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Shout out to the Glycine Airman. Developed for airline pilots at the dawn of the jet age when keeping track of time zones first became an issue. It's also been to space with NASA - often worn alongside the officially issued Speedmaster as a way of keeping track of UTC.
Happy Thanksgiving! What a fine video you have made here. I have a Fortis Flieger Cockpit watch in the black over orange color scheme. Maybe too much color? Maybe. I really like that Santos!
My watch journey all started with the 33mm Sturmanskie model that Gagarin wore during the first space flight - face is all dial so it looks like a 35mm, but wears so heavenly! Even with much more valuable watches in the collection, this weird first watch is my favourite by far, seriously underrated! Even without the space heritage it is a beautiful watch.
The Hanhart 417 es from the early 50’s can be seen as the basis for the type 20 aviation watch. The new ones have tons off history, a decent manual movement and is decently prized. I prefer the 39 mm flyback panda. Also mr Mcqueen had one as a personal watch. Good vid, verry nice watches!
Yes, the Sturmanskie was the first watch worn in space by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. It was a small watch by today's standards, only 34mm.
As a pilot I can confidently say that 90% of the people I fly with use G-shocks or Garmin watches. Even I fly with a G-shock, it's reliable, rugged and it's electronic which means it's much more accurate than an automatic/mechanical watch.
I still don’t get why nobody has brought back Universal Geneve yet? As so many other less illustrious brands have 🤷♂️ UG has such a great back catalog. It would be nice to see modern interpretations of some of those classic designs brought back to market.
Technically the brand still exists. It's owned by a Hong Kong company and supposedly still produces and sells watches. Never seen one in real life though.
Seiko SNA411 Raketa Baikonur Citizen many models with tipical pilot complication or withouth. Like AT8020-54L With h800 radio controled movemet or Citizen watches CB0240-88E and CB0010-88L vith H145 caliber, also radio controled. Legendary Citizen Night Hawk BJ7010-59E. Of course G-Shocks most used in army and pilots.
Great video, but you may consider Breguet type XX fly back chrono and Blancpain air command fly back as well. Speedy is more for astronauts, the class of its own along.
Ask any pilot and they will say that legibility is the most important factor. Bangs and whistles just get in the way. Accuracy is also an important factor. By the way, pilots do wear watches and don’t just rely on instrumentation, which can fail. When you are a few thousand feet in the air, landing is mandatory and you really do need to know how much time you have left for flying before crashing into someone’s house. Ps, don’t forget that there is a major difference between a pilot’s watch and a navigator’s watch. The two have different purposes!
Damasko or sinn are cool and under the radar(apart from watch geeks), bremont doing some fine pilot pieces here in the uk. Iwc and brietling on the pricy side.
2:43 - Funny thing about IWC Spitfire is that their dial has nothing of RAF WW2 era watches, but is the same of RLW FL23883 Beobachtungsuhren Type A used by Luftwaffe.
i literally just tried the 43mm lunar pilot on today. sadly still too big for me. i daresay bulove woul have a winner on their hands if they did a 41 or 40mm version of it
Why you need a Cartier Santos? It's a pilots watch, its a sports watch, its a dress watch. Its an integrated bracelet steel sports watch. You can dress it up so well. But it is kinda sporty. If you scratch that high polish bezel just have it brushed... problem solved, won't ever look shabby again. It is exceptionally thin and curves so well to fit your wrist. If you want a dressier sports watch, go with the 40mm version. If you want a sportier dress watch go with the medium 35-36mm version.
Interesting topic! Imho the chronicle lacking of good marketing in the UDSSR had let to a situation when we do not know much about historically important chronographs like Strela, Sturmanskie, Poljot. A lot of them has seen much more space exploration activities and Mach 2+ aviation then their well known western contra parts… Do you plan to make a video about them in the near future? Thanks for sharing your content! Best regards,
I personally think Breitling Navitimer still the most iconic and best tool watch for Pilot. However Zenith recently release a couple cool pilot watch. Unfortunately price is going to the roof now a days. Making it really absurd to spend that kind of money unless you are very deep pocket.😅
Combat pilots are said to use the durable Casio G-shocks with gps, if navy, Garmin watches. When the plane avionics go on the fritz the pilots say they used the gps equipped time pieces. You still a number of pilots usung pricey watches. I have heard in the past pilots used Seiko Flightmaster chronographs eqipped with slide rules.
Does the 2mm really makes that much of a difference ? Its 2 mm lol. My Mark XX has good clearance on my 16.7cm wrist so I guess wrists as small as 15.5 cm could pull it off no problems
@@Bredes1 I also have a 6.5in wrist so I can differently pull it off. However, I find a 40mm case is not proportionate with a 49.2mm lug to lug, and even if the lugs slop down. Just like a 38mm case with a 47mm lug to lug (e.g., Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical). Just a little too long. Max, what do you think? Cheers
Funny thing about IWC Spitfire is that their dial has nothing of RAF WW2 era watches, but is the same of RLW FL23883 Beobachtungsuhren Type A used by Luftwaffe.
For me, the watch I regret not buying the most is the Seiko Gen 2 Issued RAF Pilot’s Chronograph. Seiko! If you're watching, please start making this again!!!!!!!
@@cdeaker It is very similar but sadly not the same. Thanks for letting me know, though. i think I'll end up buying one second hand. They were £230 brand new in the mid 90's, now a good one is over £500.
I also got a Mk XVII bracelet for my Spitfire! Mine is the all brushed one, but it really elevates the watch to another level. I think people sleep on IWC’s bracelets. Great video btw :)
I'm shocked you managed to traverse the entire timeline of human flight and how it's intertwined with watchmaking, but didn't even mention Longines. The flyback chronograph movement was a Longines patent and is often referred to by collectors as one of the best chronograph movements of all time. There was the Weems watch, the first wristwatch with a rotating bezel to assist pilots with timing, the Lindbergh hour angle watch to assist in determining longitude for navigation, the namesake for the new Longines Zulu models was a dual time watch that predated the Rolex GMT by nearly 40-50yrs... the list of historical aviation watches (and those who wore them) goes on and on.
Has anyone ever heardof the Poljot strela? A russion chrono that also flew to space. It is made till today even in 38, 40 and 42mm. Its only 500 Dollars and mechanical.
The cheaper Strelas will use a Seagull ST19 (Chinese). For a bit more you can get a Russian Poljot 3133. The cheapest chronograph I know of is the seagull 1963. It is a pretty watch. It has long lugs so beware the lug-to-lug - I recommend the 38mm with sapphire crystal. I have some concerns buying out of China because of poor health and safety, long hours, the environment, and also quality control! I have heard the 1963 isn’t made in the Tianjin factory, which gives me concerns about it. I guess the ST19 movement is entirely made in factory so maybe I feel ok about the movement.
I don’t know where you’re based but I’ve good service from Poljot24 in Munich. Browse their chronograph section. They have an ST19 based Leonov tribute on there for example
I immediately noticed you are not a pilot. We don't need a watch whatsoever. Modern or even ancient avionics are miles ahead of these watches. It's just a fashion item or status quote.
@@Kbo513 A few things--I had to send it back originally because the seconds-hand was bent. Then it had to go back because the movement was off by more than 20 seconds a day. Then it started having the (known) issue where the minute hand would jump when the crown was pulled out or pushed in to set the time. When I brought this up to IWC, they said that was "normal" for the movement, suggested a workaround of setting the time forward and then back, and said they would not repair it under warranty. At that point, I sold the watch and swore I'd never buy an IWC again. For a basic, off-the-shelf time/date movement to have such crap accuracy and require a workaround just to be properly set would be inexcusable in a $300 Seiko. In a $5000+ IWC it's a joke. The fact that they're dropping the same movement in a $10k+ Ingeniuer is something I'd advise you to take into serious consideration before making the purchase. At the very least, do some internet research on that movement before you make a decision. Here's a link to UA-cam video of another Mark XX owner's experience and the IWC boutique's response, which, notably, was not to fix the problem but instead offer to exchange her Mark XX for a Mark XVIII that uses the more reliable and accurate Sellita movement ua-cam.com/video/X0ujW-HvT44/v-deo.htmlsi=ZXWpmfDgQqS_Lcaq
Lol, really? You can’t take criticism? Is your income! Shouldn’t we, the viewers, give you feedback? Are you happy that you missed so many other watches? I’m not the only one saying this...check your comments.
@@Dr_LKthink we need a 10hrs clip/movie for u to introduce all the watches... It's just a teaser n short introduction... It's like a movie trailer... If u want more go watch the full movie or read up yourself.
Shout out to the Glycine Airman. Developed for airline pilots at the dawn of the jet age when keeping track of time zones first became an issue. It's also been to space with NASA - often worn alongside the officially issued Speedmaster as a way of keeping track of UTC.
The Glycine Airman needs some love here!
Happy Thanksgiving! What a fine video you have made here. I have a Fortis Flieger Cockpit watch in the black over orange color scheme.
Maybe too much color? Maybe. I really like that Santos!
Thanks Max for the nice overview
My watch journey all started with the 33mm Sturmanskie model that Gagarin wore during the first space flight - face is all dial so it looks like a 35mm, but wears so heavenly!
Even with much more valuable watches in the collection, this weird first watch is my favourite by far, seriously underrated! Even without the space heritage it is a beautiful watch.
The Hanhart 417 es from the early 50’s can be seen as the basis for the type 20 aviation watch. The new ones have tons off history, a decent manual movement and is decently prized. I prefer the 39 mm flyback panda. Also mr Mcqueen had one as a personal watch.
Good vid, verry nice watches!
Recently got the 42mm version and am madly in love with it 🥰
I’ll be getting a 417 ES 42mm shortly. Love the history of the brand and the look!
Another great episode. Interesting back story to the Santos.
Accutron Astronaut from the X-15 and A-12 is my favourite pilot watch deep cut.
In my opinion, I believe Strumanskie Yuri Gagarin is a historical aviation/space watch.
Yes, the Sturmanskie was the first watch worn in space by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. It was a small watch by today's standards, only 34mm.
Good sir, your opinion should be a matter of fact for any self respecting pilots watch enthusiast.
The Marathon Navigator is a great watch for the sky. Thanks for the great videos.
That zenith was such an amazing watch 👏
As a pilot I can confidently say that 90% of the people I fly with use G-shocks or Garmin watches. Even I fly with a G-shock, it's reliable, rugged and it's electronic which means it's much more accurate than an automatic/mechanical watch.
Happy Thanksgiving Max!
You too my friend!
I still don’t get why nobody has brought back Universal Geneve yet? As so many other less illustrious brands have 🤷♂️ UG has such a great back catalog. It would be nice to see modern interpretations of some of those classic designs brought back to market.
I think Smiths did
Because nobody likes them. Which idiot thought universal soldier was a good name for a watch co?
No, they did a polerouter homage
Technically the brand still exists. It's owned by a Hong Kong company and supposedly still produces and sells watches. Never seen one in real life though.
@@theaussiewhinger interesting 🤔
Seiko SNA411
Raketa Baikonur
Citizen many models with tipical pilot complication or withouth. Like AT8020-54L
With h800 radio controled movemet or Citizen watches CB0240-88E and CB0010-88L vith H145 caliber, also radio controled.
Legendary Citizen Night Hawk BJ7010-59E.
Of course G-Shocks most used in army and pilots.
This watch is on my "bucket list" 🙂
The Breitling reissue is the one to have 😍 that thing looks amazing
It really is!
Great video, but you may consider Breguet type XX fly back chrono and Blancpain air command fly back as well. Speedy is more for astronauts, the class of its own along.
Ask any pilot and they will say that legibility is the most important factor. Bangs and whistles just get in the way. Accuracy is also an important factor. By the way, pilots do wear watches and don’t just rely on instrumentation, which can fail. When you are a few thousand feet in the air, landing is mandatory and you really do need to know how much time you have left for flying before crashing into someone’s house. Ps, don’t forget that there is a major difference between a pilot’s watch and a navigator’s watch. The two have different purposes!
I cant disagree, im a pilot myself and easy to read dial is a MUST for me as a pilot. Im wearing Bell & Ross
Thanks ill go buy myself a pilot watch now
Damasko or sinn are cool and under the radar(apart from watch geeks), bremont doing some fine pilot pieces here in the uk. Iwc and brietling on the pricy side.
2:43 - Funny thing about IWC Spitfire is that their dial has nothing of RAF WW2 era watches, but is the same of RLW FL23883 Beobachtungsuhren Type A used by Luftwaffe.
i literally just tried the 43mm lunar pilot on today. sadly still too big for me. i daresay bulove woul have a winner on their hands if they did a 41 or 40mm version of it
Why you need a Cartier Santos? It's a pilots watch, its a sports watch, its a dress watch. Its an integrated bracelet steel sports watch. You can dress it up so well. But it is kinda sporty. If you scratch that high polish bezel just have it brushed... problem solved, won't ever look shabby again. It is exceptionally thin and curves so well to fit your wrist. If you want a dressier sports watch, go with the 40mm version. If you want a sportier dress watch go with the medium 35-36mm version.
Interesting topic!
Imho the chronicle lacking of good marketing in the UDSSR had let to a situation when we do not know much about historically important chronographs like
Strela,
Sturmanskie,
Poljot.
A lot of them has seen much more space exploration activities and Mach 2+ aviation then their well known western contra parts…
Do you plan to make a video about them in the near future?
Thanks for sharing your content!
Best regards,
That Zenith chrono is 🔥!
Is it weird that I rewatched that very film (Dunkirk) on a flight last night? Guess I need on too 😂
Great movie!
Jack Mason AOPA Pilot's watch - 44mm with Ronda Caliber 5030.D. Thoughts?
I personally think Breitling Navitimer still the most iconic and best tool watch for Pilot. However Zenith recently release a couple cool pilot watch. Unfortunately price is going to the roof now a days. Making it really absurd to spend that kind of money unless you are very deep pocket.😅
If you appreciate aviation yes a pilots watch needs to be in the collection.
This was educational for me.
Hey Max could you please do a state of the watch collection of yours 2023 video? Thank you!
He I still want more Flieger in my list
Combat pilots are said to use the durable Casio G-shocks with gps, if navy, Garmin watches. When the plane avionics go on the fritz the pilots say they used the gps equipped time pieces. You still a number of pilots usung pricey watches.
I have heard in the past pilots used Seiko Flightmaster chronographs eqipped with slide rules.
The Speedmaster wins, always. Like it or hate it, it is The Watch.
that ZENITH is crazy fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So good 😊
Ahh such a missed opportunity to review the piece properly. Zenith Pilot Chrono is on my list.
I really like the IWC Mark 20 with the blue dial. It would be the perfect watch if it reduced the 49mm lug to lug to under 47mm.
That watch is pretty perfect!
I’m wearing mine right now. It really is the perfect watch. I flipped a Rolex to get it if that says anything.
Does the 2mm really makes that much of a difference ? Its 2 mm lol. My Mark XX has good clearance on my 16.7cm wrist so I guess wrists as small as 15.5 cm could pull it off no problems
@@Bredes1 I also have a 6.5in wrist so I can differently pull it off. However, I find a 40mm case is not proportionate with a 49.2mm lug to lug, and even if the lugs slop down. Just like a 38mm case with a 47mm lug to lug (e.g., Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical). Just a little too long. Max, what do you think? Cheers
@@mikek6478 I can respect that 👍 I dont find it the same way , and in my eyes its pretty much perfect 😅
man, i wish the IWC spitfire or, most of the three hand big pilots didnt have the date wheel. spoils an almost perfect dial
Funny thing about IWC Spitfire is that their dial has nothing of RAF WW2 era watches, but is the same of RLW FL23883 Beobachtungsuhren Type A used by Luftwaffe.
Sinn 556 RS for me, doesn't get much more legible than that
For me, the watch I regret not buying the most is the Seiko Gen 2 Issued RAF Pilot’s Chronograph.
Seiko! If you're watching, please start making this again!!!!!!!
Let's go Seiko!
They still make the civilian version though it's under lorus not pulsar
There is the Lorus RM349JX9 Mens Military Style Chronograph Watch which is £60 on Amazon UK - Lorus is a Seiko brand
@@cdeaker It is very similar but sadly not the same. Thanks for letting me know, though. i think I'll end up buying one second hand. They were £230 brand new in the mid 90's, now a good one is over £500.
Good video but why does it end so abruptly? I could've watched this for another 5-10 minutes :) 👍🏿
I also got a Mk XVII bracelet for my Spitfire! Mine is the all brushed one, but it really elevates the watch to another level. I think people sleep on IWC’s bracelets. Great video btw :)
A very nice flieger' is the Hanhart 417, that Steve Mcqueen made famous.
Yes 👍
Sinn EZM 10 is an officially certified flight instrument. It's the best pilot chronograph made for real pilots. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I'm shocked you managed to traverse the entire timeline of human flight and how it's intertwined with watchmaking, but didn't even mention Longines. The flyback chronograph movement was a Longines patent and is often referred to by collectors as one of the best chronograph movements of all time. There was the Weems watch, the first wristwatch with a rotating bezel to assist pilots with timing, the Lindbergh hour angle watch to assist in determining longitude for navigation, the namesake for the new Longines Zulu models was a dual time watch that predated the Rolex GMT by nearly 40-50yrs... the list of historical aviation watches (and those who wore them) goes on and on.
Why no Bell & Ross?
Sinn 356 and vintage navitimer and speedy im good 😊
Another affordable entry is the Seiko Flightmaster.
Love sinn 356
Fortis F-39 is 🔥🔥🔥
Way back in the hip times the flyback was a great tool for instrument or IFR flying. Today it has almost become an anachronism thanks to the GPS.
You can say that about all mechanical watches pretty much 😆
You could say that about my job, too…I was a navigator in the Air Force!
should be easy to read lots of lume with a big onion crown
It’s blaspmy not to mention Hanhart 417,daddy of all type 20 watches!!
IWC pilots chronograph 41 mm, blue dial....
Has anyone ever heardof the Poljot strela? A russion chrono that also flew to space. It is made till today even in 38, 40 and 42mm. Its only 500 Dollars and mechanical.
The cheaper Strelas will use a Seagull ST19 (Chinese). For a bit more you can get a Russian Poljot 3133. The cheapest chronograph I know of is the seagull 1963. It is a pretty watch. It has long lugs so beware the lug-to-lug - I recommend the 38mm with sapphire crystal. I have some concerns buying out of China because of poor health and safety, long hours, the environment, and also quality control! I have heard the 1963 isn’t made in the Tianjin factory, which gives me concerns about it. I guess the ST19 movement is entirely made in factory so maybe I feel ok about the movement.
I don’t know where you’re based but I’ve good service from Poljot24 in Munich. Browse their chronograph section. They have an ST19 based Leonov tribute on there for example
Or is it being a pilot? 😅
I immediately noticed you are not a pilot. We don't need a watch whatsoever. Modern or even ancient avionics are miles ahead of these watches. It's just a fashion item or status quote.
I’ve never had more problems with a new watch than the Mark XX. Avoid at all costs-especially the absurdly high cost they charge for it
What were your issues? I have the Mark XX blue on my list, but I got the call for the Ingeniuer black with a similar movement
@@Kbo513 A few things--I had to send it back originally because the seconds-hand was bent. Then it had to go back because the movement was off by more than 20 seconds a day. Then it started having the (known) issue where the minute hand would jump when the crown was pulled out or pushed in to set the time. When I brought this up to IWC, they said that was "normal" for the movement, suggested a workaround of setting the time forward and then back, and said they would not repair it under warranty. At that point, I sold the watch and swore I'd never buy an IWC again. For a basic, off-the-shelf time/date movement to have such crap accuracy and require a workaround just to be properly set would be inexcusable in a $300 Seiko. In a $5000+ IWC it's a joke. The fact that they're dropping the same movement in a $10k+ Ingeniuer is something I'd advise you to take into serious consideration before making the purchase. At the very least, do some internet research on that movement before you make a decision. Here's a link to UA-cam video of another Mark XX owner's experience and the IWC boutique's response, which, notably, was not to fix the problem but instead offer to exchange her Mark XX for a Mark XVIII that uses the more reliable and accurate Sellita movement ua-cam.com/video/X0ujW-HvT44/v-deo.htmlsi=ZXWpmfDgQqS_Lcaq
Nobody needs a watch let alone a pilots watch. We all have phones.
But you need to keep your left wrist warm, only a watch can do that, actually you need several watches for different days and outfits.
As a pilot I can tell you: nobody needs a pilots watch. Even back in the days pilots didn’t need the kind of watch shown.
Video is very incomplete and also ends abruptly... 👎🏻
Go watch another channel plz 😄
Lol, really? You can’t take criticism? Is your income! Shouldn’t we, the viewers, give you feedback? Are you happy that you missed so many other watches? I’m not the only one saying this...check your comments.
@@Dr_LKthink we need a 10hrs clip/movie for u to introduce all the watches... It's just a teaser n short introduction... It's like a movie trailer... If u want more go watch the full movie or read up yourself.
Bait title - we don't NEED anything when it comes to watches. I know it's hyperbole, but it still rubs the wrong way when you read it.
Spoken like a true non-watch addict…lucky for you.
Spoken like a true non-watch addict…lucky for you.
@@DWilliam1😂
It’s true, we don’t need it. For some reason, we need it.
You’re in zone my man
If you're on a budget, Junkers do a large range of Fleiger watches, for reasons that should be obvious. The customer service isn't the best though.