There are a whole lot of companies out there making modern aviation inspired watches. There is one company that has been doing it longer, and doing little else, and that is Trintec. I contacted them when I was reviewing their recent Kickstarter campaign, and they were nice enough to loan me one for their production watches for review, the Trintec Zulu-03.
This small Canadian firm began with the altimeter clock, a wall clock designed to look like a plane’s altimeter, and then they adopted the design to a wrist watch, and the rest, as they say, is history. Trintec produces several watches baased on avionics, including the original altimeter and the anniversary Kickstarter editions. This watch is based on, well, a clock, although the type of clock one would find on a plane’s instrument console.
At the heart of the Zulu-03 is the Miyota 9215 automatic movement with a 40 hour power reserve. The utilitarian form of the movement is available through the exhibition caseback. The case itself is PVD coasted stainless, very solid feeling and with a real instrument look.
The 42mm case designed is fairly square, with the corners clipped a bit and sporting a pair of screws at each of the corners. I am not sure if they are functional, seeing how the caseback is screw-down and the case does not seem to be two piece, but they lend to the instrument look of the watch. Up front is scratch resistant mineral glass, and the watch is water resistant to 10 atm.
Even with the squared-off case design, the watch wears very comfortably. At 13mm, it is not overly slim, but it is not so tall you can’t wear it under a long sleeve dress shirt. The strap is black silicon rubber, with a pair of bolsters on the edges and a diamond pattern down the middle. It is pretty thick, but it is comfortable. At 115 grams, it is not an obvious presence on your wrist through the day.
The lume on the watch is very well done, with the numbers and all three hands generously painted. Reading the watch is the dark is a simple exercise, though sneaking around with it on might be a bit more complicated. The date window is slotted at 4:30, so it barely clips the 5 and leaves the dial without a tell-tale gap at 3:00 when the lights go out.
Overall, I think it is a very attractive and interesting watch, not for the movement or for complications, but for the design. More than a few friend and coworkers commented positively on the look of the watch. If you have an interest in aviation, or if you are a pilot, or you just like wearing cool watches, Trintec is definitely a brand worth checking out. trintec.com
- Brand & Model: Trintec Zulu 03
- Price: $450
- Who’s it for?: Any pilot or aviation enthusiast.
- Would I wear it?: Definitely. And I have friends that would as well.
- What I’d change: The date window, and the strap is hit and miss for me.
- The best thing about it: It looks like it came straight out of a cockpit instrument panel.
