Archimede Reaches to the Past with their Latest Vintage Inspired Pilot’s Watch

Everybody loves a nice surprise. Right in time for the holiday season, Archimede is releasing a special capsule of their so-called “Vintage Edition” watches. As a callback to an older collection called Classic Retro, these watches are limited in number and designed to stay as true as possible to how a German-made Archimede pilot or field watch would have looked in the last century. There are five variants (one of which is already sold out as of this writing), and each brings its own old world charm.

The Archimede Vintage Edition is probably most closely characterized as a pilot’s watch thanks to its legible dial and large onion-shaped crown, but you wouldn’t be out of line calling it a field watch either. Its 42mm stainless steel case is manufactured by ICKLER in Pforzheim, Germany and is sandblasted all the way around, which gives it a matte finish. The case is 51mm lug to lug and only 9.8 mm thick. The aforementioned crown is large and finished for maximum tactility, while the dial is clearly designed for optimal legibility. A subdivided railroad minute track lives on the outer edge of the dial; in the center, cathedral hands are the focal point. The Arabic numerals at each hour are large and squared off – distinctly Art Deco. Hands and hour markers all receive seemingly generous amounts of lume of varying colors depending on your configuration. On three of the versions in this collection, a date window is discreetly tucked in at three. The other two references are no-date models.

Inside the Archimede Vintage Edition is the ubiquitous and beloved ETA-2824, which is visible from the exhibition caseback. Each watch is rated to 50m of water resistance and paired with a black leather strap with a signed Archimedes clasp. The brand is very proud of the fact that a large part of the production of the watches happens in-house in Germany – design, construction, production, engraving, assembly, and quality control. In this special collection, it seems the point was not to reinvent anything but rather to re-release the watches in the same way they would have been assembled and sold back in the day. 

Those who are looking for a true-to-vintage sport watch should head over to Archimede-watches.com where the watches are available for €1,080 as long as supplies last.