Latest Review
The Bremont P-51 packs a lot of punch, and we say that taking into account its over $11,000 price tag. Built with parts from an actual WWII aircraft, powered by a highly modified Valjoux 7750 and featuring some of Bremont’s signature watch making technology, the P-51 is a strikingly handsome timepiece, well worth our watch lust.
Limited to 251 pieces, the P-51 is assembled with materials from the infamous P-51 Mustang WWII aircraft (1944), nicknamed “Fragile but Agile” and famous for having been flown in two victorious missions during the war. But don’t let the “Fragile but Agile” name fool you, the Bremont P-51 is anything but. The piece features two signature Bremont technologies to ensure more precise and durable construction. First is Trip Tick construction, which refers to a special hardening process that has been applied to the steel bezel holding into place the watch crystal, steel and crystal case back, and central body section. The second piece of Bremont tech is their Roto-Click system, which describes a special ball-locking mechanism within the watches internal rotating bezel, providing greater accuracy when adjusting.
Powering the P-51 is a modified caliber 13 1/4″ BE-54AE automatic chronometer, with 25 jewels and hand-crafted aluminum rotor designed to resemble the propellers of the original P-51 Mustang. With this modified movement, the functions of the P-51 include three-hand time display, date, chronograph with seconds and 30 minutes and a 24 hour UTC hand.
So, on paper, the Bremont seems to justify its price tag. But what makes the P-51 so lust worth is its outstanding looks. Measuring 43mm in diameter and 16mm tall, the P-51 case is stainless steel and features 22mm lugs. Its shape is simple and smooth, providing a balanced platform to display the watches bold dial design. Along the edge of the watch you’ll find a large diamond textured crown at 3 o’clock for adjusting the time, and two clean and simple chrono pushers. There is an identical diamond textured crown at 8 o’clock which is used to adjust the rotating internal bezel. Additionally, the middle case of the P-51 is a black hardened steel, providing some additional color contrasting and unique design.
The P-51 dial is black and features “bespoke” lume throughout. The hour and minute hands are nickel plated and are in the roman sword style, with the hour hand featuring large sweeping curves. There are large numerical hour markings at 3, 6 and 9 o’cock and a check-patterned aluminum sub-dial displaying the 30 minute chrono function at 12 o’clock. The active second hand is a plane propeller located at 9 o’clock, and the large chrono second hand is black with red and grey striping along its outer half.
Taken one by one, these components may seem a bit jarring – a second hand shaped like a plane propeller, patterned sub-dial, red, grey, bespoke lume…it sounds like a bit too much.
But taken together, the elements of the P-51 sing, and pay dutiful homage to a WWII icon. There is something completely appropriate about watch loaded with tech, build to last and styled with a bit of charm and flair when paying homage to a fighter jet that could be described very similarly. I would more than happily wear the Bremont P-51, if I could only afford one.
by Blake Malin
