The shimmering allure of the Silver Screen was shaped by the sets and costumes of Hollywood’s design visionaries. Performers created unions that could stand up to powerful studio moguls. Silent films gave way to talkies. The stars brought light to black and white: Chaplin, Garbo and Gable entertained audiences in picture-houses around the world.
Department stores made the glamorous goods and styles seen at the cinema accessible to the masses. The Eastern Columbia building was an architectural marvel. Its giant, four-sides clock towered over downtown L.A. and watched the city prosper. Vibrant blue and gold terracotta tiles glimmered in the Southern California sun while its spectacular, sun-burst themed vestibule welcomed starry-eyed shoppers.
Those movie pioneers inspired regular folk to believe that aspiration leads to a better life.
New York flourished as labor and enterprise arrived from prairie farms and far-flung foreign lands.
Whether dancing in ballrooms or working in mailrooms, humanity was united by big city opportunity.
It was an era of brightly-colored ambition. Geometric shapes met gorgeous curves and buildings began
to scrape the skies.
With its eye-catching stepped bezel, dazzling luminosity and elegant face design, BREMOIR’s limited
edition wristwatch, the Lexington, is inspired by the architectural details of the Chrysler Building.
Those adventurous souls who surged into New York City were pursuing a lifetime of memories, not
regrets.
Glamourous fashion rejected traditional austerity and modesty, as people embraced the hard-fought freedoms won during The Great War. Relief breathed through the streets and speakeasies.
Gone were the puffed frilly blouses and leg-of-mutton sleeves. Broad, wide-brimmed feathered hats. Ribbons and lace. A-line skirts. You couldn’t two-step to The Charleston in an S-bend corset.
Hemlines rose. Flappers flashed their garters. They drank, danced and dressed to undress when the night was done.
Such free spirits inform all BREMOIR craftsmanship, beyond a shared appreciation of curves and color. Our wristwatches, powered by intricate mechanical movements instead of batteries, are inspired by the human movement that the style of the age liberated.
Those chic pleasure seekers turned out to make the first move, and the last move.
New York City boasted 32,000 speakeasies. Detroit’s hooch sales rivalled its automotive business. When Roosevelt ended Prohibition, there followed twenty minutes of celebratory cannon fire in New Orleans. It blasted across the bayous.
Until then blacks and whites, men and women, mingled underground in softly-spoken dens of flavorful vice, where mischief was sought and found. Blind Pigs and Gin Joints paid off police and poured watered-down whiskey; whetting the raucous appetite of the Roaring Twenties.
When a man wears a watch, he makes a statement. BREMOIR timepieces glow brilliantly with Swiss Super-LumiNova,® so you won’t lose track of time, even in the deepest underground spots, during the darkest nights.
Those naughty night-owls made their free time their best time.
And all that jazz… Louis Armstrong’s trumpet blazed as soloists improvised within big band swing. Performance evolved from delivering compositions as written, to playing new notes conceived by the musician’s mood. Rigid structures melted away as virtuosos lit up the stage. Some found it immoral, others intoxicating, but jazz’s impact was undeniable.
Technology fuelled the advance of this creative cacophony of big brass and thumping double bass. Radios brought jazz into living rooms. Dance halls were fully charged with microphones and amplifiers. Bands began to tour.
BREMOIR timepieces, too, are designed to break the mold. We build watches with time-honored mechanical movements, but with design ethos faithful to the inventiveness of Jazz Age, and the people who lived it.
Those pioneers of Jazz carved new paths, and others followed.
Tin Lizzies and Chrysler Imperials roared out of factories, and the ‘road trip’ was born. Regular folk
began to see America from leather automobile seats, not horseback saddles.
In the East they escaped the fields and factories to visit Luna Parks for roller coasters and Ferris wheels.
In the West they observed the twinkling sprawl of Los Angeles from beneath the newly built Hollywood
sign. The Grand Canyon. Yellowstone. Natural and man-made wonders became vistas for the masses.
Good engineering sets people free. BREMOIR timepieces’ reliable mechanisms are inspired by the
machines of the period that powered humanity’s appetite to experience the world.
Those early road trippers relished the adventure of the open road.
Immense ocean liners brought Bermuda, Jamaica and Havana within reach. Well-heeled fashionistas promenaded on teak decks and relaxed in ornate lounges before they disembarked onto beaches where clothes were shed. For the first time, the sun tan outshined fair skin.
Opulent carriages and richly decorated stations meant trains were boarded for the sheer delight of the ride. Overland trans-continental voyages boasted silver service and Pullman cars, where the rhythm of the rail rocked the passengers to sleep.
BREMOIR believes that escape, not routine, gives focus and clarity. Our watches are styled with the timeless and elegant flair of the Style Moderne aesthetic. The owner can make first-class memories of a life well lived.
Those time travelers knew how to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.
BREMOIR believes that the Age of Art Deco (1920s and 1930s) was a special time in world history; a
Time Worth Remembering. Not only was it memorable for its clean, geometric designs and incredibly
beautiful architecture, but for the way life itself was lived: romantically, fearlessly and glamorously.
BREMOIR is a brand with an old soul and a carpe diem attitude. It’s dedicated to designing
contemporary, mechanical timepieces that incorporate trusted and reliable movements. Our timepieces
evoke the spirit and design ethos of the Age of Art Deco and are made to give you enough swagger to
live a life full of memories, not regrets.
There are few periods in history that see so much profound social, cultural and technological progress,
that it continues to influence us more than 100 years later. Yet, the Age of Art Deco is doing just that
and for this reason, it is worth remembering.
Incredible architecture, with a distinct look and feel, gave rise to masterpieces around the world. In
almost every major city, structures were being erected in which geometric shapes met beautiful, soft
curves. This design aesthetic continues to resonate with us today. There was an emphasis on using
both rare and newly engineered materials like rust resistant, stainless steel, now the popular material
for even the most luxurious watches.
Meanwhile, society was progressing in almost every facet of modern life. Children of immigrant
fathers, Henry Ford and Walter Chrysler helped Americans go from exploring nearby places on
horseback to taking in far off vistas from behind the steering wheel, helping give birth to the “road trip.”
Amelia Earhart made little girls dream big and grown men feel small, as they imagined the possibilities
of global air travel. Louis Armstrong and his big band pioneered the art of improvisation and in the
process invented Jazz. The sound energized naughty night-owls in underground clubs and speakeasies.
There would be no “Fashion Weeks” today had flappers not embraced Coco Chanel’s new definition of
modern femininity, independence and style.
For these reasons and more, BREMOIR celebrates the Age of Art Deco through our limited-edition
timepieces and we’ll be telling the stories of people from both then and now, who inspire us all to seize
the day.
