# Are women's aviator watches a thing?



## GravityAce

I think I know what the outcome of this thread will be but I want to give it a try. Personally, I'm fine wearing men's watches but I like seeing a nice watch aimed at women that doesn't have to be covered in jewels and so on. You know what I mean. I've been looking around for an aviator watch aimed at women but so far I've only seen one model. Does anyone know about any similar watches?


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## zainabdulrahman

GravityAce said:


> I think I know what the outcome of this thread will be but I want to give it a try. Personally, I'm fine wearing men's watches but I like seeing a nice watch aimed at women that doesn't have to be covered in jewels and so on. You know what I mean. I've been looking around for an aviator watch aimed at women but so far I've only seen one model. Does anyone know about any similar watches?


Hi. Try Laco. They do 36mm fliegers.

https://shop.laco.de/en/categorie.html?cat=24&x0c414=8a30jufr1035vb3qpf5sjv15p6


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## rationaltime

GravityAce said:


> I think I know what the outcome of this thread will be but I want to give it a try. Personally, I'm fine wearing men's watches but I like seeing a nice watch aimed at women that doesn't have to be covered in jewels and so on. You know what I mean. I've been looking around for an aviator watch aimed at women but so far I've only seen one model. Does anyone know about any similar watches?


Hello, and welcome to watchuseek.

I think you are asking a couple questions. I will give you my opinion.

Even for men's watches it isn't clear what defines an aviator watch
or pilot's watch. It would help if you describe what features make
an aviator watch for you.

Abingdon did get press releases printed in some aviation magazines,
but that does not make the watches suitable for aviators. In my
opinion the Abingdon watches are all marketing. Using lifestyle
images they target women and set inflated prices. The watches 
are hard to read, and look at the sizes, "Fuselage Size - 40mm".
Abingdon doesn't make watches, and they couldn't even be
troubled to order in smaller sizes for women.
I would not recommend any Abingdon watch.

What would I recommend?

This Sinn is mid-priced. You would probably have to buy it in
Germany, where it is €1050,00 including tax. If you have been
wearing men's watches though, the size may look small to you.

Sinn Modell 456 St I (28 mm)








Perhaps we will take on the other question, "Are women's aviator
watches a thing?", in another post.

Thanks,
rationaltime


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## GravityAce

I think my question got misunderstood. I'm simply looking for companies that aim their aviator type watches at women it's an unusual thing to see. I realize what you said about Abingdon, the only claim I was making was that they are the only company I've seen so far that's geared towards women with such watches. I'm interested in seeing what will happen when more women get more involved in aviation, which they are.


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## rationaltime

GravityAce said:


> I think my question got misunderstood. I'm simply looking for companies that aim their aviator type watches at women it's an unusual thing to see. I realize what you said about Abingdon, the only claim I was making was that they are the only company I've seen so far that's geared towards women with such watches. I'm interested in seeing what will happen when more women get more involved in aviation, which they are.


I would say the most obvious is Breitling. Breitling has regular ads directed
toward aviators in _AOPA Pilot_ and _Flying_ magazines.

For you aviators reading here I recommend _Sport Aviation_ published by EAA
and _Approach_ published quarterly by the Naval Safety Center.

Breitling offers the Galactic 36, Galactic 32, Colt 36, and Colt Lady all designed
for women's wrists.

Breitling Colt 36 (photo from Breitling)








Thanks,
rationaltime


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## rationaltime

Torgoen is another brand that advertises aviator watches and has
a model line for women.

Their collection of Women's Watches, "Pilot Watches for Women",
consists of 41mm quartz chronographs.

Torgoen T11305 41mm








Look Torgoen, like Abingdon, uses an image of an An-2 on their web site.








Abingdon image with An-2








Thanks,
rationaltime


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## rationaltime

Zenith offers pilot watches for women.

Zenith Type 20 Lady Pilot, 40 mm
Sorry, this one has diamonds, but to make up for that
it is marked "Pilot" on the dial.
View attachment 3674410


Thanks,
rationaltime


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## StufflerMike

Askania Elly Beinhorn chrono, 35 mm, sapphire crystal.

In 1935 she flew from Gleiwitz in Silesia to Scutari on the Bosporus and back to Berlin in one day: 3,470 km in 13-1/2 hours.


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## TheAbingdonCo

rationaltime said:


> Abingdon did get press releases printed in some aviation magazines,
> but that does not make the watches suitable for aviators. In my
> opinion the Abingdon watches are all marketing. Using lifestyle
> images they target women and set inflated prices. The watches
> are hard to read, and look at the sizes, "Fuselage Size - 40mm".
> Abingdon doesn't make watches, and they couldn't even be
> troubled to order in smaller sizes for women.
> I would not recommend any Abingdon watch.


I am an aviator and it is suitable for me.

I respect your opinion, but must disagree. As a professional pilot with over 2000 hours in 67 different types of aircraft, I - along with several thousand other female pilots who own an Abingdon watch - consider our watches to be pilot's watches. Though we don't have the marketing dollars that some of the big aviator watch brands have, we have the passion for aviation that goes into every design of every watch. I would have loved to have these other companies create pilot's watches for women, but only a few options are out there from other brands. And yet an Abingdon watch has now 23 various styles of aviation watches with Zulu/tri-time, chronographs, E6B flight computers, and ATIS bezels in a 41.5 mm case size down to a 33mm case size.

It would have been great to make an even smaller E6B watch, but the truth of the matter is it would be very difficult to see it if the case was less than 40mm. It would be unusable. So if an Abingdon E6B watch like the Amelia or Jackie is 40-41.5mm in order to be functional, then at least it will be feminine with stones, pearl, and some beautiful colors other than blue, black, and brown - which seem to be the majority of the options for aviator watches.

Women in aviation are growing and since I've been flying for 10 years, I was not going to wait for a company to come out with a watch for me. If I did, I'd still be waiting. Abingdon Watches' first 2 designs were created by myself along with the Palms Chapter of the 99s - a group of female pilots from founding member Amelia Earhart (www.ninety-nines.org/). Us seven women started the first women's aviator designed specifically by female pilots with functions that we really actually use in flight and traveling. Abingdon DOES make watches and the women who wear these DO use them in flight.









Here's me flying a couple weeks ago wearing Elise - which has 3 time zones. I have Puerto Rico on one time zone, Zulu Time for my pilot log, and Las Vegas time (which is home). There are few tri-time watches available and virtually none made for women. Abingdon offers one in eight different style options and it's easy to use.


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## insanogeddon

Most pilots don’t wear "pilots watches". Some are into them just like motorcycles but they're hardly useful for flight in an age where navigation isn't done using wrist watches and frankly who needs wrist time when its everywhere you look and on your phone? 
Granted watch collectors and/or those who served their military as a pilot and had it hammered into their sculls to have a wrist timer and how to use it while upside down after a couple hours in freezing water might have some unresolved issues and need to keep one around. Or you might wish you were and so wear some throwback Pan Am pepsi rolex, the year younger Glycene GMT, the ever superfluous and unreadable Breitling Navitimer (ironic seiko make a gold quartz version ~250), an Omega if you never got over wanting to be an astronaught or a Flieger if your more sensible; but all only if their water-proof, shock-proof, anti-magnetic, and able to withstand large temperature ranges and high gs. That said most realise any digital pretty much does all you need while keeping better time, having more functions and being more robust - so to not go with digital your only reason is EXTREEME machining (thus cost like in a watch that can handle resisting fields of 15,000 gauss etc) and/or history not cost "just because".
If your stuck in a world of oppresive gender stereotypes it might be harder to see but I gaurentee there are THOUSANDS of suiteable digital watches for any taste. For that matter there are actual mechanical watches in many forms and flavours that would also be more than suitable and reasonably priced as long as you can get over any sexism about them not being branded in a specifically feminine way, masculine way, LGBT way or whatever way you fancy.
In that case multiple timezone digital watches WITH alarms, timer signals, stopwatch(s), auto calendar, micro light, ~10year battery life, and anti-magnetic, better water resistance, better readability, better shock resistance, GMT etc etc can be had 3 for 100 dollars in any colouring or design imaginable.
The issue is people are paying large ammounts for watches with extrodinarily cheap and basic movements under they guise of some rhetoric about fashion, uniqueness, or boutique branding with a slick pitch.
If you’re going for quartz movements hands are just something pointless that can be effected by magnetism and movement so you’re better off with digital (all digital watches are quartz, not all quartz watches are digital for sales reasons only) and you shouldn't pay much at all even for a quartz with heat blued hands.
If your watch has some basic mechanical seiko, miyota or eta movement you shouldn't pay over 2-400.
Thats including excellent materials (titanium or marine steel), design, function, finishing, a good band, packaging, delivery and even ISO or other official testing.
Any increase in price had best be due to in house movements, in house materials, materials that are ground breaking or truely precious, atomic time, eco/solar movements, smart connectability, linnage, resale value, horological advancement and horological history or sadly you're just being taken advantage of, disempowered and frankly ripped of.
Sometimes sadly a better watch on your arm is buying a swatch or casio/seiko/citizen both having in house movements or modules, materials, design, functionality, low maintenance, resale/trade value, linnage, horological history and advancement.
Basic digital watches work fine for wrist time and are on more professionals wrists worldwide than anything else.
You didn’t need some giant heavy jalopy on your wrist to get time since I was a kid.
What year is it now?

That said traditional seeming $60 to $400 value propositions for ladies:
37mm, Hamilton Jazzmaster Seaview white
38mm, momentumwatch Splash Ceramic 38 Steel
36mm, Glycene AIRWOMAN (literally THE definative GMT/aviator in horological history)
30mm, bertuccifieldwatches M-1T WOMEN'S HIGHPOLISH
33mm, Vostok Amphibia Woman Watch (in house movement)
34mm, Citizen Ladies Eco-drive Promaster EP6050-17E (solar powered ISO rated dive watch, in house movement, techonology and horological history)
37mm, Seiko SKX013 with modded parts from dagazwatch (in house movement, techonology and horological history)
25mm and incrementally up, ANY - Citizen Eco-drive Ladies Watch (solar, in house movement, techonology and horological history)
40mm, Casio AW80D-7A or AW81D-7AV (Ani-Digi and does everything a watch could ever have to, in house movement, techonology and horological history)
39mm, Laco Flieger Ausberg 39 or Laco Flieger Aachen 39 (Classic Flieger watch, horological history)
42mm, Prometheus Eagle Ray White
eoniq custom (design your own watch)
35mm, truwood womens (plant trees, trap carbon)
35mm, Armida A11 200m
38mm, C60 Trident 300 (red bezel or white dial - or ask for both!)
obrismorgan watches
Any swatch expecially when their SISTEM51 come in smaller cases (in house movement, techonology and horological history).


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