Platinum Case for New Fears Watch Takes Three Months to Make by Hand

British revival brand Fears has dropped its first precious metal watch since the 1970s, the Brunswick PT, which focuses an almost unbelievable attention to detail on its platinum case.

For the company’s most luxurious watch to date, Fears turned to a local goldsmith based in Cantebury, England, rather than using modern computer-controlled, micron-accurate CNC machines, which are responsible for virtually every luxury watch case being manufactured today.

To form each 38mm case from almost 100g of raw platinum using traditional gold-smithing techniques takes the craftsman three months in total, with fine polishing alone taking more than 12 days. Even the watch’s hands, which for most watches would be a plated base metal, are produced in the same platinum as the case, although Fears again introduced unconventional techniques, turning to high pressure water cutting to shape the metal, which is notoriously difficult to work with. Each hand takes a full day to finish.

Given the use of 950 Platinum, each case and solid caseback are hallmarked by the London Assay Office with a stamp unique to the brand, featuring the initials of its managing director.

The Brunswick PT’s dial is produced in Germany and features three different finishes to catch the light before being coated with real Anthracite giving it its a grey colour, before its alternate hour markers are set with D-color flawless diamonds, with another set in the crown.

The watch is secured on a Alcantara-lined Kevlar strap with handmade platinum pin buckle and inside is a manually wound ETA 7001 movement which has had its bridges reshaped, finished with a linear brushing and platinum-plated before being cased.

Fears, which first operated between 1846 and 1976 before being relaunched by Nicolas Bowman-Scargill, the great-great-great-grandson of the original founder in 2016. The brand produces distinctive cushion-shaped watches based on a 1924 design from the brand’s historic catalog and until now these Brunswick models have been offered in stainless steel and, in the case of the Brunswick Midas, gold-plated bronze.

Fears will be able to produce just three Brunswick PT watches each year, which are available to order now via Fears, priced $38,600.

In other watch news, Frederique Constant re-invents the 446-year-old balance wheel with ultra fast silicon escapement.