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The Battle of Britain in 1940 was the first major military campaign that involved only aerial combat. The two combatants - Britain’s Royal Air Force and Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe - were involved in some daring aerial battles and Britain’s victory was significant because it was the first time that the belligerent German War Machine was dealt a bloody nose.
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To mark this historical battle’s 80th anniversary, Bremont, the British luxury brand known for their pilots’ watches, has released a limited edition special box set comprising a pair of special-edition watches. More interestingly, buyers of the set will also have the rare opportunity to fly in a historical wartime aircraft.
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The two watches pay tribute to two legendary fighter plans that participated in the historic battle, the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane. The BOB (Battle of Britain) Spitfire is a chronograph that uses Bremont’s signature Trip-Tick style case in black DLC-coated stainless steel. The dial echoes the design of the Smiths clocks found on the instrument panels of Spitfire planes. The watch also has a central GMT hand to indicate a second time zone on the flange’s 24-hour scale. The chronograph subdial at 12 o’clock for 30 elapsed minutes is designed in the “Time of Trip” style of vintage dashboard clocks and imprinted with “1940.”
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The watch’s caseback is stamped with a rendering of the namesake warplane, the Supermarine Spitfire. The watch is powered the chronometer-grade self-winding Caliber BE-54AE, a hot-rodded version of the stock ETA 7750 movement. The watch is paired with a black leather strap with off-white contrast stitching and a black DLC buckle.
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The BOB Hurricane pays homage to the single-seat fighter plane by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. The Hurricane’s 40 mm stainless steel case steel case has a DLC-coated barrel and a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. The dial is take its design cues from historical dashboard clocks and the caseback is again stamped with the image of the Hurricane that fought in the Battle of Britain. This watch runs a BE-92AE movement, based on the ETA 2892 and has a power reserve of 38 hours. And in keeping with the Bremont DNA, this movement is chronometer-rated. The Hurricane is presented with a vintage-military-look, brown leather bund strap with contrast stitching and a simple steel pin buckle.
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Thanks to Bremont’s patronage of The Aircraft Restoration Company, buyers of 80 Bremont Battle of Britain Box Sets are eligible for a flight in a Spitfire plane at Duxford in the U.K. After the owner takes his or her flight, the date of the experience can be engraved into the disk that comes with the watches inside the box. The entire experience — two special-edition timepieces along with the Spitfire flight — will cost you $18,995.
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