A Week on the Wrist with the Fears Brunswick – a classy dress watch from the heart of Bristol

Over the last few years, dress watches appear to have fallen out of favour in the mainstream of watch collecting. Many owe that to changing views towards fashion – particularly in the office – where relaxed dress codes have made dive watches and other sporty designs more commonplace.

Personally, I think that's a real shame. While rarely as hardy as sportier designs, dress watches have a timeless beauty which is unparalleled in other segments.

That's perfectly embodied by the Fears Brunswick I've recently been testing. Born in Bristol to one of the forefathers of British watchmaking, this model is destined to be paired with a sharp suit as you battle your way through the corporate office in style.

Fears Brunswick: key specs

The model I've got for review is the Brunswick 38 Salmon, and that's the spec sheet we'll be referring to today. As the name suggests, this one makes use of a 38mm case, which is crafted from 316L stainless steel.

That uses polishing and brushing in different areas, and includes an "onion" shaped crown. The 38mm measurement works slightly differently here thanks to the more squared, cushion case, which means it'll wear slightly larger than you'd think for a 38mm round dial. It also sits just 11.84mm thick, even with a domed crystal on top.

The dial is a copper salmon hue, which is brushed vertically. That's topped with Arabic numerals which are nice and easy to read, and hollow hands. There's a small seconds register at the six o'clock position, which keeps the centre pinion free of extraneous clutter.

Inside, the watch is powered by a La Joux-Perret D100 movement. That's a manually wound calibre, which offers around 50 hours of power when fully wound, with a 3Hz beat rate.

A choice of strap options is available on this model. My review unit came with the buffalo leather strap, which is lined with Alcantara, though there's also a five-link bracelet option available.

What is the Fears Brunswick like on the wrist?

Strapped on, the Brunswick does an excellent job of getting out of its own way. The case wears nicely – while square in dimensions, the cushion case shape keeps things from feeling too large – and the overall depth feels slim, which is just what you'd want from a dressier design.

The leather strap also deserves its own special mention here. Straps on watches can be a real minefield, with some punching far above their weight while others fall short of expectations. This is definitely in the former category – I adored the softness of it, which really helped make longer wearing sessions seem to disappear.

The simplicity of the dial is something I really found myself liking. Modern watch designers seem to be obsessed with complication, but this piece – devoid of anything to distract the eye – feels like a much truer form of the time-telling device it was born to be.

It's incredibly easy to read at a glance, which I found really handy in real-world use. It sounds silly to say, but some watches just aren't all that easy to quickly glance at for the time – this just is.

I've tried really hard to think of anything I could fault about the wearing experience and honestly, I'm struggling. I had expected to do battle with that oversized crown, but it was fine; similarly with the case dimensions, which ended up feeling pretty much perfect.

Is the Fears Brunswick worth the money?

The model I've tested here retails for £3,350 (approx. €3,850 / US$4,575 / AU$6,400). That's a really interesting price point, and one which can often feel underserved in the watch industry, with most releases hitting the sub-£2,000 mark or the circa-£5,000 one.

The value also feels slightly harder to judge given the dressier nature of this watch. As mentioned, those are slightly out of fashion at the moment, so there's less to compare it with.

But taking all of that out of the equation, I think this feels like a fantastic offering. There's absolutely bags of heritage in the Fears product range, yet the brand still feels like an unearthed gem. That's a real goldilocks scenario – you can feel secure in buying a product which is tried and tested, and still feel confident that you'll rarely bump into another.

Most people will only have one dress watch in their collection these days, and if you want a really good one, the Fears Brunswick should be on your list.