If there is an official standard defining the features for a watch suitable for diving (ISO 6425), no such definition or standard exists (at least one that would be used throughout the industry) for another popular watch category: the pilot’s watch. Each and every brand has its own vision of what a pilot’s watch should be, depending on the needs of the wearer. However, there are some key elements that single these watches out from the crowd.

Pilot’s watches are extremely popular, appreciated for their utilitarian aesthetics and sharp legibility. Positioned more as statement pieces today than the vital tool watches originally used in the air, pilot’s watches, like dive watches, were born from necessity. The first pilot’s watch is often considered to be the wristwatch created by Louis Cartier for dandy aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont to time his flights. Its technical specifications were basic, far from those of military watches of the mid-20th century, which have shaped the design and features of many of modern pilot’s watches.

Mark wrote:I am a pilot but I don't like many of these "pilot" wartches. Simplicity is the key here people. As for flight planning, no actual pilot is going to calculate any part of his flight plan on a watch. Make it easy to read at a glance in flight. The rest is just the equivalent of desk diver BS.

Mark wrote:I am a pilot but I don't like many of these "pilot" wartches. Simplicity is the key here people. As for flight planning, no actual pilot is going to calculate any part of his flight plan on a watch. Make it easy to read at a glance in flight. The rest is just the equivalent of desk diver BS.

Artman wrote:

Mark wrote:I am a pilot but I don't like many of these "pilot" wartches. Simplicity is the key here people. As for flight planning, no actual pilot is going to calculate any part of his flight plan on a watch. Make it easy to read at a glance in flight. The rest is just the equivalent of desk diver BS.

That being said as well as conjurer's wise comment, I still like the Nighthawk because it just looks cool.

Mark wrote:

Artman wrote:

Mark wrote:I am a pilot but I don't like many of these "pilot" wartches. Simplicity is the key here people. As for flight planning, no actual pilot is going to calculate any part of his flight plan on a watch. Make it easy to read at a glance in flight. The rest is just the equivalent of desk diver BS.

That being said as well as conjurer's wise comment, I still like the Nighthawk because it just looks cool.

Perfectly reasonable. I don't use a dive watch for diving, but I still wear them.