The Flieger Verus 40 by Stowa is a stunning new interpretation of the Type A pilot’s watch pattern, proof that the application of good design can transform even the simplest format into an attractive and striking piece. How have the Stowa designers achieved this subtle transformation? By increasing the scale of the markings. They are a…
Stowa have been making pilot’s watches since 1937, and they are based in Engelsbrand, near Pforzheim in Germany, where they also have a museum of their watches running back to 1927. The Stowa Flieger Klassik 40 Automatic Baumuster B Limited is part of celebrations of its 90th anniversary, and it is a limited edition of…
Stowa was one of the companies that made pilot’s watches for the Luftwaffe in the 1930s and ’40s, and so the brand feels a commitment and responsibility to this heritage. They make some watches that mirror the characteristics of Type A and Type B Flieger watches fairly closely, at least in terms of dial design.…
Stowa presented this three-hand watch, a modern variant of their classic pilot’s watch, at Baselworld 2015, and it became available in May 2015. While Stowa’s Flieger Classic is still available at prices starting from €860, the company has been presenting some more contemporary variants, with the Flieger TO1 Testaf in 2013, the Flieger GMT in…
Rana, a watch by German brand Stowa, is, in my opinion, one of the most original new timepieces of 2015. It represents an important step forward for a brand that is best known for its ever-popular pilot’s watches based on its own historical B-Uhr pieces. Rana is a powerful concentration of innovation in design and…
The new Ikarus Klassik Sport by Stowa looks sleek and modern with its light grey rhodium-plated, bead-blasted dial, minimalist dial design and brushed steel case, but it is in fact very close to the original Stowa Flieger Baumuster Type A, as can be seen from the photo of a watch made in about 1939 below.…
Company profile: Walter Storz founded Stowa (the name comes from the first two letters of his surname and name) in Hornberg, in Germany’s Black Forest, in 1927, and in 1935 the company relocated to Pforzheim. In 1938 they launched some Bauhaus-style designs (now part of the Antea series), and in 1939 the Marine Beobachtungsuhr (observation…
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…
I think that there are lots of people who would be interested in buying a mechanical watch, but who would prefer to spend a few hundred euros, pounds or dollars, rather than the few thousand that are needed for an entry-level watch by most of the luxury watch brands. So in this article I’ll look…
Caars, washing machines, electric drills and so forth have to comply with certain rules and regulations before they are put onto the market. For watches, this is not the case. For some categories, such as diver’s and pilot’s watches, there are some standards, but a brand can decide whether to comply or not. The only…
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…