B-Uhr pilot’s watches are all based on a specification by the RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium), the Ministry of Aviation in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. For its aircraft navigators, it specified watches whose characteristics were: 55mm diameter, very large for good legibility; movement with a Breguet-type balance spring; chronometer-tested movement; protection against magnetic fields provided by…
Matwatches is a French brand specializing in military watches. The name comes from “Mer-Air-Terre.” The MAT AG5 2 Aviation combines features of diving watches, with water resistance of 300 metres and a unidirectional rotating bezel, and pilot’s watches, with black dial, and hands, numerals and hour indices coated with SuperLuminova for good visibility at low…
After working his magic at Hublot and TAG Heuer, Jean-Claude Biver is turning his attention to Zenith. All three companies are part of the LVMH Group, where Biver is President of the Watches Division. “I am writing to inform you of the departure of Aldo Magada from his position as CEO & President of Zenith.…
The Type A is the most familiar pilot’s watch type of all, based on one of the Luftwaffe B-Uhr specifications, with Arabic numerals, black dial, and indications coated with SuperLuminova. Its simplicity makes it easily recognizable. Most of the high-end watch brands avoid making these pilot’s watches because their iconic design makes it impossible to…
RGM, American brand based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, first introduced its alarm watch in the late 1990s, but the Swiss movement that they used then went out of production. Recently they were able to obtain some of these calibres, the La Joux-Perret 5900 automatic, and so the Model 110-A Alarm watch has been brought back into…
This is a preview of a watch that TAG Heuer will be presenting in Geneva later this month (January 2017), a chronograph entirely in ceramic, including the bracelet. It is based on the Carrera Heuer-01 launched in 2015, with a 12-piece case that allows a range of combinations of materials and colours. The 2017 version…
Most watch brands make products that are fundamentally similar to all the mechanical watches that have been made for the last two centuries. A few do something different, and create a product that represents a radical departure and that hallmarks all the brand’s products. Examples are HYT with their watches in which liquid is used…