The most imitated pilot watch is the Beobachtungsuhr (“observation watch”, B-Uhr in German), ordered by the German air force in the late 1930s for its navigators. It was 55 mm across, worn over the jacket sleeve, and five makers built it: Laco, Stowa, Wempe, A. Lange & Söhne and IWC. Laco still makes it in Pforzheim.
Type A and type B
- Type A (Baumuster A): numerals 1 to 12, a triangle with two dots at 12 and minutes marked around the edge. It reads like an ordinary watch.
- Type B (Baumuster B, from 1941): large minutes on the outer ring and the hours on a smaller inner ring. Designed so the navigator could read minutes and seconds at a glance.
Both share a matt black dial, luminous sword hands and a large onion crown that can be turned with gloves on.
Other pilot styles
Not every pilot watch is German. The Glycine Airman of 1953 has a 24-hour dial to tell day from night on long flights. American field watches of the same period share the black dial and big numerals. Today’s versions have shrunk to 39–42 mm for everyday wear.
The pilot watches in the catalogue
If you like the style, see the Laco page and the pilot watches list too.