Whether it’s day or night, above ground or below the sea, the latest collaboration between Bremont and Bamford Watch Department will catch your eye. The Aurora is a new version of the Bremont S502 Supermarine, a purpose-built, military-inspired GMT watch with serious dive credentials. Generous amounts of neon-green Super-LumiNova lume immediately separate this limited edition watch from its ‘standard’ black counterpart, but a closer look reveals changes beyond the hyper-legible styling.
What’s New
The stand-out feature of this watch is the generous splash of lume that takes the Aurora from a military watch built for stealth nighttime operations to a fun, albeit still purpose-built, dive watch. Despite the DLC-coated black case, ‘stealth’ is elusive when wearing it. The lume ensures constant visibility of the hour markers, GMT bezel, and all four hands.
In addition to the styling change, the Aurora has a sandwich dial with subset indices that add a 3-dimensional element to the face. This was my first time wearing a watch with a sandwich dial and although subtle, it adds fantastic layering and detail to the dial.
The GMT bezel is relatively standard apart from the lume, but the hour markers are anything but. They are represented by Roman numerals on the top half and Arabic numerals on the bottom half of the dial. The sword minute and hour hands carry over from the S502 Supermarine but the second-hand is unique and one of my favorite features of the watch. Finally, the Aurora loses the date window. This was likely a trade-off for adding the sandwich dial and one that was well worth it.
Wearing the Aurora
Although I don’t have huge wrists, I can appreciate the 43mm case size given the goal of legibility and the serious dive watch specs (500m water resistance). It’s already a blast of neon-green on your wrist so shrinking it would be counter-intuitive. The 16.5mm case thickness feels like the more significant metric and further ensures that it doesn’t hide on your wrist. I’ll always take a dive watch over a dress watch, but the Aurora is thick. It is the same size as the standard S502 Supermarine, so these points aren’t unique to the Bremont x Bamford version – both versions are certainly larger than the S302 Supermarine which could make a great smaller alternative.
I was initially worried that the large crown guard would be uncomfortable, but it isn’t noticeable on the wrist. Additionally, the automatic helium escape valve sits flush with the case and doesn’t increase the size of the case. The black Nubuck leather strap with a pin buckle is comfortable and feels high quality. Of course, it has a flash of neon-green stitching – a detail I love.
In the hands and on the wrist, this instantly feels like a Bremont watch in the best ways. It’s solidly built but not overly heavy. Every touch point, from the bezel to the crown, gives a sense of quality. The height of the bezel makes it easy to turn and, along with the large crown, would allow for use with gloves.
The Aurora uses the ETA-based modified Calibre 11 1/2”’ BE-93-2AV movement with a solid 50-hour power reserve and ‘caller’ GMT function. Without a date, it’s easy to set the local and GMT time, although a ‘traveler’ GMT function would be preferable.
Price and Final Thoughts
At $5,300 USD, the Bremont x Bamford Aurora has big competitors, but it’s still a compelling, limited-edition offer. The build quality, GMT functionality, and diving capability justify the price tag. Given the size and eye-popping style, it may be a divisive watch. However, I think that in a sea (pun slightly intended) of dive watches, this unique watch should be appreciated. In closing, I’ll draw your attention back to the split Roman and Arabic numerals. I believe these are Bremont and Bamford’s way of reminding us that ultimately, it’s a fun watch in a serious package – one of the best combinations.
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