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If you thought the Rolex was the first Swiss watch company to produce an aviator’s GMT watch with a 24 hour rotating bezel, you would be mistaken. Instead it was a little known company called Glycine who beat out Rolex by about a year in 1953. I found the history of the first Glycine Airman very interesting, you can read more in the links I’ve included.
https://www.timepiecechronicle.com/...Glycine released the,was not destined to soar.
I’ve seen these watches off and on over the years and always found them to be attractive but never got around to actually owning one until now. There is a fundamental feature on many of them that I never quite appreciated - initially they were only available as “Purist” models, meaning the dial had 24 hour indices and the hour hand rotated only once in a 24 hour period. Many other GMT type watches use this convention, but it can take some getting used to. Glancing at your watch hands on a Purist watch and knowing the time intuitively requires some mental translating at first, like when you learn a new language. Glycine eventually conceded to making models in which the hour hand rotates twice in a 24 hour period. Another trademark characteristic of the Airman is the locking bezel crown which lets you fix the bezel at intermediate settings to cover all time zones, even the odd ones that don’t match up on the hour.
Glycine has been making the Airman line of watches continuously since their initial release and there are quite a few different models available. If you are seriously interested in owning one, you should carefully research the model’s features and make sure you know what you are buying. If the model is listed as “Purist”, the hour hand is going to rotate once in 24 hours. Also if it has a GMT hand, on most models the hour hand will rotate twice in 24 hours. Their current models use a GL293 movement, which is a Selitta 330-1 (2893-2). The company was bought by Invicta in 2016, but the Glycine CEO has vowed to keep production separate, this was merely a financial decision.
Here’s a pic of the first Glycine Airman. It was a Purist model with no GMT hand.
A few years ago the company re-released several vintage models and the accuracy to the first models is amazing. I was really torn between one of these models and the contemporary one I ended up with. I may still pick up one of these too. The black dial one is not a Purist model - note the 12 at 12 o'clock. This one is still on my list!
In the end, the two color gradient dial and modern look drove my purchase decision to the Airman World Timer. It is available in 42, 44, and 46mm, and with two different SS bracelets or a leather strap. Retail price on these can reach $3K but they can be found easily at quite deep discounts. An SW-330-1 movement alone can run $300, so finding one of these watches at $400 - $600 is a great bargain IMO.
I got the 44mm one - the lugs are very long but they are curved down nicely to hug your wrist and the watch is very thin at about 12mm so it doesn’t feel like a DSSD or a Yachtmaster II. I have already ordered a nice thick navy blue croc strap for it. I don’t like the bracelet as much as I thought I would. The crystal is a slightly domed sapphire with triple AR on the underside and it has a sapphire display caseback as well.
Here are some links you might find interesting
https://watchranker.com/glycine-watch-reviews/
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/t...tingly,presented to an international audience.
This link contains a posting of a book written about the Airman, and shows probably all of the historical models - a MUST SEE if you like these models at all!
https://watchintyme.com/forum/watch...8-glycine-airman-a-24-hour-timeline-of-flight
This link shows all the current models still in production
https://glycine-watch.ch/collection/airman/
Thanks for looking!
https://www.timepiecechronicle.com/...Glycine released the,was not destined to soar.
I’ve seen these watches off and on over the years and always found them to be attractive but never got around to actually owning one until now. There is a fundamental feature on many of them that I never quite appreciated - initially they were only available as “Purist” models, meaning the dial had 24 hour indices and the hour hand rotated only once in a 24 hour period. Many other GMT type watches use this convention, but it can take some getting used to. Glancing at your watch hands on a Purist watch and knowing the time intuitively requires some mental translating at first, like when you learn a new language. Glycine eventually conceded to making models in which the hour hand rotates twice in a 24 hour period. Another trademark characteristic of the Airman is the locking bezel crown which lets you fix the bezel at intermediate settings to cover all time zones, even the odd ones that don’t match up on the hour.
Glycine has been making the Airman line of watches continuously since their initial release and there are quite a few different models available. If you are seriously interested in owning one, you should carefully research the model’s features and make sure you know what you are buying. If the model is listed as “Purist”, the hour hand is going to rotate once in 24 hours. Also if it has a GMT hand, on most models the hour hand will rotate twice in 24 hours. Their current models use a GL293 movement, which is a Selitta 330-1 (2893-2). The company was bought by Invicta in 2016, but the Glycine CEO has vowed to keep production separate, this was merely a financial decision.
Here’s a pic of the first Glycine Airman. It was a Purist model with no GMT hand.
A few years ago the company re-released several vintage models and the accuracy to the first models is amazing. I was really torn between one of these models and the contemporary one I ended up with. I may still pick up one of these too. The black dial one is not a Purist model - note the 12 at 12 o'clock. This one is still on my list!
In the end, the two color gradient dial and modern look drove my purchase decision to the Airman World Timer. It is available in 42, 44, and 46mm, and with two different SS bracelets or a leather strap. Retail price on these can reach $3K but they can be found easily at quite deep discounts. An SW-330-1 movement alone can run $300, so finding one of these watches at $400 - $600 is a great bargain IMO.
I got the 44mm one - the lugs are very long but they are curved down nicely to hug your wrist and the watch is very thin at about 12mm so it doesn’t feel like a DSSD or a Yachtmaster II. I have already ordered a nice thick navy blue croc strap for it. I don’t like the bracelet as much as I thought I would. The crystal is a slightly domed sapphire with triple AR on the underside and it has a sapphire display caseback as well.
Here are some links you might find interesting
https://watchranker.com/glycine-watch-reviews/
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/t...tingly,presented to an international audience.
This link contains a posting of a book written about the Airman, and shows probably all of the historical models - a MUST SEE if you like these models at all!
https://watchintyme.com/forum/watch...8-glycine-airman-a-24-hour-timeline-of-flight
This link shows all the current models still in production
https://glycine-watch.ch/collection/airman/
Thanks for looking!
