Last year, Collins launched their first watch, The Bronson, an attractive three-hander inspired by vintage recording studio equipment. Last month, they introduced the Bronson Chronograph and let me play with one for a while.
Aside from the obvious chronograph functions, the new model is nearly identical to the original so I won’t rehash every detail (you can read the first review here). The two watches share the same 40mm wide, 48mm long, and 12mm thick stainless steel case, available in bead blasted or PVD black finishes. Both feature flat sapphire crystals, 100m water resistance, and vintage C3 SuperLuminova.
The greatest change is the movement. Collins chose an ISA Swiss 8371B quartz. It has a smooth 1/5-second sweep, a 5-year battery life, and small seconds and 30-minute registers. The two subdials fit neatly into the Bronson’s layout, without any crowding or clipped elements. It’s almost as if it were designed to be there all along, and indeed, brand principal Jimmy Collins confirmed that this was so.
All of my favorite aspects of the original are here, including the volume knob crown, the oversize arrow at 12 o’clock, and the lumed logo. It’s not all roses though, as the first model’s second hand returns unchanged. The sweep hand is a convincing replica of an old volume unit needle, but its tiny head and black stem are nearly invisible against the black dial. It was merely annoying on the three-hand, but it makes the stopwatch function unnecessarily difficult to read, which defeats the whole purpose. Considering how few of us actually ever use this function, it may not be an issue, but for the purist, this oversight makes the Bronson Chronograph more of a fashion statement than a tool.
Sweephand legibility aside, I enjoyed the Chronograph every bit as much as the original Bronson. It has the same charming retro style and sensible price. The silver case is $268, currently on sale for $199. PVD black models are $30 more.
For more information or to order your own, visit CollinsBrand.com. ⬩
