Pilot and aviation watches are still extremely popular in the world of watches, especially that of luxury timepieces. Here at House of Watches we have a fantastic selection of Pilot and Aviation watches available to purchase whatever your budget.
Now more of a style preference, the pilot or aviation watch was originally designed back in 1904 with Cartier. Wristwatches at the time were still not popular and it wasn’t until World War One and trench warfare that men began to swap their pocket watches for wristwatches.
The Main Features
The main features of a pilot or aviation watch consist of a few different elements to achieve its status as fit to fly. Each of these elements is incredibly useful when it comes to taking to the skies.
The dial on an aviation watch needs to be relatively big and legible; this is because the dial needs to be read quickly and with accuracy no matter the weather and the flight time. To help aid a quick read of the dial with complete accuracy, the dials tend to have a dark face colour with contrasting hour numbers or markers.
The luminosity of the dial is also crucial to its legibility. Pilots are required to fly at night and endure many weather conditions that may alter the light during the flight. Therefore it is important that the hands and hour markers have luminosity to increase their visibility at night.
Similarly to dive watches, pilot and aviation watches tend to have a larger crown on the side of the watch. Most pilots tend to wear gloves whilst flying, therefore a watch with a larger than average crown is much easier to use whilst wearing gloves.
The bezel on a pilot or aviation watch tends to have additional markers to that of a normal watch. These extra markers can help with measurements of fuel burn and wide angle correction. Again similar to a dive watch, a pilot and aviation watch will also have a bidirectional bezel.
Another brilliant feature of a pilot watch is its duel time or GMT functions. Pilots have to fly through different time zones on long haul journeys and even on short journeys, having the option to have duel time on your wrist makes it easier to monitor flight times and landings.
Many pilot or aviation watches tend to have a slightly longer strap than usual. This is because they are normally worn with a flying jacket. The sleeves of the flying jacket were normally quite long and would cover the watch and make it quite difficult to read mid flight, so most pilots would wear their watch over the sleeve of their jacket, hence making the need for longer straps on these types of watches.
Shop our fantastic selection of aviation and pilot watches here at House of Watches. We have everything you need whether you just love the style of a pilot watch or you are a pilot. It’s never been easier to set the trend in the skies. Shop pilot and aviation watches online now at House of Watches.
