Category: Men Watch

Full Review With Seiko Credor EichiII

Post author By ukwatches
Post date June 22, 2016

With last month’s opening of Australia’s first Seiko boutique in Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building it seems the right time to share with you a replica watch that is one of Seiko’s premium pieces.

It is not just in Australia that Seiko is associated primarily with a (huge) range of moderately priced replica watches, but with this new boutique and a resident Grand Seiko specialist the full range of the brand’s wares will be more widely known here. Grand Seiko has been available in Australia for a a number of years now but not so Credor. Until now.

It is only in recent years that the (arguably still niche) world of high-end Seikos has gained some solid traction outside of Japan. The fact that many models have historically been ‘Japan only’ has perhaps added to its niche status, but as was pointed out during Seiko’s Baselworld 2016 press conference, the increasing popularity Grand Seikos is important to Seiko’s worldwide growth plans.

One of the Seiko high-end lines about which I’ve written before is the Spring Drive, named after the eponymous movement. As as segue within the Spring Drive line there was, for a brief two years between 2007 and 2009, a series of models called Izul, the only known Spring Drives that used the automatic Calibre 5R85 (49 jewels) sans GMT function, with a power reserve of 72 hours. Izul was Seiko’s fourth ‘premium brand’, the others being Grand Seiko, Galante, and Credor.

Today post is about the Credor Eichi II. As is the case with the rest of the top of the line Credor timepieces the Eichi II is made by Seiko’s Micro Artist Studio located in Shiojiri, in Nagano Prefecture. As its name indicates it is the second generation of Eichis, time-only replica watches whose focus is on achieving the highest level of finishing possible and whose inspiration is Philippe Dufour, from whom some of the members of Seiko’s Micro Artist Studio have undertaken training. With its international launch at Baselworld 2015 the Eichi II is a scarce beast, with only about twenty made per annum.

This is a plain (and deliberately so) replica watch. Many if not most similarly plain replica watches are just that, whether you look at them as they sit on your wrist or whether you look at them under a loupe. There are, as always, exceptions, but by and large even when viewed at close quarters it’s often about details to do with finishing and perhaps even dial textures and the like.

The Eichi II has continued the key aspects of the first generation, with its focus on simple functional aesthetics realised using platinum (including, unusually, the hefty and large deployant buckle made of two alloys, platinum 950 which is standard for replica watches and platinum 900), in-house painted porcelain for the dial, and blued steel.

Similar in style and execution to the first generation, the most noticeable changes are a larger case and cleaner dial. The first Eichi was 35mm, a not-so-contemporary size. At 39mm with a thickness of 10.3mm, the Eichi II is more suited to modern preferences, but a larger size also ‘opens up’ the dial so that its glow (and it does glow) can take full flight. Had this second Eichi been 35mm I strongly suspect that I would not have taken to it as much. As it is, it surprised me, as I was concerned that I would be rather ambivalent towards it, and said as much to its owner before I saw it.

The Eichi II however, gets better the closer you look at it, and this formed a critical part of why I went from being not-quite-a-sceptic to being a convert. Don’t get me wrong, it is actually quite beautiful to look at from a distance, with its almost starkly white white porcelain dial (Eichi I’s dial was Noritake but Eichi II’s dial is by an unknown maker), but it is the ‘handmade’ details that you can only see under magnification that are what makes it for me.

All markings on the dial; indices, logo/ name, are painted by a single person at the Micro Artist Studio and in a dark blue to match the blued steel hands, the latter tapering to a rather fine tip. With markers rather than numerals, this makes for a cleaner dial than its predecessor. The crescent on the end of the seconds hand makes for a nice ‘break’ from the austere dial. It purportedly takes an entire day to complete one dial. Up close you can clearly see that everything is hand-painted, with that slight irregularity (and granularity of paint) that comes from the human touch, the same irregularity which is a large part of the charm of something handmade. To photograph it is actually a challenging replica watch, as the blue varies quite a lot in darkness depending on the lighting and angle at which light falls on the dial.

To their credit they’ve not done too much with decoration, which means that the skill and sharpness and width of the bevelling (the latter the widest that this replica watch’s owner has seen), graining, and polishing is highlighted. The way in which the flower motif has been incorporated into the movement is really rather special, with the flower itself on the mainspring barrel first catching the eye, then the stem and leaves of the gap between the two bridges…

Inside and visible through the back is the Calibre 7R14 hand-wound hybrid Spring Drive movement, with its electronically-controlled regulation via an integrated circuit. Here, as much as for the dial, is where it pays to look under a loupe, although even to the naked eye the overall impression is a very modern clean feel, with the finishing and the skeleton bellflower motif (the symbol of Shiojiri, the town in which the Micro Artist Studio is located), superb.

In order to maintain the design purity of the dial, on the Eichi II the power reserve indicator has been put on the back of the replica watch.

The Eichi II was created to mark the 40th anniversary of the Credor line and the 15th anniversary of the Spring Drive movement. Believed by some to be in the running to be the finest three-handed replica watch currently being made, there is no doubt that in terms of finishing, both front and back, it really is up there with the best. It may not be to everyone’s tastes (or pockets, at 5.7m Yen), but the finishing is worth boasting about and yes, it is very much a luxury timepiece.

Tags Baselworld 2015, Hands-on, Seiko, Spring Drive, Watch Profile, watches, Watchmaking

Bremont Replica Dress Watch Hands-on Men Watch

BREMONT’s new RegattaChronographs

Post author By ukwatches
Post date June 22, 2016

Both the OTUSA and the Bremont Regatta AC use a modded chronograph, adapted to create the five minute countdown function situated at 12 o’clock for the sailing function. When you press the chronograph pusher the white window progressively reveals the word “START” and the red arc counts down from 5, changing to white. At the end of five minutes the two arcs recommence their cycle. As well as the centre chronograph seconds there’s a running seconds at 9 o’clock and a twelve hour counter at 6 o’clock.

If you follow Bremont, Giles or Nick English on Twitter/ Instagram then you will be well aware of the enthusiasm with which Bremont has entered into their relationship with the America’s Cup ORACLE Team USA.

At Baselworld 2016 they announced the addition of four new chronograph Regatta replica watches to add to their America’s Cup Collection in the form of new limited edition pieces – Regatta Oracle Team USA (OTUSA) White, Regatta OTUSA Black, Regatta AC Stainless Steel, and Regatta AC Rose Gold. All the new pieces are 43mm in size, and I am sharing one of each with you today.

The movement is an automatic one made for them by La Joux-Perret with a power reserve of forty-two hours and is COSC-certified. You will also note the America’s Cup decoration on the rotor.

With its polished case Regatta AC is more classically styled of the two new designs, particularly with the use of Arabic numerals and blued hands for the stainless steel version. The Bremont Trip-Tick® case has a scratch resistant DLCd case barrel.

Whereas the AC models have a chronograph centre seconds. running seconds at 9 o’clock, date and 12 hour counter at 6 o’clock and a 5 minute countdown at 12 o’clock, the OTUSA has a 15 minute Regatta timer and 5 minute countdown at 12 o’clock.

The Regatta Oracle Team USA replica watches have one detail that you may not know at first glance is that high-grade carbon fibre taken from the yacht foils of the winning 2013 Oracle Team USA AC72 yacht is incorporated into each of the crowns.

There will be a limitation number of two hundred and thirty five for this model, and one hundred and thirty five for the rose gold version.

As mentioned above, the Regatta Oracle Team USA will also be in black or white dial variants with a limitation of two hundred and thirty five pieces for each colour. Both colours have a titanium case with the same DLCd case barrel as the other model, their bi-directional rotating bezels lumed with Super-LumiNova. Indices and hands are also lumed.

The America’s Cup replica watches are not just Bremont’s first regatta replica watches, but they told me that they are also the first English regatta replica watches, which is definitely something to be celebrated for them.

All the new models bar the 18 carat rose gold have a Temple Island rubber strap and titanium pin buckle; the Regatta AC Stainless Steel has a blue strap, the OTUSA a black one. The 18K rose gold model is supplied with a brown alligator strap with matching 18K rose gold pin buckle.

Tags Baselworld 2016, Bremont, chronograph, Hands-on, Limited Editions, Switzerland, Watch Profile

Hands-on Jaquet Droz Replica Men Watch

Introducing JAQUET DROZ Grande Seconde DeadbeatOnyx

Post author By ukwatches
Post date June 15, 2016

Glossy, shiny and really rather elegant, this, along with its rose gold (I prefer this model) sibling are
nice additions to the Grande Seconde Deadbeat range (the fourth iteration is stainless steel with a silver opaline dial and blued hands). I think my two favourites are the model I have featured here, and the ivory enamel limited edition model from 2015, but with these new models it gives hope to fans of this complication that there is a mini Renaissance and that they now have more options from which to choose.

In 2015 Jaquet Droz released the Grande Seconde Morte (aka ‘Deadbeat Seconds’ in English) in a limited edition model with an ivory-coloured enamel dial. A year later at Baselworld 2016 they followed up with two black dial versions in stainless steel (onyx) and rose gold (black enamel), and it is the former that we are sharing with you today.

In terms of the date function, it uses a retrograde hand, something that those of you who are more familiar with replica watches will be able to ascertain at a glance, with a small red varnished tip at its end.

A deadbeat second complication is one that is unusual enough that when one is made it is definitely made note of, but also one that seems to have been undergoing a small resurgence (insomuch as a niche complication can have a resurgence) in recent years in wristwatches, even by major brands such as Jaeger-LeCoultre. This is a complication that although not strictly for the more replica watch geeky, is probably nonetheless more directly aimed at them, with the appeal of a quartz-like tick of the seconds hand something that those who are keen on precision as well as technical movement complexity, find engaging.

With three different hands situated in three different positions, the dial is chracteristically JD, with the ‘8’ type look. The length of the seconds hand is also longer than than the norm, which does mean that it grabs your attention a lot more. All the hands are rhodium-treated, but in an unexpected bit of ‘luxe’ to the stainless steel model, applied ring is white gold.

Visible through the stainless steel 43mm case is the automatic Jaquet Droz calibre 2695SMR with a 38 hour power reserve along with a silicon balance spring, pallet horns. You will also notice that there’s an individual serial number engraved on the case back.

I’m one of those people who like the Jaquet Droz ‘8’ styled dials, and the layout of the Grande Seconde Deadbeat is one that appeals to me, including the extra long hand (I mention this because I recognise that there are many with quite strong opinions about hand length), which works because it is so thin; a thicker long hand would hav been too visually ‘harsh’.

Tags Baselworld 2016, Hands-on, Jaquet Droz, Watch movements

Calendar Watch Hands-on Men Watch Sinn Replica

Take A Look At SINN 910 Anniversary SplitChronograph

Post author By ukwatches
Post date June 15, 2016

For those who may not know a splits-second function has two chronograph hands that both start in alignment when the chronograph function is actuated. Then another pusher, which in the case of this replica watch is at 8 o’clock, is depressed to stop one of the hands as as the second continues to advance. Pressing the pusher a second time makes the ‘stopped’ hand jump to the position of the moving hand, and they continue in unison.repliques montres

So what is the anniversary to which the name alludes? Well it’s Sinn’s 55th birthday. Both the limitation number (x/300) and ‘1961 – 2016’ are engraved on the case back.

Although I acknowledge that it is (pardon the double negative) not an inexpensive chronograph, it is nonetheless a good looking one.

Sinn have used the ever reliable Valjoux 7750 with a La Joux Perret mod to create a ratchet colunn wheel chrono with split seconds function. The chronograph actuation is very smooth.

Back to the cream dial. In keeping with their ‘vintage look’ approach for this replica watch they’ve gone for black applied indices and a classic use of red for counter hands and on the tachymeter.

At Baselworld 2016 Sinn, a favourite German ‘tool replica watch’ brand of many, came out with a number of new releases including one or two rather dressy pieces as well as a camo dial that is probably something you will love or not (I don’t), but the clear winner for me was the limited edition 910 Anniversary Split Chronograph, and so I shall talk about it first.

Their first split chronograph, the dial is not perhaps ‘groundbreaking’ in its design, but you don’t always need something adventurous, and the rather pure old school classic chronograph look of this one, with its creamy dial, is just spot on and attractive.

Size wise it is a 41.5mm stainless steel case and comes with both a bracelet and a shell cordovan strap. My vote goes to the strap. Also included in the kit are a strap replacement tool, spring bars, a loupe, and a polishing cloth.

The RRP is 5,500 EUR and in Australia, AUD 7,863.64 ex. GST and AUD 8,650.00 incl. GST from Define Replica Watches in Brisbane.

Tags Baselworld 2016, chronograph, German watches, Hands-on, Limited Editions, Sinn, Switzerland, Watch Profile

Dress Watch Hands-on IWC Replica Men Watch Swiss Replica

Introducing The IWC Mark XVIII

Post author By ukwatches
Post date June 13, 2016

The first time I ever read anything about the IWC Mark series, it was thanks to (of course) everyone’s favorite non-watchmaker replica watch writer, the inimitable Walt Odets, who in his series, “Tweaking The Mark XII” called that particular Mark “every non-pilot’s favorite pilot’s replica watch.” (I call Mr. Odets a non-watchmaker but of course, while he might not be a card-carrying full time professional, he obviously is a guy who knows his way around a movement, to put it mildly.)

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Overall, the Mark XVIII is one of those replica watches that you can simply wear every day, without taking any particular notice of it, which I mean as a compliment. Over the time I wore it (which was actually longer than a week by several days) it quickly became a matter of habit to pick it up, put it on my wrist, and pretty much forget that it was there unless I needed to check the time. At 40 mm in diameter, and 11mm thick, it’s a replica watch that has enough substance, and size, to feel and look reassuringly solid when you glance at it, but not to a degree that calls attention to itself in any way when you aren’t using it as it was intended to be used.

The strap, like the replica watch, has a very substantial feel, and it’s a little stiff at first although it starts to break in nicely after a couple of days. I suspect it’ll age very nicely and become comfortably supple without losing any of its toughness after a few weeks of regular wear, and like the replica watch itself, it manages to convey a feeling of being able to tolerate hard use, but also not call too much attention to itself (at least, once it’s worn in). The strap and the replica watch together definitely feel like a piece of trustworthy equipment.

I wasn’t so much interested in the Mark XII as I was interested in what you’d do to tweak a movement so as to wring the best possible precision out of it, at least at first, but like many, I gradually began to find the simplicity, clarity, legibility, and history of the Mark XII irresistible and like many, I’ve followed the evolution of the Mark series ever since then with avid interest.

A big part of the easy wearing experience is the strap, which is a black strip of pretty heavy-duty feeling calfskin, made by Santoni for IWC, with an eye-catching orange lining. You don’t see it at all when you’ve got the replica watch on, of course, but the little flash of color you get when you take the Mark XVIII off adds that much more character to the wearing experience. A little touch, but a nice one.

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The time is, as it should be, instantly legible, pretty much under any lighting conditions you could possibly imagine, from direct sunlight to total darkness, thanks to the high contrast dial and generous application of lume on the dial. It’s not as torch-bright as some of the most brightly illuminated replica watches I’ve worn, but even after the first bright glow of charged Super Luminova wears off, you can see what time it is just fine. This is a very, very versatile replica watch as well, thanks to the simplicity and utilitarian nature of the design.

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Now, about that date window. My impression over the years has been that it is very hard to add a date window to a Mark replica watch without irreversibly ticking some people off, and deploring the use of any date window on a Mark series timepiece goes all the way back to the Mark XII, which was (of course) deplored in some quarters for diluting the austere beauty of the Mark XI with a reminder of the current date – in white, no less. I don’t think anyone would argue that the position of the date window in the Mark XVIII is going to rub some of us the wrong way (of course, we don’t need to speculate as every online review of the Mark XVIII that has a comments section has hosted a very vigorous back and forth on the subject). The two basic objections are to its placement (slightly further from the edge than the other dial elements) and to its being there at all.

Oddly, despite the fact that both it and the Mark XVII are nominally sports replica watches, to me the Mark XVIII feels a bit more like a sports replica watch, probably thanks to the altimeter style date window, which of course was the single most polarizing aspect of the Mark XVII’s design. Without it, the Mark XVIII has a more universal feel to it and depending on how you dress, you can probably get away with wearing it with anything short of black tie. Come to think of it, a gent of sufficiently imposing and masculine carriage, probably could wear it as a sort of go-to-hell gesture even with a tux (although it takes a lot of self-assurance to pull that sort of thing off, and if you hear the slightest whisper of a doubt in your head, I wouldn’t try it).

For me it was a very satisfying replica watch to wear. It’s clean, clear, with terrific legibility and ease of wear on its side, and I’m sort of a sucker for any replica watch that achieves its antimagnetic resistance through an iron inner case and dial instead of through the use of amagnetic alloys and silicon, which for no particularly rational reason I just don’t find as sexy. It’s an outdated solution, sure, but there’s something romantic, something kick-the-tires-and-light-the-fires about it. I’m definitely not a pilot, but I like my pilot’s replica watches to be a little window into a world whose authenticity I have to appreciate from the back seat, so to speak, and I’m very pleased that the Mark XVIII lets me, just a little bit, feel like I’m in the cockpit rather than behind a desk.

I don’t feel especially passionately on the subject either way. Very often the replica watch I happen to have on doesn’t have a date guichet, but (and this is just a personal note) I tend to forget the date and I don’t mind having it there on the Mark XVIII. In principle I definitely sympathize with those who wish it weren’t there at all, but in practice I found it something I could simply ignore, and in real life (or as much of real life as a week and a half represents) it didn’t bother me in the least. I will say though, that if you hate it in pictures, you’re probably not going to stop hating it if you have the Mark XVIII on your wrist.

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The Mark XVIII is a very simple replica watch, but it carries a lot of history along with it, and how much you enjoy wearing it depends a lot – maybe mostly – on how emotionally connected you are to that history in general, and what parts of that history resonate with you the most in particular.

The IWC Mark XVIII is 40 mm x 11 mm with a soft iron dial and inner case for magnetic resistance. As shown, black dial; sapphire crystal with double antireflective coating, “secured against displacement by drop in air pressure,” water resistance, 6 bar/60 meters. Movement, caliber 30110 (ETA base) adjusted to temperature and five positions by IWC, center seconds with date, 42-hour power reserve. Price, $3,950. See the whole collection at IWC.com.

Check out our in-depth comparison of the Mark XVIII with the Mark XVIII “Le Petit Prince” and how they stack up against the Mark XI here.

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Tags IWC Mark XVIII

Glycine Replica Hands-on Men Watch Sport Watch

Hands-on With Glycine Airman No. 1

Post author By ukwatches
Post date June 6, 2016

“During most of my journey from Bangkok to Calcutta, I was seated at the place of the First Officer, next to the commander in a DC-4 from Thai Airways. The captain explained to me in detail what kind of replica watch pilots from all nations would actually need. According to him this replica watch is not on the market.”replica orologi breitling

Those words were penned in 1953 by Samuel Glur, a traveling executive with the Altus-Glycine replica watch company of Biel, Switzerland. His letter went on to list the requirements for the perfect pilot’s replica watch for the new era of intercontinental commercial air travel. The replica watch would be able to track two time zones on a 24-hour scale, giving a pilot access to both his local time as well as a GMT reference, important since GMT is the time standard referred to by air traffic control no matter where a plane is in the world.

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Despite its niche appeal, Glycine has never really stopped producing the Airman since 1953, though some of the quartz editions of the late 1980s are regrettable. The replica watch has gone through dozens of versions, from the utilitarian to the downright bizarre, but in 2014, Glycine came full circle when it released the Airman No. 1, a re-issue of that very first edition of the 1950s. When one arrived for review, I had to double check that Glycine had actually sent the Airman No. 1 and not the actual Airman number 1. It is that faithful a reproduction.

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The replica watch market these days is so rife with vintage-styled “heritage” pieces, it’s easy to get jaded by them and nitpick the details that have been sacrificed to suit modern tastes. The most obvious specification that is updated is the size. Mid-century replica watches were often 36 mm or smaller – undersized for the modern buyer used to bigger pieces. But the Airman No. 1 clocks in at precisely 36 mm, the exact dimension of the original replica watch it emulates.

The resulting replica watch, the fittingly named Glycine Airman, debuted only months later, first presented in the U.S. with a white dial and pencil hands. But it was at the 1955 Basel Replica Watch Fair, one year after Rolex’s famous GMT-Master was released, that the black-dial Airman was presented to an international audience. While the GMT-Master, thanks in part to its legendary association with Pan Am Airlines, has gone on to great fame, skyrocketing prices, and multiple iterations, the Airman has quietly remained more of an obscure cult favorite.

The 24-hour bezel that was a hallmark trait of the original Airman is reproduced here and retains the locking feature that is pure charming 1950s technology. Rather than a ratcheting function commonly found in uni-or bi-directional bezels these days, the Airman No. 1 has a simple friction bezel that can be locked in place with a small thumbscrew crown at the 4 o’clock position on the case. It works well and is satisfying to use, though the crown no longer has the cross-hatched pattern of the original, a rare departure from history.

Glycine makes two versions of the Airman No. 1. The so-called “Purist” version, as its name suggests, is a pure 24-hour replica watch, with an hour hand that sweeps the dial only once per day. Thus, at high noon, the hour hand is confusingly pointing to the bottom of the dial, where 12:00 is found, while midnight, or 24:00, is at the top. This feature, with the rotating second 24-hour time scale, made the replica watch popular with pilots, since they were used to telling time this way, and the Airman became a popular choice of Air Force pilots during the Vietnam War. But a 24-hour replica watch never quite caught on with civilians used to telling time on a 12-hour dial. In that regard, the GMT-Master offers a more elegant solution, marrying a 12-hour dial with a 24-hour hand and bezel for a second time zone.

With the small dial and engraved metal bezel, the replica watch actually wears even smaller than its size, giving a true vintage feel and one I struggled to come to grips with during my week with it. Long lugs and a 20 mm strap width mitigate some of the proportions but I never quite got used to seeing such a tiny replica watch on my 7-1/4 inch wrist. That said, I commend Glycine for being bold enough to retain the original size. If you can’t handle a replica watch that small, Glycine offers other similar Airman references in larger sizes.

Another vintage feature that usually gets updated in modern “re-issues” is the crystal. Acrylic gives way to sapphire in most cases, a concession to scratch resistance over the beautiful warmth that a plastic crystal offers. Here again, Glycine stayed true to the original, with a nicely domed plexiglass crystal that has more charm than a sapphire ever will, and offering the utility of a glass that can be buffed out and won’t shatter if dropped or smacked.

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Aside from the size and crystal, the Airman No. 1 continues the vintage vibe with a matte printed dial that keeps the same quaint serif font from its historical forebear. The steel case, down to its slender lugs, is high polished stainless steel, typical for a 1950s replica watch but less common on modern “tool” replica watches, and was something else to get used to (and difficult to photograph). The dial markings – small lume pips at the five-minute marks – and the hands have a creamy luminescence to them without the extreme faux patina some other throwback replica watches use. Rather than trying to emulate aged lume, it seems that the paint used here emulates how the Airman’s original 1950s tritium lume would have looked when new – more ecru than the sickly green of so much Superluminova.

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For people who prefer 12-hour time-telling, Glycine concedes with the Airman No. 1 GMT, the reference I had for my week of wear. This version compromises by driving the main hour hand around twice per day, pointing to the lume pips on the dial for the hours, while a slim GMT hand does 24-hour duty, and can track two additional time zones, pointing at the 24-hour scale on the dial as well as the bezel’s markings. Though this is a departure from the original Airman and one that initially disappointed me, I soon grew to appreciate it – especially when wearing the replica watch in rotation with other pieces, since going from 12-hour to 24-hour time-telling can be a mental challenge, while still offering the added utility of tracking three time zones.

Every replica watch collector has his or her grail, a quarry that is stalked, often just missed, and agonized over. Mine has long been the Glycine Airman. I love its obscurity, its uncompromising, purpose-built design, and its origins in the cockpit of a long-haul airliner. I’ve trolled vintage sales websites, eBay, and military forums looking for the right example. Many old ones are questionable or incomplete, often lacking the proper crowns or missing the hacking pin, or are in rough shape after a few years flying sorties on the wrist of an F-86 Sabre pilot above Southeast Asia. So I never pulled the trigger for one of my own. But now, having worn the Airman No. 1, I’m not sure I’ll continue looking for a vintage example. I might just look for a new one.

No matter which version you choose, the hand set used on the Airman No. 1 still uses the telltale arrowhead hour hand with its long pointed tail. Far from a mere design flourish, that arrow acts as a clever guide to deciphering 24-hour time at a glance, since it always points to the more conventional, non-military time for any given hour. For example, when it is 20:00, the tail of the hour hand points to the 8 on the dial; thus it is 8pm. On the GMT version, I did find the sliver-thin, polished GMT hand, which has no lume on it, hard to read against the black dial.

Driving the Airman No. 1 is a simple Sellita-based automatic movement that Glycine calls calibre GL 293, which kept acceptable accuracy over a week, on and off the wrist. Vintage Airman examples (Airmen?) used a few different movements over their long run, including those from Felsa and A. Schild. While the new replica watch is hackable (the ability to stop the seconds hand when the crown is pulled), the vintage ones had another quaint solution, similar to the locking bezel; when the crown was pulled out to set the time, a small pin would pop up through a hole in the dial to stop the seconds hand at 12:00 (or 24:00 as the case may be) so you could synchronize the time to a radio signal – important for pilots.

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Information about the Airman No. 1 can be found on the Glycine website. Some of the facts in this article were derived from the excellent and comprehensive e-book by André Stikkers, entitled “Glycine Airman: a 24 hour timeline of flight” which can be found online.

All photos: Gishani Ratnayake

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Tags Glycine Airman No. 1