When I looked at the design of the new Wingman chronograph for sale on Kickstarter, I was taken with the simplicity of the design, and it looked like it was comfortable to wear. When I read the “story” behind the watch, I re-read the same thing I read over and over again with crowd funded watches, countless hours spent designing a quality watch that would be affordable, yadda, yadda, yadda. Then I got to the t-shirt they are selling. “…we only had 2 requirements: Have a simple design; Make it ridiculously comfortable.” To me, this should have been the guiding principle behind the Wingman Watches Aviation designs, because that is what I see when I look at the watch.
The watches come in three flavors (above), the blue dialed Patriot, the black on black (PVD case) Defender, and the black on stainless Classic. All three watches use the Miyota OS20 quartz chronograph movement; have 100 meters of water resistance; and an A/R coated sapphire crystals, a nice touch at this price point. The 44mm case is only 10mm thick, which is pretty slim for a chronograph. The design drawings evoke a bit more of an aviation look than the final products do (because of the riveted straps that did not get carried over to the final design), but the ubiquitous triangle and two dots are there at 12:00, though a bit smaller than one would see on other aviation watches.
I will toss in the standard crowd funding warning here (you are funding product development, not a product, things can change, and projects do fail…), but the creators worked with another watchmaker that we know well (the developers are not advertising the connection, so I don’t want to name them), so this is a product that is well along in the development cycle and should (key word there) be able to hit production without too many hiccups. It is worth noting that our friends over at Smith & Bradley are the ones behind the build of these watches.
Size wise, it is in a good sweet spot for me, though the larger case does mean that the chrono eyes get a bit crowded on the dial. The early birds were snapped up quick at $249, so the deal was extended (twice now), with a few of these still remaining (as of this writing). Once these are gone, the price jumps up $30 to $279. If you are dying for one of the production samples, and one that has hit the sound barrier at that, it is available for $1,499. The project has already passed its initial funding goal, and is tracking to be quite a popular project. wingman-watches-classic-aviation-design
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: Wingman Watches Aviation
- Price: $249 – $279 (depending on timing)
- Who we think it might be for: You want a cross between a sporty watch and a dressy watch.
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: Not really. It is OK, but I am buying quartz watches these days.
- If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: A movement that pushes the subdials out a bit more to take advantage of the real estate on the dial.
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: The Patriot is eye catching in blue.
Tech Specs from Wingman Watches
- Movement: Miyota OS20 quartz
- Functions: 24-hour chronograph
- Case: Stainless Steel
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal
- Water resistance: 100 meters
- Lug width: 22mm
- Straps: Leather with contrasting stitching
- Diameter: 44 mm
- Case Height: 10 mm
