Being Fearless

180 years ago, a watchmaker named Edwin Fear established a workshop in the heart of Bristol. His business went on to become one of Britain’s leading watch companies, but eventually closed down in the 1970s. Ten years ago, it was revived by Fears’ great-great-great-grandson, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill. This is the story of how, starting with nothing but a name, Bowman-Scargill built a modern British luxury watch brand worthy of continuing the family business. It is a story of perseverance, adversity, luck, generosity and identity – one that follows Fears from its shoestring-budget startup days to its position today as a respected, thriving independent brand. With characteristic transparency about the challenges, hardships and failures as well as the runaway triumphs, the story will satisfy anyone curious to know what running a watch company is really like.