Weiss, IWC and Bell & Ross: three aviation watches for high-fliers
- Big, bold aviation-inspired watches that pay tribute to vintage design elements
- Despite lacking on heritage, some watchmakers, like Weiss and Bell & Ross, are hitting the spot with their offerings
These two old-timers might have a point though. Are we on Iron Man 6? Captain America 4? Thor 5? I don’t know any more, I’ve stopped caring and I grew up reading comic books.
While I ponder on whether I’ve become old, curmudgeonly and miserable, we’ll crack on with the watches. This week the theme is aviation watches. Mr Porterhas been adding more and more interesting watches from brands I’m not all that familiar with, such as Weiss, an American company established by watchmaker Cameron Weiss, in 2013. A blurb on the brand’s website says Weiss is “restoring prestige to American watchmaking”, which might seem a bit overblown but the approach is the right one, with pieces that lean heavily on the greatest hits of the past and give them more hipster cred.
The Special Issue watchtakes inspiration from several aviation watches of the 1940s, 50s and 60s but the look is fresh and modern. The off-white dialis a winning contrast with the deep-brown leather strap and 42mm steel case. Features are simple with only a small seconds dial. Inside is a Swiss mechanical movement with a 46-hour power reserve but it’s nothing spectacular. The watch is assembled in Los Angeles, which is a novelty. The Special Issue is priced at HK$9,800.
When it comes to IWC aviation watches, I waver on picking a favourite. Today, I’m feeling like a big boy and loving the Big Pilot, even though my wrists are inadequate to pull it off. The 46mm steel monster is notable for its oversized crown and heavy-duty, two-pin leather strap, all of which screams “look at me”.
The pilot-watch aspects are the classic IWC all-black dial face, the legible white markers and the iconic triangle with two dots at the 12 o’clock position. (Originally the triangle symbol was coated in luminescence, so when pilots were flying in darkness they would know where 12 o’clock was.) I’m also loving the placement of the large power-reserve indicator at the three o’clock position.
Features include a date indicator and inside is a stellar 51111 movement with a massive seven days of power reserve. IWC has also stamped a fighter plane on the caseback. The Big Pilot 46mm is priced at HK$101,150.
Lastly, we have a watch that, like Weiss, successfully walks the tightrope of great vintage design despite a lack of heritage. The WW1-92, from Bell & Ross, is a pretty-on-the-nose facsimile of watches from the 1910s and 20s with the outlandish, by modern standards, lugs, the bead-blasted 45mm steel case and the rough unfinished leather of the strap.
Bell & Ross has also used the black dial and white markers, including the triangle with two dots. The company has done well to avoid the temptation of filling the dial completely, although hour and five-minute interval markers might be too much for some. Inside is a Swiss mechanical movement with 40 hours of power reserve. The watch is priced at HK$26,000.
