Nice timepiece and something pretty different from Tutima right? I got to check out this watch direct from Tutima who was nice enough to show it to me while I was at JCK in Las Vegas. This is one of Tutima’s new timepieces that was released at Basel and represents a bold look maintaining a very high level of functionality. Tutima is located in Glashutte Germany right around a few other famous German watch brands. What I really like about the watches is that you can see a Tutima watch from the 1920s and you can recognize it as being from the same brand as Tutima watches of today. They have done an excellent job of keeping the character and heritage of the brand intact. Two major parts of that are the signature coined bezel (not on all their watches though), and the classic looking hands.
Part of the new trend of Tutima watches is making larger cases which are now around 44mm wide. This Grand Classic Chronograph is 43.5mm wide and 15.8mm tall. The case is beautifully retro and constructed well. The high quality steel case is brushed with the bezel being polished and some other polish on the the crown and pusher tips. The case feels very solid and put together well – not to mention highly functional in character. You can see how the caseback features a nice exhibition window with the Tutima “T” applied on the sapphire glass underneath. The rear of the watch also has the Tutima 80th anniversary engraving on the back of the watch. This occurred in 2007 (Tutima started in 1927), but is still on this 2009 model. Powering the watch is an automatic ETA Valjoux 7750 movement. The seconds subdial has been taken out to give it a bicompax look, but retains the 12 hour chronograph functionality. It looks quite nice with the large chronograph subsidiary dials in the contrasting colors – don’t you think?
Looking at the watch from the side you can tell that the crystal is convex a bit which gives it a nice look. Still, it is AR coated for a clear view into the face. The dial is laid out well – though it has a unique look. This was likely a tough task. Arabic numerals for the hour markers are covered in lume so thick they pop off the dial. The chronograph dials are easy to read and I appreciate the wealth of marks on those subdials. You also get the red framed date window that looks nice with a date disc that is black to match the dial of the watch. No doubt that this watch is totally an aviator in fashion. The thick leather strap has the iconic rivet screw on each band with white contrast stitching. There is also an available metal bracelet which I suspect is Tutima signature style with many little links.
Overall the watch works well and is nice to wear. It really satisfies that need for wanting a classic aviation style timepiece with a modern look and feel with a unique style. Price for the Tutima Grand Classic Chronograph watch is a pretty reasonable $3,200 – which is probably for the leather strap version and a bit more for the metal bracelet. You can get less expensive aviator watches out there, but not too many with the history of Tutima or the admittedly high quality that I observed with these watches.
See Tutima watches on eBay here.