While there are a lot of "pilot" watches out there, this one particular design is something that everyone can agree on as being a "pilot" watch. It is one of the 'original' looks, and has fared very well over the years. Many (I mean many) companies have attempted to provide their own interpretation to the design, or additions to the look. Few have been able to improve on the look, and the countless iterations of the theme have remained constant. The benefits of this look is simplicity and legibility, which translates well on a petite watch, or a 55mm beast.
Archimede has been making pilot watches of this ilk for a while. The various models skewing the look in various manners, but now with the Pilot H, they have taken things back to the drawing board. The result is something totally stripped down; bearing what is arguably the essence of the genre. You have a brandless dial, with blued hands, and a sober black and white color scheme. Instead of the "historical" manual wound movement, I am very happy to see that Archimede inserted an automatic ETA 2824 movement in the Pilot H. While I appreciate a nice manually would movement with a see-through caseback window, I prefer the convenience of a automatic, and I simply don't understand why more companies that make historic 'looking' watches use more practical movements.
From the single button on each side of the strap, to the sand blasted case, the Archimede Pilot H watch is certainly nice. The crown is easy to operate, and the sapphire crystal on the front and back add to the longevity of the watch. Size is 42mm wide. Price is right as well at about $400-$450. One is available on eBay at the time of this writing.
See Archimede watches on eBay here.
See Pilot watches on Amazon here.
 IWC Classic Pilot's Automatic Chronograph IW371704 42mm US $4,850.00 |
 IWC Classic Pilot's Automatic Chronograph IW371705 42mm US $4,850.00 |
 VINTAGE PILOT OBSERVER MILITARY WATCH RARE 1950s  US $49.99
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 VINTAGE PILOT OBSERVER MILITARY WATCH WW2 STYLE US $49.99
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 Bell & Ross Classic Pilot 10th Anniversary watch L@@T US $3,285.00
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 IWC Classic Pilot's Automatic Chronograph IW371701 42mm US $3,700.00 |
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Hi Ariel - this is a brand I really like, for the same reason as you mentioned, they’ve made a watch that captures the essence of what we call the airman look, without added complexity or superficial bling.
For those who do like the historical part, or still enjoy a manual wind movement (there are advantages if like me you wear different watches each day and don’t own an autowinder), I had seen in their newsletter at end of last year that Archimede offer the same look with a vintage Junghans manual movement. List was 425 Euro and you had to contact them since it’s a limited edition of 90, so I’m not sure if any are still available - details on their site (http://www.archimede-watches.com/Newsletter/Archimede_NewsletterEN_3.htm).
I would also recommend the Stowa Airman to you for the same reason (http://www.harrybishop.ca/?p=233), it’s very similar to the Archimede except has the brand name … not quite as clean but still very nice.
Thanks as always for the posts!
Cheers from Canada
Harry Bishop
http://www.harrybishop.ca
Harry,
Great to hear from you. I am glad that we can agree on why we like this watch. The best part is that it is reasonably priced. It should not cost so much to own a classic (ahem Rolex). The Airman design name eluded me at the time of writing, though now I recall. I am not sure who “invented” this look, but a ton of watch brands around World War II seemed to emulate this design. I am sure that IWC would love for us to think it was them that started the trend.
Stowa does a nice job as well, as well as Azimuth, and countless others. Though I have to say that if I had no budget constraints, I’d look awfully hard at one of the Glashutte Pilot models.
Another time I’ll comment on the psychology of the manually wound watch. I have a few of them myself. I tend to get obsessive and want to wind them all the time, which is an issue I don’t have with automatics. Talk to you soon.