Reply With Quoteonly thing I can add is that I found the Damasko case to be too high. It didn't seem very balanced with the width really. And the case finish reminded me of plastic...!!
Morning!
Hope you have all had a nice christmas. Now, down to business. As per recent post my collection currently consists of a Speedy and a Sub (https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...+rolex+content)
I think quite possibly I would like to add a pilots watch of some kind. I would like to continue on the course of just purchasing 1 watch every 1-2 years. Watch should be 40mm or less. With my current two black dials a different colour (white?) might go well. It should be stealthy (plan to wear this daily at work where a flashy watch would not be ideal) but incredibly well made. It should have an easily serviceable movement. It should look good on a variety of straps. Price is flexible. Max £4k. But that would mean 2 years at least of saving.
I have always loved IWC designs, alas most of their watches are too big and also I feel, quite overpriced. But they always seem beautifully built, so there are two on the shortlist (mark XVIII white dial and mark XVI). Other watch is a Damasko DA37 - nice design, love the lug holes and hardened case. Unknown brand other than in this kind of community, which I like. If anyone has any experience of these watches or any others you think I should consider would love to hear your thoughts and more importantly, see your pictures!
These pics are not my own!
Mark XVI - maybe the perfect pilot watch but maybe hard to find at a good price plus ideally a different colour dial. But the ETA 2892-A2 movement plus 39mm diameter is perfect.
Damasko DA37 - never seen a Damasko in real life. On paper this looks good. Although it may look a little large on me. Plus, unsure if the somewhat flat, matte case would get boring. Otherwise, really not much to not like. This maybe the favourite. However, new prices seem high currently at £1k+, would prefer a good used one circa £600 (seem to go for around £5-600 on here).
Mark XVIII white dial - if this was 39mm and had the ETA movement then I think this would be the no-brainer. But it is 40mm with lugs as well so would certainly have to try it on (would be possible, which is an advantage over the DA37). I think when this was first released it had the IWC cal. 30110 which is the ETA 2892-A2 but now on the IWC website it states the cal 35111 which i believe is the Sellita SW300. Would this bother anyone? I think it bothers me. Read on it a bit and seems the Sellitas are good but just not as good as the ETA version, at this price, for an "off the shelf", I would be wanting the best!
Anyway yes. Please just post your very favourite pilots and tell me about what it is like to live with them. Hope you enjoy the rest of the festive period!
only thing I can add is that I found the Damasko case to be too high. It didn't seem very balanced with the width really. And the case finish reminded me of plastic...!!
You don't have to go too far to find a very nice modern interpretation of the 6b/159. Plus, you'd get a lot of change from 4k...
https://www.timefactors.com/prs29new.htm
Stowa now do a white dial flieger: https://www.stowa.de/flieger+klassik+40+weiss.htm
Or what about a Sinn 104 in white? I always thing they look great.
FWIW, I personally do not think that IWC provide value in this sphere.
It is perfectly correct that the design of their pilot watches is so clean and simple, (and very attractive) but to my mind they fail to add value for the costs they charge.
Applied indices?
Case contrasts over a chamfer?
Surface treatments?
Precious materials?
I guess that the fact that IWC took the Mk X name (a British RAF watch) and applied it (from Mark XV onwards) to a WWII German design of watch pre-disposes me against it, but I think that the other B-Uhr manufacturers offer almost as nice an interpretation for a fraction of the cost, with just as much heritage. Laco, Stowa. Take your pick, for a B-Uhr design from one of the original manufacturers.
Dave
i own that same model damasko, superb watch for the money and gets a lot of wrist time. i wouldn't say it's too thick.
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Stowa Ikarus or Speedbird for me.
Sounds to me like you want an IWC Mark XV Spitfire silver dial. Should be well within budget.
Sinn have a good range of pilots watches, I like the 856 Series. Here are my 2 favourites the standard and GMT varient.
What do you want from a pilot watch? A classic would be a Rolex GMT-Master - it was designed for Pan-Am. But the Oris Big Crown series has a heritage. IWC have a link to the US.Navy via their Top Gun range and the classic Mk. series or the their FliegerUhr. The Sinn below (3 hander) is absolute classic imo in its design/interpretation
How about this? https://www.a-13a.com/shop/en/content/6-the-watch
It is 42mm but has curved lugs, so wears smaller on the wrist I think. Well built and designed.
Steve
Looking at a few Mark XV on Chrono 24. Does look like a beauty of a reference. Spitfire or otherwise. Interesting.Originally Posted by SplitSecond
Doesn’t sing, and yes probably too big. I can’t quite pinpoint why some of the designs appeal and some don’t. Sinn, Damasko and IWC do it. Stowa really doesn’t.
I love my IWC pilot tribute to previous models.
I didn’t buy it for re sale values or as an investment so it frees me up.
the other IWC pilot models have now gone down considerably in price if you like those.
It’s not entry level it’s what I want.
VFM and a gorgeous watch is the air ministry
I had another Christmas card signed by all the staff at the Munich boutique this year,not just a nice watch but an enjoyable buying experience.
The IWC Mark series, the ultimate everyday watch
https://journal.hautehorlogerie.org/...ryday-watch-i/
Hi, what model is that? A one-off tribute model made by IWC?I love my IWC pilot tribute to previous models.
I didn’t buy it for re sale values or as an investment so it frees me up.
the other IWC pilot models have now gone down considerably in price if you like those.
It’s not entry level it’s what I want.
VFM and a gorgeous watch is the air ministry
I had another Christmas card signed by all the staff at the Munich boutique this year,not just a nice watch but an enjoyable buying experience.
My favorite pilot watch must be the Navitimer Fighter's Edition with all-brushed case and bracelet. Stunning!
I am biased as I have an IWC MK XVI with black dial. It was my first luxury mechanical watch purchase. I couldn't be happier with it although it doesn't get as much wrist time as it used to now that my collection has grown over the the last few years. I love this watch because it just looks "right" and is to my eyes is nicely understated. It has a lovely quality feel to it and is supremely comfortable to wear.
My son is a pilot and he swears by his Speedbird III. Simplicity and clarity is the key. Having said that, when not flying he normally wears a Breitling Airwolf.
It looks like the IWC Tribute to Mark XI
I have the Mark X, Mark XI, Mark XII & Mark I Big Pilot. The Mark XI is my favourite.
Thanks for the input all. I think there are some great options cheaper than the IWC, however, I know what I am like and no matter what I get I think I will still be hankering for a Mark watch.
At the moment I think my preference is for the Mark XV, looks stunning.
Pic from the helpfully provided article:
That mk XV was made from 1999 to 2006. What do you guys think of wearing a watch of that age as a daily? Should be just fine after a service right? Should any good watchmaker (namely Rocco in Bristol) be able to service that movement, it is based on the ETA 2892-A2, from reading it seems like they use to do a fair bit of modification back then though.
I do like pilot style watches. This one is really nice IMO
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Good choice IMO. Daily wearer, why not?
The IWC Mark XII is really nice. Inside it has a Jaeger LeCoultre movement based on the JLC 889/2 but modified & renamed the cal.884. It's sublime.
Last edited by trident-7; 28th December 2018 at 20:46.
I agree, beautiful. But a pain and expensive to service maybe?The IWC Mark XII is really nice. Inside it has a Jaeger LeCoultre movement based on the JLC 889/2 but modified & renamed the cal.884. It's sublime.
Mine cost £700+ to service in 2014, but they did replace the dial.
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/iw...rk-xi-hands-on
There is an IWC pilot in the window of my local watch shop, (CS Bedfords - Ruislip). Might be worth a phone call.
IWC Mark XI cal.89. The back shows markings which indicate the watch was issued to the RAF (6B)
I haven't had mine serviced yet. Did IWC insist on changing the dial? I wouldn't want them to change mine. Or the hands.
Brendan (Webwatchmaker) serviced my Mark XV earlier this year. He did a great job with it. Mind you, why not consider the MK II Hawkinge model? It won’t cost you anything like your quoted budget, either.
In my case it was inevitable - half of the lume triangle at 12 had popped off and was rattling around the dial, after I dropped it on my desk.
According to the AD I took it to, IWC claimed that the hands would have to be replaced as well - and this was part of the justification for the cost. Supposedly the act of removing then replacing the hands would cause too much trauma to the old ones. But I don't believe they did change the hands. The new dial has nice bright lume now, but the hands look exactly the same and are as dead, in terms of luminosity, as they were when I surrendered it to the AD.
That is most unfortunate. Not good service.
"In my case it was inevitable - half of the lume triangle at 12 had popped off and was rattling around the dial, after I dropped it on my desk.
According to the AD I took it to, IWC claimed that the hands would have to be replaced as well - and this was part of the justification for the cost. Supposedly the act of removing then replacing the hands would cause too much trauma to the old ones. But I don't believe they did change the hands. The new dial has nice bright lume now, but the hands look exactly the same and are as dead, in terms of luminosity, as they were when I surrendered it to the AD."
That's dreadful !
My guess is that Admin failed to give clear instructions to the repairer.
I'd get back to them !
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Not only that, actually - I'd asked for the case not to be refinished. But it clearly was, albeit very lightly. However it did come back looking really smart.
In the end I wasn't unhappy with the service per se. I wanted a new dial, and that's what I got. The old hands are absolutely pristine apart from the lume not working, and I would have preferred to keep them anyway. The miscommunication somewhere between the AD (Berrys, in Nottingham) and IWC annoyed me, but ultimately it didn't cause any harm.
The only thing that really bothered me was the cost. But it was four years ago now and I'm over it.
I was seriously considering an IWC Mk XII myself a little while ago, but when looking around, one supplier of pilot watches that I really liked the look of that has not been mentioned in this thread was https://www.archimede-watches.com
36mm, 39mm and 42mm, blued hands or not, steel or bronze, chrono or 3 hander - something for everyone :)
Hmm. Yeah had forgotten about them! I think IWC are still likely to get the nod, namely mark XV or XVI but will have a good look. Do you have an Archimede? If you do, would love to see some pics!?
I was sorely tempted by the 36mm, but when I had the funds they had stopped selling it on a steel bracelet. I do have and can recommend a Timefactors PRS-22 (the GMT variant), which has the squared off hour hand of the IWC and with the extra time zone is a very nice, useful watch:
Nice! Thanks for that, looks lovely. Again, warrants some thought.I was sorely tempted by the 36mm, but when I had the funds they had stopped selling it on a steel bracelet. I do have and can recommend a Timefactors PRS-22 (the GMT variant), which has the squared off hour hand of the IWC and with the extra time zone is a very nice, useful watch:
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I've seen reported that the short stubby hour hand first seen on the IWC mark XI came about because a pilot complained that it was difficult to see the time easily at a glance & in poor light because the hour hand could be confused with the minute hand & vice versa. He ordered that the hour hand on his watch be cut short to make the difference more obvious. It was then taken up as a design feature. Whether that's true or not I cannot find further reference to it.
First of course it will be helpful to understand what an aviation watch is, or should be. I found the following very informative when I first joined the forum.
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...hlight=aviator
Thanks, Crusader, as we used to say.
F.T.F.A.
Nice to see another tribute on the forum,i got mine for the same reasons!I love my IWC pilot tribute to previous models.
I didn’t buy it for re sale values or as an investment so it frees me up.
the other IWC pilot models have now gone down considerably in price if you like those.
It’s not entry level it’s what I want.
VFM and a gorgeous watch is the air ministry
I had another Christmas card signed by all the staff at the Munich boutique this year,not just a nice watch but an enjoyable buying experience.
That’s good I haven’t seen anyone else with one,any photos?
[QUOTE=magirus;4982617]First of course it will be helpful to understand what an aviation watch is, or should be. I found the following very informative when I first joined the forum.
Pesky facts and reasoning are all very commendable but shouldn't be allowed to cloud the notion of a pilots watch and the need for every man to own one!
Last edited by forpetesake; 31st December 2018 at 11:46.
I’d go with a DA37, mine is still going strong after 11 years. I wear it at least once a week in rotation, but it’s been my daily wear all this week.....perfect holiday watch. The cases on these are bombproof.....11 years on and still as good as they day i bought it.
I did a short review back in the day.
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...highlight=DA37
DA37 by Adam Stringer, on Flickr
Another vote for the DA37. Mine was originally owned from new by abraxas (remember him?) who bought it in September 2006, I bought it from him the following spring. Like yours it's had a lot of wear and is still unmarked, as is my DC56 from September 2009. Interestingly your serial number is one before mine . . . the Bond of the Damasko world! ;-)I’d go with a DA37, mine is still going strong after 11 years. I wear it at least once a week in rotation, but it’s been my daily wear all this week.....perfect holiday watch. The cases on these are bombproof.....11 years on and still as good as they day i bought it.
I did a short review back in the day.
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...highlight=DA37
Last edited by magirus; 31st December 2018 at 17:29.
As well as IWC make sure you checkout Zeniths Pilot watches too.
Lot of change left if you go for a Laco!
IMG_5918.jpg
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If you go IWC, this is the model I would choose - ‘proper’ blunt hour hand.
I have had a Sinn pilot chrono (756), liked it but minute hand too short which disappoints.
The Damasko DA37 has a proper length minute hand. Borrowed one for a few weeks and loved it. The luminous dial has an almost egg shell finish. The case looks plasticky but certainly doesn’t feel it. I want a DA47 - this watch with a rotating bezel - but know I wouldn’t wear it enough to justify buying one. The Sinn felt taller than the Damasko but zi never had them side by side to compare directly.
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