Aviation watches have been immensely popular for decades and have also served as the inspiration for wristwatches as well. In 1904, Louis Cartier designed a wristwatch as a favor to pilot Alberto Santos Dumont, which he could wear on his wrist when flying, since a standard pocket watch was too cumbersome to handle up in the air.
The original Cartier Santos wristwatch featured a modified, rectangular-shaped pocket watch presented on a leather strap. Years later in the 1930’s, pilots relied on onboard chronographs by Swiss watchmaker Breitling, designed to be used inflight to calculate distances and travel times.
In 1952 Breitling introduced the Navitimer chronograph wristwatch, which featured a slide-rule bezel with navigational functions indispensable for pilots. The Navitimer quickly became an essential navigational tool for both pilots and aviation pros and is still in production today.
Breitling offers many pilot watches in their assortment today and has been joined by a number of other prestigious watchmakers with aviation inspired timepieces, including Officine Panerai, Bell & Ross, TAG Heuer, Citizen, Seiko, Bulova, Luminox, IWC, Swiss Legend and Invicta.
Pilot watches are the focus of attention this week at popular online retailer WorldofWatches.com during their Aviation Inspired Designs event. Many of today’s most sought-after pilot watches from leading watchmakers around the globe are included in the promotion, including the Swiss Legend Skyline Chronograph.
This exceptional men’s timepiece is designed with pilots in mind and features a slide-rule bezel to calculate rate, time and distance…three essential elements when flying. The generously, oversized stainless steel case has a lustrous rose gold-tone finish and is presented on a supple black leather strap.
Handsome coin-edge detail on the outer rim of the bezel adds to the impressive design. The intricate black chronograph dial has three subdials with rose gold-tone backgrounds, an automatic date calendar, luminous hands and Arabic numeral hour markers.
Features include premium Swiss-made quartz movement inside for time-keeping accuracy and water-resistance to 100 meters or 330 feet. Chronograph is 42mm in diameter and 13mm thick.
Free shipping and free returns are included on all domestic watch purchases at WorldofWatches.com.