An American watch brand with Swiss watchmaking technology, Wakmann has launched its latest Jetmaster Propeller Automatic watch, a reincarnated contemporary timepiece embracing the respectable track record of being the time provider of the U.S. Air Force, always providing most accurate time for its wearers.
A watch brand founded in New York in 1946 during World War II, Wakmann has been delivering accurate and reliable watches to the U.S. Military and citizens. This year’s latest Jetmaster Propeller Automatic watch is equipped with Swiss-made automatic movement Caliber WA8000, showing the hour, minute, second and calendar with uniquely designed aviation style displayed on its black dial.
Style Revolution
Wakmann was appointed the official provider and deliverer for the U.S. Military during WWII, a period in which it had developed a number of professional aviation timing instruments, including those specifically used inside the cockpit control cabin of fighter aircraft and passenger aircraft, as well as various aviation watches. The Jetmaster Propeller Automatic watch has naturally manifested a design with a military aviation character. The 42 mm watch case is made with sturdy 316L fine stainless steel and handled with black PVD, complementing the appearance with a touch of robustness and mystery.
A trait of military air force sophisticatedly exhibited on the black dial can be seen through the transparent back cover. The design of the hands is inspired by the three-leaf propellers of an aircraft. The small Arabic numerals 1 to 12 for displaying the hours are lucidly placed inside the ring centering the dial. Outside the ring sat the larger Arabic numbers displaying the minutes and seconds – an inheritance of the Military’s stringent pursuit of precision of time on a battlefield. The 12 o’clock position is labelled with an arrow in concert with the red arrow design of the second hand; while the index ‘30’ at the six o’clock position is marked in small fonts to bring out the calendar window at the same position.
The periphery of the dial is also marked with scale while all twelve positions are devised with the innovative Swiss technology Self-Powered Micro Gas Tubes to allow independent provision of brightness without any external light sources. The light is over 100 times brighter than luminous paints deployed by ordinary aviation watches, with a lifetime easily reaching 25 years. The 12 o’clock position is fitted with orange micro gas tubes while the remaining 11 positions’ micro gas tubes are green. Not only the 12 positions are equipped with glowing micro gas tubes, the two dominant hour and minute hands are also armed with the technology, exponentially raising the readability in the dark and enhancing the charm of the watch.
The transparent caseback unveils the mechanical structure of the Swiss-made automatic movement Caliber WA8000. Both the movement and the central perpetual rotor are handled with black PVD to garner its black mojo. On the rotor also marked the blue logo of Wakmann ‘Double W’, turning the momentum into kinetic energy to power the movement with reserve energy enough to run for 36 hours. Adorned with khaki leather strap and butterfly folded buckle, the watch is made fit for its wearers’ daily life.
