# Torgoen T51 Review: Everyday life with the P51-faced pilot watch



## blucupp

You put a lot of work into this review. 
👍


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## Ron From Texas

It's a nice watch, but is anyone really going to use it for aircraft navigation? Good review by the way.


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## or_rs

Ron From Texas said:


> but is anyone really going to use it for aircraft navigation?


Why not? the same as with any other watch... I doubt there is a special "pilot watch" nowadays


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## thirstcouture

Very nice watch


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## signum8

I like these pilot themed watches. this is very promising although the face has that "scratched" look, but I like the design. I might go for one if the time is right. Thanks for the review. How is it as far as seconds per month drift, and hitting the second marks?

I have an old A10 Waltham cockpit clock. I guess that's was the true Pilot's watch


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## gdan1926

Thanks for this very well written and interesting review! Nice to see a Torgoen being written about in a compelling way. I like this watch's connection with the iconic P-51. Well done Torgoen! Good luck with your new (to you) Land Rover, Basem!


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## rickpal14

Thanks for the great review! I actually met the Executive Vice President of E.Gluck on a flight into NYC last week. We had a wonderful discussion on our passion for watches (of course!). One of the first things he mentioned was the LE T51 line. I was familiar was Torgoen and had even contemplated adding a couple to the collection over the years, but a few years ago as my collection grew, I had decided to concentrate on acquiring my higher-end grails. Well, we all know how that works! I will be adding a couple Torgeons to the rotation this month, including the T51. Looking forward to enjoying some wrist time with my new Torgeons!!


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## MikeBanzai

Is this a paid review?

Beyond that: of course you can’t make everyone happy…if you could, you'd have the best selling watch in the world. That said…

I love the idea of owning a watch in which the dial is an aircraft skin. As a pilot, this is right up my alley. I also love GMT watches.

However, the only GMT watch I ever disliked was one driven by a Ronda 515. I’m not a “troo GMT” fanatic, but the lack of definite “clicks” on the hour hand wasn’t ideal. It doesn’t so much indicate a specific hour as it does a relationship to the main hour hand, which directly drives it. if you reset the GMT hand with the hour hand anywhere but the top of the hour, you’re just guessing on relative position. Given the short distance between hours on a 24 hour dial,24 hour dial, a poor guess can leave you with noticeable GMT hand position/accuracy problems. Citizen can do a quartz GMT that really approaches “troo GMT”, so I don’t understand why Ronda can’t do better than this.

It’s also huge.


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## Casimodo

Seeing as it's a 24 hour movement, why does it have the large markers that say 3, 6, 9 and 12? Those would work just fine on a 12h dial, but not on a 24h one. 
Or am I missing something?


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## MikeBanzai

Casimodo said:


> Seeing as it's a 24 hour movement, why does it have the large markers that say 3, 6, 9 and 12? Those would work just fine on a 12h dial, but not on a 24h one.
> Or am I missing something?


You’re missing something.


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## Casimodo

MikeBanzai said:


> You’re missing something.


hmm ...

The only thing I can think of, is that the GMT hand would be 12h. But that would be weird.


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## MikeBanzai

Casimodo said:


> hmm ...
> 
> The only thing I can think of, is that the GMT hand would be 12h. But that would be weird.


12 hr “main” hands, 24 hr GMT hand. Or am I missing something?


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## Casimodo

MikeBanzai said:


> 12 hr “main” hands, 24 hr GMT hand. Or am I missing something?


Looks like that's it. The Ronda user manual mentions an hour hand and a 24 hour hand. I guess I had it backwards.
That would indeed explain it. Thanks for the hint.


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## Trisfae

Nice looking watches but I never been into pilot style watches and these look just big.


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## jmichaelc

Good on Torgoen for focusing on pilot watches -- I love that Bertucci does the same thing with field watches (and perhaps have too many Bertucci's in my collection...) The black version is pretty sharp with the three hands and orange lume. The silver looks more like I want people to think I'm wearing a premium microbrand. Though I'm generally hesitant to get anything with a black/colored coating for fear that it will scratch or wear off. I have a used Bertucci titanium with a PVD finish, but that was dirt cheap on eBay, but I got it for working outside as an experiment to see how it would look when it gets beat up. But for anything in the $500 and up range, a scratch would probably bum me out.


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## StufflerMike

Anyone noticed the screwed up screw ?










Test failed.


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## michael_mean

Glad to see some Torgoen love. I got the T30 in 2018 and have worn it a lot, it has a lot of features that I don't use lol. I like it for the size and styling, I have giant wrists so need that size dial to look normal. It has taken a considerable beating and still looks pretty good, though the crystal is starting to show some wear. It's what I expected from this level of watch. The lume also charges up pretty quickly, this was from being outside for about 5 minutes.


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## Kloeshuman

That's a sharp looking watch


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## gable22

Thanks for this great review. Love the pilot watch looks in general and this one is not exception


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## MAD777

I'm really happy with my Torgoen T9 GMT.


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## biglove

Just picked up the grey dial T100 38mm GMT. For $163 delivered, I am impressed.


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## mhnies

Basem Wasef said:


> The appeal of a pilot watch is simple. At 12,000 feet over enemy territory, there’s no time to squint at an unclear dial or fiddle with a fussy timepiece – everything must be right there, right now. Torgoen has been tackling that less-is-more premise since 2009, offering functional pilot watches that stick to the purist ethos while maintaining an affordable bottom line. Acquired by the E. Gluck Corporation a decade after its founding, Torgoen sells direct-to-consumer using Swiss movements with occasional limited production models like 2020’s T25 Meteorite, which, you guessed it, incorporates actual material from the Muonionalusta meteor recovered from Sweden.
> 
> *Born from Warbirds*
> 
> Torgoen’s latest (and nearly sold-out) special edition is the T51, which will see a total of 200 units distributed over two styles: A black dial scheme with grey and teal accents and a black strap, and a metallic dial with grey and blue accents paired with a brown strap. The T51’s hook is that its dials are recycled from the wings of three actual P51 Mustangs, the supercharged, V12-powered hot rods of the sky that helped turn the tides of World War II. Torgoen collaborated on the dials with Pacific Fighters, an aircraft restoration firm, so each watch presents a one-of-a-kind patina of scratches, scrapes, and texture from the well-worn wings. The 44mm case houses a Swiss-sourced, Ronda 515.24H GMT quartz movement, with a date dial positioned at 3:00 o’clock. The caseback incorporates a raised rendition of a P-51 aircraft, and a small engraving of the numbered sequence.
> 
> View attachment 16731708
> 
> 
> My two samples were shipped from New York to Florence, where I’ve been stationed for a month-and-a-half long working vacation. Italy is a curious location from which to evaluate watches, especially ones with a theme of patina and age incorporated into the face: when you’re surrounded by relics pre-dating the Roman Empire, a watch dial sourced from a 20th century aircraft somehow manages to feel relatively fresh. Unboxing the well-traveled watches revealed two brand new pieces, numbered 06/100 and 95/100. Buying a T51 is a bit of patina roulette— there’s no way of knowing if your dial will be more scraped and scratched, or relatively pristine.
> 
> *Patina Roulette*
> 
> My testers were a bit on the clean side, though tilting certain angles in the right light revealed some hairline scratches and light abrasions beneath the sapphire crystal. Your wear & tear may vary. The 44mm case and somewhat large lugs approaches the edge of what works with my relatively small wrists; for contrast, my 46mm Breitling Heritage II SuperOcean has a similar edge-to-edge dimensionality due to its larger case but smaller lugs, and also fits just right for me. The T51 fits comfortably against my wrist, with no unusual protuberances or sharp edges. The crown extends and retracts easily from the stainless-steel case, whose water resistance is rated at 50 meters. One detail of note: the metallic finish is bare aluminum, and the black is still P51-sourced but has been treated to resemble the aircraft’s famous 8-Day cockpit clock.
> 
> View attachment 16731711
> 
> 
> I wore the T51s on hot days somewhat reluctantly, as I didn’t want to soak the tightly stitched Italian leather straps with perspiration. That said, the watches achieve their goal of offering quick, at-a-glance timekeeping despite the blindingly bright Tuscan sun and the potential (but thankfully unencountered) possibility of feeling too chunky for continued comfort.
> 
> *A (High-Powered) Italian Twist*
> 
> View attachment 16731720
> 
> 
> Reviewing cars for a living takes me to some out-of-the-ordinary locations, and this summer has been no exception. While in possession of my two Torgoen testers I flew to Valencia, Spain to put the new Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica through its paces at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. While it’s no P51 Mustang (which typically trade hands for 7-figure money), the V10-powered, 631 horsepower Tecnica is a remarkable achievement in itself, presenting itself as one of the last pure internal combustion supercars from the Italian brand. Within the supercar’s carbon and Alcantara-lined cockpit, the T51 comes across as solid but decidedly un-blingy, with the irregularities of its aircraft-derived face too subtle to be perceived amidst the showy, hexagon-themed interior.
> 
> Another curious contrast: my interview with Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann, the famously sartorial executive with a penchant for exceptional timepieces. I once enjoyed a sit-down with Stephan at the Quail Gathering, where he was wearing a platinum Rolex Daytona on one wrist and an Apple Watch on the other— surrounded by his signature myriad bracelets, natch. This time around he was sporting a rather extroverted Roger Dubuis skeleton watch, which happens to be a near-perfect sponsorship match for Lamborghini’s irascible brand. While I felt rather outgunned by Mr. Winkelmann’s formidable show of horological force, it must be noted that my Torgoen tester comes in at a humble $495 – likely a fraction of the cost of his _strap_, let alone the entirety of his astronomically priced timepiece.
> 
> View attachment 16731716
> 
> 
> My time with the Torgoens was also spent in the company of a 1992 Land Rover Defender 110, which I purchased in Italy with the express purpose of tooling around the country and shipping back home. Against the sparse (and largely plastic) dashboard, the T51 feels hearty and substantial. Though it lacks the rugged, hard-edged character of the Defender’s blocky exterior, the T51 holds its own in terms of honest functionality. Which brings me to my next and final point about the Torgoen T51.
> 
> *Utility vs. Ornament: The Ultimate Pilot Watch Debate*
> 
> 
> At their core, pilot’s watches are all about the simple utility of telling time without the distraction of embellishment or unnecessary features. Brands like IWC, Bell & Ross, and Panerai have made a mint selling premium watches that adhere to the theme by embracing fine finishes and just-so designs. But in reality, you’re likelier to find more workaday, back-to-basics timepieces on the wrists of military and professional pilots than you are five-figure status symbols — which brings us back to the Torgoen T51. With fundamentals like a Swiss movement, sapphire crystal, low-key-but-decent-quality finishes, and nicely executed details like quick-release Italian leather straps, the T51 ticks a whole bunch of boxes.
> 
> View attachment 16731717
> 
> 
> If you’re the type to pooh-pooh its Asian final point of assembly, consider that among Torgoen’s fans is space innovator Richard Branson, who told the Wall Street Journal in 2014 that “My watch is a Torgoen T16,” going on to quip that he “… bought it because I just thought it had a pretty face. As you can tell I’m not really into things particularly. By the way, what time is it?” Status-busting billionaire jokes aside, Branson’s soundbite speaks volumes: the Hodinkee crowd might disdain a brand focused on the sub-$500 market, but Torgoen has managed to thrive in the affordable pilot watch niche by capitalizing on the genre’s inherently no-nonsense attitude of authenticity. Though the brand doesn’t date back to WWII, its links to aviation are respectable: not only was it co-founded by pilot Benzi Rosenski (who still communicates with Torgoen brass about development and brand issues), the watchmaker has partnered with firms including the California Fire Pilot Association and Miracle Flights. So while some brands can still claim literal roots to WWII airmen— think Longines, Hamilton, and Zenith, to name a few— this Torgoen angle on clean design, P51-sourced hardware, and affordability make it an easy sell for those seeking budget conscious pilot watches.
> 
> Learn more about the Torgoen T51 here.


Interesting read


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## signum8

biglove said:


> Just picked up the grey dial T100 38mm GMT. For $163 delivered, I am impressed.


So am I. GMT watches are usually north of $500. I'm really wanting to pull the switch on one of these models. What it's like as far as hitting the second marks and how much is the quartz drift per month or per week?


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## biglove

signum8 said:


> So am I. GMT watches are usually north of $500. I'm really wanting to pull the switch on one of these models. What it's like as far as hitting the second marks and how much is the quartz drift per month or per week?


Seems to be keeping great time. Seconds hand does not hit all the markers dead on but close enough that it doesn't bother me (not even with my OCD); I think the lighter colored dial makes it less noticeable.
Dial is well done, lume is decent enough. Bracelet is surprisingly very well done and the buttery clasp is remarkable for its comfort.


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## BundyBear

Some really awesome pics here! Funnily enough, after clicking on this link and looking up some Torgeon watches, I now get Torgeon watches on my social media feeds. I think my computer is spying on me....


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## Rufras

Nice watches but I always find them too large even on my 7 1/2" wrist, some of them also have 24mm strap lug sizes, if they could reduce their sizes 15-20% they would be perfect.


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## Holland0

very good looking.


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