The Fears rebirth continues with the brand’s first mechanical watch, the rather debonair Brunswick.

by James Buttery

The Fears name was relaunched at SalonQP 2016 with the quartz-based Redcliff Date, which was the first watch to bear the branding in well over half a century. Fears was originally established by Edwin Fears in 1846 and based in Bristol until the 1960s, while this contemporary revival is the brainchild of Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, the original founder?s great-great-great grandson.
Fears followed up at last year?s SalonQP with not only a new Redcliff GMT, the Continental, but its ?first? mechanical watch, the Brunswick, based on a cushion-cased model from the company?s archive circa 1924.

While the spirit of the original (sterling silver) case may have been preserved it has undergone some substantial changes; the corners of the 38mm stainless steel case have been sharpened and the wire lugs replaced with more robust tapered lugs. There is also a bold round bezel which impressively continues the lines of the domed sapphire crystal. The silhouette is completed by an onion crown that is large enough to be functional whilst small enough not to dig into the wrist uncomfortably as so many do.
The dial has been tidied up and modernised with a more subtle railway minutes track with a lighter, although still stylised, typeface used for the arabic numerals. A repositioned small seconds subdial no longer impinges on the six o?clock numeral.
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