We cherry picked the best two color Aerotec Ace Pilot watches, the vintage brown and vintage blue, and purchased all of the remaining stock of these phenomenal CuSn8 bronze watches.
Why We Love This Watch
This 40mm Aerotec Ace Vintage Blue is a fantastic cross between a bronze dive watch with a 200 meter water rating, (double that of many dive watches,) and a pilot watch with a lot of unique styling and wonderfully balanced design. At first glance, the soft sunburst blue dial catches your eye, and then you notice the subtle fume gradient effect, with a darker blue on the outer edge of the dial gradually transitioning to a lighter center core. This can add a feeling of depth which is accentuated by the high dome bubble of the sapphire crystal and curvature of the smooth bezel. Rather than ruining the play of light effect and noticeable symmetry of the dial, Aerotec have wisely opted to have no date window and equally sized cream-colored indices cut into the sandwich dial that works beautifully. Then you start to notice all of the little features, from the Aerotec logo as the 12 o'clock marker but with the triangle and two dots either side one finds in classic pilot watches, to the intriguing custom hour hand and handset choice. Rounding off the vintage look is a really nice pair of aged Italian leather straps with vintage-style stitching and an aged looking grain that can really nicely complement the bronze as it ages and darkens.
Spec-wise, everything seems just right too. The choice of bronze here is the most desirable of all, marine grade CuSn8 bronze, which is the preferred choice for some rich chocolate brown color when aging. The automatic movement is the ultra-reliable and robust Seiko NH38A with a 41 hour power reserve, a cousin of the better known NH35A, but with the change of not having a stop position for a date, so there is no ghost date position when adjusting the watch. It is great to see microbrands paying attention to details like this as we know ghost date positions can annoy many watch collectors. Lume-wise we have Swiss Super-LumiNova C3 lume that is bright and strongly applied, and the domed crystal is sapphire crystal, one of the hardest scratch resistant materials known to man. This is a watch that looks subtly different yet very stylish, that you can safely wear for life's daily adventures too. The quick release straps would make it very easy to switch over to 20mm tropic or NATO straps if you'd like to take advantage of the generous 200 meters of water resistance that this watch offers.
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Watch Specifications
- Reference: Aerotec Watches Vintage Blue Ace Pilot Watch.
- Type: Pilot Watch / Dive Watch / Microbrand Watch.
- Color Scheme: Blue dial with cream markings, bronze case, and brown straps.
- Water Resistance: 20 ATM / 200 meters / 660 feet.
- Diameter: 40mm, excluding crown.
- Lug-to-Lug Length: 47mm.
- Lug Width: 20mm.
- Height: 13mm, excluding sapphire crystal.
- Case: Marine grade solid CuSn8 bronze case.
- Case Back: Screw down marine grade 316L steel case back with engraving.
- Dial Type: Sunburst fume (gradient that is darker on the edges) sandwich dial.
- Dial Glass: High dome scratch resistant sapphire with anti-reflective coating.
- Bezel: Solid CuSn8 bronze bezel. (A dive timing bezel is not provided.)
- Lume: Swiss Super-LumiNova C3 lume.
- Straps Included: Brown aged Italian leather vintage-style straps with cream stitching, a quick release mechanism, and signed CuSn8 bronze buckle.
- Movement: 24 jewel Seiko NH38A automatic movement.
- Oscillation: 21,600 BPH, (6 ticks per second.)
- Hacks: Yes.
- Hand Winds: Yes.
- Automatic Winding: Yes.
- Power Reserve: Over 41 hours.
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 1 year.
