2024 Fears Brunswick 40mm Copper Salmon Automatic
Ref: BS24000A
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : Manufacturer Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its original Fears presentation box, swing tags, and paperwork. It is fitted on its 20mm Fears Raven Black buffalo leather strap lined in blue-dyed Alcantara and secured by a Fears Cypher signed pin buckle. 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/1cINwvfPFA3hm0422gll1GjSb9TR3KMyn?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 9:21 - https://youtu.be/QmWDZT8yY9s
The Watch
Here we have a 2024 Fears Brunswick 40mm Copper Salmon Automatic, 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 screw-down 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 Copper Salmon dial made in Germany has an expertly hand-brushed vertical finish with a sunken centre decorated in a fine sandblasted texture, a minute track precisely executed with triangular markers at hourly intervals. This special dial was first used on Fears watches of the 1940s and 50s. This rich tone is created using galvanic coatings of 18ct rose gold and copper, making each dial unique and allowing it to catch the light in a beautiful, subtle way, and applied CNC-milled and diamond-polished “Edwin” Arabic numeral indexes coated in black gold mark the hours. The hands are now solid “pipette-shaped” with their distinctive profile and tip; the hands and second hand are coated in black gold with a diamond-cut bevel running down its centre and polished to a mirror shine. At noon, the Fears motif completes this dynamic, perfectly balanced timepiece. On the reverse, a milled solid stainless steel case back, inside an automatic La Joux-Perret Cal. G101, 24 jewels 28,800 beats per hour, with the date mechanism removed. La Joux-Perret designed and manufactured this quality movement in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The watch is fitted on a 20mm Fears Raven Black buffalo leather strap lined in blue-dyed Alcantara and secured by a Fears Cypher signed pin buckle. The Brunswick Fears Blue 40 is presented in a slim, bespoke wooden box crafted in solid Ash, stained with Fears Blue and lined in genuine cream suede. The watch sits proudly on a special cushion.
Personal Note
When the Fears Brunswick was announced in the new 40mm case it ticked a lot of boxes for collectors. Obviously featuring a larger case size, it also features a screw down crown, which the 38mm doesn't have, a most importantly to some collectors, it is powered by an automatic La Joux-Perret! This "Copper Salmon" example has been a unsurprising instant success for Fears, the tones and finishes are what we've come to expect from the brand. Do not hesitate to book an appointment to try this one on 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.