Recently, Omega unexpectedly launched the mysterious pilot watch, the Speedmaster Pilot, which utilizes the rich experience of making moonwatches to once again soar into the skies. The resulting Speedmaster Pilot watch inherently instills confidence, and it is said that before its official market release, this watch was made for specific military units. Therefore, it is more than capable of meeting the demands of daily life. However, when it comes to “Pilot” watches in the watch industry, ZENITH, the brand that is the sole owner of the right to use the word “Pilot” on its dial (first to register, first to win), cannot be overlooked. They also recently launched a redesigned Pilot series, attracting watch enthusiasts with a more rugged and modern style. Both of these automatic winding, chronograph-equipped pilot watches have their own unique features. But what are their special characteristics and what highlights do they have in terms of specifications? Let’s explore.
OMEGA Speedmaster Pilot
The Speedmaster originally originated in the field of car racing. In the mid-20th century, it was selected by NASA due to its excellent quality and was subsequently worn in space, thus transforming it from a regular racing watch into a “moonwatch”. In fact, during the period when Omega’s Speedmaster series was in space, the Flightmaster, a watch with a distinct aviator watch heritage, was born in the late 1960s. In modern times, Omega based on the Speedmaster series, especially the first Speedmaster watch from 1957, and drawing inspiration from the Flightmaster, created their latest aviator watch. The familiar yet novel design of the watch fills the gap between Omega’s watches on land and in space.
The stainless steel case and bracelet of the Speedmaster Pilot are all matte-finished to avoid reflection and affecting the pilot’s vision during flight.
Derived from the Speedmaster series, the appearance of the Speedmaster Pilot gives a sense of familiarity. Similar to the moonwatch, the stainless steel case of the Speedmaster Pilot is matte-finished, making the watch appear more low-key and less prone to showing scratches and hairline marks. The key point is that the matte texture does not cause reflection that could affect the wearer’s vision when the pilot is actually wearing it. This model adheres to the series tradition and features a tachymeter scale on the black aluminum bezel. Apart from the orange “TACHYMETRE BASE 1000” ，which is a design related to the Flightmaster, the bezel is largely a replica of the Speedmaster series, even inheriting the “dot above 90” design. The know-how of Omega’s research and development of space chronometers is introduced into this aviator watch, seamlessly laying a good foundation for its universality.
The dial is based on the two-eye layout of the first Speedmaster watch, but the color scheme logic incorporates ingenious ideas from the Flightmaster.
The dial of this new member of the Speedmaster series is both similar and different from the moonwatch and the past Flightmaster that we are familiar with. In terms of layout, it is similar to the Speedmaster ’57, but the color scheme and details on the dial are inherited from Omega’s early aviator watches, equivalent to a combination of the achievements of past and modern works in one watch. The dial is decorated with a matte black grained finish, paired with silver-based black scales on the periphery of the dial. The orange elements such as the tips of the hour markers, the tip of the central chronograph seconds hand shaped like an aircraft tail wing, and the 3 o’clock chronograph minute hand all reveal the creative concept related to the Flightmaster. Additionally, the hour markers and sword-shaped hour and minute hands are fully coated with Super-LumiNova coating. It is conceivable that its time display function is not greatly affected in the dark environment of the cockpit. The most notable design on the entire dial is the small seconds sub-dial at 9 o’clock. Its blue, black, and yellow color combination outlines a unique three-sectioned area. Omega was inspired by the cockpit sight and applied this ingenious idea related to aviator watches to the small seconds sub-dial, and paired it with a bright yellow hand, allowing one to particularly feel the rhythm of time passing.
The back of the watch features the more traditional seahorse pattern of the Speedmaster series, with the waterproof performance engraved below. The internal 9900 Master Chronometer Certified movement ensures top-notch quality.
The back of the watch directly uses a solid caseback with the seahorse emblem pattern. While it is called a retro design, it essentially deprives the opportunity to admire the movement. The 9900 movement inside the Speedmaster Pilot directly inherits from the Racing chronograph in the “two sub-dial” models of the Speedmaster. It replaces key components of the regulating escapement, such as the hairspring and wheel axles, with non-ferrous materials, enabling the watch to have an ultra-high anti-magnetic ability of over 15,000 Gauss without the need for a soft iron inner case. The Master Chronometer Certification it has passed is a standard jointly developed by OMEGA and the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS). Simply put, it adds anti-magnetic performance on top of the chronometer certification. The high threshold makes it an exception in the watch industry. The power reserve of the movement reaching 60 hours is also quite practical. Wearing it daily and relying on the automatic rotor to replenish the energy ensures the reserve for wearing it again after a few days. It’s a pity that there is no transparent caseback, so the watch owner has no chance to see the movement components such as the baseplate, the Arabic Geneva waves on the automatic rotor, and the polishing work of more components. This indeed has an impact on mechanical watch purists when they decide whether to purchase it.
ZENITH Pilot Big Date Flyback
The previous generation of Zenith’s Pilot series underwent a major facelift in 2023 after its redesign in 2013. Zenith has a long history of manufacturing aviation instruments for the air force since the early 20th century and developed and registered the Pilot watch series in the mid-20th century. Therefore, it is one of the veteran brands in creating aviator watches in the watch industry. Remember that the previous generation of Zenith’s Pilot series followed a retro style, clearly inspired by the early Zenith aviator watch worn by French aviator Louis Blériot when he crossed the English Channel in 1909. In 2023, after the redesign, Zenith almost started anew. Apart from being called the Pilot series, the designs of the new and old generations are significantly different.
The Pilot Big Date Flyback incorporates a strap quick-release system. Besides the black rubber strap, you can also switch to a brown leather strap at any time.
The radically redesigned Pilot Big Date Flyback presents a more modern look. Its lugs have become thicker, the bezel has flattened, and the main components of the case are mainly brushed to conform to the sporty nature of the watch. Additionally, the retro onion-shaped large crown of the series is no longer present. Zenith still maintains the idea of making the crown large, but the new crown shape is also flatter, and the side grooves have become deeper and thicker, still designed for convenient operation even when wearing the watch. Compared to the previous generation of Pilot watches that often came with leather straps, the new generation emphasizes sportiness and switches to a black Cordura-effect rubber strap. However, if you prefer a retro style, the quick-release system of this watch is a very thoughtful design. Moreover, Zenith also provides an additional brown calfskin strap, allowing for an effortless switch between modern and classic styles.
The dial of Zenith’s new generation Pilot series has undergone a major transformation, featuring horizontal stripes, and the hour markers and hands are significantly different from the previous generation. Additionally, the three colors of the 30-minute chronograph sub-dial are modeled after the past El Primero Rainbow.
In the past, the dial of the Pilot aviator watch was dominated by two key elements: the large Arabic numeral hour markers and retro hands inspired by the watch worn by Louis Blériot and the classic Type 20 aviator watch from the 1930s. With the development of the new version, the aforementioned two elements are no longer present. Instead, Zenith has surprisingly placed a three-dimensional horizontal striped decorative dial (which at first glance somewhat resembles a RIMOWA suitcase). Coupled with the large Arabic numeral hour markers and large date display that follow the large-scale route, as well as the distinct design of the red-coated chronograph seconds hand and chronograph minute hand, all these elements give the watch dial a brand-new identification feature. Interestingly, the scale of the chronograph minute sub-dial at 3 o’clock is decorated with three colors: green, yellow, and blue. This, along with the aforementioned red hand design, clearly pays homage to the El Primero Flyback Rainbow launched by Zenith in the late 1990s. Therefore, it is not entirely accurate to say that the watch is purely modern in design, as it still cleverly incorporates elements of ZENITH’s past classic designs, maintaining familiar memories amid the novelty.
The El Primero 3652 movement inside the watch features an artificial horizon-style automatic rotor with a 5Hz vibration frequency, which is Zenith’s renowned high-frequency design.
One of the highlights of the Pilot Big Date Flyback compared to the previous generation is the change to a transparent caseback on the back, allowing the internal El Primero high-frequency movement to finally be exposed. The El Primero 3652 is a chronograph movement with a flyback function. Therefore, when calculating consecutive events, it eliminates the steps of having to stop – reset – and then start again, enabling a more immediate grasp of the time pulse, which is crucial for aviators. Under the transparent caseback, the black-plated “artificial horizon” style automatic rotor adopted by the movement in response to the heritage of aviator watches exudes the family characteristics of the new generation of the Pilot series. Under the largely skeletonized automatic rotor, the structure composed of up to 303 components of the movement is clearly visible. You will easily notice that its column wheel is plated with blue, and the escapement system also contains modern technological silicon materials to enhance the durability and anti-magnetic performance of the movement. Additionally, the movement incorporates a patented mechanism developed by ZENITH, which helps the two discs of the large date display to synchronize and remain stable within 0.03 seconds. Moreover, its power reserve of 60 hours is also above average.
OMEGA Speedmaster Pilot
Stainless steel material / 9900 automatic winding movement / Hours, minutes, small seconds, date display / Chronograph function / Sapphire crystal mirror / Waterproof to 100 meters / Dial diameter 40.85mm / Reference price: NT$ 313,000
ZENITH Pilot Big Date Flyback
Stainless steel material / El Primero 3652 automatic winding movement / Hours, minutes, small seconds, large date display / Chronograph function / Sapphire crystal mirror, transparent caseback / Waterproof to 100 meters / Dial diameter 42.5mm / Reference price: NT$ 414,900
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