No listing of historic and significant timepieces would be complete if it didn?t fly into the realm of pilot?s watches. From the Longines Weems Second-Setting and Lindbergh Hour Angle, to Zenith and Breguet Type XX aviators’ watches, to the Breitling Navitimer ? the history of watches (and really, the history of the world as we know it) would simply not be same if it wasn?t for the development and use of some of these pieces. And this is without even mentioning what is arguably the most famous and influential of all pilot?s watch designs: the B-Uhr style, which finds its contemporaries in the IWC Big Pilot, Stowa Flieger, and countless other watches ranging in price from $10 to $10,000 and beyond.

The appeal of these timepieces is obvious: most famed pilots’ watches were at one point or another commissioned by some significant military unit, or ? as in the case of the Cartier Santos ? played some special role in the history of aviation. Yet, for all the inherent appeal of many vintage-style pilots, not all watches are created equal ? and many beautifully designed and well-constructed pieces that have held some place in history don?t always earn the same recognition as the biggest players in the genre.
The modern Junghans Meister Pilot is based on one of these watches, the Junghans J88 Bundeswher Fliegeruhr (see above, photo courtesy of FratelloWatches). The original piece was developed in 1955 for the newly-established West German military (the Bundeswehr),...