70 DEPARTURES abundant at the time. The so-called “Wooden Wonder” outperformed its metal contemporaries to become one of the fastest planes of its time. IWC’s first pilot’s watch, the Special Pilot’s Watch ref. 436, better known as the Mark IX, was introduced in 1936. Since then, pilot watches have become one of the brand’s mainstays, from supplying both British and German air forces in World War II to partnering with the Navy Fighter Weapons School (also known as TOPGUN) since 2007. This year’s 41mm Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41, a highperformance column-wheel chronograph, takes a luxurious turn in 18-karat 5N red gold paired with a deep-green, sunray-finished dial and a matching green rubber strap. Patek Philippe is also seeing green, offering a sophisticated nod to its Pilot collection’s pre-war military roots with this year’s white-gold Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Chronograph ref. 5924G with a khaki-green lacquered dial and a vintage-finished, olive-green calfskin strap. The piece, which also comes in a sleek steel-blue version, is the collection’s first flyback chronograph. Additionally, the brand’s user-friendly dual-time-zone function is a practical feature for today’s frequent flyers. The flyback function, which aided military pilots in navigation and timing bombing runs, is paired with a bidirectional rotating countdown bezel in Blancpain’s Air From top: Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Patrouille de France 70th Anniversary with a 42mm microblasted-ceramic case; Super-LumiNova-coated numerals, indices and hands; self-winding movement; calfskin strap, bellross.com Bremont MB Viper with a 43.5mm DLC-treated Grade-5- titanium Bremont Trip-Tick case; anodised-aluminium top bezel; metal dial with seconds track; Super-LumiNova-coated hands; self-winding movement; canvas strap, bremont.com Oris Big Crown Calibre 473 with a 38mm stainless-steel case; indices, numbers and hands coated with Super- LumiNova; handwound movement; leather strap, oris.ch Command. The collection takes its cues from a rare 1950s Blancpain chronograph produced in a very small quantity for American military pilots. The design was based on the brand’s Fifty Fathoms dive watch, which supplied the US Navy. In addition to titanium and steel versions, there’s a striking option in red gold contrasted with a deep-blue dial. Oris’s legacy in aviation watches goes back to 1938, when it produced the Big Crown with a pointer date display. The model’s namesake feature aided pilots in making adjustments while wearing gloves. This year’s addition to the retro family is the Big Crown Calibre 473, distinguished by a refreshing icy-blue dial and bold-red date pointer. The big news is inside the 38mm stainless steel case, which houses the new manual-winding Calibre 473 movement with a five-day power reserve displayed through the sapphire crystal case back. While many of today’s pilot watches are deeply rooted in the past, the young British brand Bremont is looking ahead with the cutting-edge MB Viper. This limited edition of 300 pieces is based on a concept piece devised for testing the mettle of the brand’s first in-house movement, the ENG 300, as it underwent the extreme ejection-seat testing programme of Bremont’s partner Martin-Baker, the leading manufacturer of fighter-jet ejection seats. This latest addition to Bremont’s MB line, produced with Martin Baker, features a stealthy 43.5mm matte-black DLC-treated Grade-5-titanium case fitted with a bright orange aluminium bezel. Inside, a patented rubberised Anti-Shock movement mount protects the ENG352 calibre movement from the hardest of knocks. When it comes to extreme pilot’s watches, Richard Mille broke all the barriers with 2012’s RM 039 Aviation watch, a hyper-complex flyback chronograph with tourbillon, and its little brother, the RM39-01, launched the following year. Designed as serious flight-navigation instruments, the pair is equipped with a modern interpretation of the essential E6B slide rule invented in the 1930s. Aesthetically, the pair is anything but retro, seeming more suited for the cockpit of a spaceship bound for Mars than the wild blue yonder. COURTESY OF THE WATCHMAKERS
From top: Breitling Classic AVI Chronograph 42 Mosquito with a 42mm stainless-steel case; bidirectional ratcheted bezel; self-winding chronograph movement, breitling.com Zenith Pilot Big Date Flyback with a 42.5mm steel case; corrugated dial with luminescent Arabic numerals; self-winding movement with flyback chronograph; delivered with interchangeable cordura-effect rubber and calfskin straps, zenith-watches.com 71 DEPARTURES
