Currently wearing my pro pilot and have been very impressed with it. Picked mine up on the forum for £650 I think and can’t fault it for the money.
I'm looking for a tool watch such as a pilot or field watch for around £1000 or less.
Brushed case preferably, black dial, 40/41mm, automatic or manual wind with sapphire crystal.
I like the Tudor Ranger but that's close to £2000 and I'm not looking to spend that much on this watch, it will be used as a casual, adventure, weekend watch but apart from the price, the Tudor ticks all the boxes for me.
Some alternatives I've come up with are Eddie's Smiths PRS-25, Oris Propilot and Stowa Flieger. I like the look of Damasko but I'm not keen on watches with AR coating on the outside of the crystal so I'll rule that one out.
I'll be wearing the watch on a nato so I'm not too bothered about a bracelet. Lug to lug will have to be under 50mm so I've ruled out the 42mm Hamilton Khaki and also the dial is unbalanced because of the date window and the 15 on the inner part of the dial. The Hamilton Khaki Mechanical looks good but maybe too small at 38mm.
The only thing stopping me going straight for the PRS-25 is the almost 50mm lug to lug and the height of 14.5mm
Should I save money and go for the PRS-25 or save for one of the others? Any other suggestions?
Currently wearing my pro pilot and have been very impressed with it. Picked mine up on the forum for £650 I think and can’t fault it for the money.
Although I haven't owned the Oris or Stowa I would not hesitate in recommending the PRS-25, the amount if times people have commented on it recently has amazed me, it has to be one of the best value for money tools in the box, I have never owned a Stowa but its on ze list...
gadget
I cannot comment on the others, however you would not be disappointed with a Stowa. Lovely watches, great customer service too. Those blued hands are fantastic.
Stowa is the only company with the historical heritage of being one of the original manufacturers of the WWII pilot watches alongside IWC, Laco, Wempe and A. Lange & Söhne.
Only relevant if that sort of thing is important to you but Stowa do make a very good watch
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Have you had a look at the MKii Hawkinge or the new Cruxible?
Both upsized versions on classic pilots watches
I have a Hawkinge and it’s great so have ordered the Cruxible.
IMG_5312.JPG
These aren’t dear and look great on a Nato.
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The AR on my Damaskos smudges far less easily than it did on the Sinns I had. In fact the AR on the 656 started to come away in minute linear flakes, so I removed it with a Dremmel. Quite a simple task, but not for the faint hearted. Perceived AR issues aside, the Damasko cases will still look good years hence, well mine from 2006 and 2008 do anyway.
F.T.F.A.
Thanks for the suggestions so far.
I hadn't heard of Aevig before but they look interesting as does the Mark II Cruxible.
I've had a few Stowa watches in the past and I've got a Marine 40 on the way too so I agree they are great watches.
How about the Damasko DS30? Currently 12% off today with Black Friday deal too:
https://www.jurawatches.co.uk/collec...s/subcat-ds-30
**EDIT: Just realised you've already ruled them out due to the external AR coating (which I think this has)**
My favourite pilot watch. Case had some hardening and showed no scratches after 2 years of abuse, mainly indoor rock climbing. Lume was on par with Omega Seamaster.
As mentioned above; Laco? 42mm rather than the 40-41mm you are after, but under budget. Can't, unfortunately, tell what lug-to-lug is but:
- Brushed steel case
- Automatic (ETA)
- Sapphire
- Blued steel hands
Several variants but: https://www.laco.de/en/watches/pilot...42mm-automatic
Last edited by Bondurant; 23rd November 2018 at 11:43. Reason: link missing
Bargain GGB Mk2:
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...2-20-50-%A3650
How about a pre-owned Timefactors Speedbird 3? It fits all of your criteria apart from the fact that it’s 39mm. However, as it’s all dial, it feels more like a 40/41mm on my wrist. Shouldn’t be too hard to track one down.
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I have had a Tudor Ranger. Lot of issues. Dust on the dial several times. Let it regulated 3 times. Always lost 3sec/day. Sold it quickly.
I now have a MKII Hawkinge. Great watch, very legible, nice built. His 38,5 mm are perfect on my 17,5cm wrist. Water resistance is ok. Lum is great.
The major complain is about his bulky back that makes her sit more up-the-wrist than on-the-wrist.
And a detail, lum only at 3-6-9-12. I would have prefer one point at each hour. But that's detail.
The 6R15 Seiko movement is quite, let's say, disappointing. Can make a nice +15 sec in 15 days. And after, loose 3sec/day. But, all in all, very good result.
Last edited by Kronoss; 3rd February 2019 at 22:02.
My favourite pilot watch has been the A-13a, might be worth a look.
Last edited by Senninha; 5th February 2019 at 08:10.
shamelesss plug...but fits most of the criteria you are looking for.
A college of mine has a Pinion and absolutely loves it - it gets the wrist time whereas his Omega is consigned to the drawer.
Likewise a Speedbird III looks great value.
If it were me I'd go for one of the above - you'd be getting a great watch whichever one you chose :-)
Lots of options, all depends on your taste.
Can't beat stowa for under a grand imo. I have two, so I'm biased, but their no logo, no date flieger is just beautiful, and imo punches well above it's price. Heat blued hands, beautifully decorated movements, excellent customer service all make a stowa a joy to buy and to own.
Hamilton have khakis in sizes from 38 up to 40mm, handwind and automatic. Excellent watch for well under half your budget.
Laco also do a very pretty flieger. Slightly less refined than the stowa but a beautiful watch nonetheless.
Steinhart and Christopher ward have various pilot and field watches, mostly homages, I'd go for steinhart over Chris ward, cw are known to slash prices regularly, which is great if you get a cheap watch , but also means they are worth practically nothing after purchase, worth keeping in mind in case you may want to flip it in future.
My favorite 3 hand pilot watch, the Hanhart Pioneer One LE is 42mm with a lug to lug of 49.5mm and it is 12mm thick, it runs $1170. They have a non-LE date version that comes with a black, white or gray dial and is $1070.
Like The Stowa too but a WR under 100m is a no go for me. Can't imagine having a watch I can't swim with.
Damasko or Sinn 3 hander .......you cant go wrong with one of those. If you buy second hand you will be able to flip it easily if you don’t get on with the AR.
+1 on this. I have a Sinn 656. Very solid, no frills tool watch anti-mag 80,000 am, 200m water resistant, low pressure resistant. The double sided Ar is a very minor irritation for me. I find the bracelet comfortable too. You could probably get a nice used one for £750 - £1000 on a bracelet.
Thanks for the suggestions but this thread was resurrected the other day by someone after more than 2 months of inactivity and I'm no longer looking.
I'm saving for a Stowa Flieger.