Where does Mark Strong find the time? One of Britain’s most in-demand actors – he currently has no less than six new projects in the pipeline – the Kingsman actor is known as one of Hollywood’s most reliable men. Perfect, then, for his latest role as ambassador for fellow countrymen Bremont. Mark Strong takes some time out from filming in British Columbia to chat to us about his not-so-secret love of watches.
What first got you into watches?
If I remember correctly, it was seeing a Casio called a Casiotron. I thought the LED display and the fact that you didn’t wind it and that it ran on a quartz crystal was very futuristic – it could have been from Star Trek. As a teenager, I was impressed by that and thought it could be a watch I could wear because it didn’t look like one my parents would wear.
What’s your grail watch?
I particularly love Bremont’s limited edition collections which incorporate historic artefacts into the designs – from fragments of Stephen Hawking’s desk to parts from HMS Victory, you carry an incredible moment of history on your wrist. There are a few other watches that have a history that I find fascinating too but probably if pushed, I would say a vintage Rolex Daytona. The kind that Paul Newman wore, as I am a great fan of his.
Do you have a favourite watch you wear the most?
I have diver’s watches, dress watches and different kinds that I wear according to what the occasion is. If I’m going to a premiere, I’ll wear something a little chic-er than if I were going on holiday where I’m going to be in the sea a lot, so I try and mix my watches to wear to whatever it is that I’m doing on any given day. I’ll try and wear them in rotation as well, so they all get an outing.
Describe what a tourbillon is to someone who’s not into watches.
I would have to go deep into the education of how watches work and why. A tourbillon is something that is in the mechanics of a watch, which keeps it running and helps prevent any interference by gravity, if my memory serves me correctly.
Any advice for people getting into watches?
Go for something you love the look of that feels comfortable on your wrist. A face that you can look at countless times a day and that has practical elements of making sure you can tell the time. Don’t necessarily go for a watch brand that’s famous because you think you should. There are so many watches out there it’s important to wear something on your wrist that you really love.
What’s your favourite time-related line from literature?
The one I’m thinking of comes from Macbeth when he says, “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time”. Essentially, that’s Shakespeare’s incredibly insightful view of the feeling that life is meaningless and empty, every day just creeps by like every other day. Quite a doom-laden sentence, but beautifully observed.
When did you first hear about Bremont?
I was doing the film Kingsman. Matthew Vaughn built up a huge number of relationships to do with very British and essential British fashion, whether it was the suits we were wearing, the umbrellas we were using, the cufflinks that we had, the shoes we were wearing or indeed the watches we were wearing. I wore a Bremont, slightly different from the the one worn by the agents – Colin Firth's character and Taron Egerton’s character. Because I was the NCO, the guy who worked on the computer, I had a more functional watch. So, that was my first introduction to Bremont, I thought they were beautiful, and it was a short hop from there to go into the boutique, have a look at them and see the range which is phenomenal.
Did you ever think you’d see the day where watches were being made on British soil?
It’s amazing, Nick and Giles English at Bremont have built a fantastic, state-of-the-art factory called The Wing, which I found incredibly impressive. Everybody was working very hard on making the most beautifully designed watches, and the fact that so many parts are engineered and made in Britain on-site, and the watches are assembled there, is truly unique in the British watchmaking world. No matter how much or how little you understand about watches you cannot fail to catch the horology bug when you go there.
Who knows more about watches – Giles or Nick?
I would not dream of suggesting that either one knew more than the other because obviously they are a partnership. I haven’t actually quizzed them on their watch knowledge, and when I was shown around the factory, they both mucked in and took turns in explaining to me how the watches were engineered there, they showed me the machines that they designed that made the parts that built the watches.
