Well, obviously, this isn't a controlled study. Rather, this is an interesting look, given the data we have available at how this community compares to the rest of the world.

I agree with your observations and perspective on Bremont.

It is clear that in order to achieve the hockey stick curve of growth, bold moves would be neccesary. However, the direction Davide Cerrato chose has turned me away from the brand, at a time when I was looking for reasons to lean in.

It started with the new Supermarine 302, when they replaced the timing bezel insert with a 24 hour insert to reposition it as a rugged travel watch, but kept the legacy unidirectional 120 click diving bezel action in a brazen indicator that the new direction will look for any opportunity to cut corners.

We now see the movements are no longer chronometer grade, they've stopped using hardened steel, and seem to have abandoned their pursuits of a fully in-house British made movement.

There is less diversity in the portfolio, as we now have our choice of different colors of fewer models, instead of the diverse selection of models previously available.

Given all those observations, it lends credibility to the rumor that Davide targeted the Martin-Baker line and faced intense opposition from the company staff to protect it.

I am beginning to view Bremont the same way many view Heuer before the Tag acquisition.

This question has a false premise:

there is nothing perfect about being limited to three watches.

@swim97 Based on your preference for unique, I'm surprised it's even a question.

The BB monochrome looks like yet another black dialed submariner style watch (how original), whereas the BB ceramic is— as you tend to prefer— pretty unique.

Another framework to think about it: how easy would it be to find an alternative option for the BB monochrome vs an alternative for the BB ceramic? There are numerous alternatives to the BB monochrome, but not so much for the BB ceramic.

The BB monochrome is a fine and very versatile watch, but your collecting style isn't based on making a few versatile watches check many boxes; your collection might benefit more from pieces that anchor a particular mood/aesthetic.

BB ceramic, definitely.

@degenerateWA Jeff McMahon gave you a great shoutout this morning on his youtube channel

https://youtu.be/-oN0ZnuuQqg?si=Tm8gTTx1Sw-m-l4z

This is what people should be talking about when they say "one watch collection"

As divers, a dive bezel is more useful than a GMT bezel while we're underwater. The old S302 had a great timing bezel. This version of the S302 makes the most sense as a diving/travel watch.

Since a lot of dives happen away from your home time zone, you can track local time, use the GMT hand to track the time back home, and then time your bottom time/safety stop, etc on the unidirectional bezel. I loved this design.

And unidirectional makes sense in this context.

By stripping the timing function on the new S302, sure, you could technically line the triangle and use it to mark the start of your dive... but if that's the intent, why wouldn't we have just kept the original bezel? The original bezel insert was much more appropriate for diving.

The GMT bezel insert on the new S302 makes tracking a second time (or third) zone the priority over timing minutes elapsed. A bidirectional 48 click makes much more sense for that intended design & function than a unidirectional 120 click.