Davide Cerrato is a self-proclaimed anglophile. While at first-glance his aesthetic is undeniably Italian – the sweeped hair, neat goatee, statement glasses, and impeccable styling of his impeccable suits – a closer look at the details reveal his deep love for British craftsmanship. He drives a vintage Morgan, has his suits tailored from J.P. Hackett on Savile Row (requesting a looser ‘Italian cut’), and he insists that his ties, while cut by Neapolitan tailor E. Marinella, are made from British silk. He loves Britain and British things, but he does so in a non-native way.
This trait is an extremely helpful one for the recently appointed CEO of the independent watchmaker, Bremont, as he looks to expand the awareness of the “very British brand” to a wider, global audience.
“I see myself as a translator,” explains Cerrato on a sunny October day during a whistle-stop tour of Dubai and other markets. “Since it was founded in 2002, the language that Bremont used has always been very British, and while I love that and it has been a big strength, I believe it needs more of a global translation if it is going to resonate further as an international brand.”
At the heart of things, Cerrato is a ‘product guy’. With a proven track record of having worked with some of the most notable brands in the watch industry including Tudor, Montblanc and Panerai, he became CEO last year following a $59 million investment into Bremont by American billionaire Bill Ackman, and New York-based Hellcat Acquisitions. As the widely-respected – but Italian – head of a notably British brand, Cerrato is deeply aware that any necessary ‘translation’ at Bremont is to be done carefully. Last year, 75 percent of Bremont’s business came from the UK market, so any changes need to veer away from watering down the brand’s core identity, but rather “find the right tone of voice to better explain the powerful element of British culture to a younger and wider audience,” Cerrato states.
Being a ‘product-guy’ – that is exactly where Cerrato has started. “Bremont’s has always represented a maverick spirit, both as an independent brand and also due to its founders’ [brothers Nick and Giles English] history in aviation. As it is part of our DNA, aviation (or ‘Air’) will remain a big focus for the brand, however we will also expand the scope wider to include adventure exploration in both ‘Land’ and ‘Sea’ too.” To reflect that, one of the first design changes Bremont made under Cerrato was to change the brand’s logo from a vintage plane propellor to a more modern compass.
This inventory expansion has been immediately evident with Bremont introducing an all-new Terra Nova tool watch collection at the industry’s big Watches & Wonders trade show in Geneva in April, and this month, following it up with new additions to its Supermarine range. As well as a doubling down readability and luminescence elements, Cerrato’s influence on the new additions to the diver’s watch range is most clearly notable with the introduction of new ceramic references including a highly-technical green ceramic, which was handsomely modelled (and tested) by British explorer Aldo Kane.
“Exploration is a huge part of British history,” Cerrato says, “so we want to reflect that by making durable and technical tool watches that can withstand the outdoor nature of adventure.” This expansion from ‘maverick aviators’ to ‘British adventurers’ is a shrewd one from Cerrato, and one that, at first, had Bremont loyalists airing concerns that this new era of the company ran a risk of getting lost in translation. However, as Cerrato continues to gradually unveil parts of his adventurous new road map, things are starting to become clearer.
“When you set off on an adventure you have to have a plan,” he explains. “If you only focus on small individual pieces of information in front of you then it’s normal to get lost within the bigger picture. When we started this plan, we were looking at how it rolls our over three, four, five years – so as we add reveal more and more elements to it the vision and over-arching architecture becomes clearer.”
A major part of Cerrato’s grand plan will be revealed in next year’s Watches & Wonders, when he mentions Bremont will be introducing a new design of its pilot line, ‘Altitude’. But while we push for a sneak peek, Cerrato smiles and reminds us to have patience, “as the British say: ‘all in good time’.”