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1 November 2024
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15 January 2025The Hands of Time
The finest pilot-style watches remain as desirable today as they were in the early days of aviation
O ne of the lesser-acknowledged bi-products of war is the wristwatch. Prior to World War I, pocket watches were the norm, but as brave men took to the skies, it quickly became apparent that fumbling around in a pocket for a timekeeper was impractical – especially if the Red Baron or his equivalent was sneaking up behind you with the idea of sending you crashing down in the general direction of Flanders.
Some timing devices were strapped to pilots’ thighs, but it was discovered that a more efficient solution was to put them on wrists where they could be quickly referenced.
During World War II watch companies joined the war effort, supplying the military with reliable wrist-mounted timers. Hamilton, originally a US firm now based in Switzerland, is reckoned to have produced a million watches during the conflict, all of them bound for forces personnel.
Omega watches supplied to British forces over the same period were considered to have played such an important role in the war effort that after it was all over field marshal Bernard Montgomery travelled to the company’s headquarters in Bienne to thank staff personally.
Returning home from war, servicemen were heroic figures and their wristwatches became symbols of their bravery. That was particularly true of pilots. Their watches were simple, functional, designed for purpose and generally handsome, and they became iconic, so much so, they’re still with us today.
Typically, pilot’s watches are defined by the clarity of their dials, their oversized crowns and, in more advanced cases, by the calculations they can perform. True pilot’s watches also have soft-iron inner cases to fend off the magnetic fields found in a cockpit, and many will carry the triangle marker at 12 o’clock, which was used for navigational calculations.
This year, pilot’s watches are enjoying a revival – here are some of the finest of the new aviation-inspired wristwatches.
Zenith
Pilot Big Date Special
Zenith’s new collection of pilot’s watches includes three models, each of which could carry a collection on its own.
The vintage-inspired Montres d’Aeronef Type 20 has grabbed a lot of headlines with its 57.5mm case and pocket watch movement. The Doublematic hasn’t done badly either, with its exceptional list of functions, including a world time indication and mechanical alarm; and the third among equals is this, the Pilot Big Date Special.
Pilot’s watches should always be easy to read, accurate and reliable, and this watch ticks all three boxes. The clear black dial carries Arabic numerals cut entirely from SuperLuminova and a large date window, while inside the steel case is Zenith’s in-house El Primero calibre, the world’s most accurate series-produced chronograph movement.
Returning home from war, servicemen were heroic figures and their wristwatches became symbols of their bravery.
IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph
Top Gun Miramar
IWC is one of the industry’s most overtly masculine brands (its advertising strapline is ‘Engineered for Men’) and it is focusing much of its energy at the moment on its Pilot’s Watch collection.
One of the standout pieces within the new roster of timekeepers is this chronograph, made in honour of the pilots who train at the Top Gun Fighter Weapons School in Miramar, California. The familiar moniker has little or nothing to with the film of the same name, it should be noted, but it does nonetheless evoke images of high-performance jet planes, vapour trails and square-jawed flying aces.
The watch’s case is cast in a scratchproof black ceramic/titanium mix, while the anthracite dial, beige markings and green fabric strap have all been chosen with the military aesthetic in mind. The chronograph has a flyback function, which means it can be reset and restarted with a single push of a button; the date indicator is plucked straight from a cockpit altimeter; and the IWC-manufactured movement is surrounded by an antimagnetic soft-iron inner case and has an impressive 68-hour power reserve.
Rolex
GMT Master II
One of the most iconic of pilot’s watches is Rolex’s GMT Master. The original was designed in cahoots with Pan Am pilots in the 1950s, who, struggling to adjust to the demands of flying across multiple time zones in super-quick time, commissioned Rolex to come up with a watch that could show them the time both at home and also at their destination. The idea was it would help them deal with jetlag – psychologically, at least.
These days, Rolex is a vertically integrated company and makes all its watches from the ground up, including this GMT Master II, which picks up the baton from its famous forbear. It can show the time in three time zones thanks to its rotating 24-hour bezel, which, incidentally, is made of a glossy, virtually scratch-proof, black ceramic called Cerachrom, developed and produced by Rolex. The watch’s movement is automatic and independently verified for accuracy by the COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres) giving it chronometer status.
The date indicator is plucked straight from a cockpit altimeter; and the IWC-manufactured movement is surrounded by an antimagnetic soft-iron inner case
Breitling
Navitimer Cosmonaute
Breitling is one of the first names in pilot’s watches, thanks in no small part to its Navitimer line, which first appeared in the early 1950s (amazingly, no one’s quite sure when exactly) and featured a circular slide rule – a critical tool for pilots before the dawn of sophisticated computers. One of the most famous of Navitimers was that worn by NASA astronaut Scott Carpenter on board Aurora 7 on 24 May 1962. It had been specially adapted with a 24-hour dial so Carpenter could keep track of night and day – there’s no distinction between the two in space.
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of his flight, as does the new Navitimer Cosmonaute, a limited edition watch that retains the 24-hour dial of the original. Under the skin of this nostalgic timepiece is Breitling’s beautifully engineered new Calibre 02, the latest in a line of Calibres developed, produced and assembled in-house by the brand.
Bell & Ross
WW2 Regulateur
One of this year’s boldest pilot’s watch designs is Bell & Ross’s WW2 Regulateur. When it was first presented it was nicknamed the ‘Bombeur’, because it is directly inspired by a device used by navigators to determine a bomber’s position. That device was strapped to the aviator’s thigh.
Bell & Ross’s modern interpretation is more considered and makes its home on the wrist, hence the name – WW2 stands for Wrist Watch 2, contrary to initial expectations.
The watch is a regulateur, which means the minute hand takes centre stage, with the hour hand relegated to a dial counter. The reason for this is that the minute hand was critical to flight calculations such as airspeed, and prioritising the minute hand simply made a watch easier to read. The new watch has a 49mm sand-blasted steel case with a grey PVD finish, which feels very evocative of the 1940s, and a bi-directional rotating bezel with a red triangle indicator, again, for calculations.
The logic was that any adjustments required by an aviator wearing gloves would be much easier if the crown of his watch was larger
Oris
Big Crown Timer
Fresh from the foothills of the Jura mountains, Oris’ latest aviation-inspired timepiece is this handsome devil, the Big Crown Timer. It’s part of the independent brand’s Big Crown line, which takes its name from a feature introduced into watches back in the day when airmen wore thick gloves while in flight. The simple logic was that any adjustments required when gloved would be much easier if the crown were larger. Initially therefore, the design was practical, but today a number of brands have retained it for its pleasing aesthetic.
This particular model also features a fluted bi-directional rotating bezel, which can be aligned with the minute hand to time events. Oris first introduced this feature on the X1 Calculator last year, a watch that was delayed by 12 months because the engineers behind the project demanded it be water-resistant before it went to market – not an easy thing to do with a bezel of this kind. The case is stainless steel and coated in gun-metal PVD, and the automatic movement gives the watch a central sweeping second hand and day and date indicators.
Glycine
Airman Base 22 ‘Mystery’
The story goes that the idea for Glycine’s original Airman watch was born on a flight between Bangkok and Calcutta. After a conversation with the plane’s pilots, one of Glycine’s employees returned to the company base in Switzerland and promptly set about designing a watch that could tell the time in two time zones simultaneously.
The first Airman was launched later the same year, 1953, and it’s still with us today. The Airman Base 22 arrived in 2010, so called because it’s the 22nd generations of Airman watches. Glycine picked this generation to return to the model’s routes – it’s a faithful update of the original. Now comes the ‘Mystery’ version, just launched, which adds black PVD to its steel case and a black NATO fabric strap.