Articles|What to Wear

What to Wear: Five Cool Pilot’s Watches (and a budget option!)

Channel your inner Maverick with these five cool pilot’s watches.

What constitutes a pilot’s watch? On a meta level I’d say a watch for cockpit duty has to be superbly robust, reliable, and legible. It’s been well over a century since Cartier created a watch for aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, and in that time we’ve seen the pilot’s watch transform from a indispensable instrument to -basically- one of many styles in the luxury watch market at large.

Now that the pilot’s watch as an actual tool to aid in navigation and timing is all but a faint memory it’s basically free-for-all, allowing brand’s and their designers to have fun with materials, colors and complications. Accordingly we’ve seen everything from simple three-handers and chronographs to perpetual calendars and even tourbillons, in a range of shapes and sizes in every material and color imaginable. We’ve had the pleasure of shooting many of them over the years, and below you’ll find five of the best. (plus a cool budget-friendly option)

Take my breath away