Last week, to celebrate the year’s anniversary of its Bristol-based Showroom, Fears introduced its first ever Boutique Edition watches.
The Fears Watch Company was founded in 1846 by Edwin Fear in Bristol and ran for 130 years until it closed in 1976. In 2016, it was re-established by Edwin Fear’s great-great-great-grandson, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill and is today once again based in its home city of Bristol.
The new pieces – both Brunswick models, named for Bristol’s Brunswick Square where the Fears warehouse was based from 1920 to 1942 – are examples from the brand’s core range, but are only available from the Fears Showroom in Bristol or through the Fears Owners’ Club via the Clubhouse website.
The Fears Owners’ Club is free to join and is open to all owners of a Fears watch made from 1846 through to the present day.
Each watch features a dial with an exclusive colour that Fears is referring to as ‘Mallard Green’, with a different finishing to other models in the collection. The timepieces will not be limited by number and will expand over time to include all regular production watches.
Not used by Fears before, the dark green hue shines in tones of grey and blue in different light conditions, as with the plumage of its namesake duck. The effect is achieved by giving the sunburst dial a galvanic coating of silver (99.9% pure) before a coating of translucent varnish is applied and mixed with drops of pigment.
Both models are housed in stainless-steel cases that are water-resistant to 150 metres. Powering the pieces are top-grade ETA movements – manual winding Cal. 7001 in the 38mm and the self-winding Cal. 2824 in the 40mm, both made in Switzerland and modified in the UK.
The Brunswick 38mm is equipped with a grey Barenia calf leather strap lined in Alcantara. The Brunswick 40mm is presented on a five-link bracelet with butterfly clasp.
The dials are finished with applied diamond-polished numerals in Fears’ unique ‘Edwin’ typeset. The 36mm model has a small seconds, while the 40mm watch has a central seconds hand.
MD Mr Bowman-Scargill, says: “Fears is incredibly fortunate to have an extremely loyal and supportive following among watch enthusiasts and we wanted to offer something special in a colour that we had never produced before.
“I was keen that this shouldn’t be restricted to one model, limited edition or priced above the core range, but rather something that was able to link the whole Fears catalogue.
“The decision to also offer the watch through our Fears Owners’ Club allows us to give our devoted owners around the world the opportunity to access these special pieces.”
The Fears Boutique Editions are currently available as both Brunswick 38mm and Brunswick 40mm models. Each Boutique Edition watch will be priced the same as the regular production versions and retail for £3,350 for the Brunswick 38mm and £3,750 for the Brunswick 40mm.
