Smiths Pilot
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
The Smiths "Defiant", this was a a WW2 night fighter that would go with the stealth theme of the watch.
Hasn't it already been confirmed as seafire though?
Smiths Black Fokker
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
Seafire is a good name, despite it veering more towards the Fleet Air Arm than RAF. Certainly suits the style and character of the watch.
Other aircraft of merit would include:
Defiant
Tempest
Typhoon (Mk 1)
Venom and Sea Venom
Javelin
Hunter
Valiant
Victor
Lightning
Phantom
Nimrod
VC-10 (Joking)
Jaguar
Tornado
And having added Smiths to the above list, I'd stick with Seafire. So a great choice by Chris from the off.
Now please get them made! :)
Just playing around with the logo on the face of the watch now. I think it work quiet well...
I might have said it before in the thread, but I always like how Damasko add a touch of colour on the second hand, and i think it can add a 'pop' to this style of instrument inspired watch.
And jumping on the idea of a dashed second hand... this I do like.
All there to fuel the discussion!
I think the silver coloured Spitfire could be a Seafire.
Edit: or a high altitude photo reconnaissance plane.
Last edited by Reeny; 5th September 2013 at 13:01.
The "dashed second hand" idea seems nice to me.
I don't like the dashed second hand but the all green one looks good.
Great work there.
Think that logo actually looks excellent, although I still think Eddie would be better off sticking to the one design.
When I suggested the striped second hand I was thinking of black/green stripes. Like the AT 15000 but changing the yellow to green.
Think it might be a bit subtle with the green being such a dark colour, but still curious how it would look; and anyway we like subtle, right? Thinking of the Everest dial text here
nice looking watch good name, tidy I look forward to the final fiddled design...... and watch
Love that logo!
It makes the watch come alive somehow, looks *right*
A few shots of a Seafire, along with its successor the Sea Hawk. Taken at Southport Airshow.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
I really like the green/white stripe as a look.
Don't mess around with the seconds hand. Keep it simple.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
^^^I agree - keep the second hand as simple as possible - I prefer white at most with a green or red tip. The black and green second hand would probably just sink back into the dial and all pretension for functionality would be lost.
I like the curved Smiths logo - thats just the sort of individuality that I was trying to argue for a couple of posts back. I think it looks a lot more balanced and distinctive and for me has a better weight and presence on the dial than the other logo currently used on the Everest etc.
I don't like the curved logo. Eddie should stick with the one he has.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
liking the SMITHS logo and the banding exercise, personally I would extend the geen onto the baton on the base of the second hand too. Is the GMT model to have a yellow and black stripe colour scheme in the style of cockpit hazard striping with a red GMT hand?
Last edited by toezapper; 4th September 2013 at 07:22. Reason: typo
The curved SMITHS logo looks great and suits the design of the watch very well imho. Personally, I'm not sold on the striped seconds hands, I guess I'm also leaning towards all white or just a green tip.
How about using a white the seconds hand and making the 12 on the dial green? Would this look good? Just a thought...
Re logos, the dials / gauges that were the original inspiration for this watch were probably made by a division of S Smith and Sons, later renamed to Smiths Aircraft Instruments Ltd. Few of the Seafire gauges that I have seen have a predominant Smiths logo on them. In reality, any incorporation of the Smiths logo on the watch is going to be "wrong" (it might be period correct for a Smiths watch produced between 1942 and 1950 - the Seafire had a short service history and was largely replaced by the Sea Fury by 1951), but it's unlikely to be correct for the gauge, so perhaps the best option is to go for the current logo.
Upon further research, I have found several period gauges** with the Smith logo (with a slight curve, no less) - although I'm not able to prove that they were used in the Seafire. By 1950-1, the logo appears to incorporate either "England" or a stylised 'plane.
** Check out the delta-wing-esque 'planes in the picture above the advert
Last edited by Broussard; 4th September 2013 at 08:50. Reason: Additional info
Interesting you should post that, I've been looking at a watch design based on a Smiths speedo from a vintage Vincent. It's difficult to keep the look of a speedo and still make it work as a watch. Anyone for a Black Lightning or Black Shadow?
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Ain't nothin in this world like Vincent black Lightening and a red headed girl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0kJdrfzjAg
Attachment 4568
A few Lambrettas have these, how about a Smiths "Tachimetro". The date could possibly be positioned where the lower odometer reading is.
Attachment 4570
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Attachment 4571
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Last edited by Lammylee; 4th September 2013 at 09:08.
pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze not PVD. It will scratch and look naff!!. Loads of people wont touch it because it is PVD!!
Titanium will give a similar look once it darkens a bit and will be MUCH more popular
I'm not normally a huge fan of PVD because of the scratches, but thinking about vintage aircraft cockpits a bit more, most instruments have chipped paint and the like on the bezels, so it could be argued it adds extra authenticity...
If the name still has not been decided, how about Smiths Robin, After badass fighter pilot Robin Olds?
Robin Olds was an old-school blood-and-guts fighter pilot who pulled more Gs on his way to the bathroom than most mortal men ever dared to experience in their entire lives, and he could dogfight his way out of everything from a swirling flak-covered World War II air battle to the virtually-impossible final level of Ikaruga, then go home and sleep with his supermodel pin-up girl wife.
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/index...d=784151231971
Smiths odometer by Noodlefish, on Flickr
It's not a "find", it's one of my photos. We've been planning a "Smiths" / cockpit instrument-inspired watch for years, so have loads of sources. This belongs to Nick English - it's from his BSA.
The logo is Smiths (Motor Accessories).
Attachment 4575
Very true but I'm not sure I want one of these on my wrist ;-)
For god's sake, stop fcuking about with the seconds hand, it's starting to look like something out of Beetlejuice!
Just stick a green tip on it and call it done.
Jim
Oh, and Seafire is a perfectly good name for it, by the way.
Jim
I also think Seafire is cool...