A brief history of timepieces as Hawking inspires Bremont

Bremont Watches has unveiled a limited edition range of new watches dedicated to Prof Stephen Hawking, the late physicist whose study of time enhanced our understanding of our universe and beyond.

The company worked with the Hawking family on the Bremont Hawking Limited Edition Collection, which was launched on November 16. The new collection - the first time that Bremont will be releasing a ladies’ watch - features four wooden discs inlaid into the back of the watch taken from one of Prof Hawking’s most treasured possessions: his desk.

The classically styled chronometer, which features a retrograde seconds hand and grand date, also contains some meteorite “to symbolise the cosmos which can be seen at the centre of the striking hand-finished closed case back, as well as an etching of stars from the night sky in Oxford, on 8th January 1942, the date that Hawking was born”.

The watch’s serial number is printed on paper from original copies of a 1979 seminal research paper commonly referred to as “the ‘nuts’ and ‘bolts’ of gravity”, co-written with one of Hawking’s longest serving collaborators, Professor Gary Gibbons, that sought to understand the thermal properties of black holes. Housed within is the unique BE-33AE movement, with 42-hour power reserve. Only 388 stainless steel and black dial, 88 rose gold with black dial and 88 white gold and blue dial pieces will be made; the numbers referencing the year in which Hawking’s A Brief History of Time was published.

To complement the 41mm men’s Hawking model, the women’s collection is limited to 88 pieces, the timepiece will be available in stainless steel with a matte polished bracelet. Unlike the men’s edition, it features a dial entirely made from meteorite and is beautifully paired with polished nickel hands. Turning the watch over reveals its open case back through which an exquisite and intricately hand-finished ‘black-hole’ automatic rotor can be seen.

Designed to Bremont’s exacting specifications, the rotor is inspired by the swirling of a black hole, a nod to the black hole theory so prevalent in Hawking’s scientific theories; it also incorporates a veneer of the oak from Hawking’s desk. The case measures 34mm in diameter with diamonds inset into the bezel as well as the index markers on the dial. This is the first time Bremont has ever used diamonds within any of its collections. The mechanical movement used is the beautifully decorated, BE-92AV chronometer rated calibre with a 42-hour power reserve.

Tim Hawking said: “The wood sample in the timepiece originates from an oak, William & Mary slope-front bureau desk drawer thought to date back to the early 18th century. My father’s paternal grandmother received it as a gift upon her retirement as headmistress from a school she had founded for girls in Boroughbridge, Yorkshire. It was given to my father in 1975 upon his return to the UK after his year’s visiting fellowship to Caltech, Pasadena, and would remain with him until his death in 2018.

“My father’s work was primarily theoretical. Nevertheless, he was a person who placed great value on precision craftsmanship and the interplay of design and technology. This antique desk was a most treasured possession, representing both his grandmother’s pioneering commitment to education, and a portal back to happy childhood memories. The Hawking family are delighted that its legacy may live on further now in the Hawking Bremont timepieces.”

The founders of Bremont Watches, Nick and Giles English, grew up around Cambridge, both attended schools in the city, their father went to Cambridge University and started one of the first businesses on Cambridge Science Park.

Bremont Watches’ co-founder, Giles English, said: “Our father had been very aware of Stephen Hawking after they’d been to St Albans School together, a couple of years apart, and followed the same path to Cambridge University.

“As with each of Bremont’s historic limited editions there is also a philanthropic dimension. It’s been a real honour working closely with the Hawking family on this project who founded the Stephen Hawking Foundation, which facilitates cosmological research as well as support for those who live with motor neurone disease; part of the proceeds from these watches will be going directly to the charity.”

“I have loved helping the team at Bremont channel my both father’s sense of wonder of the universe and sense of humour into the watch,” Tim Hawking told the Cambridge Independent. “And, in kind, Bremont is generously helping support the dual aims of the Stephen Hawking Foundation: facilitating research into theoretical physics, along with research into motor neurone disease and those affected by it.”

The women’s watch is priced at £7,995, while there are three men’s models: Steel is £7,995; Rose Gold is £17,995 and White Gold is £18,995.