Hands on with the AVI-8 Hawker Harrier II Ace of Spades

AVI-8 is know for making unique aviation inspired watches. I have reviewed their AVI-8 Flyboy Chronograph and their AVI-8 Hawker Hunter Chronograph. Both were very cool, but they were quartz, and I really like automatics. AVI-8 has just come out with the new Hawker Harrier II Ace of Spades, and, would you look at that – it’s an automatic. I was able to get a hold of one for review, and so far, I am liking this.

Made from 30 unique pieces, the dial on this AVI-8 is truly unique. The only normal part of this dial are the hour and minute hands. There is a 24hour sub dial which looks like a gauge right out of the cockpit. Next to that, you have a small seconds sub dial, where you view the seconds through a small window. There are minute markers but only on the first third of the dial. All of this mixed together adds a lot of dimension to this dial. Cool to look at, and will get some attention for sure.

The AVI-8 Hawker Harrier II case is 44mm in diameter and very nicely polished. The crown is located at the 2 0’clock position with a star on it. That star represents the insignia that the US Air Force uses to mark its namesake aircraft. Two sapphire crystals are used, one for the dial, and the other for the exhibition case back. Water resistance is 165ft, which is fine, since this is not made for the water.

AVI-8 uses a Japanese Automatic movement with 2 hands with a 24 hour sub dial and and small seconds sub dual. The exhibition case back does not really show the movement itself since all you can see is the rotor. In this case, that’s a good thing. The rotor represents the turbine used on the Hawker Harrier. This is a really look cool.

This model of the AVI-8 Hawker Harrier II came with a this green, genuine leather strap. This was already very soft and very comfortable to wear. The bucket is signed with AVI-8 and is done in a brushed finish. That green finish has a sort of vintage military look to it. Very nice.

Avi-8 chose to only Swiss Luminous on the first third of the dial. Kind of odd, yet kind of cool. Along with that, the hour and minute hands have Swiss Luminous applied. The lume does last for a long time and the glow is bright.

Although I am not a major aviation watch guy, I really like the look of this AVI-8 Hawker Harrier II Ace of Spades. It’s unique and well made and could be worn every day. For a price of $373.70 you good a pretty cool automatic watch, with character. If you like what you see, go check this out at avi-8.co.uk.

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