Where it comes from
The pilot’s watch started as a working instrument, not an accessory. Pilots needed timing they could trust, so the watch had to be reliable as well as accurate. The Flieger is one specific style of pilot’s watch, and its design goes back to the Second World War. The German B-Uhr watches, also called Beobachtungs-Uhren or observation watches, were made for the Luftwaffe, the German air force. They were supplied by A. Lange & Söhne, IWC, Laco, Stowa and Wempe.
How do you recognise a B-Uhr?
Look first at the crown. B-Uhr watches had a large, grooved winding crown, so a pilot could grip and turn it while wearing heavy gloves. Then look at the dial. The Type A dial is the plainer version, with hour markers numbered 1 to 11. The later Type B dial changed the marker at 12 o’clock. The triangle there became an arrow shape, and the two dots beside it were removed.
How were pilot’s watches protected from magnetism?
IWC built one of its early pilot’s watches with a movement that resists magnetism and a front crystal that does not shatter. For its Mark 11 navigator’s watch, IWC went further. It enclosed the movement in an inner cage made of soft iron, and the dial formed the top of that cage. The cage shielded the movement from magnetism. IWC’s Big Pilot’s Watch, calibre 52 T.S.C., was developed in the 1940s to meet strict military requirements for observation watches.
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