Pilot Watches Archives - Page 27 of 36

Review – Longines Avigation BigEye – Longines Back at its Best for Vintage-Inspired Watches

It’s not hard to find vintage-inspired military watches as the market is now flooded with them. If you want something affordable and authentic, Hamilton has you covered. Want to go high-end, IWC and Panerai have a lot to offer, among many others. Longines even has a wide variety in their Heritage collection. Most are excellent examples of a given time period and fine watches on their own, but few have truly unique personalities. The Longines Avigation BigEye bucks the trend with an atypical chronograph that hits a lot of the right notes, but its provenance is a bit of a mystery. It’s also not the first modern big eye chronograph with pieces like the Breguet Type XX having a similar dial. It’s arguably the best vintage-inspired Longines since the Legend Diver, however, and won the Best Revival award at last year’s Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). That’s an eye-opening achievement, so let’s take a closer look.

Hands-on – Graham Chronofighter Steel Target – A Bold, Aviation-Inspired Chronograph

If you’ve been searching for a bold, aviation-inspired chronograph that will make an unmistakable impression on the wrist, we might just have the watch for you. The Graham Chronofighter Target is larger than life and has a number of nice touches that really catch the eye. Masculine, modern and still featuring the signature elements of the brand, but without the vintage feel of other collections. We recently spent some time getting hands-on with the Chronofighter Steel Target. Here are our thoughts.

Review – The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Heritage Bronze IW501005

Few watches can claim to be real icons. The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch is definitely one of them. This WWII-inspired pilot’s watch needs no introduction anymore. Of course, the one that everybody knows is the classic black dial version with white indices (Ref. IW500912). But there are more editions offered by the brand – including my favourite, the “Le Petit Prince” ref. IW500916 – with or without complications. Recently, the brand added a new, vintage-like subcollection in the Big Pilot line dubbed “Heritage”, which includes the watch we’re about to review, the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Heritage Bronze IW501005. Patina is about to hit the sky!

Hands-on – Tutima M2 Coastline – A New Entry-Level Offer from the German Brand

Tutima, a Saxon manufacture based in Germany’s heart of watchmaking, Glashütte, is known for having a wide range of watches, from ultra-resistant military-inspired chronographs to complex, in-house produced elegant watches. After showing its watchmaking expertise with the Patria collection, the brand now moves to the other side of the range, with a new entry-level watch, the Tutima M2 Coastline. Simpler and more affordable but still showing military inspiration and built to resist to rough conditions.

Introducing – Hamilton Khaki Pilot Auto Day Date Collection, Celebrating 100 Years of Aviation Timekeeping

Hamilton’s first watch left the factory in 1893, a 17-jewel pocket watch. The company has come a long way since then and has also transformed from an American to a Swiss Manufacturer, currently under the Swatch Group (one of the largest watch manufacturers and distributors). 2018 marks 100 years of providing pilots with accurate and reliable timepieces, and the company is celebrating with its latest pilot series, the Khaki Pilot Auto Day Date. Combining design elements from previous collections, the new pilot’s watches have a vintage feel with modern touches. They’re also approachable with competitive prices, despite a Swiss automatic movement with day/date complication.

Review – Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time 5524R – A Time For Reconciliation

Let’s be honest… The Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time 5524G (the white gold version) was a hot topic of discussion when launched at Baselworld 2015. Whatever the intrinsic qualities of this watch, it has been misunderstood. Too early, too radical, too different maybe. 3 years have passed now and there’s a new version in the collection, now in rose gold with a warm brown dial, under the ref. 5524R. With this new combination of colours, we think it’s time for the reconciliation. Let’s have a closer look at the now very-Patekish Rose gold Calatrava Pilot.

Hands-on – Fortis Aeromaster Mission Timer Chronograph – Cosmonaut-Approved

Founded in 1912 by Walter Vogt in Grenchen, Fortis is known for manufacturing rugged, functional watches with a predilection for pilot watches… and Cosmonaut watches, as Fortis has been cooperating with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, and other organizations for years. Today, we take a look at one of the brand’s latest creations, the Fortis Aeromaster Mission Timer Chronograph – and if it’s good for Russian Space missions, it should be reliable enough on Earth.

Hands-on – Bell & Ross BR-01 Laughing Skull (and a video of its unexpected animation…)

Bell & Ross is now well-known for its Skull-inspired watches. Everything started in 2009 with BR-01 Skull, followed by 3 other watches (see some of them here and here). And for those who remain doubtful about the relevance of such watches in the B&R collection, you’ll see that the link with the brand’s military roots isn’t that far. Following this trend for Skull watches, Bell & Ross introduces its fifth iteration, the new BR-01 Laughing Skull – and this one has more than one surprise to show.

Hands-on – Graham Chronofighter Nose Art Limited Editions

Nose-art is an art form consisting in decorative painting on the fuselage of airplanes, in particular during WWII when colorful images, shark teeth or pin ups appeared on the nose of military aircrafts. As Graham’s most emblematic timepiece, the Chronofigther, is inspired from aviation, the brand started to feature pin-ups on the dial of its Chronofighter Nose Art in 2017 and new girls just joined the Graham pin-up squad at Baselworld 2018.

Hands-on – Bell & Ross Vintage BRV2-94 Racing Bird

In 2017, Bell & Ross debuted its revamped “Vintage” collection and it instantly became my favourite range from the brand. Since then, the company has been steadily knocking them out of the park with tasteful, vintage-inspired models, ranging from the simple Vintage BR V1-92 Military to the sportier BR V2-94 Vintage Chronograph. The latest offerings to the collection come in the form of the Bell & Ross Vintage BRV1-92 & BRV2-94 Racing Bird, the latter of which we are getting hands-on with today.

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Category: Pilot Watches