These days pilot’s watches are as coveted for their rugged aesthetic as for their technical features. Regardless, you would still expect them to be resilient, accurate and to have survived a plane trip or two. While many on the market are subject to standard watch testing, only a small handful of companies go above and beyond to ensure both military precision and a timepiece that can accompany you on the most challenging of missions.

No more so is this true than for Bremont, trusted by pilots and squadrons around the globe, with its line created in collaboration with ejection seat specialists Martin-Baker the ultimate expression of this ethos. Forget merely withstanding a tough flight – can it make it through the breathtaking and treacherous process of being ejected from a plane at lightning speed?

And if anyone knows about testing its products to the extreme it’s Martin-Baker. Like Bremont, the family-run business places an emphasis on innovative British manufacturing. Now responsible for supplying more than 70 per cent of the western world’s air forces, in its more than 70-year history the company has saved 7,650 aircrew lives from more than 93 air forces.

The collaboration between the two has lasted more than a decade, and no timepiece enters the MB range without the hard-won seal of approval from Martin-Baker. The latest addition to the family, the MB Savanna, is no exception, having undergone everything from live ejection launches to salt fog, vibration, temperature and altitude tests.

Always looking to enhance, rather than simply add to, the line, this new watch has a number of standout features. Notably it is the first time the MB is presented in titanium, and the first cases in the material to be produced in Bremont’s new high-tech manufacturing facility in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. On a purely practical level, the choice is both hardwearing and lightweight. Here it has been treated with a protective matte-finish coating, lending it a modern look.

Aesthetically, the watch is a striking departure from the other models in the collection, while staying true to the essential DNA of the MB. This is particularly down to its eye-catching light colour palette that extends even to the rubber strap, inspired by the harsh Savanna environment and military camouflage colours. While it has its origins in the military, it lends itself well to casual wear. It is finished with all the hallmarks of the line, from the clear and legible dial, to the distinctive knurled effect on the barrel and crowns inspired by components on the seats. In a quirky signature finishing touch, the second hand features a yellow and black loop mirroring that of an ejection pull handle.

‘The MB Savanna is an eye-catching piece of military candy and a fitting tribute to arguably the most successful pilot’s watch in the market used extensively by real military squadrons,’ says Bremont co-founder Nick English. ‘Following the success of our MB collaboration, we wanted to create a more lightweight model and put it through the full spectrum of MB testing to coincide with the development of the new MB seat programme – ensuring the next generation of the Bremont MB is more robust than ever. Along with the extensive testing done in the UK, we’re proud to say all case finishing and manufacture has also been done in the UK.’

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