Don’t like to think about being part of the Swiss Army? Then how about flying planes? If so (and you’re not looking for an American-made option) the Archimede Pilot Chronograph may
be more to your liking. Right off the bat, you can easily see you’re getting a clean, easy-to-read watch. But it’s not just good looks that you get with this watch – you’re getting some award-winning craftsmanship as well.
It took 1st place in the < 1000 EUR category in 2008, and 3rd in 2009 in Focus Magazines “Golden Unruh” awards. Now, I can’t read German, so I’m not 100% certain if this magazine (and it’s award) are good indicators or not, so let’s take a look at what all you get with these watches:
- Swiss-made ETA 7750 Automatic movement
- Chronograph functions, and the date at the 6 o’clock position
- 42mm stainless steel case (brushed or PVD finish)
- Sapphire crystal with AR coating on both sides
- Exhibition caseback
- WR to 50 m
- Luminous hands, markers, and indices
- Leather strap (in four colors) or stainless steel bracelet
- 925 Euros (approx $1300)
And, if you’d like some further customization from the factory, you can order a more decorated rotor (160 EUR), a deployant clasp on your strap (40 EUR), or a solid caseback (also 40 EUR). Searching the web on this model turned up some quite excellent pictures – and pointed out one oddity.
When it comes to the lume, it appears that you get two different colors – blue for the numbers and indices, and green on the hands (shown here). Depending on your point of view, this is a lovable quirk that makes it stand out, or it’s an unfortunate oversight. If you fall into the “quirk” category, this seems like a serious piece of hardware that you’d do well to consider if you’re looking for a flieger-inspired model. And if you feel it’s an oversight, I’ll see if I can’t drum up another option for you here in the near future.
