Ticino 44mm Pilot Watch
I did a lot of research before I purchased the Ticino Pilots’s watch and had a fairly strict set of criteria of what I wanted from my new watch:
- German WWII Aviator Styling
- Sub 44mm case size
- Automatic or hand wind movement
- Stainless steel case
- Sapphire glass
- Anti-reflective coating
- See through back
- Leather Strap
- Must be sub £150.
This was quite a tall order I felt and was surprised, after some digging around forum sites, that I came across the Ticino on eBay. From a specification standpoint it ticked all the boxes. The movement is a Seagull TY3600-2B hand wind movement.
I could only find one or two decent reviews of the branch which suggested that it was a good not necessarily great timepiece. In view of the fantastic price I decided to pull the trigger on eBay and after around 4 days for the watch to arrive in the UK from the US and a few days in customs I eventually collected the package from the post office around 2 months ago and have been wearing it daily since.
I have to say that my expectations were fairly low when I got the watch and I have to say that I have been more that pleasantly surprised.
Overall the watch seems really well put together with a nice heft to the casework, fantastic sapphire glass, a nice relatively uncluttered face and a nice view of the movement on the back. The strap, despite other comments is pretty decent too. It is stiff when first worn but it is better and more pliable a couple of months down the line.
It also keeps time as well if not better than any of the other mechanical watches I have owned from Seiko to Omega to Rolex. I have not done any specific tests to be able to provide a +/- figure (I haven’t the time or the inclination to do this) but when checking the time against my phone it always seems spot on.
Downsides? Well only one. The lume. Despite what the spec suggests (C1 Superluminova) this is not the best and very quickly loses it’s charge over half an hour or so. You also have to hold it under a bright light to give it a good charge. This is far from a deal breaker but if this is important to you worth bearing in mind.
All in all I am very, very happy with this watch. It looks and feels the part and for the money it is a stone cold bargain. I have shown it to a few friend and family and asked them to guess the price. Each one said they thought I had paid around £500+ for the watch. When I told them the actual price they were stunned.
I would love to try the Chronograph now. That looks like another great timepiece.
If you are in the market for a highly specified, superbly built watch you would have to spend a great deal more, I feel, to better this.
robmoores1 