History of Pilot Watches
A pilot watch is a watch, as since the beginning of the 20th Century for the needs of pilots has been developed. The delineation of millitariy watches often exists only in the marketing.
Since the air at that time was one of the most advanced engineering services, offering many watch manufacturers to far more than the actual needs airman watches to participate in the myth of precision and high technology. All the pioneering work of the aerospace industry can be found in the history of the watch manufacturer.
The actual pilot watches were built early in the dashboard and developed from the already technically weitentwickelten chronometers of seafaring. Achieve the required accuracy with a wrist watch was more ambitious than a technical necessity.
Today, the mechanical pilot watch and the expression of many replicas of the zeitgeist of a technically oriented, primarily male audience.
The French watchmaker Cartier has developed for the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont in 1906, with the Cartier Santos, the first special clock for pilots, which was worn on the wrist. The idea was further developed by other manufacturers, so that Fliegeruhren formed, which met the needs of the former pilots.
At this time, watches were already known. Naval and artillery officers were the first men who watches used for timing. Widespread and accepted, however, were only fashionable watches with decorative function, which were worn by women. The advent of aviation watches contributed to wider acceptance of wristwatches for men.
Pilot Watches possessed accurate mechanical watch movements were constructed and unadorned, rugged and shock resistant. Many models have extra long straps, to be able to wear them on the pilots jacket. The dial was rich in contrast – usually white on a black background estimates – was being frequently present in addition to the hour ring a separate chapter ring. Often printed instead of the number twelve was a marked triangle. Numbers, triangle, and were usually associated with luminescent hands, radioactively doped luminescent color coated to allow for visibility at night. The crown was designed particularly strong and effective enough so that the clock could be adjusted and raised, even with gloves. The clocks often have a total station, which facilitates the calculation of the velocity.
Further developments were equipped with rotary dials for the celestial navigation – in this development, Charles Lindbergh was involved. For use in military aviation features like anti-magnetism and the resilience to extreme climatic and kinetic pressures were essential. It proved to be a purely mechanical watch movements emerging quartz watches for a long time as a superior.
After World War I took on board clocks installed in the aircraft, the tasks of the pilot watches that are only needed as a replacement system or for the individual tasks of individual members of the crew usually multiheaded then imported into the more modern aircraft types.
Famous brands and models
Thunderbirds “Fighting Falcon”
IWC Mark XI “-” Mark XVI ”
Richard Bethge “Fliegeruhr B1″
Breguet “Type XX”
Breitling “Navitimer”
Cartier “Santos”
Fortis Uhren AG
Sense
Hanhart
Longines ‘Lindbergh’
Poljot
Revue Thommen
Zeno-Watch
STOWA Air
Oris “BC4″
