Fears Retires the Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour with the ‘Ultimus’ Edition: an Appreciation of a Modern Classic
Fears made some news this week not only with a new release, but also the announcement that one of their signature watches is being retired. The new Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour ‘Ultimus’ is, somewhat surprisingly, the last version of the Brunswick 40.5 Jump Hour. Now, it stands to reason that Fears will not completely abandon the Jump Hour format. This platform has been incredibly popular for the brand, and seems to be a fount of creative opportunity for their design team and collaborators. Still, the appropriately named Ultimus is the end of a chapter, and it seems like a good opportunity to reflect on a watch that I’ve personally come to enjoy quite a bit in my own collection. But first, let’s break down the Ultimus. This is a collaboration with Andew Morgan, the UK based watch content creator, and features the same 40.5mm stainless steel case and Christopher Ward JJ01 jumping hour module (on a Sellita SW200 base movement) as every other Jump Hour Fears has made (well, almost every one – we’ll get to a few exceptions momentarily). What differentiates this edition, of course, is the dial execution. Typically, the Jump Hour is loaded with negative space. The Fears version of this complication features a small interior minutes track with an hour aperture at the top, and ample space within and without that circle that becomes a venue for an eye-catching color or an interesting material. It’s an inherently spare design, which I think is part of the appeal. The U...
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