The Space Race
April 28, 2026
Alex KiersteinThe watch crowd is a tough crowd, attuned to minute detail and harboring a long memory. For the most part, traditional mechanical watches hew to traditional mechanical watch categories. Things like a logo change—consider the still-controversial Seiko Prospex “X” logo—cause large downstream effects. But this also makes it difficult to stand out. So a brand like Bremont, relatively young although well-regarded, can face a conundrum about how to reinvent itself, particularly with new leadership trying to make their mark–more on that in a second. What’s great about Bremont’s new Supernova colorway, with a lunar theme, is that it both stands out and succeeds within Bremont’s lineup.
It is very bold, and very interesting, in a way the relaunched lineup simply wasn’t. Go-anywhere-do-anything type adventure watches are popular, but Bremont’s execution of the theme was a bit generic. The Terra Nova explorer watches, with compass bezels and chunky Arabic numerals, could be a Citizen Promasters at a glance. It’s also a sharp departure from the brand’s aviation-inspired heritage, however short that may be, given the company has only been around a couple of decades.
I don’t know if Bremont’s leadership team, which recently replaced the original two founders with Davide Cerrato of Tudor Black Bay fame, is adjusting its approach to focus on aeronautical and aerospace themes, but the space-themed Supernova would be a great start if that is indeed the new direction. Bremont says the patterned dial is reminiscent of the solar panels that are a major component of most spacecraft in our neighborhood—maybe its next release can be inspired by the radioisotope thermal generators that have powered deep space probes?
The grid pattern is actually a perforated wafer sitting above a fully lumed underlayer, giving it a compelling appearance in low light with some of the appeal of a full-lume dial with a novel twist. It seems busy at first glance, but the “panels” of perforations are aligned with the hour indices, so I’m guessing it becomes easy to tell time quickly in dim light once you’re used to what you’re looking at.
The 41mm, 100m water-resistant case, while steel rather than the titanium construction of some other notable space watches (the new IWC Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive, which was also shown at Watches & Wonders, is titanium, as is one of my favorite modern classics, the Fortis Official Cosmonauts), does reference Bremont’s recent heritage. It’s not exactly the company’s once defining Trip-Tick three-piece case construction, but it is Trip-Tick “inspired.” It’s nicely brushed and faceted, and topped with a black ceramic bezel. The case will take both an integrated bracelet and a specially designed rubber strap.
Inside is a Selita SW500-based movement, the BC77AC automatic chronograph movement with a 62-hour rated reserve, visible under a rear display caseback and sporting a very architectural, girder-like custom rotor.
Bremont is on to something with this Supernova, which retails for around $8,000, and not just because the Artemis mission this year has sparked a resurgence in moon interest. It’s the sort of singular, unique watch that might have changed the narrative had it been the marquee piece in the rebrand. Moving forward, more of this, please.
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