2024 Fears Brunswick 40 Blue Automatic Discontinued
Ref: BS24000A
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : Manufacturer's Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its original Fears presentation box, swing tags and paperwork. The watch is fitted on its 20mm bracelet, the bracelet is secured to the wrist with a push-button release butterfly clasp, which, when opened, shows a decorative “Bristol Flower” motif; all links are provided. The watch is from May 2024 and is sold in worn but very fair condition; as you can see, it has been worn a handful of times and comes with its Manufacturer's Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V2pVuvXQBYjCP5NUV-FscSLHc94YpMe2?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 9:06 - https://youtu.be/rNaeJEGnglM
The Watch
Here we have a 2024 Fears Brunswick 40 Blue Automatic, now Discontinued, which features a 40mm 316L stainless steel cushion case that creates a sportier and more contemporary wrist presence. The subtle curve of the case leads to thick lugs with a lug-to-lug length of 46mm and a case thickness of 12mm, ensuring a comfortable fit on your wrist. Polished and brushed surfaces transition with elegant lines. We have an onion-style crown on the right side for that vintage appeal, and a polished smooth bezel holds a domed sapphire crystal AR coated on both sides. This striking blue dial has an expertly hand-brushed vertical finish with a sunken centre and is decorated in a fine concentric CNC Guilloché pattern, a minute track precisely executed with triangular markers at hourly intervals. The rich blue hues are derived from a galvanic blue coating that changes in the light as you rotate your wrist, giving it a two-tone appearance, and applied CNC-milled and diamond-polished “Edwin” Arabic numeral indexes coated in Rhodium mark the hours. The hands are now solid “pipette-shaped” with their distinctive profile and tip, the hands and second hand are Rhodium plated with a diamond-cut bevel running down its centre and polished to a mirror shine. A polished second hand with the “Fears pipette” counterbalance completes this dynamic, perfectly balanced timepiece. At 12 o’clock, we have the Fears motif completing this dynamic, perfectly balanced timepiece. On the reverse, a milled solid stainless steel case back, inside an automatic ETA 2824-2, 25 jewels 28,800 beats per hour, and the date mechanism has been removed and replaced with a 2-position click fitted, decorated in Côte de Genève and blued screws, the custom rotor features the decorative “Bristol Flower”. The watch is fitted on a bespoke, easy-release, five-link, 20mm bracelet made of milled stainless steel, its flush fitting gives it an integrated aesthetic, and the alternating polished and brushed finishing complements the case finishing. The bracelet is secured to the wrist with a push-button release butterfly clasp, which, when opened, shows a decorative “Bristol Flower” motif. The Brunswick Fears Blue 40 is presented in a bespoke wooden box crafted in Britain from English Ash, which is stained Fears Blue, lined in genuine cream suede, the watch sits proudly on a special cushion.
Personal Note
This is the now discontinued Fears Brunswick 40 Blue Automatic and like its 38mm manually wound counterpart I suspect the total production numbers are incredibly low by usual watchmaking standards, making this a rare watch among a company that produces low numbers in the first place. The dial is mesmerising and the star of the show for me is the hands and indices, they beg to be seen in direct light and make the watch difficult to capture in all of its glory, so do not hesitate to book an appointment to see this one in the metal for yourself!
The Brand
The year was 1846, and a young watchmaker named Edwin Fear established a workshop and showroom in his own name at 33-35 Redcliff Street in Bristol. The company ‘Edwin Fear” that he created became more and more successful, and eventually, in 1866, he needed to expand to its second premises on Bristol Bridge, which served as Fears headquarters until the 1940s. During this period, the company had three different Managing Directors. Following the passing of Edwin in 1877, the business was handed down to his son, Amos Daniel Fear, who in 1908 saw the company become a limited company whilst also changing its operating name from ‘Edwin Fear’ to ’Fears Limited’. Amos also safely navigated the company through the First World War,1914-1918, after which he established an export department called ‘Fears (Export) Limited’ at No. 14 Brunswick Square in Bristol. In late 1945, following the War, Fears moved to new premises in Clifton, Bristol, just in time to celebrate the company’s centenary in 1946 with a new watch collection. Fears continued to thrive through the post-war years until it sadly closed its doors in 1976. It was not until 40 years later, in 2016, when an aspiring young apprentice watchmaker at Rolex in London, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, who is the great-great-great-grandson of Edwin Fear, re-launched his family’s company at the SalonQP watch show on 3rd November 2016. Keeping the name ‘Fears’, he released their first wristwatch in the twenty-first century, the Redcliff. Rolling with the success of the Redcliff in 2017, they released their second wristwatch, The Brunswick, named after Brunswick Square in Bristol.