It’s been a long time coming but Bremont is finding its own identity and creating some classic designs that collectors can invest in.

Bit of history here; For a few years I worked in a Manchester pawnbrokers and can tell you that in 12 months only one person asked to see the two Bremont watches we had in the window. Ten blokes a week would ask to see a Rolex or a Breitling by comparison.

Bremont are not seen as bankable investments and yeah, that shouldn’t really matter if you love the watch but let’s be honest, much of the Swiss market is driven by the hope that one day your watch will be worth 20-40K secondhand.

Designs like the ALT-1 and Martin Baker leave me cold, they look massively overpriced for what they offer in terms of looks on the wrist. They lack punch, the sort of second glance that you give a classic Alfa Spider or a Ducati 916 as it blats past.

But this Williams tie-in watch really has an elegance that other collab jobs from Bremont lack. Some of the Bremont Norton watches for example looked like old pocket watches, and that is never a good look for wristwatches.

No this one has a symmetry that just works. The colours are right; red, white and blue. The 70s styling details are also a big attraction, like those `stepper piston’ pushers on the side of the case.  The vinyl grooves on the sub dials are another 70s detail from chronographs of that era. Perfect.

Inside there’s a Swiss movement, tweaked by Bremont. Chronometer level accuracy, custom rotor with see-thru caseback. It’s nicely executed all round. All housed in a 43mm case, which is good news when spending almost six grand as it gives the buyer a feeling they bought a statement watch. Probably as big as most people need.

You get a Williams team wheel nut with each watch too, but let’s forget about that detail. It isn’t important. What matters is that Bremont are capable of designing and making a Swiss watch in the UK that competes with the best from TAG, Chopard or Zenith when it comes to motorsport/retro chronographs.

I’m not saying the Bremont will hold its value as well as say a blue dial Carrera, but it should do better than the Chopard Mille Miglia, which also struggles to find buyers secondhand, despite being a beautifully made retro chrono watch.

It retails at £5995 and has a three year waranty. More info here.