Oris and the Mechanical Alarm in a Wristwatch

Oris revived one of its most hirstorc complications, the mechanical alarm. The new Big Crown ProPilot Alarm Limited Edition breathes new life into a complication that Oris first introduced in the 1940s. Fans of the manufacturer will be pleased that Oris has based the new Alarm on the Big Crown ProPilot, the company’s iconic pilot’s watch.
After all, the story of Oris is closely linked to that of the aviation. The company was founded in 1904, at the dawn of aviation, and made its first pilot’s pocket watch in the early 1910s. That was followed by the company’s first pilot’s wristwatch in 1917. The Oris Big Crown debuted in 1938 with its oversized crown that allowed gloved airmen to make adjustments quickly and easily. Today, Oris’s pilot’s watch collection is full of watches that delights pilots and watch enthusiasts equally.

The Big Crown ProPilot Alarm Limited Edition is the latest expression of Oris’s pilot’s watch tradition. The watch has two distinctive features. The first is its alarm, indicated by a central pointer hand with a bright yellow tip. The alarm can be set to the nearest 10 minutes against a scale that runs around the outside of an aperture in the middle of the dial. That aperture houses the watch’s second key feature, a circular date display. Underneath it is a rotating disc with a yellow date marker that makes a full tour of the dial once every 31 days.
As mentioned before, the Big Crown ProPilot Alarm Limited Edition is aesthetically based on the familiar design of the Big Crown ProPilot. In this case, the watch has two stainless steel oversized crowns, one to set the time between 2 and 3 o’clock, and a second to set the alarm between 3 and 4 o’clock. Both crowns are made of stainless steel and screw to ensure the watch’s water resistance to 10 bar.
Otherwise, the watch retains the recognisable ProPilot look. Its signature bezel motif is inspired by jet engine turbine blades; the classic round stainless steel case and tapered lugs give the watch its stylish gait; and the fundamental dial design elements, such as the straight-edged hour and minute hands and large, luminescent Arabic numerals, remain clear and functional.

The case houses the Swiss Made automatic movement Oris Kal.910.

The Big Crown ProPilot Alarm Limited Edition comes on a dark brown croco leather strap with a stainless steel folding clasp.
Oris will only be making 250 pieces of this watch.

Hamilton Celebrates a Century of Evolution in Aviation

The Swiss watch manufacturer Hamilton is synonymous with aviation and is celebrating 100 years of timing the skies with a limited edition watch this year. These watches represent the very best of Hamilton.
Based on the original Khaki X-Wind Auto Chrono, the 2018 Limited Edition is packed with aviation features for pilots and offers a technical perspective including the ground-breaking crosswind calculator of the original. Accuracy, innovation, a taste for adventure and a focus on precision have all contributed to making Hamilton the choice of professional aviators to accompany them in the cockpit.

Thanks to newly shaped hands and Super-LumiNova numerals in sand colour that glows neon green in the dark, the watch has enhanced readability. The multilevel black dial allows the eye to navigate between the three counters, the day date window at 9 o’clock and the turning inner bezels. The dial is protected by a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides. The x-shape visible between the pushers and crowns surrounding the case completes the multi-dimensional theme.
With the crosswind calculator on the turning bezel, the Khaki X-Wind Auto Chrono Limited Edition represents the very best of aviation timekeeping from Hamilton.

The Khaki X-Wind Auto Chrono Limited Edition features a 45 mm stainless steel case which is water resistant up to 10 atm. Inside works the H-21-Si, the first Hamilton chronograph movement with a silicon hairspring. This material makes the movement more precise as silicon is non-magnetic and less sensitive to shocks. The former is an important feature for pilots because they often stay in environments with high magnetic fields such as airports. In addition, the movement has been precision certified by COSC as a chronometer.

The Khaki X-Wind Auto Chrono Limited Edition is limited to 1,918 individually numbered pieces, and adorned with a H-buckle and a sturdy leather strap in typical Hamilton aviation style. There is also a metal bracelet for those who prefer a full steel look.

German Watches for the Austrian Air Force

The german-based watchmaker Hanhart from the southern Black Forest can look back on a long history in the production of aviator chronographs. So it should come to no surprise, that when a structural change within the Army and the re-establishment of the Command of the Austrian Air Forces in 2017 the Command inspired to design a limited edition of aviator watches, Hanhart was chosen as partner in this project.
The Primus Austrian Air Force Pilot Limited Edition combines the virtues of the Austrian Air Force such as precision, endurance and resilience with the principles of Hanhart: reliability, perfect legibility, ease of use and robustness. This chronograph combines the characteristic features of both sides, which are required for a perfect pilot’s chronograph.

The dial is, like in all Hanhart Primus watches, wonderfully distinctive. The bright luminescent numerals and indexes together with the red Hanhart details create a clear contrast to the black basic design of the chronograph and thereby contribute to a superb legibility. The unique fluted bezel with inlaid red marking, the typical „bicompax“ dial arrangement and the anodized aluminium red button reflect the typical features of the watch manufacturer. The chronograph provides central hours and minutes, a small seconds at 9 o’clock, a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock and a date display at 6 o’clock. The chronograph seconds are  counted by the central seconds hand.

The new timepiece from Hanhart is available in three different versions of case and bracelet. The chronograph can be ordered in a normal, a matt sandblasted or a black DLC coated stainless steel case. Despite the size of 44 mm in diameter and 15 mm in height, the flexible lugs provide a comfortable fit on the wrist. The case of the Primus Austrian Air Force Pilot Limited Edition is water resistant up to 10 bar.
Inside works the automatic chronograph movement HAN3809. It works at a frequency of 4 Hz and provides a power reserve of up to 42 hours when fully wound.

The bracelets are available in calfskin, vulcanized rubber and canvas; each comes with a folding clasp made from stainless steel and matching the case.
This chronograph is a limited edition of 100 pieces. Prices start at 2.590€ for the regular stainless steel one and go up to 3.090€ for the DLC coated one.

New from Alpina: The Startimer Pilot Automatic & Startimer Pilot Quartz

This year at Baselworld, Alpina, one of the pioneers in professional pilot watches, introduced the new Startimer Pilot Automatic. Now the manufacturer also launched quartz versions of the Startimer. Time to look at both.

Alpina has been, for many decades, a reference in professional pilot watches. In the first 50 years of the last century, Alpina was the official supplier for military aviation watches to continental air forces and since then the brand has carried on the tradition of manufacturing reliable and precise pilot timepieces.
Pilots have the strictest requirements when it comes to their instruments, the same can be said about their watches. This is why Alpina has continuously worked to provide them with the most dependable timepieces, offering characteristics such as ultimate precision, shock-resistance or anti-magnetic cases. Since its initial launch in 2011, the Startimer Pilot Collection has become the most successful line of the Brand and one of the most recognizable professional pilot watches on the market.

Alpina Startimer Pilot Automatic

Alpina Startimer Pilot Automatic

The four new Startimer Pilot Automatic maintains all the pilot features the Startimer Collection is known for. The combination of the finishing details and straight functions offer pilot watch aficionados the perfect balance between functionality and elegance on the wrist.
The AL-525G4TS6 features a titanium-colored stainless steel 44 mm case contrasting with a matte grey dial displaying the typical oversized luminous hand-applied indexes and hands with a date-window at 3 o’clock. The iconic red Alpina triangle is featured at 12 o’clock and on the seconds hand. The other three versions come in either stainless steel or rose gold-plated stainless steel featuring a dark blue or white dial. The AL-525 automatic movement boasts a 38 hour power-reserve and all watches are water-resistant up to 10 atm.

The five Startimer Pilot Quartz mix watchmaking excellence with practical functions. With these new versions, Alpina continues to respect the pilot watch and its key characteristics such as the oversized indexes and luminous treatment on the hands and the highly color-contrasted dials; major features that define a pilot’s watch and provide optimal readability. The 42mm case is available in two styles, either stainless steel or black PVD-treated stainless steel. The case is smaller than the usual 44mm pilot watches‘ cases turning it into the perfect watch for daily wear. These versions are available with different types of strap, either nylon or stainless steel bracelets.

Alpina Startimer Pilot Quartz

Alpina Startimer Pilot Quartz

IWC Schaffhausen Big Pilot’s Watch

The 2016 Pilot’s Watch collection from IWC Schaffhausen offers a wide, balanced range of Pilot’s Watches stretching from the Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 48 and Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 55 to the Pilot’s Watch Mark XVIII and the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 36. And the new Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Chronograph is the perfect world time watch for frequent travellers.

But we are taking a closer look at the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition „Antoine de Saint Exupéry“ (Ref. IW503801). With this watch the German watch manufacturer pays tribute to the extraordinary life’s work of a great humanist and aviation pioneer. With the tobacco brown dial and a calfskin strap, both of which call to mind Saint-Exupéry’s flying suit, IWC’s designers have ensured that this watch too, is outstanding and instantly recognizable. Since the beginning of the partnership between IWC Schaffhausen and the Fondation Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in 2005, these colours established themselves as the hallmarks of the „Antoine de Saint-Exupéry“ editions.
Watches always played an important role in the life of aviation pioneer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
At the same time, the name of the watch stands for good causes, since a part of the proceeds from sales goes to the foundation and its partner organizations.

IWC_Big_Pilots_Watch_Saint_Exupery

The watch is packed with technical features. The perpetual calendar shows not only the lunar cycles but also the seconds, minutes, hours, date, day, month and year in four digits. Mechanically programmed, all the displays are automatically advanced and will take into account different month lengths and all the leap days in the Gregorian calendar until 2100, without the need for a single correction. Not until 1st of March 2100 a watchmaker will need to adjust the calendar manually.
This is the first time that the IWC-manufactured 52610 calibre movement from the new 52000 family has been used in a Pilot’s Watch. Twin barrels supply the power needed to provide 7 days‘ running time and to drive the additional functions and displays.

The polished bezel underscores the singular quality of the watch as much as the sun-pattern finish on the dial does. The cone-shaped crown is reminiscent of the pioneering age of aviation. The rhodium-plated hour and minute hands and the indices are coated with luminescent material, while the red-tipped date, day and month hands recall cockpit instruments. The power reserve display, which is combined with the date display at 3 o’clock on the dial, slowly counter clockwise from 1 to 7, indicating that the movement is fully wound. A glance through the transparent sapphire-glass back reveals the movement’s design.
The 46-millimetre stainless-steel case is water-resistant to 6 bar and the glass secured against displacement by drops in air pressure.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition „Antoine de Saint Exupéry“ features the brown Santoni calfskin strap with the eye-catching seams and thus recalls, once again, Saint Exupéry’s flying suit.
This watch comes as a limited edition with just 750 pieces made.

Junghans launches the new Meister Pilot

Junghans-Meister-Pilot-Event-Edition-Watch-5In late September last year, German watchmaker Junghans, known for quality, reliability and passion in watchmaking for over 150 years, held a special preview of the new Meister Pilot watch. The longstanding watch company cave its guests an in-depth insight into the company during an exclusive tour before introducing its new event model. With already two months into 2016 the official launch of the new Meister Pilot is nearly arrived. Time to take a closer look.

Junghans-Meister-Pilot-Event-Edition-Watch-1Junghans designed the new Meister Pilot out of the fascination of flying and aviation in general. Junghans made its own contribution to the history of powered flight – as early as in the 1930s the German manufacturer was producing on-board clocks for aircrafts and in 1955 Junghans developed the Bundeswehrchronograph for the West German military. The new Meister Pilot incorporates the key design elements of the legendary Junghans pilot watch of the 1950s, combining these with the forms of the current Meister collection.

The new Meister Pilot from Junghans is rugged, traditional and masculine watch with an unmistakable design. Its bezel ensures this watch stands out from the crowd, defines the overall appearance and adds a useful function. The pattern and the generous scalloping of the bezel are uncommon and undeniably bold.
The stainless steel case is 43.3 mm in diameter and 14.4 mm in height; a size that plays a part in the excellent legibility of the watch. it is also water resistant up to 100 Junghans-Meister-Pilot-Event-Edition-Watch-3metres. The double-sided, domed sapphire crystal provides an ideal view of the luminescent numerals and hands. The new Meister Pilot enables secure orientation even in poor lighting conditions and in the dark.

The dial is uncluttered and very easy to read as one would expect from a pilot’s watch. The chronograph functions are laid out on 3 (minutes) and 9 (runnings seconds) o’clock; the watch doesn’t feature a date display.

The Junghans new Meister Pilot will be available in two versions: with a black strap and lume and with a brown strap and vintage lume. Both watches have identical specifications and are powered by the same self-winding movement – the calibre J880.4 – which provides the mechanical precision one would expect from Junghans.

Limited Edition: Zenith collaborates with The Watch Gallery

Renowned for their unique and dynamic designs, Zenith is soaring into the stratospheres of the luxury watch universe. This is a brand that exists to challenge, dare, follow and pioneer the pursuits of those who push the boundaries of possibility.
Inspired by such iconic missions as Felix Baumgartner’s Stratos sky-dive, Zenith has made its own mark on history. The El Primero calibre was the first integrated automatic chronograph movement beating at a frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour. This is a brand that truly believes that for every goal achieved, there is another to work towards and this is what the watches reflect.

croppedimage620349-3And now Zenith is marking an exciting collaboration with prestigious British luxury watch retailer, The Watch Gallery, bei the exclusive unveiling of the Zenith Pilot Extra Special, a 35-piece limited edition pilot’s watch recognised for its oversized onion crown and striking vintage Arabic numerals. Zenith, which has a relationship with aviation that goes back to the early days of heavier-than-air flight, remains the only Swiss watch brand with a licence to print the word „pilot“ on a watch dial.

resizedimage620412-4Powered by one of the brand’s suite of highly accurate in-house Elite Calibre 679 automatic movements and featuring hour, minute and central seconds hand, a minimum 50-hour power reserve as well as Arabic numerals shaped entirely from Super-LumiNova, the 45mm Zenith Pilot Extra Special with stainless steel case and crown offers a number of exclusive bespoke features in The Watch Gallery’s signature blue. These include a blue dial, blue stitching on the brown alligator leather strap and engraving on the case-back – thus clearly identifying the link to The Watch Gallery and the limited edition number.

Priced at £4,950 the Zenith Pilot Extra Special will be available throughout The Watch Gallery’s Zenith outlets: The Wonder Room, Selfridges, Oxfordstreet, London/The Watch Gallery, Westfield London/The Watch Gallery, Exchange Square, Manchester. For more information and ordering this piece online visit www.thewatchgallery.com