If you recall from my prior post on the Archer Aero II, you’ll know that I quickly became a fan of the watch, and the service that the owner, Al, offers. And, at first glance, you might wonder why I’m featuring this pilot watch, as it’s not displaying any of the uniqueness that Iwas so fond of with the Aero II.
This watch is part of Archer’s Vintage collection. Where other brands may simply take that to mean “inspired by vintage watches”, Al is actually going a step further. He’s giving an extensive overhaul to one of three different Hamilton movements (917, 921, or 945), complete with the full documentation he provides with all his work. I like this primarily for two reasons:
- It’s putting a classic, and still fully functional, movement back into service, rather than relegating it to the scrap heap of history
- You’re getting “North American” watch, with American movement and Canadian manufacture
Of course, it also helps that this is another visually stunning (and clean) watch. You have a 42mm stainless steel case (11mm thick) with a bead-blasted finish, with sapphire crystals in the front and back (the front crystal has AR coating). The large crown should make for easy winding, and you have your choice of black or brown leather straps to have slipped in between the 22mm lugs. Oh! And the whole thing is WR to 50m, so your vintage movement is well protected.
Pricing isn’t as straightforward on these, as I imagine that it’s rather dependent on which of three movements you would want included in the watch. However, drop a line to Al (the contact info is on the Vintage page), and you should be able to get the ball rolling pretty easily.
