There is a sentence in Bremont's latest press release that deserves to be read twice: the brand is celebrating its passion for "joyful watchmaking—an approach long embedded within the brand's DNA." I struggle to recall precisely when joyful watchmaking became embedded in the DNA of a company founded on the uncompromising rigours of Martin-Baker ejection seat testing and the credibility of British military aviation. And yet here we are, examining a 42 mm Grade 2 titanium Altitude MB Meteor, the spiritual descendant of one of the most serious tool watches in Bremont's catalogue back in the days now rendered entirely in stealth black DLC, with Felix the Cat scampering across the dial, cheekily absconding with the number 6.
The Bremont Altitude MB Meteor 'Felix the Cat' is a collaboration with Universal Products & Experiences, limited to 500 pieces. The press material leans on the VFA-31 "Tomcatters" connection, the U.S. Navy fighter squadron that has carried Felix on its insignia since the early days of naval aviation. It is a legitimate piece of military history and a somewhat relevant connection in terms of aviation DNA.
As far as the execution goes, I think it is on point, with a BB14-AH movement on a Le Joux Perret calibre, a 68-hour power reserve, Trip-Tick case construction with an anti-shock mount and soft-iron magnetic shielding. Felix is applied to the dial with SuperLumiNova, and the design elements, including some aviation cues, are on point. On its own, it is a fun watch. But watches exist within the context of a brand's story, its trajectory, and its promises, and within this broader context, the Felix the Cat becomes more revealing than its press release intends.
In May 2023, Davide Cerrato was appointed CEO, backed by Bill Ackman's investment, and tasked with scaling Bremont beyond its niche. He arrived with formidable credentials as the man who gave Tudor the Black Bay and the one who did a short stint at HYT.
What arrived at Watches and Wonders 2024 was a detonation. A new logo. A new design language. The Terra Nova cushion-cased field watches bear no resemblance to anything Bremont had produced before. The reaction ranged from confusion to hostility. The financials told their own story with a £9.8 million operating loss.
And then came 2026, which is shaping up to be the year Bremont coats everything in stealth black DLC and sees what sticks. The Terra Nova 38 Jumping Hour Stealth Black arrived in February. Weeks later, Felix the Cat was just released and cloaked in black DLC. The brand that promised to simplify has instead developed a new habit: take an existing model, make it black, add a narrative twist, release it, and move on to the next.
What is the strategy? When Cerrato arrived, he spoke eloquently about finding a brand's "central narrative," about building "a strong nucleus."
Three years on, where is that nucleus? In 2024, the narrative was a bold break from the past. In 2025, it pivoted to a reconciliation with heritage. Now, in 2026, the narrative is apparently "joyful watchmaking" to justify a cartoon cat on a pilot's watch, which reads less as brand philosophy and more as post-hoc rationalization.
Consider the signal this sends to the collector who bought into Bremont precisely because it was not the kind of brand that did cartoon collaborations. That collector now owns watches from a company that has, in three years, changed its logo, abandoned its design language, introduced a field watch nobody asked for, pivoted to jumping hours, discovered a fondness for DLC coating, and partnered with NBC Universal to put Felix the Cat on the dial of its aviation flagship. At what point does evolution become incoherent?
The 500 pieces will likely sell, and Bremont will move on to whatever comes next, because in this new era, there is always something next, and it rarely seems connected to what came before.
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