Pilots love their watches. While far from an expert, I have been flying helicopters commercially for over thirty years, and I've put far too much thought into watches, so here's my take. For what I'm doing, flying search and rescue in third world locales, my specific requirements may be fairly different than your average flyboy. This is my quest for the perfect overseas touring watch. Over the years I've narrowed down just what I figure my needs might be. A watch has to be simple to adjust as I'm forever jumping across timezones. Those digital/analogue combos are not easy to adjust, nor are the G-Shocks. Sure they'll auto-adjust in most of North America and Europe, but you are resetting it yourself in deepest darkest Africa, and on the plane if you want to update it before you land. Serious PITA, and you need to have the manual handy plus a magnifying glass. None too classy either, and we are pilots you know. The perfect watch has to be easy to read, even at night. For myself the watch has to be extremely rugged and supremely waterproof. Not only do I swim and snorkel extensively on my down time, but if you get caught out in monsoon rains, your watch should be able to take it. I've had a few watches flood which left me watchless mid-tour. Quartz are very accurate but not really so cool, and I can't have some local shop in rural Tanzania open a waterproof case back to change a dead battery, if you could even find a battery. In addition, you don't know ahead of a two month tour if your watch battery is even up to the task. I opted for mechanical long ago, and mechanical watches are just so damn classy. They make respectable hand me downs to great grandkids as well.
The other concern is do you really want to be flashing that Rolex Submariner around Nigeria? Rolex make a very, very good watch with a very respectable history, but they also carry a significant "look-at-me" factor, and could be construed as pretentious showmanship. We are pilots so who cares? Pretentious showmanship is our claim to fame. Humility despite awesomeness aside, I spend a fair bit of time with locals in off-the-beaten-path haunts in probably not the safest areas. I have been on backstreets of Mombasa, Libreville and Dar es Salaam where you really do not want to be flashing around a Rolex Submariner. I tried walking home late at night through Cotonou, Benin and got mugged by cops! Luckily I had left my iPhone and watch back at the hotel, and only had $20 in my pocket. As a general rule of thumb, you do not want locals staring at something you have and wanting it. So I'm looking for a watch that is low key but still respectful enough to be a
"pilot watch". (After saying all that, my good Danish friend has been wearing his Panerai and Rolex in Nigeria for at least a decade, so obviously it can be done.)
I recently found this Tudor Heritage Ranger. Hans Wilsdorf, the creator of Rolex in 1905, watched as the prices of his popular watches soared. As he wanted to make quality watches for the average Joe, in 1926 he started the Tudor brand, to provide the same quality as Rolex, but without the overpriced name attached. Patterned after Rolex's iconic Explorer, the Tudor Ranger was introduced in 1967, and this is a pretty accurate reissue. It's a tough water proof dive watch with a screw in crown. A Rolex heritage without the Rolex hype, nor the Rolex price. Kind of classy too. I think it looks a tad more rugged on a vintage leather strap, made by yours truly, even though leather straps suck for hot, wet, sweaty climates. They do dress the watch down a fair bit, and I must admit, if Indiana Jones wore a watch, I think this may be the one.
And there is this beauty!
"pilot watch". (After saying all that, my good Danish friend has been wearing his Panerai and Rolex in Nigeria for at least a decade, so obviously it can be done.)
I recently found this Tudor Heritage Ranger. Hans Wilsdorf, the creator of Rolex in 1905, watched as the prices of his popular watches soared. As he wanted to make quality watches for the average Joe, in 1926 he started the Tudor brand, to provide the same quality as Rolex, but without the overpriced name attached. Patterned after Rolex's iconic Explorer, the Tudor Ranger was introduced in 1967, and this is a pretty accurate reissue. It's a tough water proof dive watch with a screw in crown. A Rolex heritage without the Rolex hype, nor the Rolex price. Kind of classy too. I think it looks a tad more rugged on a vintage leather strap, made by yours truly, even though leather straps suck for hot, wet, sweaty climates. They do dress the watch down a fair bit, and I must admit, if Indiana Jones wore a watch, I think this may be the one.
And there is this beauty!
I treated myself to this Omega Seamaster Professional when I first made Captain on the S61, flying offshore out of Canada's East Coast. I wore that watch for over 6000 hours of flying, plus dove and surfed with it, and still love it, but I'm not about to wear it to Africa. It is just far too flashy, and worth more than I'd care to risk travelling where I generally do. It does go with me to my sim sessions in Norway, Scotland, New York or Italy though, and I wear it at home. If I ever get back to flying off Canada's East Coast, it will be my standard once again.
There's the G-Shock I flew with on two tours in Tanzania and one in Kenya. I just got so frustrated with setting the damn thing, and I can't see those small dials anyway, and it's kind of cheesy compared to a nice mechanical.
I replaced it with this Hamilton Field Officer watch, a very cool mechanical. Hamilton is worn by Canada's own Snowbirds, but my Field Officer flooded while sitting at a poolside bar in Mombasa and I had to look at it's fogged up face for another month. Pissed me off. Hamilton was very good and replaced it immediately on my return, but I elected to go back to real dive watches with screw in crowns. Waterproof jumped to the forefront of requirements after I flooded this special issue Torgoen SAR watch on it's first jump into the Indian Ocean, the tour after I flooded my Hamilton. To their credit, they replaced it without question as well, but I never wore it again. And it's a quartz.
Now the beast below is pretty much the ideal touring watch, but I just wanted something a little different. This Tissot Seastar is rugged, waterproof, mechanical, and wanting for nothing. I quite love it and it keeps the best time of all my mechanical watches! I've worn it all over Africa and South America, Europe, Turkey, etc.. I wore it on the recent ferry flight from Gabon to Poland as well. I quite like having a bezel for marking time, very handy in the cockpit and for boiling eggs. It'd be nice if it was a little brighter in the evening though.
This bunch below are honourable mentions;
I wore that Seiko dive watch (see the trend?) for most of my VFR flying and EMS career. I hated paying a small fortune and being without it for months when I sent it away to replace the battery every two years. I replaced it with the Casio Solar watch, but then I went mechanical and never really went back. That Rolex Submariner is just a copy a friend picked up in Thailand as a gift, and it fogged up the first time I wore it, and I didn't get near water, so it's sitting in a bin somewhere. The "Navy Seal" Luminox that I bought on a Swiss Air flight from Tanzania to Zurich is overpriced as it just feels kind of cheap, and I scratched the glass on the reef on it's first tour, and no one would return my inquiries about replacing it. Another one tour wonder.
For all the watches and considerations, most guys touring overseas just wear a Timex, but I just want to have a little class when I'm tromping around the world.
It is sounding like I'm back to work shortly. More on that later, but it's a pretty good gig. I'll be sporting that classy new Tudor Heritage Ranger, my 50th birthday present to myself!
