Suggestions - Pilot Chrono's

[Gilly]

Having missed out on what looked like a cracking Fortis B42 on SC...I have a sickening pang for a Pilot Chrono...i don't think i will last a week before buying one to be honest

I have so far nailed it down to the following...

Steinhart Nav B Chrono 2 (on budget)
Fortis B42 Pilot Chrono (Love that fitted strap)
IWC Pilot Chrono 371701 (Blows budget...but its an IWC)

Question is....what am i missing that is akin to the above ? Suggestions very much welcome for watches in a similar vein to the above / below pics

[andrew]

Having missed out on what looked like a cracking Fortis B42 on SC...I have a sickening pang for a Pilot Chrono...i don't think i will last a week before buying one to be honest

I have so far nailed it down to the following...

Steinhart Nav B Chrono 2 (on budget)
Fortis B42 Pilot Chrono (Love that fitted strap)
IWC Pilot Chrono 371701 (Blows budget...but its an IWC)

Question is....what am i missing that is akin to the above ? Suggestions very much welcome for watches in a similar vein to the above / below pics

Archimede Pilot chrono? £800 new. Also, various Hamiltons, starting with the Field chrono.

[notenoughwrists]

Having owned the B42 Pilot Pro Chrono from Fortis (the one you show is the Fleiger), I could not recommend any watch more. Outstanding quality and the one that got most compliments from non-WIS folks (if you're bothered!).
Go for good good prices second hand, too. There's an AD in Nottingham if you want to look at them new

[PMB]

Dare I suggest the ALT1-P from Bremont !!

[Gilly]

Having owned the B42 Pilot Pro Chrono from Fortis (the one you show is the Fleiger), I could not recommend any watch more. Outstanding quality and the one that got most compliments from non-WIS folks (if you're bothered!).
Go for good good prices second hand, too. There's an AD in Nottingham if you want to look at them new

I think i am edging for the Fortis, agree a second hand one is best bet.....i can't believe i missed one yesterday on here for £925 :cry:

As for the Bremont...yes it is very nice, i can't deny that...but for reasons i dare not go into as i don't want the fanboys turning up... :shock: i think i will save a couple of grand and keep options open to other suggestions......

[andy111s]

I'd also think about Sinn, their history and association with aviation and aircraft dials lend well to their 'pilot' type watches. Not as 'Flieger' as the ones you've mentioned so far but with some interesting twists. Perhaps a 103 or 756 variant? (UTC hand, hardened case, extremely legible, bezel/non-bezel etc etc).


(WuS / TZAG)

[andy tims]

You've picked 3 very nice choices - I'm confident you'd love either of those - big price spread though.

I'd also suggest you look at Sinn - lots of choice at decent money & also Damasko:-

DC56


DC66


or they do full lume dialed versions.

[jd]

Sinn, 356 or 103 maybe? There are loads of Sinn options.

Guinand? Lovely and reasonably priced.

I prefer the 3706 to the 3717 - the previous model, slightly smaller and nicer (imo) hands.

[swanbourne]

Dare I suggest the ALT1-P from Bremont !!

I would have taken bets that somebody would :wink: .

Eddie

[S.L]

Guinand? Lovely and reasonably priced.

Here's one FS on a swedish forum: http://www.network54.com/Forum/140376/t ... S-+Guinand
I have no connection whatsoever with seller but it seems a good watch for the money to me.

[Dapper]

Sturmanskie with Poljot 31681 manual wind movement 8) .......



Cheers :)

[jd]

Guinand? Lovely and reasonably priced.

Here's one FS on a swedish forum: http://www.network54.com/Forum/140376/t ... S-+Guinand
I have no connection whatsoever with seller but it seems a good watch for the money to me.

£575 ish for a 2 year old... seems pretty fair to me, that's about 50-55% of new.

Another vote for the Archimede Pilot chrono, it ticks all the boxes, without the higher cost of the IWC, which I would go for if money was not the issue.

[markosgr28]

All three are great watches, but I would go for the Fortis. The brand is focused on this type of watches and the quality is great for their value. The IWC is too expensive IMHO. In the Steinhart I love the blue hands, but it has lower water resistance and not the glamour of the Fortis.

[TakesALickin]

I feel your pain. I have the exact same lust for the 3717, and I suspect that at some point in the distant, distant future I'll have one of those in my watchbox. In the meantime I have searches saved for the Archimede and the Nav-B, although I suspect the Nav-B 2 may be a little large for my 7" wrist. The first generation Nav-B looks do-able.

I've owned two Sinn 356s. I liked them, they seemed solid, but ultimately I pined for the "mad duck" marker at 12 o'clock and the modern angular hand set that you see on the 3717. The 356 didn't fill the bill. Tried a Poljot Aviator chrono for a brief while (a knock off of the Fortis), but the quality was, as you might suspect, much less than a real Fortis.

I just picked up this Tutima NATO last week. The design is not the classic pilot's chrono that we've been talking about here - it's more of a 1980s take on aviation timepiece design. But the aviation pedigree is unassailable, these being issued to NATO and German air forces. The Lemania 5100 movement is rapidly disappearing. You can find these used for a few hundred more than the Archimede and the Nav-B.

[quoll]

Another quick vote for the Archimede. Very, very good for the money.



I have also had a Fortis and a Damasko DC56 - both also very good and exceptionally well built, but both sit a bit tall for my liking.

There is also the Sinn 103 or its cheaper alternative the O&W Mirage. (Mine was with plain markers but they also come with numerals if you prefer that.)

[Optimum]

Does this not fit the bill...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=140731

Nothing to do with me BTW. :)

[Gilly]

Does this not fit the bill...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=140731

Nothing to do with me BTW. :)

Almost, but not with that Bezel. thanks for the heads up though...


Spoilt for choice now fella's...and i reckon it all boils down to what comes about on SC etc, The only reason the Fortis is coming out on top is down to the fitted strap that gives it a cleaner look imo

I have had a great opportunity to check out some lovely watches from a host of watchmakers i have never heard of, or considered before today...so cheers guys for all the suggestions so far :)

[eduk]

(WuS / TZAG)

+1 for the Sinn 756 easily one of the most interesting pilot watches imho.

[pacchi]

+2...I am a fan of this design, and IMHO the ultimate flieger after an IWC Big Pilot as it really looks like an instrument you'll find in a plane! The price is right too, considering they all (almost) use the same infamous (300$) Valjoux 7750 Mov.

[jgeddes]

Wait it out, I got a Fortis Pilot Pro Chrono GMT back in June and love it, really solid, reliable and prices seem to have dipped a little at the moment so very good value, they do pop up on here from time to time along with the flieger models, good luck with the search.

[Gilly]

Wait it out, I got a Fortis Pilot Pro Chrono GMT back in June and love it, really solid, reliable and prices seem to have dipped a little at the moment so very good value, they do pop up on here from time to time along with the flieger models, good luck with the search.

I am quite naffed off that i missed the one thats been on SC this week.....yours looks a cracker

[gregflat9]

It was my Fortis on SC!

It was great. Case is solid. Looks the part.

My advise is wait it out for another. Settle for anything else and you will regret it.

The IWC is a little pricey, and the Steinhart... just not quite in the same league.

[phil h]

A few of my pilots, can't go far wrong with a Sinn IMHO. Briefly had a fortis but too big for my tastes.

[peter2704]

omega flightmaster....class

[Finch]

another vote for the O&W mirage!

here´s another alternative,good old Helmut Sinn´s Guinand,some nice Chronos,imo! :wink:

http://guinand-watch.com/index.php?opti ... 42&Itemid=


cheers
Miro

[Pablo]

Another vote for Sinn, Damasko, Fortis. All have great pilot designs at similar price points.

regards,
Nick

[Nealywheelie]

Not forgetting the old Zenith Rainbow Flyback.....

Cheers.

[HappyJack]

The Fortis Pilot Pro GMT Chrono is a stunning watch - Jason's used to be mine, and when I had it it got more compliments than any other watch I've had, before or since. It's the one watch I've regretted selling, and it had a lot of visual appeal.

Having said which, it was aesthetically superb (better looking IMO for having no timer bezel); very well built (albeit quite heavy) and very accurate (<2 sec/day) but for practical, in cockpit, turn the aeroplane upside down and work like a one-armed paper hanger use, the Valjoux 7750 is inferior to the Lemania 5100 or quartz ETA 251.262 movements. These have centre-sweep chrono minute hands, which make it much easier to tell elapsed time at a glance than either the 30 minute sub-register you get on the Valjoux movement or a digital display.

When I had the Fortis GMT chrono, I also had a Revue Thommen Airspeed Classic chrono - successively the quartz version with the ETA 251.262 and then the Lemania 510 versions - both well worth a look as a pilot's chrono. In the end I sold both the Fortis GMT and the RT chronos and bought the titanium Fortis B-42 Cosmonaut Chrono LE, with the Lemania 5100 movement, getting me the best of both worlds. This is not quite as much of a looker as the GMT, and is slightly bigger (due to the bezel), but rather more usable. They are also very rare and it took me 18 months to find mine.

Of all brands mentioned, I'd say Fortis or Revue Thommen offer the best bang for your buck - great looking, well built, and very usable. But above all I'd go for a centre sweep chrono hand which implies a Lemania 5100 movement - and also look at Tutima Airforce or NATO chronos with that movement, as well as a Breitling M1 which has a thermocompensated version of the 251.262 quartz movement.