In October Last year and by invitation only, we got very early sight and hands on with a one-off special project development housing that Bremont had created to allow the ENG300 to be fixed to the cockpit ‘dashboard’ of a Martin-Baker live ejection ‘simulator’. The test instrument was then developed further with the addition of forged carbon fibre lugs so that it could be affixed to an ejection manikin, and resulted in the ‘Viper’ prototype.
This special platform was then used to put the ENG300 movement through the rigorous schedule of environment testing conditions that Martin-Baker deploys across its suite of fighter ejection seats. This included Live Ejection Testing, Zoom Temperature Climb Testing, Extreme Temperature Endurance, High Altitude Testing and Salt Fog Testing. Needless to say the ENG300, protected by Bremont’s patented Anti-Shock movement mount, passed with flying colours and maintained impeccable time.
Bremont Co-Founder Nick English comments: “When Martin-Baker first approached us in Bremont’s very early days, it wasn’t a branding exercise, it was with a vision of creating the definitive aviation watch. The testing that they could offer was something previously untried or tested in this industry, it was entirely unparalleled. It’s truly remarkable what these mechanical timepieces can actually withstand. For me it really is the ultimate pilot’s watch and it’s exciting to still be testing the boundaries of the possible with such an innovative and technically excellent British business at the centre of aeronautical and military engineering.”
The test instrument that was developed captured the imagination of both Bremont and Martin-Baker who have subsequently decided to launch it in its own right, and so was born the Limited Edition MB Viper, a lightweight model crafted from titanium and anodised aluminium.
The MB Viper is notably the first model in Bremont’s iconic Martin-Baker range to house an ENG300 movement which is visible through its flat exhibition case back. The 43.5mm matte DLC Grade 5 titanium case employs a protective carbon coating and features an anodised 6082 aluminium case middle. Limited to only 300 pieces, the MB Viper not only showcases a different design direction for Bremont but is a true embodiment and representation of what the brand has achieved in its design, engineering, and manufacture.
Within the new Viper, the self-winding ENG352 calibre boasts a 65-hour power reserve with silicon escape wheel, free sprung hairspring with inertia weight timed balance and KIF shock protection. The movement features rhodium plated bridges with a gold-plated automatic bridge and is encased by Bremont’s trusted rubberised Anti-Shock mount that was developed back in 2009 when the brand first started working with Martin-Baker.
The MB Collection remains to this day the only mechanical timepieces to have undergone and withstood the rigours of live ejection seat launches. Martin-Baker, the British aviation company responsible for supplying over 70% of the western world’s Air Forces with fighter ejection seat technology, is at the very pinnacle of British engineering and innovation; the now iconic Bremont MB range has redefined the aviation watch world. Never has a mechanical watch gone through such extensive testing.
The Bremont MB Viper is available here: www.bremont.com for £5,495
