Pilot’s watches are instantly recognizable, with hallmarks including a reference triangle at 12 o’clock, black or dark dial, luminescent coating on hands and indices, and a large crown that can be manoeuvred even when wearing pilot’s gloves. Today there are many ways of interpreting the pilot’s watch, from versions that are virtually re-editions of traditional…
The Nighthawk by Perseo is a pilot’s watch, 44 mm in diameter, in versions with black or blue dial and a Sellita Swiss-made movement.
The SIET 49, presented at Watches of Italy 2020, has a pilot’s watch aesthetic, and it is built by an Italian. precision engineering company.
Top ten new pilot’s watches at prices under €2,000, including new designs, re-editions of historic models, and pilot’s chronographs. All with the distinctive, easy-to-read style that hallmarks aviation watches.
Timepieces that reveal growing attention to the pilot’s watch category on the part of top brands, with re-editions of historic designs, and some very interesting new models. Prices from €2,000 up.
Here is a selection of some of the most interesting new pilot’s watches launched for 2018. They are in ascending price order.
Christopher Nolan’s desire to make the film Dunkirk as realistic as possible included watches, and in particular a pilot’s watch worn by Tom Hardy who plays a Spitfire pilot. Omega have issued a press release in which they describe three watches supplied by the company to Britain’s Ministry of Defence. Omega had already supplied watches…
Many watch brands include one or more models based on the earliest style of pilot’s and military watches, with large, chunky numerals in Art Deco style reflecting the years (1905-1920) in which they first appeared. Other characteristic features may include a small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock, and a large case size, because in those…
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…
Modern pilot’s watches don’t really have a practical function today. In the years from the 1920s up until the 1950s, they were essential parts of equipment, and so gained their characteristics of large size, and long leather straps so that they could be worn over a flying suit. Today even sports pilots have all sorts…
It’s not hard to see that there is increasing interest in pilot’s watches from major brands, with Patek Philippe introducing a classic pilot’s watch out of the blue last year (2015), a traditional pilot’s watch from Montblanc also launched in 2015, and the Senator Observer from Glashütte Original. At SIHH in January, IWC renewed its…
This selection presents twenty pilot’s watches, still in production, with the classic black dial, white Arabic numerals, and triangle marker at 12 o’clock, recalling the watches supplied to the Luftwaffe in the years before, during and after the Second Worlld War by A. Lange & Sohne, IWC, Wempe, Laco, and Stowa. Three of those historic…
Pilot’s watches, with their inherent simplicity, are a perfect introduction into the world of mechanical timepieces, and a fair number of brands make pilot’s watches costing under a thousand euro. Here are my top 10 pilot’s watches for under €1,300, in descending order of price. 1. The Longines Heritage Military 1938 The Longines Heritage Military…
It’s a familiar type of watch. Black dial, white numbers, large size, lots of SuperLuminova, Pilot’s watches were originally designed to be easily legible in an aircraft cockpit, and so simplicity was essential. Today, pilots have all sorts of electronic equipment to help them, but even so, the pilot’s watch is great for everyday use…