# New Arrival: Maratac Pilot Automatic



## 021411 (Jun 17, 2007)

LOVE IT. Got it in this afternoon and immediately threw it on my wrist. The watch wears just fine as the pictures below indicate. My wrist is approx 7.25". The lugs don't over hang although it's right at the edge. (pics are a bit deceiving)
The strap is a four buckle zulu (ACU gray w/ low lite hardware) so it sits off my wrist a bit. The crown is no where near my wrist. No digging noted.

Lume is great. It's hard to capture the true brightness/dullness of the lume without making it seem super bright but it's pretty good so far. Not bad for 195 smackeroos.

PS- Don't expect an extravagant job with the packaging. It came preinstalled with a black mil series strap inside a watch taco. Simple.

Edited to add: I just "zero'ed" out my watch at 2000 hrs. I'll see how much gain/loss I get tomorrow at the same time.


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## WNUT (Oct 20, 2006)

Really nice! Drilled lugs. Crown looks a tad large, but maybe that's not bad with this watch, (operating with gloves on).
I like the taco case too!
Enjoy the heck out of it!


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## Zagato (Apr 3, 2010)

I've got one on the way. Cant wait to get it! It would look killer on a brown leather strap. sigh.... more shopping to do.


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## spm17 (Sep 15, 2009)

Congrats...that's an awesome pick up.


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## jlow28 (Feb 27, 2010)

Looks great on the Zulu. A 4 ring Zulu strap always looks the part and helps with the crown digging into the back of your wrist. Love the watch and set up.


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## eBanga (Dec 29, 2010)

Great pick up, in fact mine says hello :-!


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## 021411 (Jun 17, 2007)

How fast or slow is yours running right now? I'm about 17 hrs in of official ownership and right now it's running about +11 secs since last night at 8pm. Not bad I suppose. 7 more hours to go..


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## jimmy jones (Aug 6, 2009)

Great pics . Cant wait until I get one!


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## 021411 (Jun 17, 2007)

Messing around with the macro setting on my point and shoot.


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## eBanga (Dec 29, 2010)

021411 said:


> How fast or slow is yours running right now? I'm about 17 hrs in of official ownership and right now it's running about +11 secs since last night at 8pm. Not bad I suppose. 7 more hours to go..


Mine has been spot on pretty much, keeping excellent time.


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## 021411 (Jun 17, 2007)

2000 hrs hit the 24hr mark. Right now the watch is +16 secs. I'll keep tabs of it throughout the week. During this period the watch was worn 17 hrs. The other 7 hrs was left sitting dial up.

Day 1: +16 (7 hrs dial up; 17 hrs worn)
Day 2: +17 (9 hrs dial up; 15 hrs worn)
Day 3: +17 (9 hrs dial up; 1 hr on winder; 14 hrs worn)
Day 4: +15 (10 hrs on winder; 1 hr dial up; 13 hrs worn)
Day 5: +22 (21 hrs on winder; 2 dial up; 1 hr worn)
Day 6: +21 (9 hrs dial up; 15 hrs worn)
Day 7: +24 (10 hrs dial up; 14 hrs worn)

Surprisingly the last 3 days of the initial logging indicated that the time was speeding up. Maybe my activities increased with the watch on. Who knows. Out of the box accuracy isn't exceptional but it isn't bad either. I'll continue to keep my eye on it throughout the month. I really don't see it slowing down. A trip to the watchmaker is on order once I feel it's time. With that said, this is well below the specifications set for this movement, so far. 



Note: Hours on winder is not actual winding hours. My winder goes 6 mins on, 30 mins off cycle.


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## ccbad (Dec 28, 2009)

eBanga said:


> Great pick up, in fact mine says hello :-!


That's sort of the strap I'm looking for my pilot. Where did you get it from?


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## Precise (Mar 27, 2011)

Your wrist shot reveals a problem I've had with NATO straps. I find that the buildup of stuff increases the effective length (lug-to-lug) way beyond my 7.3" wrist. 

I may try a NATO on a lugless case. That should work for me.

Alan


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## eBanga (Dec 29, 2010)

ccbad said:


> That's sort of the strap I'm looking for my pilot. Where did you get it from?


It is a original style flieger strap off of a Stowa Pilot, Funny you mentioned it, I was actually thinking of selling it, shoot me a pm.

Regards, 
Earl


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## ccbad (Dec 28, 2009)

eBanga said:


> It is a original style flieger strap off of a Stowa Pilot, Funny you mentioned it, I was actually thinking of selling it, shoot me a pm.
> 
> Regards,
> Earl


PM sent.


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## bencayetano (Jul 9, 2011)

Just received this watch and it's great! Mine came with a black 2-ring zulu and I was stoked! I preferred it over the mil-spec ones.

Quick question about the crown. What does it mean to cross-thread your crown? And how do you avoid it? Is it normal for it to sound like it's winding as you're trying to screw the crown in? I push the crown in, rotate it counterclockwise for a 1/4 turn and then proceed clockwise until it is firm...when I'm screwing it in clockwise, it makes the same noise as if I'm winding the watch. Am I doing this correctly?

Also, when setting the time, if I hold the time back slightly, it will stop the seconds hand...I did this to try and synch it as close as possible. Will this damage anything?

Thanks!


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## bencayetano (Jul 9, 2011)

Also what's the best way to remove the spring bars without scratching the lugs? I tried to push one end in and slide the bar out but it seems like it's a bit long and the end that is still in the lug is tight which force me to have to force it out...the loose end already rubs on the lug which I do not like. Am I going to have to press in BOTH sides of the bar to safely remove it??


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## Crusader (Apr 30, 2005)

Some answers:

Cross-threading menas that the crown is slightly oblique and the threads eat each other up during the screwing process. To be avoided by turning the crown counter-clockwise (can be less or more than a quarter revolution) until you feel the first thread "pop" into the groove, and the screw the crown in.

Some watches do wind while screwing in. Stopping the second hand by pressure does not negatively affect the movement IMHO, but others may disagree...


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## Turbo2 (Jul 9, 2010)

Got mine yesterday and it looks great! I need to snap some pictures tonight.


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## David Woo (Feb 12, 2006)

021411 said:


>


Nice shots, I wonder who makes this for maratac?
That crown does look a bit oversized for the case, and the lug hole placement look a bit high in the lug.


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## krayziehustler (Mar 15, 2011)

David Woo said:


> Nice shots, I wonder who makes this for maratac?
> That crown does look a bit oversized for the case, and the lug hole placement look a bit high in the lug.


the hole is that high to minimize the gape between the strap and the case. Also, they took the liberty to make the crown large to make it eaier to turn and set and this it is offset at 4 o'clock, it won't hurt anyone.


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## Jonpod (Jan 9, 2008)

I have one of these and put it on a 22mm rubber strap and it looks great.


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## bencayetano (Jul 9, 2011)

I bought a grey Zulu and Maratac's composite strap with white stitching...love it.


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## Jonpod (Jan 9, 2008)

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


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## Kronos (Jan 2, 2008)

This is not my usual forum, but I thought I'd stop in and revive this old'ish thread to see how people here are faring with these Maratac Pilot Autos. I wore mine today for the first time in a long time. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy this one:


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## Tachyon (Mar 28, 2010)

Can't wait until these come back in stock. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the many nice pictures of it posted here.


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## Salem's Lot (Feb 22, 2012)

Tachyon said:


> Can't wait until these come back in stock. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the many nice pictures of it posted here.


They told me at the end of march


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## Tachyon (Mar 28, 2010)

I'll be ready! Thanks, SL!


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## Salem's Lot (Feb 22, 2012)

You can buy one here from somebody, thats what i did


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## Gmack00 (Feb 18, 2008)

Countycomm website now says June.


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## Salem's Lot (Feb 22, 2012)

I noticed that mine always looks greenish ,the numbers 

I know it supposed to glow with light ,but it seems like its always glowing green

I still love the watch


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## ken_sturrock (Oct 24, 2010)

Mine still runs well. It's on a rivet-style black leather strap. power reserve doesn't seem particularly long but is perfectly usable. rotor still a little loud but not distracting. lume remains excellent.


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## Salem's Lot (Feb 22, 2012)

There back in stock

The large & small


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## lama323 (Dec 7, 2011)

Jonpod said:


> __
> Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
> Show Content


Nice shots!

What size is your wrist?


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## ruradu (Jun 8, 2008)

021411 said:


> How fast or slow is yours running right now? I'm about 17 hrs in of official ownership and right now it's running about +11 secs since last night at 8pm. Not bad I suppose. 7 more hours to go..


http://www.citizen.co.jp/miyota_mvt/download/pdf/spec_8245_8247.pdf


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## WatchDialOrange (Dec 30, 2011)

Maratac Pilot Watch Large on Vintage leather strap Just in. Gave up trying to find one New so bought off Ebay.


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## snaky59 (Mar 11, 2012)

That is a sexy watch...

Too bad it isn't made anymore... good thing this guy has it on sale for 20k!

Maratac Pilot Large Sapphire Crystal Full Military 46mm PAM Marina Militare Auto | eBay


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## frogger17 (Mar 8, 2013)

Did you see the description, too? This joker either has too much time on his hands or is off in la-la land. :rodekaart


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## yojsupmur (Feb 7, 2012)

Ha! Should have jumped on it when it was 'only' $20,000. That delusional seller raised the price to $30,000 in his latest ad. lol


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## WinstonSmith (Dec 31, 2013)

I see this is pretty old thread, but just saw one go on the forums for $299 shipped and PayPal'd and found this thread when I was looking for more info on them. 

CountyCom has them back in stock for $279 plus shipping. For those of you who are still tracking this by chance, how do you like them after a couple of years? It's not the $195 they went for initially, but under $300 still seems like a pretty good price for this.

Thanks,

Winston


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## mdinana (Apr 14, 2014)

WinstonSmith said:


> I see this is pretty old thread, but just saw one go on the forums for $299 shipped and PayPal'd and found this thread when I was looking for more info on them.
> 
> CountyCom has them back in stock for $279 plus shipping. For those of you who are still tracking this by chance, how do you like them after a couple of years? It's not the $195 they went for initially, but under $300 still seems like a pretty good price for this.
> 
> ...


I've only had mine about 2 months, and to be honest, it doesnt' get much wrist time. Partly b/c I bough about 5 watches in the same 2 weeks, partly b/c it's just a tad too large for me. I keep debating selling and buying a midsize ... but then I think "well, some of the girls at work think it looks fine."

I don't think it's horrible at the price. Partly b/c I've seen other watches with the same price that seem less 'solid,' but there are Seiko's that seem just as good at 1/2 the price. YMMV.


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## WinstonSmith (Dec 31, 2013)

^^ Much appreciated ^^

I'll keep an eye on the exchange, still trying to figure out why one went on there for more than new, maybe County Comm is out of stock, even though it says available. Read some pretty good things and some not so good things, we'll see...

Thanks again,

Winston


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## mdinana (Apr 14, 2014)

No problem. To be honest, if CC still had the mid-size with a regular seconds, hand, I might get that and sell this. But it seems they're all the '2nd gen' with the second hand subdial.


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## DerangedGoose (Nov 10, 2011)

The large size watch in the original post is too large for OP's wrists, IMO. Mine are 7.15'' when tape is wrapped tightly at the bone. This is keeping me from ordering the large size model.

For what its worth, the original mid model is still in stock via special memorial day pricing at $195, I just ordered one:

CountyComm - Maratac Pilot Automatic Watch

Also, that idiot selling his for 700+ has edited his ebay listing to flame "haters" lol:

Superlative Maratac Pilot Large Sapphire Crystal Watch 46mm Marina Militare JP | eBay


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## WinstonSmith (Dec 31, 2013)

I just picked one up off the exchange for a fair price. It's the 46mm version, but I've got an 8" wrist and usually sport a JSAR on a either a bracelet or Seiko Monster strap. My only concern is that it may be a little too light after all that metal, in which case it will be back on the exchange at a fair price..... ;-)

Winston


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## gbrldz (May 15, 2014)

Just scooped up the original mid-size on sale for a Memorial Day special. $195, can't beat that.


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## mdinana (Apr 14, 2014)

gbrldz said:


> Just scooped up the original mid-size on sale for a Memorial Day special. $195, can't beat that.


Ditto. Need to try the mid size and see if it works better than the full size on me (about 7.5 inch)


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## DerangedGoose (Nov 10, 2011)

mdinana said:


> Ditto. Need to try the mid size and see if it works better than the full size on me (about 7.5 inch)


Thanks for confirming for me that the large is pretty much too big for anyone under 8 inches. Some of the wrist shots are cringeworthy...


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## james.fort (Aug 11, 2014)

CountyComm has the original dial large pilot on sale for $239 through the weekend. Luckily I found a mid pilot on the forums as my wrists are way too small!


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## Tomas472 (Dec 17, 2014)

Just throwing in my thoughts on the Maratac Pilot series. I have fairly small wrists (just short of 7 1/2), so the full size strikes me as too large, BUT the Maratac Mid Pilot is a very comfortable fit. I bought mine used here on WUS because I wanted the older (2012) very plain dial without the 24 hour markings of the current version.

















I did have to repair the crown tube - it came unscrewed - but that's another thread.

This watch has gotten ALL my wrist time over the past few months and all my other watches are getting jealous...


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## james.fort (Aug 11, 2014)

I just picked a mid pilot up as well. What kind of bracelet is that?


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## Tomas472 (Dec 17, 2014)

It's a Hadley-Roma Men's MB3836RWSE 20 bracelet, James. Much nicer than I expected at the price point. (Amazon)


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