Teddy Baldassarre
Flieger Watches: A Brief History and 14 Modern Fliegers from Entry-Lev
“Flieger” is the German word for “flier” - contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, it’s not the direct translation of “pilot” (that would actually be “pilot”) - and if you’re a traveler visiting Germany, it’s a helpful word to know, as it helps to understand other related terms: German airlines call their flights “flugs” and Germany calls its airports “flughafens.” Flieger is also the term that’s been widely adopted as shorthand for a specific style of pilot’s watch - one that traces its origins to World War II and which is still popular among an avid group of watch enthusiasts today. Flieger watches trace their origins to a type of timekeeper developed in the 1930s for German military aviators called the B-Uhr, short for Beobachtungs-Uhren, which translates to “observation watches.” B-Uhr watches, the first of which were property of the German government rather than the Luftwaffe pilots who wore them, adhered to strict specifications. Their cases were enormous for a wrist-borne watch at the time, at 55mm in diameter, and they accordingly housed movements that were originally made for pocket watches. These movements all incorporated the mission-critical hacking seconds function and were protected from magnetism by soft iron inner cages to ensure their functionality in an airplane cockpit. The dials were designed to be ultra-readable, with large white Arabic numerals on an expansive black background and flame-blued, luminou...
