Under the Wing of an Airplane: Iron Annie Review 51565_ia

Wrist Watch

In recent years, “aviation” watches have regained popularity, pushing the “diving” models on the market, which were so in demand at the beginning of the XNUMXs. "Aviators" are valued for excellent readability and a special utilitarian aesthetics.

Interestingly, the appearance of the first wrist and pilot's watches coincided. More precisely, the first pilot's watches popularized the wristwatch format. This became possible thanks to the friendship between the watchmaker-jeweler Louis Cartier and the famous 1901th-century record-breaking pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont. So in early 100, having received a prize of 1904 thousand francs for another airship flight record, Alberto complained to Louis Cartier that it was extremely inconvenient to use pocket watches during the flight, because you had to constantly control the movement of the airship. It took Cartier three years to solve this problem, and in XNUMX the first wrist watch appeared on the market, which made a real revolution in the watch industry.

At first, the "aviators" were quite massive (with a case diameter of about 50-55 mm), because watchmakers used pocket watch calibers for them. Ears were attached to the cases, to which a wide leather strap was attached. It was made long enough that the watch could be worn directly over the sleeve of a pilot's leather jacket. And so that the pilot could read the time at a glance, they used the most contrasting dials, hands and hour markers.

As a rule, the dial was made black or white, and the hands and marks were white or black. They were also covered with a luminous compound so that they were clearly visible at night. An anti-reflective coating was applied to the glass to keep the hands visible even in bright sunlight.

The caliber was shielded with special metal elements to provide protection from magnetic fields. And in order to correct discrepancies in time, the mechanisms were created in such a way that, by pulling the crown, it was possible to stop the central second hand. To do this, the crowns were made large enough so that it was convenient for pilots to handle them with leather gloves ...

Even 20-25 years ago, watch companies that produced "aviator" models could be counted on the fingers. The fact was that the high requirements for the functionality of such watches severely limited the possibilities of designers, and the demand was not great. The situation changed dramatically in 2003, when the 100th anniversary of aviation was celebrated and most of the famous brands released replicas of their pilot watches, produced by them in the first half of the XNUMXth century. Limited editions of such watches were sold out in just a few weeks, and watch manufactories were surprised to find a new market segment with great potential demand.

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As a result, as part of the trend for stylish brutality “a-la pilot” (slightly unshaven, a short worn pilot jacket made of coarse leather and a white silk scarf), “aviator” models turned out to be very popular with the public.

Iron Annie

The history of the Iron Annie brand began back in 1987, when the enthusiastic entrepreneur Willy Burke founded his watch company POINTtec in Germany. Willy did not pay attention to the canons of watchmaking and relied on shocking. His women's watches with large cases (48 mm) made a lot of noise and drew the attention of the public to an ambitious newcomer.

One of the brands was Iron Annie, named after the unique Luftwaffe bomber aircraft of the 1930s, the Junkers-52. This "Junkers" was a model of reliability and reliability of German industry. Designers in their work on watch collections were inspired by the shape of the aircraft and its cockpit instruments.

A model from the Flight Control collection was brought to me for testing in a stylish, concise box. The watch is placed on a metal substrate imitating Junkers-52 corrugated duralumin casing. A bright detail that bridges the gap between history and modernity. I liked the fact that the Flight Control collection has many "aviator" models for every taste - from the "classic" Flieger three-handers to chronographs, no date and big date, with quartz or automatic movements (from Sellita or ETA). The classic Flieger (“aviator” in German) have many features in common with the “aviator” models of IWC, Zenith, Archimede, Stowa and others, but differ from the above in an attractive price and bright recognizable features.

This model has a creamy white Superluminova luminous dial with black hour markers and hands, and a wide leather strap. A very cool watch that is comfortable to wear even at night, because the data from them is perfectly readable. Their bluish glow in the dark lasts about 4 hours, which not all similar models can boast of.

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By the way, this is the rare case when the watch in reality looks much better than in the photographs. When you hold it in your hands, you can see the amazing finish of this watch, the sharp edges of the case, the polished bevels on the sides and the clear print of the dial. The only moment that introduced a slight dissonance into the overall picture is the date window. Yes, it is located in the right place and emphasizes the symmetry of the dial (unlike the frequent cases when the date is at 3 o'clock), but it is too small and even contrasting black and white numbers do not save the situation.

The body of the model is made of 316L stainless steel. Case diameter 42 mm (46,5 mm with crown), thickness 12 mm, lug to lug 52 mm, lug width 22 mm. I find these to be the perfect size for today's aviators and for everyday comfort, although I still love my Zeno Big Pilot (54mm diameter).

At 3 o'clock, the model has a large cone-shaped crown. It is very typical of the Flieger model and very easy to use. A slightly domed sapphire crystal is set on top, and a glass of the same material, but flat, is placed on the case back. Behind it you can see the rotor of the automatic movement ETA 2824-2.

Water resistance is 50 m (5 ATM), which is quite enough for a pilot's watch. Swimming in the pool with them is not worth it, but they will withstand rain and falling into the water without any problems.

The dial of the model is made according to all Flieger standards - no applied marks, only printing. On the outer edge of the dial there are marks of the "minute" track, and inside - the "hour" track. As you understand, minutes are much more important for pilots than hours. Moreover, the length of each arrow coincides with the radius of each track, which is very convenient. The Iron Annie logo is applied at 12 o'clock.

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Inside the case of this model, either ETA 2824-2 is installed (as in the watch that I had on the test), or Sellita SW200. There is practically no difference between them, because in general this is the same movement, made in Switzerland, only by two different manufacturers. To be honest, it's hard for me to say which of the mechanisms is better, so it's a matter of taste. "Purists" prefer ETA, as the ancestor mechanism, others - Sellita.

In Sellita, by the way, there is one more "stone" if it is important for someone. They say that this was done to reduce friction losses during self-winding, but in fact, most likely, to at least something different from the prototype. Both of these movements are good in that they can be tuned to the level of a chronometer according to the COSC criteria. The level of their quality is evidenced by the fact that such calibers are used by many brands, including Longines, Tissot, Hamilton, Bell & Ross, Oris, etc.

The handmade watch strap is made of brown calfskin with a vintage look. It has white contrast stitching on the lugs and ends. The Iron Annie logo is engraved on the classic metal clasp. I want to warn you that the leather of the strap is hard at first, but after 2-3 days it becomes softer and sits perfectly on the wrist. The watch is very comfortable to wear. The strap tapers nicely from 22mm at the lugs to 20mm at the ends.

In summary, I want to say that the model is perfectly made (in Germany), has a sapphire crystal on both sides and a stylish leather strap. Pairs well with both smart casual and business attire. And its retro chic will add a bright zest to your look.

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