nelson followed. Villeneuve carried out a few half-hearted operations in the West Indies and returned to Europe, Nelson hard on his heels. Villeneuve, finding his way to the Channel blocked by Sir Robert Calder s squadron and with Nelson behind him, bolted into Cadiz, to be bottled up by his pursuers. Victory, with a fatigued Nelson, returned home arriving at Spithead on 18 August 1805; but Napoleon s invasion of Britain had been foiled and his troops were withdrawn from Boulogne to another theatre of war. After brief respite the Victory sailed with Nelson from Portsmouth on 15 September 1805 to join the blockading fleet under Collingwood off Cadiz. Villeneuve s orders now were to take the combined Franco-Spanish fleet into the Mediterranean. On 18 October 1805 frigates signalled that the enemy were weighing anchor. Villeneuve s fleet, now comprising 33 ships of the line, headed for Gibraltar but, unable to shake off the British fleet, turned back for Cadiz and inevitable combat. As day broke on Monday 21 October 1805, off Cape Trafalgar, Nelson s fleet of 27 ships formed into two columns and sailed towards the enemy. Battle commenced about 11:45 with Collingwood s division breaching the rear of the enemy fleet. Nelson in Victory followed shortly, driving into the centre and opening a devastating fire into the stern of Villeneuve s flagship Bucentaure. Victory then engaged and grappled the Redoutable. At about 13:15, when the fighting was at its fiercest, Nelson was shot by a French sailor and taken below where he died at 16:30. By this time the enemy had been routed and a great victory won. 17 ships had been captured and one, the French Achille, blew up as a finale to the battle. The French battle-fleet was never again a threat. Much damaged, the Victory was towed to Gibraltar and finally returned to Portsmouth, arriving on 4 December 1805, bearing her dead Admiral. After repairs at Chatham, the Victory was recommissioned in March For the next 4 years she was on active service in the Baltic and off the coasts of Spain. In 1812, now 47 years old, she finally returned to Portsmouth on 4 November and paid off 16 days later, ending her sea-going life. After the war Victory was given a further refit but, the war with France being over, she was placed back into reserve. In 1824 she became the flagship for the Port Admiral and in 1889 Victory served as a tender to the Duke of Wellington

11 In 1903 she was accidentally rammed by hms Neptune under tow to the breakers. This event, together with the centenary celebrations for Trafalgar, raised questions about her future but nothing was resolved before World War I. Finally, following a national appeal led by the Society for Nautical Research, Victory was put into her present dock on 12 January 1922 and work began to restore her to her 1805 appearance. She remains now as the embodiment of the spirit and fine traditions of the Royal Navy. Many years of exposure have taken their toll on hms Victory and in 2010 a major refit was commissioned to preserve her for future generations and to commemorate Nelson and hms Victory

12 The Bremont Victory Limited Edition Your Bremont Victory watch shows you the time in hours, minutes and seconds as well as the date. With the chronograph you can measure up to 30 minutes in seconds and minutes. The mechanical movement with automatic winding has a free-swinging rotor that keeps the mainspring wound via the motion of your wrist. The be-83ar chronograph movement with retrograde seconds and date has 39 jewels, runs at 28,800 bph and has a 46-hour power reserve. The watch is water resistant to 1oatm (100 metres) and the etched metal dial is protected by a dual anti-reflective sapphire crystal that is retained securely. The hardened Trip-Tick case construction features a handengraved copper dlc treated barrel and the case-back is inlaid with oak timber, both materials originating from hms Victory. 19

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14 Production & Materials The oak and copper that has been built into your Bremont Victory is some of the oldest material ever released from the Ship by the Royal Navy. Bremont has gone to extraordinary lengths to incorporate it into the watch to make each watch both a mechanical masterpiece and a piece of history. rolled copper The original copper nails (below) that have been salvaged from the ship have been recast and rolled in order to make the inner case barrel on the watch. The copper barrels are then treated black with Diamond Like Carbon and engraved with Victory. oak inlay The original oak (below) from the ship has been finely sliced and integrated into the case-back and sealed by the sapphire crystal. decorated rotor & crystal The decoration of the rotor and crystal has been inspired by the mould of Nelson s original seal which he possessed at the Battle of Trafalgar, A facsimile of this seal has been used to stamp the Certificate of Authenticity of your Bremont Victory

15 Technical Details movement be-83ar chronograph with retrograde seconds and retrograde date. Diameter 13 1/4, height 7.90mm, 39 jewels, three-legged Glucydur balance with Nivarox 1 mainspring 28,800 bph. Incabloc shock protection and 46-hour power reserve. Perlage and blued screwed decoration with hand crafted rotor. functions Sweep hours, minutes, retrograde seconds, retrograde date, sweep chronograph seconds, 30-minute counter and 12-hour counter. case & case-back Hardened stainless steel or 18-carat rose gold Bremont Trip-Tick case construction with original hand-engraved copper dlc treated inner barrel (material from hms Victory). Case diameter 43mm, lug width 22mm and case thickness 17mm. Hardened stainless steel or 18-carat rose gold case-back with integrated hand etched sapphire crystal. Case-back inlaid with original oak from hms Victory. dial & crystal Etched metal dial with off-white ground colours and treated steel hands. Domed anti-reflective, scratch resistant sapphire crystal. strap Louisiana crocodile leather. water Water resistant to 10 atm, 100 metres

16 Technical Notes Using your Bremont Victory Bremont Watch Company would like to congratulate you most sincerely on your purchase of a Bremont timepiece. We have developed our timepieces over several years to cater for those that demand more out of their mechanical watch. Bremont s aim has always been to produce a watch of exceptional quality that will last several lifetimes, and one that feels particularly special when placed on the wrist. Please observe the following operating instructions for your Bremont Victory. 27

17 Watch Features Chronograph second hand 30 minute counter Hour hand Minute hand Push Button A I II III Retrograde second hand Push Button B 12 hour Counter Retrograde date 28 Setting crown (position I, II, III ) 29

18 Crown: 3 positions I Normal running of watch and hand-winding. II Rapid correction of date. III Position for setting the time with stop second and correction of the date at every passing of midnight. I II III 30 31

19 technical notes Your Bremont watch shows you the time in hours, minutes and seconds, and the date. The mechanical movement with automatic winding has a free-swinging rotor that keeps the mainspring wound via the motion of your wrist. The movement in your watch has 39 jewels, runs at 28,800 bph and has a 46-hour power reserve once fully wound. The watch is water resistant to 10atm (100 metres) and the dial is protected by a dual antireflective sapphire crystal that is retained securely. To ensure that this rather special watch continues to run beautifully for years to come you must follow a few important operating instructions... winding the watch The crown rests in position I, the winding position for the watch, and you can manually wind the watch by hand. The movement will automatically start with around 30 revolutions of the crown. By doing this you will achieve maximum accuracy and have a power reserve of about 46-hours, even when the watch is not on your wrist. When the watch is on your wrist, the automatic revolution of the rotor will keep the watch wound. setting the date You can adjust the date by pulling the crown out to position II. You will now be able to change the date by rotating the crown clockwise. setting the time Pull the crown out to position III, this will stop the movement, you can now position the minute hand exactly. To start the second hand, push the crown back to position I. When setting the time, it is worth noting that the date change always takes place at mid-night (00:00). If this change has already taken place at 12:00 noon, you must move the hands forward by 12 hours

20 Simple Timing Function A 1 Start 2 Stop Crown in position I B 3 Reset to zero 34 35

21 Additional Functions A 1 Start 2 Stop 3 Restart 4 Stop read 5 Restart 6 Stop read Crown in position I B X Reset to zero 36 37

22 Watch Care & International Warranty The testing that Bremont Watch Company puts all of its watches through may appear excessive, whether it is for time-keeping precision for every chronometer, temperature, shock and scratch resistance, or the pressure testing in all of our models. Although Bremont watches have more than proved their resilience before they are released from our workshop, we want to ensure that the enjoyment that comes from wearing a Bremont watch lasts generations. We therefore recommend that, where possible, the following tips for watch care are observed: 39

23 cleaning Use soapy water and a small brush followed by a cloth to clean metal and sapphire. crown Ensure that the crown is pushed in to prevent entry of water into the mechanism. sea water Wash with fresh water if possible following exposure to saline water. shocks & jolts Avoid any heavy shocks to the watch. magnetic fields Avoid placing watch on electrical equipment, especially loudspeakers. temperature Keeping the watch in contact with your wrist will help minimise any exposure to extremes. chemicals Wash with warm fresh water if it is exposed to solvents etc. to avoid damage to seals and watch straps. servicing Every part of your watch has been carefully chosen from the best selection of materials available. In spite of this, a number of parts will always be subject to natural wear. It is therefore important that these points of wear are always kept lubricated. We recommend that you have a maintenance service carried out every 3 to 5 years. Only a certified Bremont agent should carry out the servicing of a Bremont watch. To find your nearest repair and service centre please contact: Bremont Watch Servicing on +44 (0) or victory@bremont.com international warranty We would like to take the opportunity to congratulate you on your new Bremont Victory Limited Edition Chronograph and we sincerely hope that the bond you form with your watch is a long-lasting one. Each Bremont watch has undergone strict quality control measures by the time it reaches you. Your Bremont Victory has an individual serial number that can be traced to Bremont s securely held records in order to establish its origin and authenticity. The International Warranty Certificate guarantees your watch against defects for 3 years from the date of purchase. To validate your warranty please complete the enclosed form and return back to us at the address provided on the following page. Alternatively, your details to us at victory@bremont.com 40 41

24 watch repair policy Your Bremont Victory will not be guaranteed under its warranty in the following circumstances: - Damage due to negligence or mistreatment - Theft, loss, fire or damage through natural causes - Repairs/servicing not provided by Bremont s official agents - Normal ageing of watch e.g. leather/rubber straps etc sending in your watch Should you need to return your Bremont Victory for a service or repair in the first instance please contact the Authorised Dealer you purchased the watch from. When sending your watch please ensure that it is packaged carefully, you are also advised to insure the watch in transit, and send the original Warranty Certificate along with an explanation of the problem. contact Bremont Watch Company po box 4741 Henley-on-Thames Oxfordshire rg9 9bz England +44 (0)

25 the coolest watch of 2012 Forbes.com luxury watch of the year, 2012 WatchPro s Watches of the Year Award acknowledgements Special thanks to the National Museum of the Royal Navy for their historical images and literature Images of the Bremont Victory watch by Piers Berry, Alt1tude.com Bremont Watch Company 2012