# B-42 Pilot Professional Day/Date



## Fynn (Oct 2, 2006)

I share the affliction. My name is Fynn and I am a watch-aholic.;-)

I started adulthood not even wearing a watch (I know, I know:roll. When time became important, I started with digital. Thankfully I found this place and fed my addiction with CWC, Seiko, and Doxa.

Now I find that I am becoming more focussed in the hunt. There are two holes in my collection. A GMT and an all round bluejeans to suit watch. I am still on the fence for the GMT, but I have narrowed it down the the venerable speedmaster pro or the B-42 Pilot Professional Day date for the all purpose unit.

I have been able to glean some of the info on the B-42 from the old interweeb.

ALL MODELS
Stainless steel, 42 mm case diameter
Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides
Superluminova coated numbers, hands and indices
Glass caseback
Individually numbered
Water-resistant to 200 m / 20 bar

A 42 mm diameter is just my size, and I tend towards black leather straps. 200 m water resistance gives me a no doubt confidence in the case. However I prefer a solid caseback to the see through variety.

This leads to my three Fortis questions...

1 Does the B-42 Pilot Pro come in a solid caseback?
2 How thick is the B-42?
3 What is the strap attachment hardware? It doesn't look like a springbar arrangement from the photos.

Thanks for taking a look at my ramblings.:-!


----------



## tallguy (Feb 14, 2006)

Fynn said:


> There are two holes in my collection. A GMT and an all round bluejeans to suit watch.


I've been wanting both of these in the same watch for about 5 years, and since I can't afford a Rolex GMT; I'm hoping this will suffice!:-!b-)


----------



## mr.A. Ros jr. (Sep 11, 2007)

I own the B42 pilot professional. It's a great watch. Screwed attachment lugs. the thickness is 1,6 cm. glass caseback


----------



## Fynn (Oct 2, 2006)

Thanks Tallguy and Mr. A.

I am leaving the GMT out of this one (I need to prolong the hunt).

I am currently bouncing between these two










The both have the Blue jeans to suit look that I am angling for, are amazingly legible, and 200m water resistant. They also both have a glass caseback, but I guess I can live with that.

The deciding factor for me will be the thickness. As Mr. A says 13mm for the B-42 (the web said 16, but you can't trust it;-)) and if the web is right 11 mm for the non B-42 Pilot Pro.

The price difference is a non-issue for me. The right watch is just the right watch. As I live light years away from any AD (Northern Canadian town) the old touch and feel test will not be possible for me so the info I get here will lead me to yet another internet purchase.

Any more opinions would be greatly appreciated.:-!


----------



## SydneyDan (Mar 23, 2006)

I would definitely go with the B-42. You won't be sorry. The slightly larger size and heft of the case makes it IMHO.
Also, I think that Fortis has the best strap changing system on the market with the B-42 series. One end of the rather thick lug pin is fixed and doesn't turn as you undo the screw on the other side. Much more solid than springbars without the hassle of double screws. Very sensible---you listening, Mr. Kobold??


----------



## SydneyDan (Mar 23, 2006)

BTW, if you wanted to consider this one--the Cosmonaut's day/date, its got a very nice engraved steel back as opposed to the glass one of the pilot's B-42.

Photo from the Fortis web-site.


----------



## MarkJnK (Nov 10, 2006)

I'm with SydneyDan, the B-42 Cosmonaut day/date is an incredible timeless piece. I also suggest that you get a model with the bracelet and buy an aftermarket strap for it. The Fortis bracelet is one of the best out there and a shame to miss out on. Leather straps are cheap and easy to play with, but buying a bracelet later will cost big $$.

There is also a new model, the B-42 Flieger Day/Date that MarkB has been advertising, it looks to be a very nice piece, with substantial size, and a super nice day/date configuration. He is also a great source for Fortis watches for us Canadians, and he knows his stuff. This is his pic...


----------



## Fynn (Oct 2, 2006)

SydneyDan,

The strap attachment sounds perfect.|> I have never had a springbar problem, but this seems much more secure.

I love the heft of my Doxas, so it sounds like I am going for the bigger watch.

Th cosmo has "the look", but I am going for a non-bezeled watch this time.

MarkJnk,

Good point about the bracelet. I would guess it is cheaper ordering the OEM strap after the purchase rather than the OEM bracelet.

The Flieger looks nice, but I couldn't find that version on the Fortis site... Any idea what the dimensions are?

Oh, and who is this MarkB fellow? Is he an AD?:think:

Thanks,
Fynn

You guys are an amazing resource!:-!


----------



## hess (Sep 19, 2007)

Flynn....only the B-42 has the glass back. the glass back is an option for the Pilot Pro, as is a sapphire crystal _with_ anti glare coating (curently, and depending on the date of manufacturer, it will either come with a mineral crystal or a sapphire crystal _without_ the AR coating.

more details here....

https://www.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=86961

i'm stuck between the two and i'm guessing i'll eventually have both.

i'm a bit more drawn a Pilot Pro day/date IF it has the optional sapphire crystal _with_ AR coating and the glass back since, for me, it edges out ahead of the B-42 because it lacks the rather odd (just to me) name.

i thought the watch had something to do with the Douglas B-42....seeing as how Fortis has some aviation history.....but it turns out that it's just a referrence to the case.










i think it would look really nice if it just said "Automatic" like the Pilot Pro.

although....i think i'll still get the B-42 since it does have a larger lug pin and the band around the edge of the crystal that softens the more insturment-like look of the Pilot Pro....which is also why i lean a bit more to the Pro.


----------



## Fynn (Oct 2, 2006)

Thanks Hess,

Thankfully, the B-42 watch looks better than the B-42 plane!

Despite my Doxa fever (3 inside of a few months) earlier this year:-d, I will likely only get one of the Fortis watches. So keep the info coming.


----------



## dohmer (Mar 5, 2007)

The B-42 Flieger is IMO a great watch. Some pics with steel and leather strap.


----------



## Fynn (Oct 2, 2006)

Nice pictures Dohmer!

The watch looks really thick! Must be the flat edge, my thick divers always have some breakup with the bezel etc.


----------



## dohmer (Mar 5, 2007)

It's around 12mm thick, nothing like my 15mm thick Tag Carrera Tacky.


----------



## martinpulli (May 24, 2006)

SydneyDan said:


> I would definitely go with the B-42. You won't be sorry. The slightly larger size and heft of the case makes it IMHO.
> Also, I think that Fortis has the best strap changing system on the market with the B-42 series. One end of the rather thick lug pin is fixed and doesn't turn as you undo the screw on the other side. Much more solid than springbars without the hassle of double screws. Very sensible---you listening, Mr. Kobold??


Can I get an amen?

The screw syatem is the best there is(period)


----------



## cuckoo4watches (Oct 24, 2006)

hi Fynn,
without a doubt, go with the B-42!
And yes, as Mark said, get the bracelet now, you can get lots of aftermarket 
straps later at super reasonable costs, no need to buy a Fortis leather strap.
As for the size, they are 42mm w/o crown and about 13-14mm thick.
(the B-42 chrono models are in the neighborhood of 17mm thick)
The 40mm Pilot Pro seems much lighter and thinner.
you will not be dissapointed or disturbed by the dimensions of the B-42, it is likely
to become your most favorite watch. 
As for dial, the B-42 Flieger now comes in 2 styles... opaline dial with blued metallic
hands and indices or the NEW black dial with white indices.
If you want a tad bit of color to break things up, then go with the B-42 Pilot Pro as 
that has an orange second hand. (the other two are all mono-toned setup)
MarkB (aka cnmark) is a good guy to buy from but if you feel more comfortable buying in the states let me know cuz I have 2 buddies that are ADs.
Good luck with the your decision and should you have any more questions, give me a shout. -Steve


----------



## Fynn (Oct 2, 2006)

Once again you folks are a real wealth of information. :thanks

I think my choice is clear. The B-42 Pilot Pro Day/Date.:-!

Now comes the fun parts... convincing myself that its ok to spend the $$$ (Strangely my wife is more of an enabler than this crowd!:-x) and figuring out where to buy one! 

I will have to do some more "research".


----------



## sounder (Feb 21, 2006)

cuckoo4watches said:


> As for the size, they are 42mm w/o crown and about 13-14mm thick.
> (the B-42 chrono models are in the neighborhood of 17mm thick)


As I have a big wrist(8.3 inches) I wonder how B42 would look on me.:-s
I`d like to see it next to PO or Steelfish or any of the bigger watches if possible.

:-!

Thanks.

P.S. What is the weight of the non chrono B42?


----------



## cuckoo4watches (Oct 24, 2006)

hi 'sounder'.
as to your question about weight, I don't know.
i don't have a scale and I don't have a day/date model any longer, only a chrono.
I will say, if your wrist is that big, I'd suggest a B-42 Cosmonaut or B-42 Diver as they
have the unidirectional bezel on them and because of that are actually 44mm wide 
without the crown.
I would not suggest getting a B-42 Flieger or Pilot Pro with the 'fixed' bezel because
unless its a chrono, and its on a wrist like yours, it may appear small to you.
Especially if you are used to the bigger watches.
At least the bigger crown on the B-42 does help in the sizing and even though it
has some sort of bezel unlike its small siblings (40mm case), it still has a rather
large [email protected]@K to it due to the dial going further to the edge of the case unlike other brands.
Hope that helps and if not, ask away. 

** notice my signature pic at the bottom, thats my B-42 Flieger Chrono on my wrist which is about 1" smaller than yours.


----------



## sounder (Feb 21, 2006)

> I'd suggest a B-42 Cosmonaut or B-42 Diver as they
> have the unidirectional bezel on them and because of that are actually 44mm wide


Thanks a lot.
I see what you mean.This B42 COSMO TI version looks fantastic.:-!


----------



## cuckoo4watches (Oct 24, 2006)

yup, thats the way to go if you have a big wrist.


----------



## sounder (Feb 21, 2006)

Yeah, I think I am gonna go with COSMO TI.
Any news when will be available in the EU or if you know some good dealer.
I wouldnt attempt to buy anything outside EU due to hefty tax.


----------



## cuckoo4watches (Oct 24, 2006)

no, sorry.
maybe check www.ebay.de there are a lot of German ADs on there that would
likely ship over to you in Ireland.
I know duties are ridiculous in Europe...
I sold a new B-42 Pilot Pro chrono to a guy in Germany for about $1200 US.
It cost him another $180 in taxes and boy was he upset with customs.


----------



## sounder (Feb 21, 2006)

> I know duties are ridiculous in Europe...


Yeah,I could be "whacked" on $2K watch around $400- $450 :rodekaart:-|


----------

