While it pains me to say it, if it weren’t for war, the watches of today would be a lot less interesting. A number of the most celebrated watch designs and complications, including the dive watch, the pilot’s watch, and even the widespread adoption of the wristwatch itself, came about because of military innovation.
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One of the most complex complications that is associated with early military watches is the flyback chronograph, a complicated mechanism that allows one to instantly reset and restart a running chronograph with the press of a single pusher. The complication was invented by Longines for aviators in the 1920s but is most recognizable as the flagship feature of the Type XX pilot’s chronographs made by Breguet and others for the French military in the 1950s.
Today, the flyback chrono is considered a high-end complication and is most frequently seen on five-figure watches from the likes of Breguet, Patek Philippe and Zenith, with even the most affordable mechanical options from Longines costing over $4,000. That’s what makes Timex’s latest chronograph watch so special, as it features its own proprietary flyback complication and yet costs just $199.
Timex Waterbury Traditional Fly Back Chronograph
Specs
| Case Size | 43mm |
| Movement | Timex quartz flyback chronograph |
| Water Resistance | 100m |
A Touch of Real Military Heritage
Timex typically doesn’t share a ton of information about its movements, and that’s largely the case with the quartz engine inside the Waterbury Traditional Fly Back Chronograph. But one thing we do know about the movement is that it was developed exclusively for Timex in Pforzheim, Germany.
While Glashütte is the best-known center for German watchmaking and the home of luxury brands like A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte Original and Nomos, Pforzheim is the traditional home of German pilot’s watchmakers, including Laco and Stowa. This gives the movement inside the Timex a bit of actual historical prestige to go along with its impressive complications. And those complications are rather impressive.
Complicated, Quirky and Affordable
The movement inside the Waterbury Traditional Fly Back Chronograph may be battery-powered, but it’s still an impressive achievement. Not only is it a flyback chronograph — which, to be honest, would have been enough to impress me — but it also displays the chronograph time via a pair of retrograde subdials, another feature that’s normally seen on watches from very high-end brands, most notably Vacheron Constantin.
Those subdials track the chronograph minutes at 4 o’clock and the chronograph hours at 10 o’clock, respectively, and are in the decidedly unorthodox amounts of 10 minutes and 4 hours. The 10 o’clock register is especially impressive, as it doubles as a second time zone indicator when the chronograph isn’t running, effectively making this watch a GMT in addition to a flyback chrono. Finally, upping the quirkiness level even more, we have a date window shoehorned in at 2:30, a location I can’t recall ever seeing on another watch.
To sum up, we’re looking at a flyback chronograph with retrograde subdials, a dual-time indicator and a date. All of these complications in a mechanical watch would be astronomically expensive; we’re talking Patek Philippe Grande Complication levels of absurdity here. But because it’s quartz and a Timex, this crazy pilot’s watch costs just $199.
Timex, don’t ever change.
Timex Waterbury Traditional Fly Back Chronograph
One of Timex’s most ambitious models, this retro Waterbury chronograph features a proprietary flyback complication along with retrograde subdials, a second time zone indicator and a date.
Specs
| Case Size | 43mm |
| Movement | Timex quartz flyback chronograph |
| Water Resistance | 100m |
Pros
- A complex movement for the price
- Unique and interesting dial layout
- Impressive water resistance for a pilot’s chronograph
Cons
- Quite large at 43mm
- A 2:30 date window? What’s that about?
