Tutima Glashütte Grand Flieger Airport Chronograph

The tradition of crafting seamless pieces of machinery has been prevalent in Germany for decades. During the Second World War, Tutima were preparing heavy-duty chronographs for the Luftwaffe, the combat aviation wing of Germany. The first chronograph to hit the civilian market was during the 1940s. Taking its inspiration from the same chronograph, the present-day Tutima Glashütte Grand Flieger collection is a more robust reinterpretation of the B-Uhr watches prevalent during the Great War.

Features

Known for keeping tradition and heritage alive, Tutima decided to fill in modern design cues inside the Grand Flieger watches. The staple of a traditional pilot’s watch, bold Arabic numeral hour markers, can be seen on the dial. Additionally, features such as sword hands with smooth bi-directional rotating bezel with ceramic inserts are the modern touches provided to the Grand Flieger. Some Grand Flieger features a day/date window at the three without disrupting the clean configuration of the dial. Moreover, the barrel-shaped crown with ridges adds to the practicality as it can be used efficiently with pilot’s gloves. The Grand Flieger collection also provides a water-resistance capability of 200 metres.

Iterations

The Grand Flieger collection consists of two series: the Grand Flieger Airport and Grand Flieger Classic. The Grand Flieger Classic closely resembles a 1940s chronograph, offering both simple timekeeping and complex chronograph functions. The classic design includes a red mark on the 12 o'clock marker, paying homage to the first chronograph created by Tutima. Additionally, the cathedral hands and large hour markers dominate the dial. The chronograph iteration features horizontally stacked sub-dials and a small seconds sub-dial at nine, along with a date window at three. In contrast, the Flieger Airport is a refined variant of the Flieger classic, lacking Roman numerals and the triangular marker whilst featuring a ceramic bezel.