Pilot Watch

The Development of the Aviator Watch 

Before the pilot watch, there was the wrist watch, first sold by Patek Philippe Co. in the late 1800s. Although it was originally a woman’s accessory, it was eventually found to be a useful tool by the Brazilian inventor Alberto Santo-Dumant in the early 1900s. While he was testing out his newly invented aero plane, Dumant found the necessity of a pilot watch to keep track of time, and asked his friend Louis Cartier for help. Cartier bought him a leather bound wrist watch, and Dumant used his popularity in Paris to popularize the item and sell it to other men.

Wrist watches gained more popularity in WWI, when officers began to realize that they were more convenient than pocket watches in battle. Artillery and infantry officers depended on these watches as battles became more complicated and certain attacks needed to be coordinated at precise moments. Wrist watches were discovered to be needed in the air as much as on the ground; pilots found them more convenient than pocket watches for the same reasons, much like Dumant did, flying in his aero plane. Eventually, army contractors issued mass amounts of watches to both infantry soldiers and pilots. In WWII, a popular watch of most American airmen was the A-11: it had a simple black face, clear white numbers for easy readability, and solely met the aviator’s basic needs. "www.flightjacket.com/pilot-watch.htm"

            After the war, the returning officers kept their watches and wore them back home, popularizing them among the middle class. The middle class helped the item develop into a device, rather than just a means of keeping time. The standards for pilot watches were raised, and they became much more advanced, including features like chronometers and slide rules. Chronometers are clocks especially used in navigation, designed to have sufficient long-term accuracy and precision, while slide rules are mechanical calculators that can make rapid, approximate scientific and engineering calculations, such as time, distance and speed equations. The popularization of the pilot watch among the middle class also made it an accessory; companies designed impressive looking watches out of stainless steal, leather, and mineral crystal, with showy gold and silver accents, elaborate faces covered in various numbers, rotating crowns, and numerous widgets all in one package.

            Today’s technology has managed to sophisticate the aviator watch, but its purpose remains the same as it did 60 years ago; to aid the pilot. Regardless of whether or not one chooses to wear it in the air on the ground, these remarkable and intricate gadgets complete the aviator at heart. To look at the pilot watch collection visit "www.flightjacket.com/pilot-watch.htm"