Pilot's Archives - The Truth About Watches

August 2, 2021 Oscar Klosoff

Legacy Flight Hours Review

Remember analog car odometers? Back in the day, everything from cassette recorders to pedometers used tumbling counters. In TV and movies, whenever an airplane faced impending doom, there’d be a close-up of the digital altimeter counting down. Never mind that the first two numbers are actually ascending, the Pavlovian response is clear: the passengers are all going to crash and die. Trying to set the time on the Legacy Flight Hours left me with a similar sense of foreboding . . .

March 1, 2021 William Door

Sinn 105 Design Analysis

There are three reasons why Sinn’s carved out a special place in the traditional watch market. First, they’re German. The now-unified nation has a well-deserved reputation for precision instruments, from fine watches (A. Lange & Sohne) to luxury automobiles (Mercedes). Second, Sinn is a privately owned, independent watchmaker. They’re not chasing market share at the expense of quality. Third, Sinn has a distinct design philosophy. Their tool watches are easy to spot, easy to own. The Sinn 105 rests on this bedrock, but it’s not without its faults. But first, a little context . . .

February 11, 2021 Robert Farago

New Watch Alert: BALL, Longines, Bulova

BALL Roadmaster TMT Ceramic – $2,149 (pre-order) I’ve consistently argued that the tourbillon is watchmaking’s most useless – if awesome – complication. A watch mounted thermometer runs a close second – unless you’re a hypothermia-averse polar explorer or ice fisher. Props to BALL for being new watch alert enough to know that making a better watch isn’t the key to competing against Rolex, OMEGA, et al. It’s making something different. And here it is. “Distinctive enough” to forgive the BALL Roadmaster TNT Ceramic’s “unique” date window position? . . .

February 9, 2021 Robert Farago

Sinn EZM 3 F Full Review

According to watchbuys.com, the Sinn’s EZM series was “designed for the German Special Forces, including the German equivalents of SWAT, Customs, FBI, helicopter police, GSG 9, Navy Seals, federal police, Autobahn physicians and other elite units.” Autobahn physicians? I’m not sure why treating victims of a 200mph car crash requires a particularly hardy timepiece, but sure. EZM’s are tough. Some tougher than others. In fact the EZM 3 F doesn’t . . .

January 26, 2021 Robert Farago

New Watch Alert: Hublot, MB&F, IWC

Hublot Big Bang MP-11 Magic Gold LE – $89,500 New watch alert! It’s LVMH new product week! The usual suspects have the news on all the new products. I’ve chosen the ugliest of the bunch, obviously. I mean, I’ve never seen a watch that makes such a big deal of its power reserve. Does anyone really care, to the point where the dial looks like an afterthought? I guess so; the 45mm Big Bang MP-11 Magic Gold is the [you-guessed-it] gold version of a watch previously released with a red ceramic case. The “magic” in the title refers to . . .