Introduced in 1969, the Flightmaster was squarely aimed at pilots, ironically the year Buzz Aldrin donned his Speedmaster over his spacesuit during his moonwalk. Neil Armstrong was rumoured to have left his Speedmaster in the lunar module as the mission timer failed.
The iconic case is large, enormously large for the late 60s and early 70s but was designed to be legible to pilots under all conditions. The case design is unusual insofar as it is machined from a single block of stainless steel that is pressed and tempered for maximum strength.
Unusually, the large case does not have exposed lugs instead opting for hidden lugs to form an elliptical shape to fit the contour of the wrist. An enclosed movable bezel, seven hands and five dials allows the pilot to set the chronograph.
The dial is set by colour coded auxiliary crowns on the left and pushers on the right controlling the chronograph and rotating bezel making the Flightmaster a GMT. Interestingly, the calibre 910 is based on the legendary Lemania manufactured calibre 861 movement as found in the Speedmaster.
For my views, the Flightmaster is very much late 60s and early 70s style and whilst I like retro, I don’t think the flightmaster is the style for me. The classic styled Speedmaster remained the timepiece of choice for aviators despite being specifically designed for flight.
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